Auburn Mountainview tabs former Lakes assistant White as new boys basketball coach
Kendall White needs no introduction to the North Puget Sound League. A 2013 graduate of Kentwood High School, White played point guard for the Conks all four years of high school.
After spending the past three years coaching the junior varsity team at Lakes High School, White will be returning closer to home, taking over as the new head boys basketball coach at Auburn Mountainview High School.
“With the Mountainview job, I always felt like I was a part of that community,” White said. “It’s very close to home, I still live in the area. It’s a place of familiarity. I actually worked with an AAU program when this class’ sophomores would’ve been in sixth grade. I know a lot of the kids already, have trained a lot of those kids.”
White, who attended Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, works as a college and career specialist at Kentwood High School. As a basketball coach, he tries to mirror his full-time job, creating avenues for kids to find success.
“Just building relationships fast,” White said. “With Lakes, we had a lot of turnovers since it’s a large military community. Adapting to new kids coming in and out, building trust, overcoming adversity. … Just putting kids first, not focused so much on the basketball aspect.”
On the court, White wants his teams to be play fast and work relentlessly on the defensive end.
“We want a very uptempo style of play,” he said. “Being very devoted to defense, hard nosed, hopefully one of the toughest teams in the league on that end. We focus a lot on player development, so kids play without fear of messing up on offense. Hopefully a very fun style of play to watch. We don’t have the biggest roster, so, picking up the pace and maximizing our possessions.”
In a league that features state powers Federal Way and Auburn, Auburn Mountainview will have its work cut out to be a competitor.
“It’s just going to take the kids buying into my vision, seeing that it’s about how you show up on that night and you’ve got a chance,” White said. “There’s a lot of heavy hitters in that league. Even when I was playing, it’s hard to mentally prepare for teams that are always good. Give everything you’ve got for 32 minutes and you’ve got a chance.”
White, 25, said he’s excited for the challenge that lies ahead and hopes to make Auburn Mountainview a perennial contender in the NPSL.
“I’m just excited to create something special here,” he said. “When you think of basketball, you don’t really think of Mountainview. I hope to build something where kids are excited, and Mountainview becomes synonymous with good basketball. We want to create an exciting culture.”
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
