Former Kansas forward Tre White has signed as an undrafted free agent with the Miami Heat.
White’s NBA destination became public when he made a collaborative post on Instagram in partnership with 247Sports’ Dushawn London just after midnight on Thursday. Terms of White’s deal were not disclosed, but he should be in line to join Miami for NBA Summer League play as early as July 3.
White, who previously played at USC, Louisville and Illinois, posted the best statistical season of his career as a senior at KU, a school to which he had once committed back when he was an underclassmen in high school. He started all 35 games for the Jayhawks, primarily as a wing, and averaged 13.5 points to serve as one of KU’s most reliable scoring options while adding 6.7 rebounds per game.
The most dramatic improvement for the Dallas native in his senior year as compared to the rest of his wide-ranging career was beyond the arc, as he made 40.3% of his 3s as opposed to 32.9% at Illinois and sub-30% numbers each of his first two seasons in college.
“I think he can be a 3-and-D guy,” KU associate head coach Jeremy Case said on the “Hawk Talk” radio show on Wednesday night, discussing White’s professional prospects. “He can make those corner 3s and he can play defense and rebound, which is pretty much what he did for us.”
His five 3s made him the star of the show in the home victory against Iowa State that revitalized KU’s season in mid-January, and after a bit of a slump midway through league play, he came back to form with season-best 23-point showings in victories over Houston and Kansas State.
White did, however, sometimes struggle to maintain his production when Darryn Peterson was in the lineup, and he averaged just 7.3 points per game on 30.3% shooting in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments as Peterson was beginning to take off in the final stages of the season.
Like teammate Melvin Council Jr., a fellow transfer-portal success story for KU who also went undrafted, White took part in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament for college basketball seniors in April, where he tallied 10.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
Miami is one of seven teams taking part in the California Classic, a special exhibition competition that takes place prior to the start of the primary NBA Summer League in Las Vegas. That means White could be in action in San Francisco on July 3, when the Heat faces the San Antonio Spurs at 7 p.m. Central time in the very first Summer League game.
