Mike White on Georgia football, a return to Florida and UGA basketball's upset of Auburn
As of Friday afternoon, Georgia basketball coach Mike White had no concerns outside of a return to Gainesville, Florida, for the former Gator coach and the Bulldogs game with Florida.
Come Monday, he'll turn more of his focus toward Georgia football's national championship game.
"Wherever I am, I will be locked in," White said on Friday, shortly before the Bulldogs departed Ben Epps Airport. "Whether that's on the iPhone or the iPad or on the computer, I don't know whether I'll be home or not, on the road recruiting, who knows where the heck we'll be. But, yeah, we are Georgia football fans in our house."
White said his family of seven, including wife Kira, daughters, Rylee and Maggie, twin sons, Collin and Keegan, and youngest son Dillon, have adopted the Bulldog football spirit since arriving in Athens last spring.
It's Dillon who has showed the most interest in Georgia football, White said. His twins are more focused on basketball, but the family will tune in to ESPN Monday for the 7:30 p.m. championship game.
"My youngest, I'm trying to fend him off from diving into football more so than basketball and trying to keep him locked in like my twins," White said. "He's a huge Georgia football fan, and we all are. We're proud of their success and proud of every sport here on campus."
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White returns Saturday to face a program he led to four NCAA tournaments in seven seasons, including an Elite Eight performance in 2017. He was 122-68 with the Gators having followed Billy Donovan's historic 20-year run that produced a back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007.
"I'm excited about getting down there and seeing some loved one and some family and friends, and it'll be weird. It'll be like the Twilight Zone at times, I'm sure," White said. "But when that thing's tipped, I'll be locked in as much as I've been locked in for each game and each practice, just to try and help these young men be the best that they can be."
The Bulldogs last won at Florida in 2019 and are 39-68 all-time in Gainesville. Saturday's game will tip at 1 p.m. on SEC Network.
"Before and after shootaround there'll be some distraction that we'll have to overcome," White said. "But, again, when it's tipped it's down to business in terms of us trying to be the best we can be."
Georgia is 11-3 this season and upset No. 22 Auburn in Wednesday's SEC opener. They Bulldogs have showed a marked improvement in White's first season after last year's 6-26 team led to the end of Tom Crean's four years at the helm.
It was the Bulldogs' best win of the season and a momentum builder for a program seeking positives.
"I think it was big to come out of the gate strong, because I know a lot of people doubt us," said Justin Hill, a guard transfer from Longwood. "We know how we should play, and if we stick to our principles I think we're going to surprise a lot of people."
While White has been influential in the quick growth of UGA basketball's program, he gave some credit on Friday to the expectations set by Kirby Smart and the football program.
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"Kirby and his staff have presented the opportunity for all of us coaches, really everyone on this campus, to sell his program and what they've accomplished," White said. "Obviously, we're in a building stage. But we use football to our advantage and we lock in when we can. We're fans as well."
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia basketball coach talks UGA football and return to Florida Gators
