NEW YORK—Once the Gators wrapped up a 91-60 win against North Florida Thursday, Florida head coach Mike White knew that the next few days would bring a range of emotions to the table.
After 11 minutes of fielding the media’s questions following an 84-74 loss to No. 5 Duke Tuesday, White embraced his parents—Kevin and Jane White—with a giant hug, knowing that their time spent as opponents had ended.
“Heck, last night I would’ve loved to join them for dinner,” Mike White said. “I’m not sure dad would’ve invited me, as we’ve been enemies here for the last 48 hours. We haven’t spoken in the last couple days so I’ll be anxious to get 60 seconds with them before we all head back to the hotel.”
In the teams’ first matchup since 2000, the White family subplot was an intriguing link between programs that do not see each other on the court very often.
Kevin White—who is in his ninth year as Duke’s vice president and director of athletics—knew that listening to his son speak postgame in defeat would not be something easy.
Mike White is in his second season as the head coach of the Gators after taking over for two-time national champion Billy Donovan.
Before taking the job at Florida, White spent four years at Louisiana Tech, where he was named 2014-15 Conference USA Coach of the Year and guided the program to three straight conference championships.
But with the Gators at their highest position in the AP Poll during White’s tenure and the national spotlight of the Jimmy V Classic on White’s team, the head coach could not help but discuss how important Tuesday’s matchup was to his program more so than himself.
White joked that his father may have even given him some pointers before the game.
“He gave me the whole scouting report. That’s why we lost by 10,” White said.
But despite the family affair, things remained business as usual for the White family heading into the matchup in the Jimmy V Classic.
“Whether we’re playing Duke or we played North Florida last game so I’ll use that as an example, [my parents] are very respectful of all of us doing our jobs,” White said. “We’ve just been so lucky and this is a great opportunity.”
And after White’s team came up short against the Blue Devils, things remained business as usual—with both Kevin and Jane White praising their son at Madison Square Garden for the job he continues to do.
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