Matt White: A Penn basketball retrospective

Former Penn basketball player Matt White C'79, WG '83 was stabbed to death at his Delaware County home Monday night. Our immediate coverage of White's death can be found here and his teammates' reactions to his death can be found here.

In light of his passing, it's worth reviewing what he contributed to Penn during some of its gloriest days. White averaged 8.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest in 85 games for the Quakers from 1976-79. During Penn's 1978-79 Final Four run, White shot a stellar 63.3 percent from the field and averaged 11.7 points and 7.5 boards per game. At 6-foot-11, he was a fixture inside for the Quakers. White remains Penn's all-time leader in field goal percentage for players with a minimum of 200 made baskets, shooting 59.1 percent from the field from 1976-1979.

In Penn's Final Four matchup with the Magic Johnson-led Michigan State Spartans on Mar. 22, 1979, White posted 13 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field, also adding 11 rebounds.

White was a fifth-round pick (100th overall) in the 1979 NBA Draft for the Portland Trailblazers before playing 12 years of basketball in Spain. White also helped late '90s Penn great Michael Jordan get a roster spot with Etosa Murcia, a team in the Spanish second division, after Jordan graduated in 2000.