Name: Candice White
Sport: Women’s Basketball
Year & Major: Sophomore, Pre-Nursing
Hometown: Modesto, California
White was chosen as our Top Dog of the Week after helping the Fresno State women’s basketball team win the LMU Thanksgiving Classic Tournament over the holiday weekend. White’s 12 points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists contributed to Fresno State’s defeat of the Belmont Bruins 62-53 on Friday afternoon. On Saturday, the Bulldogs got the victory against UC Irvine 63-45. White had 21 points, three assists and three steals. It was the first 20-point game of her collegiate career.
DC: What’s it like being from Modesto and being able to play close to home?
CW: It’s so nice. The fact that my family comes. Every home game, I know my mom’s always going to be there. Sometimes I’ll have my young cousins there, my aunt, my uncle. It’s always nice to see family in the crowd and go talk to them after the games.
DC: How long have you been playing basketball?
CW: I’ve been playing since I was 5 years old. I took a two-year break my fifth and sixth grade year to do soccer. I was so committed to soccer. Then I started back up in middle school, in seventh grade, and from there, I’ve been playing since.
DC: What made you want to stick to basketball?
CW: I think it was the pace of the game. Soccer was fun. Very strategic. But basketball was kind of “Go, go, go.” You don’t have to think much. When I don’t think, I seem to do better with any sport I do.
DC: What is your favorite thing to do in Fresno?
CW: A lot of the time on weekends, when we don’t have practice, we’ll go out and eat and we’ll pick a restaurant or place that we’ve never been to. I think that’s my favorite thing. I enjoy food and I love it.
DC: Are there any restaurants that you recommend?
CW: I like Batter Up [Pancakes]. It’s a pancake, breakfast place. That place is pretty good.
DC: Do you have any pregame rituals or superstitions?
CW: I’m very superstitious. I believe highly in jinxes, but I’ve gotten better over the years. One thing I do is eat an apple. I think that’s become my pregame ritual. Just eating an apple. It’s like a source of energy for me.
DC: How long have you been doing that?
CW: It’s been about two weeks now. It’s my new one, and it’s working for me so I can’t complain.
DC: What are your plans for after you graduate?
CW: If I don’t end up doing basketball, I want to continue to get my master’s in science to become a practitioner, eventually in nursing. If not that, maybe if I have the opportunity to play overseas, then that’ll be an option. But I really won’t know until the time comes.
DC: Do you have a favorite athlete?
CW: One of my favorites to watch would be Tony Parker. He’s been in the game a long time. I like how he’s very calm. His style of play is very different. He gets all of his teammates involved. I just enjoy watching him.
DC: What are your goals for the season?
CW: As a team, our goal should be to try and get through adversity. We’re such a new team. A young team. So when the going gets tough, I want to see us be able to overcome all these obstacles. Of course win the Mountain West championship, get it back after what happened last year. Get back to the NCAA Tournament.
As an individual, my goal is just to be a leader on the court. Be able to communicate with my teammates and get my point across. Get my coach’s point across and be like a coach on the floor.
DC: What does it mean to you to be a Bulldog?
CW: It means a lot. Especially growing up in the Valley, it means so much. Being able to represent a great university. I think the fanbase is by far my favorite part about Fresno State. You can’t take that away.
