34 Davin White (USA)
08/01/2017
Jeff Taylor's Eurovision
to read

Just get the ball to Davin

VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor’s Eurovision) - If you’re looking for an unlikely story in Spanish basketball, cast your eyes south to the Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco, and fix your gaze on Tenerife.

On that island, you will find in the city of La Laguna the Iberostar Tenerife club, an outfit in just its fifth season of playing in Spain’s top flight, the ACB (Liga Endesa).

That is also where you will find the Basketball Champions League's late-game killer Davin White, a journeyman player from Arizona.

"You mean Devin?" people ask.

No, it's Davin.

Davin, I've discovered, is of both Hebrew (David) and Welsh (Davyn) origin and it means "beloved".

It's fair to say that Davin White is a beloved figure at the club after his game-winning heroics at Sidigas Avellino in Italy on the 23rd of November and just this past week at SIG Strasbourg in France.

He had a 3-point play in the waning seconds for a 76-75 victory at Avellino.

"It was a great win for us because we were coming off a loss in the ACB and it was a great feeling going back into the locker room with a win,” White told me. "That was a great team but we pulled it off."

The 3-pointer he made to beat SIG in France allowed his club to avenge an overtime defeat to Vincent Collet’s side back on the 9th of November.

The last display of White showed just how dangerous of a player he can be for Iberostar Tenerife, even when things are not going well for him. He was a mere 1 of 8 against SIG from long range before connecting from deep with a minute to go for a 69-67 lead.

He then drilled the winner with less than three seconds to play.

"I felt a lot more rhythm in that last five minutes down the stretch," he said. "I got some good screens, some good looks and it felt good."

The Basketball Champions League has allowed White, who had played in Germany, Romania and Israel before moving to the Spanish league to play for Manresa for the 2014-15 campaign, to showcase his talent to a wider audience.

I asked White what he thought about the Basketball Champions League.

"Besides the traveling, the league is great," White said. "Great teams, great places to play at. Good atmosphere wherever we go. Good fans. We just need to enjoy this time."

It's clear that the Basketball Champions League is having a positive impact on the team's domestic season. Confidence begets confidence, and they're getting a large dose of confidence in Europe.

Iberostar Tenerife are fourth in the Liga Endesa and qualified for the Copa del Rey. With 11 wins and four defeats, they trail both Real Madrid and Barcelona by only a single game while their record is the same as that of Valencia Basket.

"I think we’ve got a good chance playing in both leagues," White said.

White and teammates had better not lose sight of one very important thing. They can't afford to take their foot off the pedal, to have a lapse in concentration. They need to ride this wave of momentum as long as they can.

It's something that coach Txus Vidoretta reminds them of. Yes, the team has the inside track to first place in its Basketball Champions League group but with three rounds of the Regular Season still to go, nothing is won yet, although they have clinched a spot in the Play-Offs.

Veteran Txus Vidoretta is calling the shots for Iberostar Tenerife

"The next round is going to be even harder, stronger teams, more competitive so we’ve got to keep playing hard," White said.

"It's the first time Tenerife playing in a different league outside the ACB so it’s a good opportunity for the team, and the players."

Iberostar Tenerife lost a vital cog in their team, Javier Beiran, when he went down with a season-ending knee injury before Christmas.

The team has also had to do without Nico Richotti for all but four games in the Basketball Champions League and three in the Liga Endesa.

"We have had a lot of injuries," White said. "We lost Javi for the year and he was a big player for our team and Nico has been out. We’ve just got to adjust. I'm looking forward to the challenge and I’m happy with the position we’re in right now."

There have been and will continue to be bumps in the road. Right now, Iberostar Tenerife are looking the part.

Jeff Taylor​
FIBA

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Jeff Taylor

Jeff Taylor

Jeff Taylor, a North Carolina native and UNC Chapel Hill graduate, has been a journalist since 1990. He started covering international basketball after moving to Europe in 1996. Jeff provides insight and opinion every week about players and teams on the old continent that are causing a buzz.