The Charlotte 49er's new women's head basketball coach Tomekia Reed is bringing some reinforcements from her former school, Jackson State. Reed landed Daphane White, a 6-foot-5 center who averaged 8.6 points and 4.4 rebounds for the Lady Tigers. She posted the news on her Instagram page. 

 

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White becomes the second player Reed has recruited to Charlotte after she convinced Texas A&M guard Kay Kay Green to join her squad. White was a former five-star high school recruit coming out of Mississippi. ESPN ranked her as the 45th best player in the nation as she averaged 25.8 points, 14.7 rebounds, and 5.7 blocks, earning recognition on the First Team All-State in the Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

She went to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and continued her success. White showed up in all 24 contests in the 2019-20 season and averaged a double-double of 15.7 points and 11.0 rebounds. She earned NJCAA All-Second Team honors, becoming the eighth All-American in Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College history.

From there, White made her first leap into the NCAA foray. She committed to the University of Houston, though she struggled to find the same success she enjoyed in high school and at MGCC. White played in 10 games and started in one. She averaged 4.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and shot 51.5% from the floor in about 12 minutes per game. The following season, she decided to return to Mississippi and played for Tomekia Reed's Jackson State Lady Tigers. 

White excelled when she returned to her home state. She started 14 of 31 games for the Lady Tigers in the 2022-23 season, putting up 10.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks. After a somewhat dull start to the season, the Mississippi product came on strong around the middle of January. She scored 10 points or more 13 times for the rest of the year after not getting past nine points before Jan. 16. In her best game, she put up 26 points and 11 rebounds in an 85-63 win over Mississippi Valley State. She followed that game with a 16-point, 10-rebound performance in another dominant victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Coming into the 2023-24 season, White expected to continue her upward ascent. Before the season started, White made the Preseason All-SWAC Second Team. She scored 10 or more points in four of the nine games she played, including a 20-point outing in the first game of the year and a 16-point, 8-rebound performance in a win over St. John's. Unfortunately, White's season ended prematurely due to injury.

“So I tore my acl,” White wrote in an Instagram post. “Im completely devastated. I honestly didn't know how to come on here & let my fans know. thank you to [everyone] who have checked on me & even helped after that game. I'm doing everything in my power to get back. LOVE YOU GUYS.”

Despite coming off that major injury, Reed still has loads of faith in her former starting center. Before landing White, she spoke about her philosophy on recruiting and roster construction.

“I do not create roles,” Reed said. “The players create the roles themselves. So just getting the chemistry early is really important, and we'll have time in the summer to do that and just putting pieces around the current team to help us be successful. Really good foundation. The programs I've taken over have been programs at the bottom, and this is not a program at the bottom.”