Houston Rockets rookie and first-round draft pick Royce White is a dynamic player, but brings a unique set of issues when it comes to getting on the court.
White has spoken at great lengths in public about his battles with anxiety over the years and that has created a situation for the Houston Rockets that they most likely have never dealt with before. The small forward missed the start of training camp and has made a request to the team to travel to some games by bus this year due to his fear of flying.
White spoke to ESPN.com on Wednesday about working with the team to figure out a plan for him for the upcoming season.
"What it's going to look like is every game that's drivable, I'm going to get a bus for myself," White said. "And I'm going to make that bus feel like home so that there's a level of consistency in a job where inconsistency is very apparent because of the schedule. I'm going to try and level that out and make sure that my stress levels stay low and that my rest is regular and that my meals are regular and that, as much as I can, draw consistency from a very inconsistent schedule. ...People with mental illness, one of the most important things is that they have that consistency and routine. The girth of [my request] was, 'Can I travel by bus to close enough games?'"
The small forward missed the team's training camp and took to Twitter to explain.
"Anxiety isn't keeping me from camp," White wrote, "taking a Proactive approach to my mental illness instead of reactive is.(hash)StayingAheadOfMyDisorder."
The former Iowa State star reached an agreement with the team to travel by bus for some games that is pending league approval, according to KRIV-TV.
After being drafted with the 16th pick in the draft, White spoke with the media in June about some of his anxiety issues.
"Here's how it goes," White said. "I'm scared (going) to the airport, I'm scared going up, I'm uncomfortable in the air and I feel like a million bucks when we hit the runway."
White has dealt with anxiety for years and many thought that his issues would cause him to get picked lower in the first round or later in the second round of the draft. The Rockets took a chance on White, seeing a good deal of potential in the forward who averaged 13 points, five assists and nine rebounds in his one year at Iowa State.
Throughout his college career White has dealt with trouble off the court.
Apart from his anxiety, White was originally enrolled at Minnesota before being suspended for the 2009-10 season and later transferring due to legal issues. He pleaded guilty to theft and disorderly conduct for his role in an incident at the Mall of America and later was allegedly involved in a laptop theft at the school.
After leaving Minnesota he was expected to transfer to Kentucky, but missed his trip to visit the team after having a panic attack. He then transferred to Iowa State, where he was well behaved off the court and stellar on the court.
White was named first team All-Big 12, a unanimous pick to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team and was the only player in the country to lead his team in the five main categories. He topped Iowa State in points (13.4), rebounding (9.3), assists (5.0), steals (1.1) and blocks (0.9).
"There is nothing but very positive strides being taken right now between I and the Houston Rockets to support health," White wrote on Twitter. "This innovative plan is being well thought out by both parties, when it's done I think an executable plan will be there...A Healthy plan."
Taking a bus instead of flying is not something new in the sports world, but it is on this scale. Commentator John Madden was known to take his bus to broadcast football games, as was Tony Kornheiser when he was doing Monday Night Football. But the difference in those cases was that they two were not playing in those games and that football was only played once a week, allowing time for travelling.
White obviously will have to take team flights to games that are too far to drive, but it is respectful of the organization to work with White on his issues rather than take a hard-line approach to his problems with anxiety.
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