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Former Florida State star Okaro White has been nothing but a great example of FSU basketball’s culture and identity.
White spent four years in Tallahassee, starting on two NCAA tournament teams. He had a career senior season averaging 13.6 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game, ultimately declaring for the 2014 NBA draft.
After earning opportunities overseas and in the NBA’s Summer League, White finally got his chance in 2017 with a depleted Miami Heat squad. The Heat started the season with an 11-30 record and went on a 13 game win streak after the signing of White in January.
He was a perfect fit to an organization that preaches hard nosed defense and 48 minutes of nonstop energy. White mentioned that Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra had very similar coaching styles, being notorious for breeding resilient, gritty athletes.
White bounced around the NBA landscape, playing for four teams in two years. In 2020 he returned to the EuroLeague to play for Unics Kazan, and now competes for Panathinaikos in Athens, Greece.
The Brooklyn native is widely considered one of the best players in FSU basketball history and continues to show the versatility and leadership that Hamilton advocated.