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Rockets Head Coach Kevin McHale Doesn't Care About Royce White's Position

Kevin McHale isn't worried about putting a positional label on Royce White.

July 18, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Houston Rockets forward Royce White (30) during the first half of the game against the Chicago Bulls at Cox Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE
July 18, 2012; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Houston Rockets forward Royce White (30) during the first half of the game against the Chicago Bulls at Cox Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Houston Rockets rookie Royce White is listed at 6'8 and said in a recent interview that he'd like to get back to his college playing weight of 272 pounds. This makes him sound like a power forward, but he played all over the floor at Iowa State and his biggest strengths are his court vision and passing ability, leaving people unsure of what to label him.

Houston head coach Kevin McHale isn't concerned about positions with White, at least when it comes to offense, via Rockets.com's Jason Friedman:

KM: Who can he guard? That's the big thing. I don't care what he does offensively. Offensively he's going to make plays. You can say, ‘Royce, play point guard,' or ‘Royce, play center,' and I think he'll play the same way. He's got a skill set and he's going to play to that skill set.

He's unique: He can handle the ball, he can make passes, he can make plays. He's going to have to take care of the ball a little bit more and understand that the holes in the NBA are all smaller and what was a good pass in college is no longer a good pass in the NBA because guys' arms are longer, they're quicker to the ball and they're smarter. So it doesn't matter really if you play Royce at the point guard, off guard, whatever - he's going to play the same way. So now we've just got to figure out how we can get him the ball in those situations and be effective.
...
But as I said, I don't care what position you say he is, he's going to play the same style. You're not going to label him a two-guard and all of a sudden he's going to be a three-point shooter - I don't think that's going to happen. He's going to do the same thing no matter what he does. He's an offensive guy who plays with thrust, puts the ball on the floor, finds people, draws two defenders and finds the open man.

If White can do things like this and this at the next level, then perhaps his position won't matter.

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