Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1993
- Class:
- 1981
Greg White scored 1,024 points for the Marshall basketball team, but as a point guard he set up teammates to score more than that and later coached some of the top scorers in school history. The Mullens, W.Va., native made an impact immediately upon joining the Thundering Herd to play for Coach Stu Aberdeen in the 1977-78 season as he was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team, helping Marshall reach the tournament championship game. As a junior, White and the Herd again reached the championship game and he was named to the All-Tournament team and second team all-conference, an honor he netted again as a senior. Over the course of his career, White dished out 701 assists, at the time the most in Marshall history and still No. 2 on the career list, as he led the Thundering Herd in that category all four years of his career and the Southern Conference three times. White also made 86.4 percent of his career free throws, the second-best mark in school history.
When his playing days were over, White quickly turned to coaching and within three years was the head coach at the Pikeville (Ky.) College. He moved on to become head coach at the University of Charleston and an assistant at UCLA before becoming Marshall’s head coach in 1996. In just his fifth game as Marshall’s coach, the Herd’s Keith Veney set a still-standing NCAA record by making 15 three-point baskets on his way to 50 points in a 115-93 win over Morehead State in the Henderson Center. That season, Marshall would go on to win the Southern Conference’s North Division Championship and advance to the conference tournament championship game before losing in overtime to Tennessee-Chattanooga, and White was honored as the Southern Conference Coach of the Year. By the time White’s Marshall career was over he had a 115-84 record, putting him in third place on the school’s coaching wins total. He had also mentored several players to outstanding careers, including the inside-outside tandem of J.R. VanHoose and Tamar Slay, both Marshall Hall of Famers, who scored 1,803 and 1,792 points, respectively, putting each in the top six all-time at Marshall. White was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.
