Clemson Basketball Adds Javan White as Graduate Transfer

Clemson landed their second transfer of the offseason, adding grad transfer Javan White from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK. A few weeks ago, the Tigers added UNC-Asheville forward Jonathan Baehre, who won’t be eligible to play until 2019-20. White on the other hand should be a major contributor immediately. Both will have two years of eligibility remaining as Javan White took a medical redshirt (knee) in one of his three years at ORU and Baehre is a rising junior who will redshirt next season.

LSU wanted Javan White to, in the words of LSU Coach Will Wade, “add more big bodies.” The Bayou Tigers seemingly had a geographical advantage for the Ames, Iowa native playing in Tulsa, but Brad Brownell beat out LSU for the prized grad transfer.

What do to the Tigers get?

I expect Javan White to be an immediate difference maker for the Tigers. Although he is listed as a forward, he played center at ORU and has the size to do so in the ACC. At 6’10” and 230lbs, his size is comparable to Mark Donnal (6’9” 232), who the Tigers must replace.

With Mark Donnal, Donte Grantham, David Skara, and Gabe DeVoe all departing, there are plenty of minutes to be earned. White moves well and seems to have the athleticism to play PF as well as C. He will compete with sophomore Malik William and freshman Trey Jemison for PF/C minutes off the bench.

His post moves are impressive. Take a look at his highlights below:

Last season, as a redshirt junior, Javan White averaged 10.2 points and 9.0 rebounds. His 13.9 OR% (offensive rebounding percentage) was 29th nationally (higher than anybody on Clemson) while his DR% of 23.4 ranked 84th nationally.

Though athletic, there’s no doubt Javan is a post-player. He is a poor FT-shooter (55.3%) and seldom shoots a three-pointer (6-15), but was efficient when battling down low as he posted an impressive 106.6 Ortg with a FG% of 51.4%.

A couple of his performances from last season stand out and lend optimism for how quickly he can make an impact. He went for 14 points and 11 rebounds against Kansas State, 18 points and 20 rebounds against Little Rock, 4 points and 16 rebounds against Arkansas, and 8 points and 8 rebounds against Minnesota.

He’s not an overly skinny guy and I believe this will translate reasonably well in the ACC. I expect him to take the critical bench minutes behind Eli Thomas that Mark Donnal provided last season. He could see a larger role if needed at PF too. Javan White is now the heir to the center position and the likely starter in 2019-20 after Eli Thomas graduates.

On top of all that, Javan White is a very well-spoken young man.

Welcome to Clemson, Javan!