White changes mind, decides early

After saying that he would wait until the end of the 2005-06 high school basketball season before making a college choice, Decensae White from Serra High School in San Mateo changed his mind. This past weekend, the 6-foot-6 wing forward took an official visit to Loyola Marymount where he decided to give a verbal commitment.

"I wanted to wait, but when I went on my official visit to LMU, I had a very good time," said White. "I fit in with the players and I really liked the coaching staff. This is their first year on the job and I was one of their first recruits so I felt I was going to a really good situation."

This past season, White was one of the main forces behind the Serra's surge in the playoffs. The Padres won the NorCal Division I championship before losing to Westchester, the #2 ranked team in the country according to the USA Today, in the state title game.

White is a workhorse of a player, who has improved every year. He plays very hard, as is a very active rebounder on the offensive glass. White is a good passer, with a solid handle and is very effective around the basket. While he has to improve his handle and shot, he has the chance to be an impact player in the West Coast Conference.

"Decensae is going into a situation where he can come in and play right away," said Rob Jones, head coach of the Bay Area Hoosiers, White's club team. "For the style of play that LMU will play, they have gotten themselves a steal in Decensae."

While White is a traditional small forward, Jones believes he will have the opportunity down the road to play in the backcourt at LMU.

"The coach has told him that he will have an opportunity to play in the backcourt. They want him to grab boards and push the ball. Decensae felt really good about Rodney Tention and the situation at the school," said Jones.

LMU is coached by Tention, a former University of San Francisco player in the mid 1980s. This past summer, Tention was named the 23rd head men's basketball coach at LMU, after working the past eight seasons as an assistant coach at Arizona under legendary head coach Lute Olsen. Tention's background with recruiting and developing guards and forwards at Arizona was very intriguing to White.

"With Coach Tention coaching at Arizona, he has coached players that have excelled," continued White. "With Loyola hiring Coach Tention it seems as if the school is going in the right direction."

Other schools that had offered White included Wyoming, Fresno State, Fullerton, San Jose State, the San Francisco, Saint Mary's, Santa Barbara, Pepperdine, Valparaiso and Cal Poly. White was also intrigued with playing for another former Arizona assistant, San Francisco head coach Jesse Evans, but he wanted to get out of the San Francisco Bay Area.

"I liked USF, but I live 20 minutes from USF and I did not want to stay in San Francisco," said White. "I don't think there is no downside to my decision. LMU is in Los Angeles and I have a lot of family down there. It is program on the rise, that I will be big part of."