Ole Miss Adds Top Grad Transfer Romello White
OXFORD, Miss. — It’s no secret Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis has been recruiting the transfer market hard this offseason. He has already landed Rider grad transfer Dimencio Vaughn and Samford forward Robert Allen, but on Friday morning he added another talented player to join the 2020-2021 Rebel team, landing coveted grad transfer Romello White.
White, ranked by ESPN as the No. 2 overall grad transfer, brings immediate value to a frontcourt already consisting of KJ Buffen, Antavion Collum, and Sammy Hunter.
Ole Miss has landed Arizona State grad transfer Romello White, he told @Stadium. Huge pickup for Kermit Davis. Averaged 10.2 points and 8.8 boards this past season.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 15, 2020
White’s tenure at Arizona State
The 6-foot-8, 235-pound White, who tested the NBA waters before transferring to Ole Miss, averaged 10.2 PPG, and 8.8 RBG for the Sun Devils this past season. He finished second in the PAC-12 in rebounding this year and was also 6th in both FG% and blocks per game. Most notably, White had an 18-point, 17-rebound performance against Georgia in non-conference play.
In his three seasons, White started 92 of 95 career games for the Sun Devils, including two trips to the NCAA tournament en route to helping Arizona State reach as high as a No.3 ranking in the AP Poll in the 2017-2018 season. Prior to heading to Tempe, White was rated as the No. 77-ranked player in the class of 2016.
“I feel like I could come in and really make a difference. For my last year I wanted to be somewhere I’m comfortable and I felt like Ole Miss was the place.“
Romello White on his decision to join the Rebels
Coach Davis praised White and said he is eager for him to get to Oxford.
“Romello is extremely tough, fits very well in our system of play…He has such a high ceiling in front of him that can impact the SEC in a great way.“
Coach Davis on the addition of Romello White
White joins a talented incoming group
White joins an incoming class that features Rider grad transfer Dimencio Vaughn, Samford transfer Robert Allen, and Top-40 (ESPN) Matthew Murrell. The Rebels also have Oxford native Jarkel Joiner on the roster who sat out last season but was the leading scorer in the WAC during the 2018-2019 season and Shon Robinson who redshirted last season but was a Top-100 recruit in the 2020 class before reclassifying to 2019.
Romello White also mentioned his close relationship with Ole Miss assistant Levi Watkins, who was previously at Arizona State. https://t.co/ykPLQNQKEw
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) May 15, 2020
Some reports indicate White, an Atlanta native, wanted to return closer to home for his final collegiate season. The ultimate deciding factor, however, could have been his connection to Ole Miss assistant Levi Watkins who coached on Bobby Hurley’s staff at Arizona State prior to joining Kermit Davis and company. Vanderbilt, Auburn, Georgia, Memphis, Michigan State, Arkansas and others were also considered to be in the mix for White.
TJ Oxley
TJ Oxley is the Vice President of Operations and the Director of Community Relations for The Rebel Walk. He is also the Director of Basketball Content and Senior Basketball Writer. He has over five years of experience providing in-depth analysis of college basketball through multiple platforms. A former MBA graduate of Ole Miss, TJ started with The Rebel Walk in 2019.
