Breakers Retain Will McDowell-White

Wednesday, May 25, 2022

The lure of playing under new Head Coach Mody Maor has ultimately been the deciding factor in guard Will McDowell-White re-signing with the New Zealand Breakers for another season.

It is a significant boost for the Maor and the club as they had to beat stiff competition from many rival NBL clubs to secure the Australian’s services for a third season.

“Mody being the Head Coach was the number one factor for me coming back,” said McDowell-White.

“Another reason I’ve re-signed is it’s a real opportunity to finally experience that Breakers’ culture.”

“The last two years have been on the road. I really want to help the club get back to where it used to be and play in front of thousands of Breakers fans at Spark Arena.”

The 24-year-old has made 44 appearances for the Breakers since joining as an injury replacement player in April 2021.

He made an immediate impact on his arrival, becoming just the second Breakers’ player after Cedric Jackson to record a triple-double in an NBL game with 13 points, 14 assists, and 10 rebounds in a 91–71 win over the Brisbane Bullets in Launceston.

His dunk against the Phoenix last December is widely regarded as one of the best moments from any player last season, while his career-high 27-points, four rebounds and seven assists came against the Hawks.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WILL MCDOWELL-WHITE CAUGHT A BODY ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> + <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> ? <a href="https://t.co/zGG58ENz75">pic.twitter.com/zGG58ENz75</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1469231645332889603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

However, the challenges of the last two seasons have meant the Breakers have only seen glimpses of his full potential.

“Keeping Will McDowell-White in a Breakers jersey was one of our main targets for the off-season,” said Maor.

“He is a true competitor with a “Team First” mentality and exemplifies the core traits of the team we are building.

“Although Will has improved significantly over the past two seasons with us, he still has room to grow as a player on both ends of the court.”

McDowell-White, who signed a two-way NBA contract with the Houston Rockets and played NBA G-League with the Rio Grande Valley Raptors in 2019, had three other NBL clubs chasing his signature.

“I sat down with a couple of teams and did a few Zoom calls. There were some really good options and really good offers, and the decision was tougher than I thought it would be,” he said.

“But I just knew coming back was the best option for me and the best way to progress my career.

“I think my development has skyrocketed under Mody in the last one and a half years; maybe with another year under him I can really take off.”