AVC STANDOUT'S SECOND CHANCE ALL-AMERICAN GETS BASKETBALL AND LIFE LESSONS FROM COACH.

Byline: Kirby Lee Special to the Daily News

It was a Friday afternoon just before the fall 2003 semester began at Antelope Valley College when Walter White and his younger brother, Wendell, drove into the gym parking lot.

The brothers spotted Antelope Valley men's basketball coach Newton Chelette and waved wildly to get his attention. Squinting in the bright sun, Chelette needed a few moments to recognized Walter White, who had played for the Marauders basketball team the previous year.

``Hey, Coach,'' Walter said. ``Would you mind if my brother went out for the team?''

Three days later, Wendell was enrolled at Antelope Valley, attending classes and practicing with the basketball team. From there, it didn't take Chelette long to discover he had landed one of the state's premier junior college players.

The 6-foot-6, 215-pound White last season helped Antelope Valley to the state semifinals for the first time since 1954. This fall, White, who has signed with UNLV, became the first Antelope Valley player selected for Street & Smith's magazine's preseason All-American team, the lone California representative.

``I'd like to tell you that I worked my (butt) off to get him, but it didn't happen that way,'' Chelette said.

White led Antelope Valley to an 8-2 start, topping the Marauders in scoring (17.0 points per game) and rebounds (7.0) and contributing 3.33 assists per game.

He was the Most Valuable Player of the Antelope Valley tournament, and he scored 27 points in Antelope Valley's 64-61 victory Thursday night over Santa Ana in the Glendale College tournament, the team's fifth win in a row.

``It didn't take long to watch him play to see he was very, very good offensively,'' Chelette said. ``He is very talented with great athleticism and, without a doubt, the best passer I've coached. He is so multidimensional, and that's kind of why he makes us so good.''

Chelette says White is the best player he has coached. Chelette recruited and worked with former Detroit Pistons star Joe Dumars - now the Pistons' president of basketball operations -- while an assistant at McNeese State, and he coached Isaiah Rider, the Minnesota Timberwolves' first-round draft pick in 1993, at Antelope Valley.

Antelope Valley was ranked ninth in the preseason poll, largely because of White, the Marauders' only returning starter.

White planned to play at Pepperdine after graduating from Redondo Union High in 2003 but did not fulfill the NCAA Division I academic requirements.

Instead, White moved from to the Antelope Valley to live with his uncle and older brother after high school.

``I really didn't know what to expect here,'' White said. ``I just met Coach and told him I was going to play. I've been here ever since and I've been getting help from his coaching.''

White, who was a junior at Redondo when his father died of a heart attack, says he has grown as a player and a person under the tutelage of Chelette, who has offered assistance ranging from rebounding and class selection to lessons in life.

``When I came here, I thought that I knew a lot,'' White said. ``Listening to Coach helped with basics, technique and everything as a whole.''

White's play at AVC attracted scholarship interest from UCLA and Kansas, but he signed with UNLV, a program that had been on probation seven years since 1993, including a four-year sanction that ended last month.

White is part of Runnin' Rebels coach Lon Kruger's first recruiting class. Chelette and Kruger are longtime friends.

``I wanted to go to a school that would help me get the most and what I need to do to graduate,'' White said. ``I was impressed (by Kruger), and I liked the program a lot.''

White's focus now is on leading Antelope Valley to another state tournament appearance. He's a mentor to a team with eight freshmen among its 13 players, particularly to Louisiana transplants Tyronne Miller and Blaine Teeter.

``I have no regrets about coming to Antelope Valley,'' White said. ``There is a lot of talent on this basketball team. Everybody is talented. I'll be mad if we don't have a pretty good year.''

WHITE FILE

Name: Wendell White.

School: Antelope Valley College.

Sport: Basketball

Year: Sophomore

Height: 6-foot-6.

Weight: 215.

Fast Fact: White, who has signed with UNLV, is Antelope Valley College's first player to be named to the Street & Smith's preseason All-America team.

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Wendell White last year led Antelope Valley College's basketball team to the state semifinals for the first time in 49 years.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer

Box:

WHITE FILE (see text)