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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Couple returns to 'post-earthquake' Haiti Central Point candidates have similar goals Emergency Services Medford school officials consider costs of full-day kindergarten Family rallies help for Mexican community Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Couple returns to 'post-earthquake' Haiti Emergency Services Family rallies help for Mexican community Emergency services Iron Mike loses his rifle ... again Politics and Elections Kitzhaber embattled as he seeks fourth term Five compete for three council seats Jville Council Q&A: Brad Bennington Jville Council Q&A: Jim Lewis Jville Council Q&A: Ken Gregg Education Medford school officials consider costs of full-day kindergarten Foundation kicks off ambitious 'Count Me In' fundraising campaign 100 hours and counting SOU students protest university's free-speech zone Boys & Girls Clubs bursting at the seams Environment Work begins on Southern Oregon's first dedicated mountain bike trail Applegate Dam hydroelectric project dead in water Fear of orphaned cubs nixes new spring bear hunt Josephine County ballot measure would ban commercial and government pesticide use Low water exposes Emigrant Lake's past State news Nation - World Obituaries Marylen Agrell Kocks Lillian (Hulinsky) Kamarad Carol Erenst Reynolds Jay P. 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Family rallies help for Mexican community ... Green Party candidate drops from state Senate race ... Central Point candidates have similar goals ... Family rallies help for Mexican community ... Green Party candidate drops from state Senate race ... COLLEGE BASKETBALL White serves as extension of Valenti's OSU legacy He was program's first African American scholarship player By Connor Letourneau The Oregonian MailTribune.com By Connor Letourneau The Oregonian Posted Oct. 18, 2014 @ 4:58 pm By Connor Letourneau The Oregonian Posted Oct. 18, 2014 @ 4:58 pm » Social News CORVALLIS — For more than a month, Charlie White sifted through memories. The former Oregon State star needed the right anecdotes to commemorate the man who made him a pioneer. White only had five minutes allotted Saturday afternoon to speak at Paul Valenti's Celebration of Life. Condensing everything the Beavers great represented into the time frame was impossible, White realized. So he focused on a few character traits, the defining parts of Valenti he tries to emulate. White, 76 and a Bay Area resident, said he'd been "thinking about it a lot, almost every day" and admitted to being "a little nervous." OSU history aficionados know White as the Beavers' first scholarship African American basketball player. The distinction has earned him countless invites to conferences, summits and luncheons —anywhere honoring integration in collegiate athletics. Yet social progress was hardly at the forefront of White's thoughts when Valenti recruited him half a century ago. The Monterey (California) Junior College standout, fresh off three years in the Army, just wanted a bachelor's degree. Any other route, White thought, and he'd return to his job pre-military: stocking shelves at a Detroit grocery store. In spring 1964, Valenti made his pitch over Italian food on Monterey Bay. White appreciated how OSU's new men's basketball coach valued him as a person, not just an athlete. Valenti spent much of the two-hour conversation discussing the Beavers' business program and outlining a graduation plan. Not once did he mention the historical significance White's commitment would represent. "He just treated me like any other guy," White recalled. Jimmy Anderson, Valenti's assistant at the time, never heard his boss mention White's race. But Valenti was highly analytical, Anderson said. He examined all aspects of a situation before making a decision. Surely, it was no accident that the program's first scholarship African American boasted a maturity seldom seen from college athletes. White was 26 when he joined OSU. He had spent time in the South, where he saw the Jim Crow signs and endured hate-filled rants. Military service had taken him overseas, exposed him to new cultures. "Charlie's age and such were as important of a factor as any," Anderson said. "Paul knew he would be the most successful person they had on line to fill that role." White can't remember encountering any racism in Corvallis. Recollections of the three years (two seasons) he spent at OSU are filled with positives: the hard-fought victories, the academic strides, the lifelong bonds built. In 1966, White captained the only team other than UCLA in an 18-year span to win the conference. The All-American embodied Valenti's relentless dedication to defense, helping the Beavers upset an Elvin Hayes-led Houston squad in the NCAA Tournament. To this day, Anderson has yet to see a better coaching job than Valenti's work with that group. The Beavers, the preseason pick to finish last in the conference, didn't own much firepower or depth. But "they just played good defense," Anderson said. "They took care of the ball and they didn't make mistakes." There wasn't much of a professional market for a 6-foot-5 power forward. So after Corvallis, White settled in Antioch, California, where he worked as a personnel assistant for paper manufacturer Crown Zellerbach. For the four years until Valenti quit coaching in 1970, White circled OSU's annual Bay Area road trip on his calendar. It served as a mini-reunion, a rare chance to reconnect with a mentor who had become a close friend. He returned to the team hotel after games against Stanford or California, chatting into the morning about life and basketball. Some nights, he slept on Valenti's couch. "It was a family situation, basically," Anderson said. "After you had gone through the program, you were just part of the family." Time passed, careers evolved. White ping-ponged in the corporate sector, while Valenti served a lengthy stint as a Beavers associate athletic director. The phone calls were a constant. Throughout his adult life, White estimates, he talked with Valenti three or four times a month. Often, they just reminisced or discussed OSU sports. Last month, White was on a weekend trip to San Francisco when Valenti's daughter, Victoria, left a voicemail. The news of his buddy's passing didn't come as a shock. Valenti was 94. Aging had already taken its toll, preventing the active lifestyle Valenti relished. "It was a sad day," White said of hearing Victoria's voicemail. "There wasn't a whole lot to say, really." He never heard Valenti discuss White's role as a program pioneer. Valenti summed up his feelings for his former recruit in seven words: He did a hell of a job. White recognizes that the compliment extended beyond basketball. "It was kind of an unspoken thing," he said. By Connor Letourneau The Oregonian MailTribune.com By Connor Letourneau The Oregonian Posted Oct. 18, 2014 @ 4:58 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. fantasy football Instant Fantasy Reaction for Kap, Davis Oct. 20, 2014 at 12:02 am Instant Week 7 Fantasy Recap Oct. 19, 2014 at 11:56 pm Instant Fantasy Reaction for 49ers' RBs Oct. 19, 2014 at 11:39 pm Injury Update, Fantasy Impact for Bills' RBs Oct. 19, 2014 at 11:26 pm Instant Fantasy Reaction for Manning, Thomas Oct. 19, 2014 at 11:07 pm Bush Injury Update, Fantasy Impact Oct. 19, 2014 at 11:07 pm calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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