SAN ANTONIO — It was time for some real talk with Bulls guard Coby White.
It was a chat that was months overdue.
That’s how a planned off-day story suddenly turned first-person.
I have been as critical of White and his development as any of the writers covering the Bulls. And he didn’t need me to tell him that because he already knew.
I didn’t see him as a point guard on draft night in 2019, I didn’t see him as a starter when the 2022-23 season started and I didn’t see him in the team’s plans when he was a restricted free agent last summer.
But there he was after the team’s victory Friday against the Spurs, knees wrapped in ice, a smile on his face, still with the Bulls. Maybe he’s not a pure point guard and maybe he’s not a typical shooting guard, but he’s a basketball player and is proving me wrong.
‘‘That’s what you have to do, just go through it,’’ White said when I asked him about the scrutiny — mine included. ‘‘Put your head down and work, control what you can control and try and get through it.
‘‘Yeah, it’s very hard, but I’m a big believer in my faith. I feel there’s a plan for everybody. That’s what I leaned on when I was going through it.’’
Then he threw a bit of a wrinkle into the conversation.
Many pro athletes love reminding the media that our opinions matter very little to them. The media take the stance that our opinions shouldn’t matter to them. It’s a song-and-dance both sides go through.
White kicked down that wall, however.
‘‘Oh, I pay attention to it,’’ White said. ‘‘I know what you said, others have said. I feel like I’ve got thick skin, but the main thing for me is I wanted to pay attention to it just so I can feel it. Feel it for me, then get through it.
‘‘I’m the type of dude that’s like: ‘OK, he said this about me. Oh, that guy said that about me.’ . . . But you know what? Sometimes people on the internet or the media, you guys, you speak the truth. There were times I would look at it and say: ‘I’ve got to get better at this. He’s right; I’ve got to fix this.’
‘‘I never tried to shy away from any of it because that’s not my personality. You have to look at it all head-on, take it for what it is, not let it define you but use it.’’
He is using it.
White will enter the Bulls’ game Monday against the Bucks holding the franchise record for the most three-pointers in a 10-game span with 47. He’s fifth in the NBA in three-pointers made with 68, and he’s shooting a career-high 41.7% from long range.
Even more impressive, he has emerged as a leader with a voice that even the veteran players hear and respect — a voice White admitted makes him come across like a “(bleep)head’’ at times.
So how did the jump happen?
‘‘He’s one of the hardest workers on the team,’’ veteran center Nikola Vucevic said. ‘‘When you work as much as he does, it’s going to pay off.’’
And White isn’t even close to being a finished product in his estimation because he isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. His journey will be interesting to watch.
The media are in the business of casting opinions. Social-media loves pointing out the ‘‘gotcha’’ moments when those opinions are wrong, but those opinions often are made based on the information being provided at the time.
To White’s credit, he is changing what’s being provided and has been doing that on a nightly basis for the last month.
‘‘We’re all on a different journey,’’ White said. ‘‘It’s kind of crazy, but that’s what it is — just our own journey.’’
