BIO: Terrico Reshard White was born in Memphis, Tennessee (USA) and attended Craigmont High School in Memphis, Tennessee. In his junior year at high school he averaged 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals per game (2006-07). He was named All-Metro, First Team All-State by the Tennessee Writers Association, and was one of the five finalist for The Commercial Appeal’s Player of the Year.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Terrico White made his NBL debut with the Perth Wildcats at 28 years of age. He scored 20 points in his first game.

During the off-season, Perth successfully re-signed star Bryce Cotton (three-year deal) and strengthened their roster by adding Nick Kay and Mitch Norton (both via Illawarra), two-time champion Tom Jervis (via Brisbane), and new import Terrico White (via Korea). These signings led to the departures of Lucas Walker, Jarrod Kenny, and Dexter Kernich-Drew, who all signed with Cairns. The final roster move saw four-year development player Rhys Vague elevated to the full-time squad.

The Wildcats traveled to the United States for two pre-season games against NBA teams, the Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets. Despite suffering a heavy (130–72) loss to the Jazz, which coach Trevor Gleeson cited as a catalyst for their eventual success, the team gained valuable experience. They narrowly lost their second game (96–88) to the Nuggets, setting the tone for the upcoming season.

Perth began the season strongly, achieving a (10–1) record. However, their momentum was disrupted when captain Damian Martin (5.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.6 steals) suffered a right calf tear, sidelining him for six games. Further challenges arose as Angus Brandt (8.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists) missed three games in November due to an ankle injury sustained while playing for the Australian Boomers. These setbacks led to a downturn in form, and by mid-January, the Wildcats had lost eight of their next ten games, bringing their record to (12–9).

Despite external pressure to make roster changes and add a third import, the organization and coaching staff chose to back the existing playing group. As the roster regained its health, Perth bounced back with three consecutive wins over Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney, ultimately reclaiming the top spot on the ladder and finishing the regular season in first place with an (18–10) record.

Perth was led by Bryce Cotton, the league’s leading scorer (21.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.4 steals), and Nick Kay (14.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.2 steals), who had a career-best season. Both players earned spots on the All-NBL First Team.

Terrico White (17.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) emerged as a crucial contributor throughout the season, despite battling multiple injuries, including knee, hamstring, and wrist issues. White’s ability to step up during the playoffs was instrumental to the Wildcats’ success, as he averaged 21.6 points across six matches against the Brisbane Bullets and Melbourne United. His standout performances included 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists against Melbourne United on 15 March 2019, 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists against Melbourne United on 27 October 2018, and 26 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists against Illawarra Hawks on 1 February 2019.

Perth went on to face Brisbane in the semi-finals, where Terrico White (24 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist), Bryce Cotton (19 points, 2 rebounds, and 10 assists), and Nicholas Kay (18 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 assists) led the team to a Game 1 win (89–59). Cameron Gliddon (18 points and 4 rebounds) finished as Brisbane’s top scorer. In Game 2 (84–79), Terrico White (24 points and 3 rebounds) led Perth in scoring, Bryce Cotton (19 points and 10 assists) recorded his first career double-double, and Kay (16 points and 15 rebounds) also made a solid contribution. Despite strong efforts from Lamar Patterson (19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) and Matthew Hodgson (15 points and 2 blocks), Brisbane couldn’t stop Perth from advancing to the Grand Final to face Melbourne.

Once into the Grand Final series, Perth faced reigning champions Melbourne United. In Game 1 of the Grand Final series (81-71), Perth secured a hard-fought victory despite Bryce Cotton (10 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists) being shut down offensively by Melbourne’s defense. The Wildcats’ win was powered by performances from Terrico White (19 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists) and Nicholas Kay (14 points and 7 rebounds), who continued to provide solid play in the paint. Melbourne’s offense was led by Casper Ware (19 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Chris Goulding (15 points and 2 assists).

Game 2 of the Grand Final series (92-74) saw Melbourne bounce back with a balanced offensive effort led by Casper Ware (14 points and 2 assists), Chris Goulding (14 points and 2 rebounds), DJ Kennedy (12 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists), and David Barlow (11 points and 4 rebounds), allowing United to even the series. Despite White’s (17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) best efforts, and strong performances from Bryce Cotton (19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists) and Nicholas Kay (13 points and 9 rebounds), Perth couldn’t keep pace as United proved too strong on the night.

The loss prompted coach Trevor Gleeson to make several adjustments, which led to Perth dominating Game 3 (95-67). Terrico White (31 points and 7 rebounds) and Bryce Cotton (27 points, 4 rebounds, and 10 assists) were unstoppable, combining for 58 points and nearly outscoring Melbourne by themselves, while Kay (11 points and 12 rebounds) continued to contribute valuable minutes. For Melbourne, DJ Kennedy (13 points and 10 rebounds) and David Barlow (13 points and 5 rebounds) were the only bright spots.

In the deciding Game 4 (97-84), Perth clinched the title with another strong showing from Bryce Cotton (28 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals) and Terrico White (20 points and 8 rebounds), with Kay (12 points and 8 rebounds) playing a key role in the victory. White’s performances in the Grand Final series were particularly noteworthy, where he scored 19, 17, 31, and 20 points in the four games. His ability to perform under pressure silenced critics who had doubted his impact during the regular season and solidified his status as a key player in the Wildcats’ championship run.

Terrico White, who had faced criticism earlier in the season, was named Grand Final MVP after averaging 21.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists over the four-game series.

2019/20
The Wildcats’ first move of the 2019 off-season was re-signing four-time championship-winning coach Trevor Gleeson (three-year deal) as well as five-time championship-winning duo Damian Martin and Jesse Wagstaff and import Terrico White. In total, six members of the championship-winning squad would return, with Wani Swaka Lo Buluk being elevated from development player to the full roster and replace the retiring Greg Hire. The team also added Dario Hunt and Majok Majok to replace exiting big men Tom Jervis and Angus Brandt (to Europe).

Perth started the season in dominant fashion (5–1), but by round 10, had taken a step backwards (8-5) following back-to-back losses. The Wildcats regrouped behind four straight wins and closed out December with a 13–6 record. In December, Damian Martin played his 300th game for the Wildcats, then suffered a left heel injury, which saw him miss the entire month of January. After losing back-to-back games to start 2020, Gleeson and the Wildcat’s decided to release Dario Hunt (8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) and replace him with seven-year NBA veteran Miles Plumlee (9.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks).

The addition of Plumlee gave Perth the inside presence they needed, showcased in a Perth win over New Zealand (80–79), when he recorded 23 points and 18 rebounds, becoming the first Wildcat to record 20+ points and 15+ rebounds in a game since 2007.

With seven games remaining and Plumlee required to play all seven to qualify for the postseason, the Wildcat’s won six of seven games to secure a 34th consecutive finals appearance with a second-place finish (19–9). Fresh off his World Cup experience playing for the Australian Boomers, Nick Kay (15 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.1 steals) delivered a breakout season alongside Bryce Cotton (22.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists) who etched himself into the history books, becoming the first import to lead the league in scoring three years in a row.

in the semifinals, Perth defeated Cairns (2–1) to advance to their 15th NBL Grand Final where thanks to a big games from Cotton (32 points) and Kay (14 points and 6 rebounds) they claimed game one (88–86) in front of 11,647 rabid Kings fans.

As the team’s prepared for game two in Perth, it was decided that the remaining games would all take place with no fans in the building. Without a single fan in the building, the Kings evened the series (1-1) thanks to Jae’Sean Tate (21 points) nailing seven of his nine shots and Andrew Bogut (24 points and 14 rebounds) having one of his best games of the season.

In game three of the grand final series against the Sydney Kings, Kay (30 points, 12 rebounds and 4 assists) delivered a career high scoring effort, including seven three-pointers alongside Cotton (31 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists) to propel Perth to a game three victory (111–96).

Prior to game four, the Sydney Kings chose to withdraw from the series due to uncertainties of the coronavirus and travel restrictions. With multiple Kings players based overseas, many were concerned the restrictions would prevent any return home. After a week spent deliberating, it was decided Perth would be awarded the championship due to holding a 2-1 lead at the time, securing their tenth title. After averaging 30.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists over the three games, Cotton was named Grand Final MVP for the second time in four years, becoming the first player in Wildcats history to be named league MVP, Grand Final MVP and win a championship all in the same season.

White would average 15.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists across 25 games.

Terrico White played two seasons the Perth Wildcats. He averaged 15.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 60 NBL games.

HIGHLIGHTS:

Dan Boyce (815 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.