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<p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Second-year guard Derrick White had a breakout season for the San Antonio Spurs and is carrying them in the playoffs.</strong></li><li><strong>White was another hidden gem the Spurs unearthed, the 29th pick in the draft who spent three years of college playing at a Division II school.</strong></li><li><strong>White scored 36 points with 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals in the Spurs' Game 3 win over the Denver Nuggets, giving San Antonio an opportunity to take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a Game 4 win.</strong></li><li><span><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet"><span>Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories</span></a></span><span>.</span></li></ul><p>Perhaps the best player in the first round playoff series between the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets is the player with least NBA pedigree.</p><p>Spurs guard Derrick White had an unusual path to the NBA. He didn't receive any scholarship offers out of high school and attended the University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, a Division II school.</p><p>Following a growth spurt, White became the best player on the UCCS basketball team. He averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists his junior year and became the school's all-time leading scorer. He decided to transfer to Colorado, a DI school, for his senior year.</p><p>"I was like, I gotta challenge myself, and took a risk and ended up transferring to Colorado," <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaiYJpo2Gc8">White recently told ESPN</a>.</p><p>The Spurs drafted White with the 29th pick in the 2017 draft and unearthed yet another hidden gem.</p><p>White, who took over the Spurs' starting point guard job this year after presumed starter Dejounte Murray tore his ACL in the preseason, has dominated the playoffs.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>White is averaging 23 points on 69% shooting, 33% from three, with 4 rebounds and 3 assists per game in the playoffs. His latest performance was a 36-point, 5-rebound, 5-assist, 3-steal outing on Thursday to help the Spurs beat the Nuggets in Game 3 and take a 2-1 series lead.<p>White's game isn't terribly flashy but he's patient and persistent. In Game 3, the Spurs seemed to unlock the key to beating the Nuggets defense - attacking the rim. White was relentless on Thursday in getting to the basket.</p><p>White is also a stout perimeter defender and has been crucial in making mercurial Nuggets guard Jamal Murray uncomfortable. Murray has gotten untracked for just one quarter through the series so far.</p><p>The Spurs have struggled on defense this year and haven't quite turned things around in the postseason. However, with White on the floor, they've had a defensive rating of 107.4, five points better than their average for the playoffs.</p><p>In total, with White on the floor in the playoffs, the Spurs have outscored the Nuggets by 23, a healthy margin considering the total margin for the series is just six, in the Spurs favor.</p><p>As ESPN's Zach Lowe has said throughout the series, White is going to introduce himself to a much larger basketball-watching audience.</p><p>How did the Spurs manage to find White, yet another hit late in the draft, when most teams are taking 50-50 shots? Even Gregg Popovich couldn't tell you.</p><p>"I never even saw him, never even knew he existed in the world," Popovich told ESPN of scouting White. "Didn't know he was on the planet.</p><p>"I'm busy. I've got other stuff to do. I can't watch this guy. I don't know who these guys are. I'm at dinner. I'm ordering wine. I'm relaxing."</p><p>Popovich praised Spurs GM R.C. Buford for finding White.</p><p><em><strong>Read more: </strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gregg-popovich-derrick-white-scout-wine-2019-4">Gregg Popovich joked that he was too busy ordering wine at restaurants to scout the Spurs' latest breakout player in college</a></em></p><p><span>"I just have a chip on my shoulder," White told reporters after the game. "This is the way I would play since I was young. I am just trying to get out there and compete and have fun."</span></p><p>The Spurs have the chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead with a win in Game 4 in San Antonio on Saturday.</p><p>Much has been made about the Spurs' transition from the Big Three era and their trade of Kawhi Leonard. They've played a different brand of basketball this season - not always to great success - but optimists cited DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge's one-on-one scoring abilities as a reason the Spurs could succeed in the playoffs.</p><p>If history has taught us anything about the Spurs, however, it's that it ends up being an unlikely role player, with an unusual basketball background who makes all the difference. This year, it's White leading the charge.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more from Scott Davis:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gregg-popovich-tips-restaurants-wine-2019-4" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">Gregg Popovich spends an estimated 7 figures per year on team dinners and reportedly leaves $10,000 tips, wads of cash, tickets to games, and bottles of his custom wine for staff</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nba-playoffs-free-agency-stakes-2019-4" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">The NBA playoffs have the highest stakes in years, and it could lead to a massive summer</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kevin-durant-kyrie-irving-free-agency-rumors-knicks-2019-3" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">The Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving free agency hype is reaching a fever pitch, and the Knicks are heavily involved</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-nba-stars-when-careers-started-2017-5" data-read-more-link="" data-e2e-name="read-more-link">What the NBA's biggest stars looked like when their careers began</a></li></ul><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pro-golfer-intense-standoff-tiger-woods-us-open-2017-7">What it's like to go into sudden death with Tiger Woods</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

24-year-old Spurs player who was playing DII basketball 3 years ago is now dominating the playoffs

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/oakland-raiders">Oakland Raiders</a> safety Erik Harris snagged two <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/interception">interceptions</a>, one of which he took to the house, in his team's 26-24 victory over the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/los-angeles-chargers">Los Angeles Chargers</a> Thursday night.</li><li>Harris' big night was all the more impressive given his meandering path to the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/nfl">NFL</a>.</li><li>The 29-year-old began his <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/football">football</a> career as a Division-II walk-on before going undrafted in the NFL and working at a potato chip factory in his hometown.</li><li>He paid $80 for a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/cfl">CFL</a> tryout that turned into a three-year stint with the Hampton Tiger-Cats before signing with the NFL's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/new-orleans-saints">New Orleans Saints</a> in 2016.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more.</a></strong></li></ul><p>Erik Harris traversed a long and winding road to the NFL, but now that he's made it, he's taking full advantage.</p><p>The Oakland Raiders safety - who began his football career as a Division-II walk-on - snagged two interceptions, one of which he took to the house, in his team's 26-24 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers Thursday night.</p><p>&#xa0;</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>The 29-year-old shined at safety for the California University of Pennsylvania Vulcans, but he was not selected in the 2012 NFL Draft after his graduation, nor was he invited to a single professional minicamp. He moved home to New Oxford, Pennsylvania, and began work at the local Utz potato chip factory.</p><p>But Harris refused to give up on his football goals and decided to go back to school to train while working a part-time job at UPS during the night shift. Soon after, he drove to Buffalo, New York, and paid $80 to work out for the Hampton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League.</p><p>Evidently, the tryout went well. Harris recorded three interceptions, four sacks, and 82 tackles in his three years with the franchise - enough for the New Orleans Saints to take notice.</p><p>Sean Payton and company brought Harris down to the Big Easy in February of 2016. One day later, he signed a deal to live out his NFL dreams. The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder mostly played on special teams during his time in Louisiana, but after seeing time in just four games, he tore his ACL and was later released from the team.</p><p>The Raiders signed him four days later, but even his career in Oakland was relatively slow at first. He only took four defensive snaps during the entire 2017 season, but he found his stride the following year. He registered 36 tackles and two interceptions in the 16 games he played in.</p><p>And thus far in 2019, he's performed even better. He's amassed 38 total tackles, three interceptions, and two touchdowns through nine games.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nba-most-hated-team-after-warriors-collapse-2019-11" data-analytics-position="2">With the Warriors crumbling, there's officially a new most hated team in the NBA</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/duke-freshman-broke-zion-williamson-vertical-leap-record-2019-11" data-analytics-position="2">A Duke freshman broke Zion Williamson's vertical leap record and is now tearing up college basketball with monster dunks of his own</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/deshaun-watson-credits-popeyes-spicy-chicken-sandwich-after-eye-injury-2019-11" data-analytics-position="5">Texan's Deshaun Watson credited Popeyes' spicy chicken sandwich for his ability to play through a nasty eye injury</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nwsl-championship-game-sellout-crowd-what-it-was-like-2019-10" data-analytics-position="6">I went to the National Women's Soccer League title game that had a record-breaking sellout crowd - here's what it was like</a></li></ul><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/world-famous-sports-logos-hidden-messages-2019-10">10 world-famous sports logos with hidden meanings</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

A former DII walk-on who went undrafted in the NFL and worked at a potato chip factory snagged 2 interceptions and became the Raiders' star in their 'Thursday Night Football' win

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24-year-old Spurs player who was playing DII basketball 3 years ago is now dominating the playoffs

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A former DII walk-on who went undrafted in the NFL and worked at a potato chip factory snagged 2 interceptions and became the Raiders' star in their 'Thursday Night Football' win

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