GROWING up he dreamed of being a King but, 199 games into his NBL career, Kevin White is a Hawk through and through.
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He’ll play game number 200 against Brisbane on Monday, though it’s understandably been pushed to background as he prepares to become father.
Partner Rachel was due to give birth on Friday and their first child could arrive any time before tip-off on New Year’s Eve.
“The due date’s today [Friday] so it could come any time now,” White said.
“As many people know it can can take an extended period of time, we’ll just wait and see.
“Hopefully I get to play the 200th on the 31st but we’ll just wait for that time and play the waiting game.”
It’s left little time to reflect on the milestone, but the 31-year-old admits there were times in his early career he thought he’d reached the end of the road.
“I guess everyone goes through adversity and everyone has things happen during their careers where you’re not really sure where it’s going to go,” he said.
“Early on I just wanted to prove people wrong and as I got my foot in the door with Sydney I felt pretty good.
“Then you go through that down phase when you’re told you’re not going to get a gig and you don’t really know what’s going on.
“Obviously Illawarra popped up as an opportunity with Bevo coming here. When I first signed here it was only [for] one year and now it’s been four.
“I love it here, it’s home and to be playing 200 games, over a hundred of them for this club, is something really special.”
White was quick to win over the Hawks faithful with his hard-nosed style and he says the club and it’s blue-collar ethos proved the perfect fit from day one.
“Growing up I probably should’ve followed the Hawks more than the Kings knowing the culture of this club and community like I do now,” he said.
“Sydney was home for me and growing up always watching the Kings and seeing that rivalry I wanted to play for the Kings.
“What I went through there wasn’t ideal and it wasn’t the person I was or wanted to be when I was there.
“When those things happened and I ended up down here I thought ‘this is how it’s meant to be and this is where I’m supposed to play’.
“Coming down here I couldn’t be happier with the way this club has set me up to play 200 games.”
His milestone will come in a crucial match for the Hawks, with the Bullets sitting one win ahead of them in a tightly clustered pack of top-four hopefuls.
“We’ve got to take care of our own business,” White said.
“In the past you’ve been able to rely on teams like Perth and Melbourne winning games.
“Right now the teams in our position, New Zealand, Adelaide, Brisbane are getting wins.
“If we want to be serious about making that top four we’ve got to knock off those teams that are sitting one or two [wins] ahead of us so this is a must win.”