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Fresno State landed a huge pickup for their 2016 recruiting class as they went across the Pacific Ocean to land four-star guard out of Australia in point guard William McDowell-White.
William McDowell-White is a big time pickup for #FresnoState. High major PG prospect with high basketball IQ who can really pass.
— Josh Gershon (@JoshGershon) April 21, 2016
To say this is a huge get for Fresno State is an understatement as they have not been a recruiting power house in the Mountain West. They are currently seventh prior in the conference prior to this addition and McDowell-White is the third committed for this class.
He had offers from Texas A&M, Arizona State and Michigan State, but ultimately chose Fresno State.
DraftExpress has a good breakdown of the future Bulldog.
Top-shelf college prospect. Seems to be making significant strides with his basketball IQ and skill-level. Started off slow but was extremely impressive in the last two days of the camp. Size and passing ability gives him a chance to emerge as an interesting prospect down the road.
McDowell recently participated in the Nike Hoops Summit in Portland but he did not have the best of showings against similar competition. He scored only five points with a pair of assists and turned the ball over six times in just 25 minutes.
This practices for this hoops summit can sometimes be more valuable than the game, but he did not have the best showing there in some areas. In another scouting report from DraftExpress, they commented on how he struggled against the American guards, but there were positives of the way he see's the court and gets the ball to his team mates.
He proved to be a willing distributor in practices, moving the ball utilizing his excellent size and strong court vision. He had a difficult time with the speed and length of the US guards, though, particularly when pressed or trapped, being forced to turn his back to his opponent frequently to avoid having the ball ripped away. While he shows potential as a passer, McDowell-White is still learning the nuances of the point guard position (which he readily himself admits), and he looked overwhelmed at times with the level of competition he faced in the game.
Seems while most are high on McDowell-White's basketball knowledge he will need to adjust his game some to what he will be seeing in the United States compared to the competition he has been facing in Australia.
If that potential comes to fruition then the Bulldogs have just landed a player who could be their best player for years to come.
Check out his highlight tape: