Royce White can hoop, but it’s ‘secondary’ to everything else

Royce White’s showcased his remarkable all-around skills all season. He’s the rare player who leads his team in pretty much every stat – 12.9 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.1 blocked shots – which is one of the primary reasons why Iowa State is one of the nation’s surprise teams.

At 19-8 overall and 9-5 in the Big 12, the Cyclones are working on their first NCAA tournament bid since 2005 and their best conference finish since Marcus Fizer was around. Again, much of that relates to White.

But he wants you to know that everything “on the court comes secondary” to everything else in his life.

This fantastic feature from Randy Peterson of The Des Moines Register details what White’s talking about, including his anxiety disorder, his goals in life, his transfer from Minnesota to Iowa State and what he hopes to teach his 1-year-old son, Royce II, in life.

An excerpt:

“The main thing I want him to do is understand the reason he’s important to me is how I feel about legacy and the preservation of life,” White said.

“I would tell him to dare to be different. If you see something you think needs to be changed, question it.

“Be a guy that doesn’t just always go with the status quo, because a lot of times, status quo isn’t right. In my world, there’s more gray than black and white. There’s always room for change.”

That’s one of the reasons his 10-year plan includes his music and forming a business that deals in designer clothes.

“Any profits I make will go back to helping people,” White said. “There are a lot of places in the world where there’s a lot of misfortune, and it’s not anybody’s fault.

“A lot of people in this country are in serious need of help. There’s reform that needs to be done.”

Expect White to have another fine game when Texas Tech comes to Ames Wednesday night. The Red Raiders are the Big 12’s worst team. Winning is part of his 10-year plan.

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