Aaron White, the Wizards' 2015 second round pick plays for Telekom Baskets Bonn in Germany's Basketball Bundesliga and FIBA EuroCup. Quentin Rosborough wrote about how he was doing for them last month.
For those of you who don't know where Bonn is, it is located in western Germany, about 20 miles southeast of Cologne but still about an hour east of the border with the Netherlands and Belgium to the west. Bonn's also the home of this classical/romantic music composer for those of you music buffs:
Okay, I'm getting carried away with Beethoven, but for whatever reason, I learned he was born in Bonn when I was in first grade, and it has stuck with me ever since when people mention the city to me. :)
The team released a 33-minute video interview of White (in English) embedded above which focused on a number of topics, including his decision-making process last year. Some takeaways:
- White said that he anticipated playing overseas from before he was drafted. The Wizards also suggested that he go in this direction as well.
- He intends on playing in the 2016 NBA Summer League this year, so expect to see him in a Wizards uniform in Vegas.
- White wants to improve his three-point shooting and half-court offense. White is second in scoring (14.5 ppg) and rebounds (6.0 rpg) in BBL play. He has learned from playing alongside post player Yancy Gates who leads the team in both areas. Gates played for the Cincinnati Bearcats from 2008-2012.
- White also acknowledges that he may not be in Bonn next season. Perhaps he'll play for the Wizards. Or perhaps he may be on another team. In late January, Israeli powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv tried to buy him out to play for them. But unlike the women's side when Sparta&k Vidnoje accepted a buyout offer for Mystics forward Emma Meesseman from Russian superteam UMMC Ekaterinburg, Bonn rejected the offer.
- White mentioned that he is working out more in the weight room. It is a little easier to do than in the NBA, since there are fewer games a week. Bonn has recently been playing just one game a week so there is more time to review video and get reps in the weight room.
- For Bonn, White said that he is playing more small forward in big lineups in order to use more of his versatility.
It's a lengthy video, but definitely worth listening and watching to when you have half an hour to spare.