By Jerry Ratcliffe
Virginia coach Ryan Odom provided an update on injured guard Jacari White during Monday’s ACC Coaches teleconference call with media, noting the sharpshooter’s status remains “day-to-day.”
White suffered a broken wrist during a thunderous slam dunk against Maryland on Dec. 20 and subsequently underwent surgery. He was averaging 10.9 points per game prior to the injury.
“We’re not totally sure yet,” Odom said. “It’s really a day-by-day process of letting the wrist heal. He did have a successful surgery. I think the process now is to get him into a different type of splint where he’s got access to his thumb, or he can move his thumb around.
“We had a young man at VCU last year that had the same surgery and was able to play pretty quickly and so we’re hopeful that we can get him back here early in the ACC season, but it’s going to depend on how it goes.”
The 6-foot-3 guard has established himself as a crowd favorite at John Paul Jones Arena, and even has a following labeled “Jacari’s Army,” students sometimes dressed in camoflague T-shirts with White’s face, headband and all, emblazoned on the front.
White picked up even more fans Dec. 6 during a neutral court win over Dayton in Charlotte when he broke Kyle Guy’s UVA record for most consecutive 3-point baskets made over a two-game span. White hit 12 in a row, including going 7-for-7 vs. the Flyers on a perfect 9 of 9 from the field.
“I mean [White] was huge,” Odom said. “I would say that entire group is huge for our team. Ugonna Unyenso gives us energy. Devin Tillis, since he’s been back, certainly gives us a positive deal. Chance Mallory has been huge all season. So it’s not just Jacari, but we all miss him and I think we all know what he can provide for our team when he’s open or when he’s guarded. Sometimes he’s just really capable of making shots and making big plays and so we certainly miss that.”
White’s presence is felt on both ends of the court.
“And defensively, he’s good as well,” Odom said. “He’s really good in our press on the ball and does what we need him to do there. So the short answer to it is we’re without a really good player and other guys have to step up.”
Virginia, fresh off a lopsided win at NC State, is 11-3 on the season (1-1 ACC) and dropped two spots to No. 23 in the AP Top 25 poll this week. The Cavaliers host California (13-2, 1-1) on Wednesday at 9 p.m. (ACC Network).
The Bears have wins over UCLA and Notre Dame, the latter in a controversial ending when Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry had to be restrained against game officials. Cal’s two losses came to Kansas State (99-96) and Louisville (90-70).
Former Virginia guard Dai Dai Ames now starts for California and is averaging 17.6 points per game.
