Royce White

Royce Alexander White (born April 10, 1991) is an American political candidate, mixed martial artist, and former collegiate and professional basketball player.

White was born in 1991 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Kevin Tucker and Rebecca White.

He is of multiracial origin, with Mexican, Norwegian, Welsh, and African-American ancestry.

White went to DeLaSalle High School for his freshman, sophomore, and junior years.

He was a Class 3A MSHSL champion in 2006 with DeLaSalle High School as a freshman and a Class 4A MSHSL champion in 2009 with Hopkins High School as a senior, leading Hopkins to a perfect (31-0) record.

The team won a state championship in 2006.

Following his sophomore season, in which he led DeLaSalle to a 19–8 record, White participated in the 2007 LeBron James US Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio and The Nike Global Challenge at the University of Portland.

For his senior year, White attended Hopkins High School.

White was the 2009 Minnesota Mr. Basketball and a two-time Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) championship team member.

The team won the Class 4A MSHSL Championship in 2009, giving him his second state championship.

He was rated as the 2nd, 8th and 10th best high school power forward in the national class of 2009 by Rivals.com, ESPN.com and Scout.com, respectively.

He had dozens of collegiate scholarship offers.

White was one of 20 2009 Jordan Brand Classic All-Americans, was recognized by the St. Paul Pioneer Press as a First-Team All-State honoree, and was named the 2009 Minnesota Mr. Basketball.

White pleaded guilty to theft and disorderly conduct in connection with an October 13, 2009 incident at the Mall of America; he was accused of taking $100 worth of clothes and of fifth-degree assault, when he allegedly pushed a mall security officer to the ground twice, but he claimed the security officer was charging at him and he was defending himself.

He was suspended for the 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.

White was a suspect in a November laptop theft from a university dorm, but after three months of investigation, the University of Minnesota police department did not have enough evidence to charge him with theft.

He was formally charged with trespassing in January.

Hopkins finished 10th in the final USA Today national poll, with a 31–0 record.

White left the University of Minnesota in February 2010.

Despite his legal difficulties, White achieved better than a 3.0 grade point average in his first semester at Minnesota.

Because White did not officially depart Minnesota until the middle of his second semester, he was academically ineligible to receive a scholarship from any Division I school in 2010.

He transferred to Iowa State prior to using any of his athletic eligibility at Minnesota and applied to the NCAA for a waiver to be eligible to play during the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, but the NCAA denied his waiver.

White played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones basketball team, leading the 2011–12 Cyclones in every major statistical category.

At Iowa State, White was voted the 2011–12 Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year.

During the season, he won the Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week award three times.

White was selected by the Houston Rockets in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft.

White has a history of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) that is mainly triggered by a fear of flying.

His tenure with the Rockets organization was turbulent because of disagreements over mental health issues and travel.

White had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the 2012 Big 12 men's basketball tournament in Iowa State's loss to Texas.

In Iowa State's opening game of the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, White posted 15 points and 11 rebounds in a victory over Connecticut.

His season concluded with a 23-point, nine-rebound, four-assist, and three-steal performance in a loss to Kentucky.

White fouled out for the first time in his career in the game and ended the season with 11 double-doubles.

White finished the season as the team leader in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks, making him the only player in Division I basketball to lead his team in all five categories.

On March 4, 2012, White was named the unanimous Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and was recognized as a first-team All-Big 12 selection and a unanimous Big 12 All-Rookie Team selection by the Big 12 coaches.

In addition, he was selected as Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and was recognized as a First team All-Big 12 selection by both the Associated Press and the Kansas City Star.

While White did not play for the Rockets, he played in three games for the Sacramento Kings in 2014.

He has also played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the Reno Bighorns of the NBA G League.

From 2017 to 2019, White played for the London Lightning of the NBL Canada, winning an NBL Canada championship and an MVP award.

In 2022, White announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Minnesota's 5th congressional district.

According to the New York Post