Tony White Jr. has a gift.

His mom knew it right away. His father, a former University of Tennessee great, just added to the mystique.

"I don't know if people didn't think I could play at this level right away, but my mom always told me I'm good at proving people wrong," White Jr. said.

"I've done that for the longest time. That's always my motivation."

College recruiters had steered clear of White despite his 22 points per game as a senior at Bearden High School.

They saw his slender 6-foot, 150-pound frame and assumed he had a long way to go before being prepared for Division I basketball.

That's when Bobby Cremins was named coach at the College of Charleston last summer.

"My AAU team the Tennessee Travelers was playing in a big tournament in Augusta (Ga.) around the time Coach (Cremins) got the job," White said. "Every big-name college coach in America was there and I felt like I played horrible.

"But on the way home I got a phone call and it was Coach Cremins. I was just as shocked as anybody."

He was on his way to proving people wrong again.

Instead of going the prep school route, White signed with the Cougars and figured he was headed for a redshirt freshman season.

Then practice started.

"I thought I was going to redshirt so all I was worried about was getting in the weight room, playing some pickup games and playing my game," White said. "I started playing well and (when) practice time came around the coach had different options for me.

"They liked what they saw."

It was that kind of freshman season for White.

The skinny kid from Knoxville started proving people wrong all across the Southeast.

He played in all 33 games, started seven, and finished the season averaging 6.4 points per game for the Cougars (22-11).

He had a season-high 18 points against Charleston Southern two nights after scoring 12 on Kentucky at Rupp Arena.

"Tony is an amazing story," Cremins said after the Kentucky game. "This little guy was going to prep school and when I got the job on July 3, I heard about him and got him to come here.

"I thought about redshirting him but he is just a good player. The last thing both of us thought -- when I recruited him in July -- was that he would be playing in Rupp Arena against Kentucky. Tony has great genes; his dad was a great player and he has a great future. He has to get stronger, but he's a tough kid."

He's a "tough kid" who likes a challenge. He likes to look the doubters in the eye and say, "See, told you so."

"You can never be satisfied," White said. "I feel like I had a good freshman year, but I could have done better.

"I've already started getting in the weight room and working on all aspects of my game. I'm really looking forward to next year."