Mike White causes problems at Adidas

[Hoopsking]

Mike White of Adidas upset a lot of fans, college coaches, etc.

I was sitting at the gym along with over 50 college coaches awaiting Apache Paschalls Exodus NYC to come in and play a game against the South Carolina 76's. Exodus, who had just finished winning the EOT in Portland. Exodus had some flight delays, etc. and came into Suawanni Sports Complex 5-minutes late. 76's were ready to play and Exodus was changing into their shoes, etc. One of the directors advised that the game was a forfiet pursuant to Mike White's direction.

Though he won't say it, Mike White was upset that Exodus traveled to Portland and was intent on punishing them for showing up late. After a heated exchange, Exodus played the game that they won and then pulled out of the Adidas Showtime event, electing to go to a local Nike tournament in Atlanta.

I s/w several coaches who made it a point to see Exodus in the showtime tournament. They totally disagreed with Mike White's thoughts Exodus honored it's committment to play at the Adidas Tournament of Champions.

While other teams were given a pass on their lateness, Mike White was not about to give any of the Exodus teams a pass.

[BrooklynSaints]

Mike White of Adidas upset a lot of fans, college coaches, etc.

I was sitting at the gym along with over 50 college coaches awaiting Apache Paschalls Exodus NYC to come in and play a game against the South Carolina 76's. Exodus, who had just finished winning the EOT in Portland. Exodus had some flight delays, etc. and came into Suawanni Sports Complex 5-minutes late. 76's were ready to play and Exodus was changing into their shoes, etc. One of the directors advised that the game was a forfiet pursuant to Mike White's direction.

Though he won't say it, Mike White was upset that Exodus traveled to Portland and was intent on punishing them for showing up late. After a heated exchange, Exodus played the game that they won and then pulled out of the Adidas Showtime event, electing to go to a local Nike tournament in Atlanta.

I s/w several coaches who made it a point to see Exodus in the showtime tournament. They totally disagreed with Mike White's thoughts Exodus honored it's committment to play at the Adidas Tournament of Champions.

While other teams were given a pass on their lateness, Mike White was not about to give any of the Exodus teams a pass.

Did Exodus NYC win the EOT in Portland? Hoopgurl reported a different result.

From your write up we really don't know what Michael White's thoughts were. Currently we are only hearing one side of the story, the Exodus side. This could be the only side but your not giving us a chance to determine that. Is there a follow up story with Michael White given his side of story?

Also I'm confused as to why Michael White would have an interest in what tournaments that Exodus NYC plays in? Is Mike White allowing the Exodus teams to play in his tournaments for free ? If so that may somewhat explain why the quick forfeit and why Exodus NYC could walk away from the tournament so easily.

[BrooklynSaints]

Here are the rules posted for the Adidas Tournament

All teams are expected to arrive for games thirty (30) minutes prior to the
scheduled start times. Scorebooks must be filled out and marked with starters
before the official game time. If a team is not on the court at the scheduled game
time an official forfeit will be declared. If any team that is knowingly unable to
make their scheduled game must notify the Tournament Director in advance. In
bracket play, if a team cannot advance, the losing team advances as if they had
won the previous game.

Again I question your side of the story. You claim that Exodus arrived 5 minutes late.
According to the rules SC 76ers should have been declared the winner by a forfeit.

[Hoopsking]

Saints, I will let others comment on Mike White's behavior. I'm sure you will hear more.

Exodus just substituted their other teams to play in Exodus NYC's place.
76's were declared the winner, but the girls wanted to play, so they played the game. Exodus won, but 76's were still given the win.

Exodus lost one game in regular bracket play and then won their bracket when the tournament started. You have to s/w Glenn Nelson, as he was covering the event at the EOT.

See interview conducted by Glenn Nelson

http://www.hoopgurlz.com/story/fiesty-white-will-continue-events-teams-without-adidas

[Bobbk]

Tenn Flight beat Cal Swish to win the EOT. Exodus was a Final Four team with CyFair.

http://www.ocbasketball.com/brackets/allstar/index.htm

[BrooklynSaints]

Saints, I will let others comment on Mike White's behavior. I'm sure you will hear more.

Exodus just substituted their other teams to play in Exodus NYC's place.
76's were declared the winner, but the girls wanted to play, so they played the game. Exodus won, but 76's were still given the win.

Exodus lost one game in regular bracket play and then won their bracket when the tournament started. You have to s/w Glenn Nelson, as he was covering the event at the EOT.

See interview conducted by Glenn Nelson

http://www.hoopgurlz.com/story/fiesty-white-will-continue-events-teams-without-adidas

Again, according to the rules, wasn't that what was supposed to have happened?The rules say the 76's should win by a forfeit.

It sounds like you feel they should have gone against the rules and made an exception because it was Exodus? Why do you feel that way?

[Hoopsking]

Saints, There Were Circumstances Involved. They Were Stuck In Portland Due To A Flight Problem.

They Called Adidas Prior To Coming And They Told Them That It Was Okay To Arrive A Little Late.

What Are You Trying To Get At?

[BrooklynSaints]

Your posts state that Mike White caused the problem.

Is it conceivable that Exodus created a problem for Mike White by arriving late?

Its obvious to me that Mike White did not agree to alter the schedule for Exodus.

If I'm trying to play in a tournament in Atlanta and my flight is delayed for any reason does you feel the Tournament Director is obligated to wait for me to arrive?

Glenn's write up of the story explained that Exodus came late and the team got a forfeit for the game. Glenn never implied that Mike White was incorrect. Nor did Glenn imply that Mike White should have broken the rules favoring one team over another.

[Hoopsking]

Saints, just to get this straight, there were two tournaments in Atlanta.

Adidas Showtime
Adidas TOC

The tournament in question is Showtime. Exodus NYC had to forfiet the game. 76's won the game by forfeit, but the game was played anyway, as the girls still wanted to play. Exodus won the game but the 76's were given the win by forfeit. Exodus then went off to play in Nike at Georgia Tech U. for a few days. Other Exodus teams played the remainder of the showtime event.

Exodus came back to play in the Adidas TOC and won the tournament.

Maybe the Exodus brass should explain their side of the story.

It's apparent that no matter what I tell you, it's not good enough. It's not good enough that they called the director of adidas advising them of the flight problems, in which they said it was okay. I mean everyone knows what the rules are, so don't start giving me the song and dance on the rules. If you are going to knit pick over 5-minutes, then there's nothing else for me to say.

[teammom4]

Exodus (Apache) won:
End of the Trail
Adidas TOC
Nike tourney @ GTech
Is this the case or not?

Where was TOC & who hosts it, what teams are invited & does it carry the same weight as the Dec tourney?
Was the GTech thing associated with Kelvin Powell & the phenom camp, when was it(the tourney) held?

[Hoopsking]

Teamom4, the adidas event was held at the Suwanni Sports Complex in Atlanta GA.

See website of team listings: http://michaeltwhite.com/sncg/

It's one of the top summer tournaments held by Adidas.

[NYTraveller]

Exodus did not win the End of the Trail; they won their bracket, then lost in the semifinals on Monday 7/9. The eventual champion, Tennesse Flight, had lost to Exodus in an exhibition game at EOT on Friday night.

The Adidas Showtime Nationals (Mike White's tournament at Suwanee) has championship brackets for several age groups. After a messed up cross-country flight, Exodus was late for their first game (Tuesday?) in the 16u bracket, forfeited (Coach Apache Paschall says they had permission to be slightly late, Mike White apparently felt otherwise), withdrew from the 16u portion of that tournament and played instead at the Showtime Unlimited Tournament at Georgia Tech (Nike sponsored?). They won that tournament.

Exodus went back to the Adidas Showtime Nationals at Suwanee for the 17u tournament, and apparently won that in impressive fashion on Sunday.

I think those are the facts:) . It seems that having two tournaments with the word Showtime in their titles in Atlanta in the same week is not helpful where clarity is concerned.

[NYTraveller]

By the way Glenn - another great job on the coverage; I hope the tourney organizers realize what a mistake they made denying you and Chris the basic tools to do your job. I can't tell you how impressed I've been with the quality of the articles and analysis on this site, and the unique opportunity you are providing for players, coaches and fans to access reliable information and personal stories of many of these fine players.

[teammom4]

NYT!!! I can't tell you how confused I really was & HKs explanation or link were any help, I thought I was losing it!:cool:

I second the motion about HG guys, I have witnessed this site grow into something amazing & a true representation of the girls' game! Keep up the good work & fighting for what you all believe in...we need u!:)

[Hoopsking]

teammom you basically asked about the teams participating and I provided you with the link.

I'm sorry you were confused.

Thanks Traveller for clarifying for Ms. Teammom.

[georgiaelite]

The Showtime tournament was Kevin Powells event. It was a 3 day exposure with the first 2 days play at Westlake High and the last day at GT. The feature game in bracket was Essence and Exodus which was won by the team from Florida who had to leave to catch a flight to Chicago. So Exodus moved on in bracket play. I was there because my team played it this event and I would say there were 60 coaches watching this game.

[georgiaelite]

Mike White is one of the Major causes for the rule changes in girls summer exposure events. He has robbed college coaches and tournament teams for years and his actions now show what type of person he realy is. His greed has now become his down fall and I hope enough teams have learned from this and will not support him. Now you must also ask the question about USJN Nationals that is charging 1200.00 to enter I do not know what the college packet cost is does anyone. If this greed keeps up I am afriad the NCAA is going to close the window futher.

[talk2me]

Sounds like the dispute between Michael White and Adidas impacted Exodus. Michael White says "He retains all rights including branding of the Showtime Tournament name and schedule." And that Adidas is just the named sponsor. So if Exodus notified and received permission from Adidas to be late and Michael White was in dispute of that, who actual called the shots. Seems like Exodus was caught in the middle of a bigger problem.

[teammom4]

Thanks for your efforts HK, I basically asked a few questions, some of which still haven't been addressed, but I do appreciate all the info & GaE made it a little clearer also, (thanks) your post pointed me to one event.

Who runs the USJNs, Flynn right? We just registered our team & it was amazing to see that $1150 sub-total to start & then it jacked up to almost $1300 by the time we pressed buy. How many games are guaranteed?
I heard the packetts were $700, is this an exaggeration or has someone truly lost it!?? At least next year it will only be $900, because we'll be a returning team.:cool:

[ifyousayso]

Mike White is one of the Major causes for the rule changes in girls summer exposure events. He has robbed college coaches and tournament teams for years and his actions now show what type of person he realy is. His greed has now become his down fall and I hope enough teams have learned from this and will not support him. Now you must also ask the question about USJN Nationals that is charging 1200.00 to enter I do not know what the college packet cost is does anyone. If this greed keeps up I am afriad the NCAA is going to close the window futher.

As long as teams are willing to pay the price... the price will not drop. College Coaches are certainly in a position to voice a need for change with the NCAA and I wouldn't be at all surprised that the ball has been put in motion.

[Hoopsking]

I agree with everything Georgia Elite says. Lets be real. Mike White was p'd off that Exodus played at the EOT in Oregon. That was the main issue. If they were late on a flight coming from N.Y., it would have been no problem. These girls traveled across the country to make this game. If they would have told Apache straight up that they would forfeit the game, the team would have went back to the hotel and rested.

I tried talking to Mike White. He was very nasty about the whole thing and wanted to push his weight around. The new director s/w the Exodus coach and told him that Mr. White will no longer be involved with Adidas and that he hoped Exodus would not hold anything against Adidas.

Mike Flynn is running the USJN in D.C. I agree. As long as people are willing to pay the price, there will be no reductions.

Teammom. I would rate the EOT, Adidas and Nike Showtime as the top events of the summer. This is feedback that I received from college coaches last summer.

[glenn]

:eek: OK, here're the facts:

There is the Showtime Unlimited tournament at Georgia Tech, organized by Kelvin Powell and associated with the Junior Phenom Camp. Exodus NYC won this one.

There is adidas Showtime Nationals 16U, which is the tournament in which Exodus was given a forfeit.

Then there is adidas Showtime Nationals 17U, which Exodus NYC won.

Previously, Exodus reached the semifinals of the End of the Trail.

As far as what the Showtime organizers told Apache, I just stated the facts as given to me in the story. On this forum, I'll give a little opinion, which is: Apache has never lied or stretched the truth with me; Mike White has, and just did - big time. We just took a major stand over it. I'm not sure why that's not being taken into account.

[acusefan4ever]

college coaches are in a tough spot. I am sure they want the tournaments to be run well and all of that but at the same time the opportunity to see that many kids in one place is worth a lot. The $750 they pay for the book is a lot better then having to fly into three different places whose flights would be easily $500 round trip and pay $100 bucks for the rosters. He could charge $1000 bucks for them and they'd still pay.

The way I see it you weren't allowed to buy one because your competition not because he is a jerk(i could care less if he is or not to be honest with everyone). If someone from bluestar came and wanted to use his tournament to rate players they'd get the same treatment and thats why they don't go. I know everyones reply will be "he let us last year" but my answer is simple. What did you start doing recently that you weren't doing before? The "premium memberships" or is simpler terms you started charging for some information you were getting from his tournaments and he probably doesn't want other people profiting from his tourney. The fact that ESPN posted one of your articles probably pushed him over the top though so now he looks at you as competition.

I am only mad at Mike White for one reason though lol. He had cuse as the #11 class after the fall signing period but after the spring signing period dropped us to #50 even though he has our class as bringing in the #1,3 and 28 jucos and #40,86,91 and 749 in the freshman class. In case anyone is curious he has Marisa Gobuty as the #749 rated incoming freshman lol.

[Hoopsking]

Thanks Glenn for your post. Sorry I missed you at Adidas. I left out Sat morning. Hopefully your post holds more weight than mine.

[Ohyeah_9]

I am with Hoops and Glenn on this one I definitely think White was upset that Apache took his team to EOT and forfeited the game on purpose, which was very immmature the way he handle the whole situation. Also taken into the fact that he lied to Glenn about the whole situation has me believing that he really did forfeit Exodus game on purpose.

[Hoopsking]

I tried reasoning with Mike White on the issues. He basically told me that if I had a problem, I could exit the tournament. I tried telling him that the Adidas officials told Apache that it was okay to show up a few minutes late. Mike White's response "This is my event and I don't care who said what"

I then said to Mr. White that other games were put on delay waiting for teams to show up, what makes this any different? His response: I don't owe you any explanation. He then walked away. He then came back to tell me that if I didn't like what he said, I can get the hell out of his gym. I just told him not to talk to me like a child and talk to me like an adult. He then elected to tell me that I was not a college coach and that I should not be taking notes and talking to the players. I told him that he was in fact correct. I'm not a college coach, which gives me the liberty to speak with any player, parent or AAU coach that I wanted to.

Mike White then insisted on seeing my ID. I told him sarcasticly "get a search warrant pal"

That's why I have a problem with Mike White. If he would have been up front and expressed himself like a gentleman, I would have respected his opinion. I may not have agreed with it, but I would have respected it.

[georgiaelite]

Hoopskin THANKS for being direct with Mr. White. He has reached a point in his life that he thinks he can do anything he wants and get away with it. I still have not heard how he setted his bill with Marriott. I have spoken with several college coaches and I quote" Please have someone of respectibility put on this tournament next year and stop trying to rob teams and coaches"

[ifyousayso]

I am guessing that Mike White has a multi-year contract with Suwanee Sports Academy...so, the best thing to do would to be not show up for his event. I am going to bet that Adidas has something during this same time to compete.