It took a little longer than he had hoped, but Battle Creek Central alum Brett White II is living his dream of playing Division I basketball.
A Bearcats star way back in 2016, White has been on a college basketball journey ever since, that has led him to be a key senior on the Oakland University team this year.
“It really just hit me, not too long ago. I’ve been here at Oakland for seven or eight months, but it didn’t really hit me until the MSU game. This is a dream come true. This is where I wanted to be from the start,” White said. “I may have taking a side track along the way, but to be on the big stage, playing major college basketball now, is a dream come true.”
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After his final season at BCC in 2016, White stepped away from basketball for a few years before returning in 2021 to play at Kellogg Community College. After two years of junior college, White became a standout all-conference player at Rochester Christian, a small Division I school. And now, in his last college stop, White has played in every game this season at Oakland University.
“This has been great. Everything has been positive since I got here. Nothing but support,” White said. “Playing at this level against major Division I teams, you get to see the best player you can be and that’s been a great experience.”
A highlight of the season so far for White was playing on national television against Michigan State University at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit over the holidays. White also has been able to face the University of Michigan, Purdue University and the University of Houston. All the white, he has become an important role player for 11-9 Oakland, averaging 8.6 points per game. He has come on strong recently, with double-digit scoring outputs in four of the last six games following a win over Green Bay on Sunday.
“You find out that the level of play is different. You have to be on every game. That’s the big difference,” White said.
Part of his comfort level at Oakland University is the fact that one of the assistant coaches on the staff is also a former Battle Creek Central Bearcat. Trey McDonald was one of the top players in the state in high school at BCC before playing four years for Ohio State University, becoming part of a Big Ten championship team. McDonald became a part of the Oakland coaching staff in 2024.
The two have had a connection that dates back to when McDonald was a BCC player and a volunteer coach in the summers at Claude Evans Park and White was at a youth camp.
White had lost touch with McDonald until his Rochester Christian team played Oakland University last year.
“I didn’t even know Trey was at Oakland. Then, when I saw him, it was a crazy feeling because really, he was my first basketball coach when I was a kid. I always looked up to him as someone who made it when he went on to play Division I ball,” White said. “Him being here at Oakland wasn’t a big factor in me coming here. But, knowing he is here and I can talk to him when I need to, it has helped me become more comfortable at this level. It has given me confidence.”
The next big dream for White is to help Oakland get to the NCAA tournament so he gets to experience March Madness at the highest level.
“I’m just leaving it out on the floor every game,” White said. “We want to make it to March Madness. We feel like this team is going to get to the tourney one way or an another. We have a great coach, some great guys and we can do it.”
Making it to the tourney would be a bonus, but getting this season at Oakland is how White hoped his college basketball journey would end.
“I feel like like I am going out the right way. This is exactly how God wanted it to be all along,” White said.
Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: BCC alum White playing at Oakland University is ‘a dream come true’
Reporting by Bill Broderick, Battle Creek Enquirer / Battle Creek Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
