Stilman White returns to Elite Eight for first time since 2012 NCAA Tournament run

PHILADELPHIA — As reporters filed into the North Carolina locker room on Saturday, Stilman White sat in the inside corner, a black hoodie covering his face as he scrolled through his phone.

The junior guard could be easily overlooked. But about four years ago, White couldn’t go unnoticed during the Tar Heels’ NCAA Tournament run.

After Kendall Marshall broke his wrist in a second-round win over Creighton, White transitioned from a rarely used reserve to UNC’s starting point guard in the Sweet 16 and the Elite Eight.

Now he’s 23, the oldest member of the team, and the Tar Heels are back in the Elite Eight for the first time since he led them there in 2012.

“It’s pretty special,” he said. “I’ve been lucky enough to where I’ve been here three years and twice I’ve been able to make runs into the tournament. Even my second year, we made a pretty deep run.

“But to get this far and have an opportunity to go to the Final Four is pretty sweet.”

Four years ago, that opportunity slipped through the Tar Heels’ grasp.

In his first season in Chapel Hill, White hadn't played more than 11 minutes in a game and had started zero times before the Sweet 16 contest against Ohio. But in UNC’s 73-65 overtime win over the Bobcats, White recorded six assists and zero turnovers in 32 minutes of playing time.

The Tar Heels’ victory set up a meeting between North Carolina and Kansas in the Elite Eight, where the winner would advance to the Final Four.

White almost replicated his Sweet 16 performance against the Jayhawks, finishing with seven assists and zero turnovers in 28 minutes. But his effort wasn’t enough in an 80-67 season-ending loss.

“I told him the biggest thing to do was don't hurt us,” said Coach Roy Williams of White. “But the fact of the matter is if you're playing an elite team like Kansas to go to the Final Four, just going in the game and not hurting your team is not enough, because the difference between winning and losing is so small.”

Shortly after his start against the Jayhawks, White began an 18-month Mormon mission in Utah before returning to UNC for the 2014-15 campaign. While he was away, several people came up to him and asked about his role in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Ahead of North Carolina’s Elite Eight matchup with Notre Dame on Sunday, White is now being asked about playing on the same stage as he did four years ago — when the burden fell on him to produce after Marshall’s injury.

“If we could have won that game (against Kansas),” Williams said, “That could have been truly one of the great stories.”

White is the only player on UNC’s roster who has reached the Elite Eight before. But his experience has been met by his teammates' teasing, none more so than from Marcus Paige.

“I call him the old guy on the team, because I’m pretty old, but he’s like a full year older than me,” Paige said. “That’s my one chance to feel a little bit youthful on the team, so I go at him a lot.”

Back in the North Carolina locker room on Saturday, White was once again being asked about his performance in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

But despite all of the questions, it’s still not a moment he’s grown tired of talking about.

“It’s not a bad thing to be known about getting to play in big games like that,” he said. “I’m just glad everyone on this team is getting to experience that and hopefully will get to experience more this year.”

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