Butler Basketball Star is Trading in her Red & White for the Kentucky Blue and White

Tonia Witt

I was able to sit down with Ramiya White a 6-5 Center coming from Butler Traditional School in Louisville, KY who is the overall third-ranked prospect and the top-ranked center in the state of Kentucky in the 2024 class, according to Prep Girls Hoops. White recently inked her NLI to attend the University of Kentucky, choosing the Cats over offers from Pitt, Rutgers, West Virginia, Miami (FL), North Carolina, Dayton, Florida State, Kansas State, Clemson, Bowling Green, Syracuse and Mississippi State.

White will bring an instant inside presence when she arrives on campus late summer of 2024. In 2022-23 campaign, White led Butler Traditional in points (8.6) and rebounds (8.0), while shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 64.2 percent from the line. With a new coach and the talent she has surrounding her this season, look for those numbers to increase even more while she looks to lead Butler to their first state tournament since 2017.

WITT:

Ramiya I just want to talk to you a little bit about your journey, and about what it means to be committed to the blue and white. So can you talk a bit, about last season, and that recruiting process, and how you balanced being a high school athlete and playing the game at the high school level, with all the recruiting things that were coming at you.

WHITE:

So, during school last year, I just made sure I stayed focused, doing my work, having good grades, and staying focused on, and off the court. I stayed in contact with all my coaches and all my coaches that were recruiting me. Throughout, the summer I continued to talk to more coaches, and started picking out the schools that I really liked, that I was really in attending, and just figuring out the top three schools that I wanted to go to, and Kentucky was my final choice.

WITT:

So, what is it going to be like trading in that red and white of Butler, for the blue and white of Kentucky?

WHITE:

It’s going to be exciting. It’s going to be fun. I actually can’t wait. I’m actually happy, having all eyes on me. Just can’t wait.

WITT:

So, let’s walk through that journey. Let’s say that there’s a young student athlete that’s just entering the process of having schools begin to look at them and contact them. Looking back at your journey, just talk about what that process looked like, things that you want them to know, as a young athlete getting recruited, just some tidbits of information that you would like to pass on to them.

WHITE:

When I first started, it was actually a lot of pressure, because just all phone calls, after phone calls, after phone calls. I didn’t know how to deal with it, because nobody in my family had this type of eyes looking at them. So, I would just talk to my mom, and she would just say, “Take it slowly, and don’t make yourself feel that pressure.”

So, I did two phone calls a day. I wrote down notes about the colleges that I liked, and all that stuff. I would just say to young athletes don’t feel pressured, take notes, take your time, and do it one by one. It doesn’t have to be rushed.

WITT:

Tell me who you did some of your visits with.

WHITE:

I only took one official visit, which was Kentucky, but the unofficial visits I did with Michigan, Kentucky, Louisville, that’s it.

WITT:

What finally drew you to Kentucky? What was something that stood out about the campus, the program, or coach?

WHITE:

It was the program, the coaching staff, everything stood out. Like I said, it made me feel like family, day one, first call, and they was very consistent, more than the others. I just knew they wanted more than basketball, so I just know this is the right fit for me. It was the calls every week, and not just once a month, or so. Very consistent that drew me in.

WITT:

Beyond basketball, what do you see yourself doing? What do you want to major in? What do you want that career goal to look like?

WHITE:

I was thinking I want to own my own business and have clothing for tall women, because it’s hard for us to find clothing, like jeans to go all the way down our ankles, or shirts to go all the way to our waist. So, I would like to own my own business for tall girls.

WITT:

Now to talk about this season. What are you most looking forward to this season? I know you guys have a lot coming back, and new coaching staff. What’s most exciting about this upcoming season for you?

WHITE:

I think, especially with the coaching staff, our new coaches that we’ve got, especially Coach Candace Wheeler, as the head coach, she’s been to a D1 school. She’s done everything to get there, so I feel like she will push us in the right direction to get us to state and make us a winning team this year.

All we got to do is just work, stay focused, and listen to her and we’ll be all right.

WITT:

What is something you want Big Blue Nation to know about you coming into Kentucky next year?

WHITE:

That I’m very excited to be here, and I just can’t wait to play with them and be at Kentucky.

WITT:

Last question I’ve got for you. What’s your favorite snack?

WHITE:

I’m gonna have to say Oreos.