A key aspect of Tre White’s game has impressed KU basketball coach Bill Self
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Tre White leads KU in free throws, converts at high rate and draws contact.
- Bill Self cites White's contact technique, compares his style to James Harden.
- White provides versatile scoring, defense and leadership as KU faces Towson.
Kansas senior men’s basketball forward Tre White has attempted 65 free throws through 11 games his senior season, which is 33 more tries than any other Jayhawk player.
White — he is 56-of-65 from the line (86.2%) after sinking 84 of 102 attempts (82.4%) in 32 games during his one season at the University of Illinois — has developed a knack for drawing contact on layups and jumpers alike.
“Well, I haven’t studied Tre to the point of his drawing fouls and what he is doing better this year than last year,” said KU coach Bill Self, nonetheless impressed with the overall play of the 6-foot-7, 215-pound Dallas native.
White hit 4 of 11 shots and was a perfect 4-of-4 from the line en route to 12 points in KU’s 77-76 overtime victory over North Carolina State on Saturday at Lenova Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.
He will take a 14.1 points per game average into Tuesday’s home game against Towson (8 p.m., Allen Fieldhouse).
“What does Tre do? He’s got some old-school NBA-type stuff that when he lifts a guy, he knows how to extend his arms. He knows how to do some things that a lot of college kids don’t know how to do yet to create contact,” Self added, noting, “he’s looking for the contact as opposed to trying to play around it. He loves to get his arms extended, which is clever.”
Self has compared White to an NBA player who draws a lot of contact.
“The one guy that’s so good at it,” Self said, “is (James) Harden, and I do wonder maybe if (White) has studied him a little bit on how he goes about it.”
Self of course would welcome a large amount of traditional three-point plays from White and others the rest of this season.
“The shot starts at your first plant foot,” Self said. “Being technical about it, we should always try to score if we think a whistle is coming because you’re going to be in the act of shooting more than likely. But other than that, we really haven’t spent a lot of time talking about that.”
White — he averaged 10.5 points a game for the Illini last season on 50.7% shooting — has made 43 of 84 shots for 51.2%. He is 13-of-35 from 3 for 37.1% after hitting 23 of 70 3s for 32.9% in 2024-25.
“One thing that he does is he runs,” Self said. “He’s as good a player as I’ve maybe ever had going from defense to offense running.
“Melvin (Council Jr.) is fast and Flory (Bidunga) is fast. That’s something we have to take advantage of — (White’s) skill set and being able to do that — but we pick and choose way too much as opposed to doing it every time.”
Self also said White has been “a pleasant surprise in how quick he has fit in.” White attended USC his freshman season and Louisville his sophomore campaign before heading to Illinois, then finally KU.
“He’s playing on the perimeter,” Self said. “He’s playing the 3 and he’s actually playing bigger. He’s got to get back to being a cutter, being an offensive rebounder, making open 3s or at least shooting them and making a good percentage, and he’s done a great job with that.
“Probably as much as anybody on our roster he is playing the way that we envision guys playing, from a technique standpoint. So I’m real pleased with him. I watch him play, and I’m thinking, ‘That dude gets a lot done.’”
Self stated he likes watching White play “because he can do a little bit of everything. He’s an above-average handler. He’s above-average for a size screener. He’s an elite cutter. He’s quick enough. We can switch four (positions) with him. He’s big enough. I just think he’s a really good basketball player.”
Self said White, who went 0-for-6 from 3 vs. N.C State on Saturday, “is a good shooter. I feel confident with him shooting the basketball. We can probably do a better job of getting the ball to him.”
White says he takes pride in being versatile.
“I feel like I’m a Swiss army knife,” White said. “... I could plug in and play in different areas. I can guard bigger guys, little guys, scoring bigger guys, scoring little guys, and hold the team together. I feel like I’ve been around the block a couple times. I kind of understand my strengths and weaknesses. I know where I can impact teams.”
White talks to his teammates a lot on the court during games.
“I feel like I’ve always been a leader since (I was) a kid,” he said. “I’ve always been outspoken, lead by example. I’ve always had that, but I feel for me, on the defensive end, being a dog, holding everybody accountable, make sure I’m getting my extra work in and stuff like that. I need to stay confident in my shooting, letting the game slow down to me like that. Get my players involved. The culture here is such we figure things out during the game. I think we’re going to have a great season.”
KU (8-3) has two more games until the start of conference play: Towson (6-4) on Tuesday and Davidson (8-2) at 7 p.m. Monday.
