He wasn't easy to get to know. In fact, it took almost two years of relentless kidding before Michael White started to warm up.
When White stepped foot on the Ole Miss campus, he was surrounded by guys who would become his lifelong friends. Keith Carter, Hunter Carpenter, Jason Smith and Anthony Boone, all guys from Arkansas.
As the point guard, White grew to be the heart and soul of a team recruited by head coach Rob Evans and assistant Russ Pennell -- who is now the head coach at the University of Central Arkansas -- and one of the toughest guys to play against.
He never confirmed nor denied that his real baptism in SEC basketball started on Valentine's night at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. It was his freshman season, and he was bringing the ball up court when suddenly Kareem Reid took the ball and was on his way for an easy layup. A pain in White's groin kept him from chasing Reid, and White didn't know whether he was hit there on purpose or not, but it was the only steal Reid ever had against White.
So White will be ready tonight when the Razorbacks visit the cramped and very hostile O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.
The Florida Gators could be reeling a little bit after losing to Kentucky 76-66 on Saturday, and the Razorbacks appear to be one of the hottest teams in the SEC right now, but White will be ready.
The second-year Florida coach has a white-collar background with a blue-collar work ethic.
From the start, White wanted to make it on his own. While some just figured his dad would jump-start his coaching career, White wanted none of that.
Maybe the acorn didn't fall far from the tree. Kevin White started out as a high school coach but continued his education and got his doctorate in 1983 and has done postdoctoral work at Harvard while serving as athletic director at Loras College. He moved to the University of Maine, then Tulane, and continued to move up the career ladder by going to Arizona. He then spent eight years as Notre Dame's athletic director before going to Duke, where he is still the AD.
After college, Michael spent a year playing basketball overseas. While his dad was AD at Arizona and Notre Dame, Michael was an assistant coach at Jacksonville State for four years. In 2004, he was hired by Rod Barnes to return to Ole Miss as an assistant. When Barnes was fired three years later, Andy Kennedy retained him on staff.
In 2011, White got the head coaching job at Louisiana Tech, where he went 101-40 and won three conference championships. It was at Tech where he heavily recruited current Hog Dusty Hannahs.
His work at Louisiana Tech landed him the job of replacing Billy Donovan at Florida.
White paid a lot of dues for someone who came from athletic royalty, but those who know him aren't surprised he wanted to do it on his own.
Something of an introvert, White handles the spotlight while protecting his privacy with a passion. He and his wife have five children, but rarely are they pulled into the limelight.
The story has been told among his friends that when White came to Oxford for Carpenter's wedding, he brought a pup tent. He wasn't making a lot of money in those days, and he didn't want to put anyone out by asking whether they had a spare bedroom for a wedding that attracted hundreds.
No one was surprised. It was at the reception when White was asked for about the 10th time whether he thought Reid had hit him in the groin on purpose.
He smiled, but someone else said: "Maybe a better question would be, 'Did I get even?' "
No doubt Michael White will be ready for the hot Hogs tonight, and he'll get the attention of his 23-6 Gators if need be.
Sports on 03/01/2017