Stilman White on a different kind of mission this year

Stilman White enters the 2015-16 season as an academic junior, but the 6-foot-1 guard from Wilmington is the oldest member of the North Carolina men’s basketball team.

The 23-year-old completed his two-year Mormon mission after his first year at UNC in 2011-12. This season will mark White’s second year back from the mission, and he looks to be more adjusted than he was a season ago.

“Everyone has different time tables on how quickly it takes them to get back,” said White regarding players returning from a mission. “It took me a little longer.”

White, who will be fighting for playing time in a competitive Tar Heels’ backcourt, said he uses his mission as motivation to stay positive.

“No matter what happens here, I can always tell myself that I’ve been through tougher,” he said.

“Knocking on doors all day and getting rejected by everyone, people saying nasty stuff to me — it toughens you up. It gives me self-confidence in myself that if I can go through that mission for two years, then I can go through anything.”

White played sporadically during the 2014-15 season, when he saw just 23 minutes in nine games and amassed only three assists.

The guard missed eight games in the middle of the season due to a stress reaction in his right foot.

The team White joined in 2011 as a first-year is vastly different than the group he plays with now.

He delayed his mission for a year because Coach Roy Williams needed another guard for his team — but with a handful of quality guards on this year’s squad, it might prove difficult for White to find minutes.

But one thing that has remained consistent for White is the quality of his game. The junior believes his teammates’ work in practice helped him pick up right where he left off when he returned to the team a year ago.

“We have a lot of great guys on the team, so it’s not hard to integrate back,” White said.

One way the junior could benefit the Tar Heels this season is as an experienced veteran. White is one year older than the senior Tar Heel players and could help his younger teammates mature quickly, a skill he picked up in his time away from the team.

“My mission did nothing but help me — it made me a more mature person ...” White said. “It made me smarter on the basketball court.”

A full season is unpredictable, and no team knows when the injury bug will strike. For that exact reason, having a player like White — who aided an injury-riddled UNC squad in an Elite Eight game against Kansas in 2012 — could be beneficial for the Tar Heels.

@Evan_Chronis

sports@dailytarheel.com