Get to Know Rodney White

Each day of training camp Nuggets.com’s Jonathan Goldstein well help you get to know one of the Nuggets. Be sure to check back each day for a new player interview.

Today, get to know….
Nuggets forward Rodney White

The 6-9, 230-pound White was acquired from Detroit in exchange for Don Reid and Mengke Bateer and a conditional first-round pick (from Milwaukee) on Tuesday. The ninth overall pick in the 2001 NBA Draft, White appeared in only 16 games as a rookie with the Pistons, averaging 3.5 points and 1.1 rebounds in 8.1 minutes. He played only one year of college ball, leading UNC-Charlotte to a Conference USA championship and becoming the first freshman in league history to be named C-USA Tournament MVP. The trade to Denver is a homecoming of sorts as White played one year of high school ball at George Washington in Denver, the same school that produced former Nugget Chauncey Billups.

JG: “You are from Philadelphia but moved around a lot. What team did you root for as a kid?”
Rodney White: “The Chicago Bulls, because of Jordan. He was my favorite.”

JG:“Who has the best arena you’ve been to?”
White: “Dallas Mavericks.”

JG: “What about the worst?”
White: “Milwaukee I think. Yeah, Milwaukee.”
JG: ”The Bradley Center? I think it’s fairly old (opened in 1988).”
White: "Yeah, they put us in like a little high-school locker room or something like that.”

JG: “What about the best uniforms in the league?”
White: “Oh, man. Umm, probably the…I like the Pistons uniforms.”
JG: “The retro ones they went to last year?”
White: “Yeah, the red, white and blue ones. Dallas has a pretty nice uniform. You know there are a lot of teams out there – we had this talk (in Detroit) last year – that have pretty nice uniforms.

JG: “Who has the worst?”
White: “There are some pretty ugly ones out there too. Let me think. Who has an ugly one? Cleveland was ugly. They may have the worst. I think Utah’s is pretty ugly too.”

JG: “You’re wearing No. 7 here. Did you wear No. 7 in Detroit or is that just what they have left?”
White: “I was No. 5 (in Detroit). I just felt like this was my lucky year so I went with No. 7, since that was available. I’ll get No. 5 back as soon as I can. We’ve just got to get Juwan (Howard, No. 5) something else.”

JG: “What was your most memorable game, college or pro?”
White: “My most memorable college game was probably the conference championship.”
JG: “When you beat Cincinnati?”
White: “Yeah, when we beat Cincinnati. The arena, everything, was hype. Me and Kenny (Satterfield) were going at it. It was the most fun game.”
White’s third-seeded Charlotte 49ers upset Satterfield’s top-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats in the 2001 Conference USA Tournament Championship 80-72 at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky. White was named Tournament MVP.

JG: “Who is your closest friend in the NBA aside from your teammates?”
White: “I got a couple guys that I’m pretty cool with. Me and Jamaal Tinsley (Indiana Pacers) are pretty close. Me and Kenny, we go back to high school, so it’s kinda cool that I got to come out here and play with him.”
JG: “Did you go to high school together?”
White: “AAU. We played AAU together.
JG: “What’s the connection with Tinsley?”
White: “Right before the (2001 NBA) Draft we stayed together and we just got pretty close and stuff.”

JG: “Would you rather block someone’s shot or dunk on him?”
White: “Definitely the dunk. Dunk on somebody.”

JG: “What is your favorite movie?”
White: “Probably ‘The Mack’ or ‘Blow.’”

JG: “If they made a movie about your life, who would play you?”
White: “Johnny Bravo.”

JG: “What is the best CD ever made?”
White: “‘Reasonable Doubt’ by Jay-Z.”
JG: “I talked to Kenny Satterfield yesterday and that’s the same thing he said.”

JG: “What did your mom call you as a kid? Any nicknames around the neighborhood?”
White: “My mom just called my Rod, but all my friends called me ‘Wink.’”
JG: “Why ‘Wink?’”
White: “Because my contacts (lenses) used to mess up and I’d blink my eyes. So that’s my nickname now, ‘Wink.’”

JG: “Do you have any pets?”
White: “No. (Laughing) I had a dog for about a month, but I had to leave him at the dog school.”

JG: “You have an early Super Bowl prediction?
White: “I’m going with the Eagles.”
JG: “You a big Eagles fan? Donovan McNabb?”
White: “Yeah. Yeah, I like the Eagles. I like the Broncos and I’m going with, I like New England too.”

JG: “And finally, function over fashion or fashion over function?”
White: “Oh fashion all day long. I mean that’s my thing man. I make sure my stuff is always together, my clothes and everything. I’m real big on my fashion.”

Be sure to check back each day during training camp for another player on “Get to Know Your Nuggets.” You can e-mail your questions and comments to Jonathan Goldstein at NuggetsPR@hotmail.com