Oak Park's Delaney White is The Star's Girls Basketball Player of the Year
As a high school freshman, Delaney White has her moments of frivolity. Lots of them.
“I can be pretty goofy,” she says with a laugh.
But on the basketball court, in a pressure situation or any game with big-time implications, White plays more like a seasoned senior. She’s cool, calm, and as businesslike as a Wall Street broker.
“I’ve got to play level-headed, always put my teammates above any ego,” said the Oak Park High ninth-grader. “I never worry about anything outside the game or my teammates. I try to shut out any negative feelings.”
It was a thoroughly positive season for White and the Oak Park High girls basketball team.
A program that finished 1-20 the year before produced a turnaround for the ages.
The Eagles posted a 22-11 record in winning 15 of their last 16 games and earned an undefeated Coastal Canyon League championship while ending Camarillo’s run of 11 consecutive league titles.
Then Oak Park upped the ante in postseason.
The Eagles overwhelmed all opponents in surging to the CIF-Southern Section Division 5A championship, winning five games by an average margin of 41 points. Included was a 76-41 romp over top-seeded St. Monica Prep in the final.
Elevated to Division III for the CIF State SoCal Regionals, Oak Park won two games before falling to second-seeded Redondo Union.
“It was amazing,” White said. “We all trusted and believed in each other. Our confidence had grown to where we knew we could win CIF. Then we were excited for the opportunity in state. We wanted to keep getting better and keep playing well.”
She said the season's success was based on team camaraderie.
"We're a family," White said. "Not one person is more important than any other. We rely on each other. Everybody has their role."
No Eagle played a bigger role in the astounding success than the 15-year old point guard.
White topped her team in scoring at 17.5 points per game (578 total points) and assists at 7.1 (233 total) and was second in rebounds at 8.0 per game (267 total).
The assists mark was No. 1 in Ventura County, and ranks No. 4 all time in county annals. Her 99 steals also led the county this season.
For good measure, White tied a 25-year-old county single-game assists record with 19 in an 89-49 victory over Moorpark on Jan. 11. Nell Becker of Nordhoff held the mark with 19 during the 1998-99 season.
White was the co-MVP in the Coastal Canyon League (with teammate Lindsay Gould) and the county coaches' co-Player of the Year (with Westlake freshman Mathis Dritz).
Now she’s The Star’s Girls Basketball Player of the Year for the 2022-23 season.
Her No. 1 fan might be Oak Park head coach Will Burr.
"Am I surprised at what she was able to do? Not at all," he said. "I've coached her in travel and I've seen her develop as a player. I know what kind of skills she has. She's used to playing with and against older players so she's ready for any situation. She's never going to be overwhelmed."
Burr said White's greatest assets have little to do with basketball.
"She's just the sweetest person," he said. "She's kind and caring and has a way of empathizing with the people around her. That's what makes her such a good leader."
Among White’s strongest attributes are an explosive first step, keen passing instincts and a steady shot. Then there’s an intangible, embraced by White and her teammates, that likely saved the Eagles season.
That would be resilience.
Oak Park opened the season with nonleague wins over Santa Barbara and Serra, then lost its next six games.
After a 57-30 victory over Long Beach Wilson on Dec. 30 — ending a three-game losing streak — the Eagles stood 6-10.
Imagine being a freshman point guard and team orchestrator and your team is sub .500 nearly halfway through the season?
“It was definitely hard,” said White. “We didn't want a replay of last season, but that's what we were facing. We couldn’t get our game in gear. We were playing frantic.
"I knew that we had to play with poise, stay focused. There were so many twists and turns and we couldn't let that get us down."
She added: "We knew that Coach had a plan, and we knew we were playing strong opponents that would make us better. We kept putting in the work.”
Said Burr: “I would have conversations with her and assure her that we were making progress. The players came to practice every day ready to work hard. That became so important for us.”
The rest of the season became winning time for the Eagles. Now the intrigue lies in what's next.
White will join her club team and work on all phases of her game. She said she’s always chasing perfection in a sport no one is ever perfect.
“One hundred percent. Nobody has ever had a perfect game,” she said. “I know I won’t, but it motivates me to become the best player I can be.”
White said her freshman season was about more than basketball.
“It was so much fun,” she said. “I feel like I became a better basketball player, but also grew as a person. I look forward to the next steps.”
The Star's All-County Girls Basketball Second Team
Taylor Swanson, Westlake, So., F
Alyssa Jackson, Westlake, Sr., G
Christa Contreras, Camarillo, So., F
Keilani Peralta, Camarillo, Sr., G
Sofia Salgado, Oxnard, So., G
Haven Ramirez, Pacifica, Sr., G/F
Sarah Beckman, Ventura, So., F
Skye Thomas, Buena, Jr., G
Ella Broms, Oak Park, So., G
Helena Koubek, Agoura, So., F
Miahnna Galvan, Santa Paula, So., G
Avanthika Ramasay, Moorpark, Sr., G
Khailand Anderson-Strawder, Calabasas, Sr., F
Esmeralda Casarez, Foothill Tech, Sr., G
Skylar Komatsu, Newbury Park, So., G
Elena Ferrara, Royal, Sr., C
Rachel Patrykus, Villanova Prep, Sr., F/C
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oak Park's Delaney White is The Star's Girls Basketball Player of the Year
