Gabby White commits
- Thread starter BenSherman
- Start date
Last year at UVA:
15 mpg: 6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2 apg
15 mpg: 6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2 apg
Check out JRiv's post in the "2026 General Transfer Portal Tracker" from yesterday at 9:44. Lots of good info re: Gabby. Doesn't appear to be a nepo signing.
White is a slasher type guard who gets to the bucket, defends very well, and rebounds well for a guard. She is not much of a shooter. Only 50% from the line and only made 1-12 from 3.
I could see her as a reserve PG who does a lot of the Nivar type dirty work. Come in, give Harpring a rest, disrupt the other team and push the pace.
I could see her as a reserve PG who does a lot of the Nivar type dirty work. Come in, give Harpring a rest, disrupt the other team and push the pace.
She's legit/I don't think it is a nepo thing. Banghart used to pull up to her high school games in Pittsboro, so I'd see that as some type of indication they legitimately wanted her to come last year. I can't remember a game when Banghart was there + the opponent had a high major player on their roster.
If White received a compensation package on par with a starting player then perhaps there was a finger on the scale here. But if she was paid according to a single digit minute reserve in P4 then this is a very legit get.
Assuming she is affordable, she is our heir apparent at 3rd string PG the next three years, and probably a significant step up from Barker who has been filling that role the last 3 years. That insurance PG is a box you definitely want checked on every team.
And now we have one I bet we would not hesitate to play in games, as opposed to the last coouple of years where we made Deja Kelly play 40 minutes at PG or this year when we had Nivar and Queiroz ball handle vs pressure once Reniya was out and Aarnisalo needed rest. I will be very interested to see how Smith handles traps when we lead, But het FT shooting is a big concern. Do you ever put her in when protecting a lead with under 5 minutes left?
Of course she could blow up and become a significant contributor on a top 25 team. I am just guessing here.
Assuming she is affordable, she is our heir apparent at 3rd string PG the next three years, and probably a significant step up from Barker who has been filling that role the last 3 years. That insurance PG is a box you definitely want checked on every team.
And now we have one I bet we would not hesitate to play in games, as opposed to the last coouple of years where we made Deja Kelly play 40 minutes at PG or this year when we had Nivar and Queiroz ball handle vs pressure once Reniya was out and Aarnisalo needed rest. I will be very interested to see how Smith handles traps when we lead, But het FT shooting is a big concern. Do you ever put her in when protecting a lead with under 5 minutes left?
Of course she could blow up and become a significant contributor on a top 25 team. I am just guessing here.
If you guys would go back and read the article, Gabby explains why she did not come to UNC from the get-go. Gabby is legit. She is the insurance policy that I was talking about. As I stated on another post, Gabby was the only freshman last year on VA's team. That team was loaded with veteran and players that transferred in from other schools. For her to play vital minutes on VA's team this past season should tell you something. I am not talking about coming in the game when there is a blowout. She is a coach's daughter who knows how to play the game. The same can be said about CT. Her mother coached her in high school. This was a major steal IMO.
Agree, Solid freshman year. Those numbers are comparable to LG, EA, and RK as freshmen. Likely a starter quality player by her junior year.
I think she was a huge get. She plays tough and can beat her defender and is strong enough to finish at the rim. The 4 transfers excite me.
Have to agree with you on her FT shooting, hopefully she will put in a lot of work over the summer to improve that 50%. Not only for her but the team as a whole, no way should this team should be in the bottom as a team in FT's.
That clip of her announcing to the team... fun
Wow, I cannot believe some of your comments. First of all. Gabby is way better than Barker. Secondly her mother is the associate head coach on our team. She might not need any money because a lot of colleges will give money for the child being a legacy child. Thirdly, she is going to work on her FT's. Her mother is the associate head coach on our team. Apparently some of yall did not looked at her film while being a freshman at VA. The girl played a ton of minutes on a veteran team while being a freshman something that Barker, Zubich, BT, etc was not able to do for us this past season. Lastly, when I use the word insurance policy, I mean a player that can come in and make a contribution right away, and if one the starters should go down, she can be inserted into the game and and our team will not miss a beat as a result of a starter going down. Lastly, she her mother is a coach, you know good and blank well her mother and CB are going to tell her what she will need to work on for the upcoming season, and since you guys pointed out her FT shooting needs to improve, you know she is going to work on that. She is a coach's daughter. Come on yall, when has a coach's son or daughter not work on the things their parents who are coaches is telling them to do. That is like saying as a parent, you tell you son or daughter to clean their room and they tell you know. You know she is going to do exactly what her mother and CB will tell her to do. I am surprise some of yall made a statement like that.
Gabby White is a PG. She is not going to play in front of Harpring nor Kelly. So she is the 3rd string PG. 3rd string PGs rarely play much in meaningful games. Rotations just do not go that deep, except for injury, foul trouble, or a situational need.
While she did play 6.1 minutes per game, the large majority of those minutes were accrued in early season non-competitive games. And then a 6 game stretch in February where the coaches dabbled with giving her real rotation minutes.
But in the last 8 games of the year she got less than 2 minutes per game, not seeing the floor in 5 of them.
So her utilization was between what we did with Henderson and what we did with Thomas. That is certainly meaningful, and I mentioned two young players I think have talent. But they did not really help us win games in 2025-26 except mayb one or two notable exceptions. But I would be very comfortable if either needed to step in due to injuries or foul trouble. That is hat you want with your bench.
But Smith's position specifically will have a lot of traffic in front of her next year, barring injury. And her skillset is not a great match for what we need next year: she is more of a driver/finisher as opposed to a shooter (only 1 made 3 pt shot last year, 50% FTs) So her game mimics Clardy a bit and you cant really play them together.
I am very excited to upgrade our 3rd string PG position significantly. If she proves to be a great ball handler and/or a great defender than she may have more situational usage than I anticipate. If Brooks does not play at the 2 at all then maybe there is more rotational space in the guard positions, But I don't see her in our top 10 rotation as of right now.
She certainly can grow into a bigger role in her JR and SR years.
I have my doubts on RK health and availability. You dont make this move if you are sure she is healthy. Thats 4 pgs who have all played solid minutes and one isnt getting any. HARPRING STARTS. After that. Idk
If healthy, Kelly is the starting 2. Plays the 1 when Harpring is out.
CB loves RK. Whether she should be the starting 2 or not, CB is going to put RK in the starting lineup if she's healthy... just like this year when RK was cleared from minutes restrictions and let RK get 30+ minutes and kept EA on the bench for all but like 9 minutes... even when RK had no offensive flow and was taking a lot of bad shots. The only reason EA ended up getting extended minutes again was because RK went back on the IL.
I will be surprised if C Clardy does not start at the 2. Hopefully Kelly is healthy enough to back up KH
but I think Clardy or Brooks either one might start at the 2 with Kelly coming in an be used as a spot up shooter from the corner as a 2 and backup KH when Kate needs a rest.
If Reniya is healthy enough to start we will definitely be that much better as a team.
but I think Clardy or Brooks either one might start at the 2 with Kelly coming in an be used as a spot up shooter from the corner as a 2 and backup KH when Kate needs a rest.
If Reniya is healthy enough to start we will definitely be that much better as a team.
I didnt disagree. I just said I have doubts on her health. Has anyone reported what the injury is?
I think it was reported it was her knee again and she had a small procedure during the season.
I think Gabby will make that jump from her freshman year to her sophomore year. She has been part of the UNC family since she was little. Her mother is one of the coaches. Mark by words, Gabby will get a fair share of playing time.
Earlier this spring I was looking at RK during a video interview where she was sitting in what appeared to be the team film room. I noticed that she had two large clear band-aids positioned on either side of one of her knees- can’t remember which one. Draining fluid? Protecting stitches? I have no idea.
I wish we knew more but until we do I am just going to pray she has a full recovery and a great Senior
Season. Fingers crossed.
Season. Fingers crossed.
We’ve got one PG whose health status is unknown and another whose shoulder may pop out at any moment. Getting Gabby here was very smart and I expect to see her get time on the court.
She is the insurance policy I was speaking about earlier in the thread. You can never have to many guards; especially PG's. Roy W. learned this lesson in 2012.