Ralph Herbert White (born June 15, 1948) is a former basketball player during the 1970–71 season for the Atlanta Hawks. At 6'2" and 195 lbs., he played as a guard/forward. Born in Valdosta, Georgia, White attended Decatur High School in

Decatur, Georgia Decatur is a city in, and the county seat of, DeKalb County, Georgia, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. With a population of 24,928 in the 2020 census, the municipality is sometimes assumed to be larger since multiple ZIP Codes in ...

. He was voted the number one high school player in Georgia by the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' in his senior year at Decatur High School. He went to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and as a senior in 1969-70, the starting forward averaged 9.8 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the 13-12 Bulldogs. He was drafted in the eighth round (133rd overall) of the

1970 NBA draft The 1970 NBA draft was the 24th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on March 23, 1970, before the 1970–71 season. In this draft, 17 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball player ...

by the Atlanta Hawks. He played in 38 games, starting five, serving primarily as a backup to fellow rookie and future Hall-of-Famer Pete Maravich. He was also Maravich's roommate on the road. For the season, his only one in the NBA, he averaged 2.4 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. His most productive game came on December 29, 1970 as he scored 10 points against the Detroit Pistons. Known for his great leaping ability, White's nickname was "The Elevator from Decatur". He was cited by Hall-of-Famer Wilt Chamberlain as the greatest dunker he ever saw during pregame warmups. He once received a standing ovation from the Madison Square Garden crowd for his pre-game dunking show. White was drafted into the U.S. Army in March 1971. He later played professional basketball in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In 2013, White received the most nominations for the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution's'' list of the 10 greatest dunkers in Georgia high school history. White served as a Senior Account Representative for Georgia Public Broadcasting from 1991 to 2009. In 1993, he and producer Tom Vardase brought high school sports programming to GPB, securing funding for the initial season of ''Prep Sports +'', which went on to become the longest-running high school sports show in the country. In 1997, they negotiated the rights to the Georgia state high school football semifinals and finals, GPB's high school sports programming has expanded to include the boys and girls basketball championships and the wrestling and cheerleading championships. White has raised over $4 million in corporate funding for high school sports on GPB. White resides in Mexico with his wife, Wanda.https://www.facebook.com/wanda.h.white

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:White, Herb 1948 births Living people Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Bulldogs basketball players People from Valdosta, Georgia Point guards American men's basketball players