Donald S. White (April 22, 1898 – July 12, 1983) was an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

player and coach. Raised in

Lebanon, Indiana Lebanon (/ˈlɛbnən/) is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Indiana, United States. The population was 15,792 at the 2010 census. Lebanon is located in central Indiana, approximately northwest of downtown Indianapolis and southe ...

, White was a standout basketball player at Lebanon High School and led them to consecutive state championships in 1917 and 1918. He attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

and played for their basketball and baseball teams. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

in 1920–21, White led the Western Conference (now known as the Big Ten Conference) in scoring and his

Boilermakers A boilermaker is a tradesperson who fabricates steel, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dep ...

to a conference championship. He was named first-team all-Western Conference and was also declared a consensus All-American by the

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...

. White became a head coach after his playing days. He served as head coach at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

, and

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

. He won or tied seven conference regular season championships throughout his career: three at Washington University, one at Connecticut, and three at Rutgers. White compiled an overall career record of 301–332. Internationally, White was chosen by the U.S. State Department to establish a basketball program in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. He was the national basketball team head coach in the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

, placing 15th out of 15 squads.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Donald 1898 births 1983 deaths All-American college men's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Thailand American men's basketball players American Olympic coaches Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Indiana Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana Guards (basketball) People from Lebanon, Indiana Purdue Boilermakers baseball players Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball players Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's basketball coaches UConn Huskies men's basketball coaches Washington University Bears men's basketball coaches