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White nearly went to Kentucky, not Iowa State

Sports

March 16th, 2012 by Ric Hanson

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Royce White nearly ended up at Kentucky. If he had, Iowa State wouldn’t have gotten this far in the NCAA tournament. White is the main reason the Cyclones (23-10) have advanced to third round. He leads Iowa State in scoring, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals. He and Iowa State will try to beat the top-seeded Wildcats (33-2) on Saturday — just over two years after White planned to become one of them. He was out of basketball and looking for a place to play. White initially signed at Minnesota, but never played for the Golden Gophers after a string of legal issues. Coach John Calipari wanted him at Kentucky. But White’s fear of flying and the upcoming birth of his first child kept him closer to his family in Minneapolis.