New Orleans guard James White enters NCAA transfer portal

New Orleans guard James White has entered the NCAA transfer portal, per On3’s Jamie Shaw. White began his career at Ole Miss.

White has spent four seasons at the collegiate level, playing two years with the Rebels from 2021-2023 before transferring to UAB for the 2023-24 college basketball season. However, he exploded onto the scene after re-entering the portal and transferring to New Orleans last offseason.

He averaged 19.2 points per game along with seven rebounds and 1.9 assists. For comparison, his career average during his first three years at the collegiate level saw him average 3.2 points while at Ole Miss and UAB.

In total, White appeared in 20 games for the Privateers and failed to score in double figures on just one occasion — a 31-point loss to Baylor in which he scored nine points. In the game before, he logged a career-high 31 points in a 93-87 overtime win against Tulane.

James played his final game at New Orleans after a loss to Incarnate Word on Jan. 27 as White, along with teammates Jah Short, Dae Dae Hunter and Jamond Vincent, would be suspended by the program for what the school described as breaking team rules. CBB insider Jeff Goodman reported that the suspensions were in connection with alleged gambling investigation by the school and NCAA.

New Orleans was 4-17 overall at the time those four players were suspended. The Privateers went on to lose the final 10 games left on their schedule after that.

Before originally committing to play for Ole Miss, James was being recruited by the likes of Alabama, Creighton, Georgia Tech and Arkansas, among others. He was unranked in the 2021 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

White enters the transfer portal with one year of eligbility left to play college basketball. He will be transferring to his fourth program in five seasons, and fourth in four years.

As of Wednesday, March 26, over 1,250 Men’s College Basketball players have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. That number is expected to grow as the 2024-25 college basketball season nears its end.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.