White pulls down 22 in win

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – It started with a block.\nOne possession summarized senior forward D.J. White’s career performance against Michigan Tuesday night.\nTwo minutes into the second half, White grabbed the rebound after blocking a shot from Michigan’s Manny Harris. On the offensive end of the court, a missed layup was recovered by Michigan, and White intercepted a Michigan pass and dunked it while being fouled. After sending in the dunk, White let out a primal scream while looking into an ESPN camera – letting the Michigan faithful know that there would be no comeback for the Wolverines. A free-throw completed the old-fashioned 3-point play. \nAll the momentum Michigan had built at the end of the first half came to a screeching halt thanks to White’s efforts on \nthe play. \n“Just playing hard,” White said of the play. “Coach (Kelvin) Sampson always says when you play hard, good things happen.”\nThe No. 10 Hoosiers cruised to an easy 78-64 victory, thanks in large part to White. The Alabama native scored 21 points and grabbed a career-high 22 previous career-high by seven rebounds.\n“It was my first time getting 20 rebounds in a game and it feels good,” he said.\nWhite’s 22 rebounds were the most since Alan Henderson against Cincinnati in 1992 and ranks as the 13th highest output in Hoosier history. White is currently the Big Ten Conference’s leading rebounder at 10.9 per game.\nFreshman guard Eric Gordon said White has been a team leader off and on the court.\n“He’s been big time,” Gordon said. “It’s hard to expect a man to get 22 rebounds. He’s been our leader.”\nIU coach Kelvin Sampson praised White for his rebound effort.\n“He just takes a lot of pride,” Sampson said. “He did something tonight I’ve never had someone do before – sign the bubble twice.”\nAn IU player signs the bubble, a device used in rebounding drills, if he grabs 10 or more rebounds in a game. White has scribbled his name all over the bubble this season, with Tuesday night marking his 10th double-digit rebounding effort this season.\nSampson said White has improved his rebounding from last season by being more assertive and taking pride in grabbing boards.\n“He’s grown up a lot,” Sampson said. “He’s gotten tougher. Big kids that don’t rebound are either not aggressive or don’t have a feel for it. I think last year D.J. wasn’t aggressive.”\nWhite agreed with Sampson when asked what’s changed in his game since last season.\n“Just being more aggressive,” White said. “I just want to go out and be aggressive. Every time the ball is in the air, I try and pursue it.”\nWhite rounded out his performance with two blocks, one steal and an assist. After a couple of slow games to start the season, White has put together a string of several strong outings for the Hoosiers.\n“He’s been good every night,” Sampson said.