Illawarra Hawks: White embracing role as jack of all trades

White arrived in Wollongong with a reputation as a sharpshooter having connected at above 40 per cent from long-range in his junior year with Stanford Cardinals.

Little wonder Goorjian wants the 22-year-old to let them fly, but it's contributions across the floor that have stood out in the Hawks 3-0 start to the season.

His five second-quarter points, including a crucial three on the halftime-buzzer, were key to the Hawks comeback win over the Bullets last Thursday, while he pulled down six rebounds in his side's impressive win over Cairns.

It's the type of contribution, from top to bottom of the roster, that Goorjian has lauded after each victory, with White saying he's simply determined to make every minute on the floor count.

"It's just reading the game and seeing where I can slot in and make an impact," White said.

"I know I'm going to be a role-player, at least for now, so there's never any excuse to save any energy for later. I just go out and do everything I can to have an impact.

"Each game so far's been a different story. Against Cairns I was matched on a smaller guard in [Scott] Machado and felt there was an opportunity to go and attack the glass so I went and did that.

"One game it might be shooting threes, one game it might be rebounding, one game it might be defending, I'm just going to be prepared to have an open mindset and attack it any way I can.

"I obviously have aspirations to have a much broader role in years to come but I'm an experienced player now and throughout my college career I learned how to adapt to different roles, so it's nothing new for me."

The South Australian product spent a stellar three years with the Cardinals and had decided to switch to California Baptist University before deciding to head home and turn pro.

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Playing under Goorjian proved the clincher in that decision, though there were no promises as to how big or small a role he would play.

"When I signed there wasn't a complete roster or anything like that so I couldn't really predict what my role would be or where I'd slot in," White said.

"I just had a lot of trust Goorj and the players they had at the club already. I trusted the process in a sense and figured that it would work itself out.

"We've never really drawn up a game plan or exactly what my role's going to look like, he's just put me in positions in practice so that I feel prepared and confident, when I have to step into the game, that I'm ready to make an impact for the team.

"He's always telling me 'you're the best shooter in the league' so naturally that's going to make me want to shoot the ball when I can."

White's has been one of many important second-unit contributions in three straight victories, two of the three without stars Cam Bairstow and Deng Adel. It' surprised more than a few observersm but certainly not the Hawks squad.

"It's definitely not a surprise but we didn't really have any expectations coming in," White said.

"We kind of had a clean slate and a new group so there wasn't any sort of pressure or expectation to win any particular game. I think there's certainly and in-built confidence and self-belief in our group.

"We really believe in what our culture's about and the players we have. We've never underestimated our opponents, but in each game individually, we knew we could handle business and fortunately we have.

"It also speaks to the depth we have as a group. We've had a few injuries with some key guys in Bairstow and Deng Adel early but we've had that next-man-up mentality and people have always been able to step up and fill that void."

It will need to continue, with Bairstow out of Thursday's clash with Cairns and Adel likely to be on minutes restrictions should he return. The Taipans are looking to right the ship after a 1-3 start, all on their home floor.

It's included a 16-point pasting at the hands of the Hawks in their last meeting for which they'll be desperate to atone.

"They'll want revenge, they've had a few tough losses of late, but we certainly don't underestimate the firepower they have," White said.

"They've got some absolute guns and some really proven imports so we're going to be prepared for the punches they throw. Like we always do, we're just going to focus on us and our preparation's been really good.

"We know if we handle business on our side of the floor then it should all work out for us."