CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — There’s no questioning where Andrew White’s refuge is on the basketball court. The hardwood behind the 3-point line has been his safe haven, where he’s harbored most of the success in his career and carried Syracuse at times this year.

White’s a 3-point shooter like Jim Boeheim is a basketball coach. The label is permanently affixed. He’s attempted 63 percent of his field goals from behind the arc, while the rest of SU has shot just 33 percent of its field goal tries from 3. Until opponents try to make White into something else, as did North Carolina on Monday night, White’s a 3-point shooter.

That “something else” is far more unreliable. Forcing White into driving or cutting situations has resulted in far less production, and even a spike in turnovers.

“He had at least four really good opportunities to get to the basket,” Boeheim said after losing to UNC on Monday, “and nothing happened.”

“He’s making his 3s. He’s doing what he has to do there. But he’s got to get something in those areas (around the basket). I think that’s important.”

It’s fair to say White has done almost everything the Orange has asked of him: score and play. His 15.8 points and 34.7 minutes per game are both team highs. But even his 15 points in Syracuse’s 85-68 loss to the Tar Heels left something to be desired. Fifteen points was the product of five 3s. White has struggled to showcase another dimension to his offensive game, and Syracuse (11-8, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) will have little chance at upsetting No. 15 Notre Dame (16-2, 5-0) on the road Saturday if he can’t do more than hoist 3s.

The Tar Heels frustrated White early by stuffing the passing lanes and forcing White to create his own shot, if he was going to get one at all. UNC’s Justin Jackson, standing an inch taller than the 6-foot-7 White, never really yielded enough space for White to step back and shoot cleanly. The early returns were exactly what North Carolina hoped for, a three-point first half for SU’s best shooter.

“That’s what I’m going to see for the rest of ACC play,” White said. “… I need to do more with the ball in (my) hands. I need to make more plays and kind of be more assertive.”

Given how White tends to score early in games before tapering off in the second half, it’s even more impressive how Jackson and the Tar Heels neutralized the veteran guard. His lone 3 in the first half came after more than 15 minutes of play. Up to that point, White’s efforts to get involved had fallen flat, highlighted by a 90-second span when White missed a 3, fired an outlet pass into the seats and missed a layup on three successive possessions.

Jacob Greenfeld | Asst. Photo Editor

It’s precisely the blueprint Notre Dame would do well to follow, specifically forcing White to make plays on offense away from the 3-point line. Even if UND can’t do that, it still might be fine. The Fighting Irish boast the second-best 3-point defense in the ACC during conference play.

It’s White that might be in trouble. And in that case, so is the Orange.

“Teams are going to guard him,” Tyler Lydon said of White. “He shoots the ball really well, and yeah, there’s going to be times where he’s not getting open looks. We just have to do a better job of screening to get him open.”

That’s at least one possible solution. Another is for White to moonlight as the basketball player he once was. The one who funneled his offense strictly through mid-range shots, unable to muster the strength to be a reliable 3-point shooter in his early high school years.

If White can so much as tease another dimension to his game, whether it be mid-range or beneath the hoop, it can only help him find success behind the arc. Even more than he’s already found.

Graphic by Emma Comtois

Published on January 18, 2017 at 11:31 pm

Contact Connor: cgrossma@syr.edu | @connorgrossman