Randy White’s blue-collar effort results in LA Tech Hall of Fame nod

Tough. Determined. Dedicated. Self-made. Warrior.

Just a handful of adjectives and nouns describing Randy White, shared by those who played with and coached the 6-foot-8 center out of Huntington High School in Shreveport.

These blue-collar characteristics have led to White becoming the latest Bulldog to become a member of the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame with the induction ceremony set for Oct. 18.

It’s another noteworthy accomplishment for a guy who grew up in the simple country life of Keithville, an “everybody knows everybody” town south of Shreveport. A guy who was instantly expected to deliver like his predecessor Karl Malone. And a guy who lost two fathers.

From a young age, the word “tough” started to become part of Randy’s basketball DNA on a dirt court in his backyard.

“I didn’t have older brothers, but I had older cousins that guided me,” said White. “On the weekend, we would all get together. When I was 10, 11, 12, I was playing against cousins who were 18, 19, 20 years old. And trust me, they didn’t take into account that I was 11 or 12. They played against me like I was the same age and same size. It was a physical way of playing. They didn’t hold any punches.”

During the week, it would be just White, the basketball and the dirt, turning nice white socks to a stained brown.

And when his father William – known in the community as BayBay – wasn’t on the road driving for Roadway Trucking Company, he would get in on the action.

“My dad was gone a lot, but when he was home, those weekends we had some nice battles,” said White. “He was a big man, 6-6, 250. At that time, he was the biggest man that I had ever seen. He played old school basketball, hard and physical. And he would always want me on the other team so he could beat me.”

Randy would imagine himself as Magic Johnson. His dad would use the unguardable hook shot like his favorite player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

That Laker matchup came to an abrupt end when Randy was 15. William collapsed outside his home and, what was thought to be only a gash on the head, ended up being a blood clot.

He passed away in the hospital due to complications. He was 39 years old. Way too soon.

“Losing him at such a young age, it was difficult,” said White. “I thought the world of him and the only thing I wanted to do was make him proud and do all of the things I know he wanted to do as a youngster. He let go of his dream of playing basketball to be a family man and raise me.

“I knew I had to step up and be there for my mom (Shirley) and make sure she was okay. My mom was my biggest supporter and my biggest critic when it came to playing and my education.”

As an average height player, Randy didn’t make the high school varsity team at first.

Standing as a 6-foot-1 guard, he suddenly morphed into a 6-foot-7 center during the summer after his sophomore year.

Those bones were busy putting in work during those three months. And thanks to teammate Michael Ames, college coaches were in the gym able to catch a glimpse of the new Randy White who had been putting in work on the court too.

“At that time, Mike was one of the best, if not the best, players in the city,” said White. “All of the schools came to recruit Mike, including Tech who recruited him heavily. That gave the schools an opportunity to look at me as well. After Tech signed Mike, they kept their eye on me.”

Having a high school teammate in Ruston, watching Tech play in the Sweet 16, being close to home where his mom could come watch, seeing the impact of The Mailman, playing for new head coach Tommy Joe Eagles. All reasons for Randy to become a Bulldog and not a Cowboy or a Ragin’ Cajun.

But early on, times were tough on the tough center. After dominating as a Raider, averaging 23 points and 15 boards as a senior and being named all-everything, Randy played a total of five minutes in his first two games combined at LA Tech.

His stats … zero points and three fouls. And the numbers didn’t get much better through the next half dozen games or so.

“My freshman year, the first eight or nine games, things were not going well in my eyes,” recalled White. “One day in practice, I asked [coach Eagles] why he was always on my ass. ‘What is it!? I can’t do anything right!?’ He came over to me as calmly and as quietly, put his arm around me and he said, ‘The day that I’m not on your ass is the day you need to be worried.’ From that moment on, everything changed for me. That whole freshman year ended up being a turning point for me.”

Freshman year (1985-86 season) – averaged 9.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, playing at 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds soaking wet. Named to All-Southland Conference Tournament Team. Helped take the Bulldogs to the NIT Final Four.

After playing against future NBA players like Indiana’s Dean Garrett, Kansas’ Danny Manning and Ohio State’s Brad Sellers that first season, he knew he had to get bigger and strong, and better.

So what did Randy do? He stayed in Ruston every summer, redefining his basketball DNA year in and year out as a dedicated, determined, self-made warrior.

And how did he do that? Gym. Weight Room. Rinse. Repeat.

The statistics tell the story, as do those who watched him become one of the greatest Bulldogs of all time.

“You could tell the potential was there, but it was the case of would he ever get there,” said then assistant coach Greg Haddox. “He didn’t run the floor real well as a freshman so we put him in a pair of strength shoes with the big platform in the front. He did agility drills, all kinds of things in those shoes. He came back as a sophomore and he was a different guy. I think the shoes changed his whole physique, along with lifting weights. He just became more athletic.

“He worked his butt off to become the player he became. A self-made player who brought his lunch pail every day and went to work. A warrior.”

Sophomore year (1986-87 season) – averaged 12.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, playing with better footwork and 15 added pounds. He was named Second Team All-Southland Conference. The Bulldogs were SLC regular season and tournament champions and went dancing.

“Randy was a very determined, hardworking player and that was infectious,” said teammate Eldon Bowman. “He improved year after year tremendously, always focused on improving his game.

“I was his roommate for a while and he would always give me some pep talks. He really helped me out just getting along as a college student. Randy always did things the right way and did what he was supposed to. Having a guy like that, a leader who was always going to do the right thing, it set the tone for the rest of the team.”

Junior year (1987-88 season) – averaged 18.6 points and 11.6 boards per game, now playing at a stout 240 pounds. He was named First Team All-Conference and the Louisiana Player of the Year. He ranked fifth in the nation in rebounds per game, leading the ‘Dogs to an American South Conference title and an NIT berth.

“As I reflect on Randy, he was very dedicated,” said teammate Kelvin Lewis, better known as Kelvo. “As he matured from a freshman through his junior year, he began to invest in himself to the game and to the team.

“The big turning point for him that I noticed was the summer of 1987 as he got ready for his junior year. We spent some of the summer together in Dallas playing in the NCAA Redbird League, an NBA Pro-Am for a lot of NCAA D1 players. I saw him grow and mature there. Randy gained a sense of belonging to play with anyone, playing in the post with the Dennis Rodman’s and Detlef Schrempfs of the world.”

Senior year (1988-89 season) – averaged 21.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, maxing out at 250 pounds with a near 400-pound bench press. He was named the ASC Player of the Year and AP Honorable Mention All-American.

“Every time we came back the next year, I noticed Randy was a little more dominant,” said Bowman. “To the point where he got to his senior year, he was doing stuff in practice I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ He was dominating. I know because I tried to stop him in practice. He was so tough and became really hard to deal with down in that paint.”

The LA Tech Media Relations department sent out fliers throughout Randy’s senior year, coining him as “America’s Best Unknown Player.”

He wasn’t unknown for very long. In the fifth game of the season, Randy put up 29 points and 15 rebounds in an overtime loss at No. 4 Syracuse.

Two days later, Randy and the Bulldogs were in overtime again, this time in Baton Rouge against the LSU Tigers. He dropped 35 points in the 111-09 victory, playing all but one minute.

Randy would go on to be the eighth overall pick of the 1989 NBA Draft, taken by the Dallas Mavericks. He played five seasons with the Mavs, a part of his life he admits to having a lot of regrets.

Looking to resurrect his NBA career, he was at a basketball camp in Salt Lake City with his former coach Tommy Joe Eagles and Phoenix Suns assistant Scotty Robertson, also a former Bulldog head coach.

“It was like a Louisiana Tech Family reunion,” said White. That family lost one of its own that summer day as coach Eagles collapsed on the court and was unable to be revived. He was 45 years old. Way too soon.

“It was like losing another father,” said White. “It was my sophomore year in high school all over again. I was standing no more than five feet away when he passed. That man meant everything to my career at Tech. I think the love of the game never came back to me after that.”

Randy spent the remainder of his profession career playing overseas throughout Europe, content with earning a living and supporting his family.

But to this day, he still looks back on all the memories he made in Ruston, or as he referred to it – the best four years of his life.

And not necessarily looking back on the games themselves, but the memories of those he played with in those games.

“Guys like Eldon Bowman, Kelvin Lewis, Robert Godbolt, Willie Bland, they made you earn everything,” said White. “You can’t mention my career without talking about Byron Newton. Guys like Darryl Knight. You talk about P.J. Brown. We don’t have the success my senior year without him and Anthony Dade. Guys like David Jordan and Rob McAllister who made you earn it on every play.

“I was a blue-collar guy that was going to play hard and work hard and so many people played a major role in me going into the Hall of Fame. It was a collective effort. I’m taking those guys in with me.”