Kerry Blackshear was the apple of every coach’s eye this offseason. The 6-10 big man graduated from Virginia Tech and was looking for a new school to play his final season of eligibility. He had his pick of blue bloods and could have played anywhere in 2019.
He chose Florida, for several reasons but he didn’t make it easy on Mike White. On Tuesday White and Blackshear gave a humorous oral history of just how Blackshear gave White his commitment.
White is in Melbourne speaking with a Gator Club. He has his attention on the Gator Club member sin attendance but something is different today. White normally wouldn’t have his phone on him but Blackshear was getting ready to make his commitment and White had a feeling he should have his phone on him.
It vibrated in his pocket and White excused himself from the podium to take the call.
White: We were basically mid-event, and I had my phone on vibrate in case one person called because I thought that the decision may be coming, and I excused myself, walked over to the corner.
Blackshear: “I had already called each of the schools to let them know that I wouldn’t be going there. My dad and I thought, ‘let’s play with him a little bit.’ I was like, ‘yeah, coach I’m going to go in a different direction.”
White: I was crushed. Crushed, but I knew I needed to get back to the Gator event. So I couldn’t let myself go there. Just hey, my mindset was, we’ll talk later, I’m in the middle of a speaking engagement. I said, So we’re on the outside looking in, I guess. Where did you end up choosing to go, man? I’m happy for you. Crushed a little bit, but we’ll talk later.
At this point, Blackshear felt bad and didn’t want to leave White on the hook for too long.
White: He says, Yeah, I’ve decided that I’m going to go to the University of Florida. He just totally messed with me.
Just like that, the good news delivered, White went back to the podium and shared the good news with everyone! Wrong. Even though he knew Blackshear’s intentions, NCAA rules prohibited him from sharing that on that evening.
“I couldn’t even let the staff or anyone else know really because we were back at it, getting back to the event,” White recalled.
Blackshear was the biggest name on the transfer market this offseason but he did consider leaving school entirely and entering the NBA Draft. Ultimately the opportunity to play for his home state University, continue to grow as a player and earn a degree from the University of Florida led him to Gainesville.
White has had a run of good stories from transfers. “Grad Transfer U, bring them on. Put that out there. See who’s available in the spring,” he joked Tuesday. But one, in particular, helped seal the deal for Florida.
Jalen Hudson left Virginia Tech after the 2015-16 season but spent one year with Blackshear in Blacksburg. With such a big decision looming, Blackshear wanted to get to know Florida and what better resource than a former teammate that spent three years in the system?
“Seeing the success that he had here and then someone that could give me the inside scoop on what a day-to-day is like in the Florida environment,” he said. “That was helpful.”
Ultimately Blackshear was looking for more than just basketball. Yes, he has goals and aspirations of taking his game to the next level but he needed a fit. He was looking for a certain culture, one that would make him a better person off the court just as much as a player on it. He believes in Mike White and what the fifth-year head coach is building.
“I think he’s brought in really good players but they’re also really good people,” Blackshear said. “That’s something that I felt like I could really be apart of. He’s someone that will give me the confidence to do what I need to do and this is just an environment that I wanted to be in.”
On the court, White called Blackshear the “best passing big” he’s ever coached. Blackshear is a five but can play as a four and he stretches the floor. He can shoot the three, collect boards and score inside. He’s what Florida’s needed inside, desperately, since White arrived.
It’s only for one season but Blackshear is looking to make the most of it. You could get into a situation where you take a transfer and they don’t mix with the team, or they’re concerned with getting their numbers to boost draft stock and they don’t buy into the team. That doesn’t appear to be a problem for Blackshear. He’s a mature player and an unselfish one at that.
“I think I have the luxury of my individual goals going along with helping the team. I don’t think I’m giving up one for the other,” he said. “Being in a winning environment is something I wanted to be a part of. It’s something I had the opportunity to do at Virginia Tech and I didn’t want to give that up. I felt that Florida was a great spot for that.”