Summit native marks decade with the Harlem Globetrotters

By Carol McGowan

Saul White Jr., better known as Flip White to basketball fans, has been with the famed Harlem Globetrotters for just over 10 years, and has no intention of stopping the entertainment he provides for his fans.

White, who grew up in Summit, attended Wharton School and Graves Junior High (now Heritage) in District 104, and is a 2004 graduate of Argo Community High School.  After high school, he continued his basketball career at Moraine Valley Community College.

Basketball was always a part of his life.

On his profile for the Globetrotters, he says one of his fondest basketball memories was his father holding him up to the hoop to dunk the basketball when he was a kid.

He told the Desplaines Valley News that his grandparents used to take him to Globetrotters games when he was a young kid, so he always had an interest in the team.

White made a video of him on the basketball court, and put it on YouTube back in 2011.  Once it was seen, one person called another, and before you know it, he had an interview with representatives from the Globetrotters.

A couple of days after, he was hired and has been with the team since.

To see him perform on the court would put a smile on anyone’s face.  Watching him up on the hoop, literally, is something that needs to be seen.  There are plenty of videos that have gone viral of him over the years.  His antics on the court, and his ability to play make him a favorite of all who see him.

It’s been quite an experience for White, who has traveled to all 50 states and 65 countries doing what he loves.

Between touring and doing public relations for the team, White keeps busy.

What some may not know, is there are three Globetrotter teams that travel, so they all have either dates to play, or dates to keep in touch with media outlets and promote where their upcoming events will be.

He comes back to visit family in the Summit area when he can, although he now calls Tulsa, Oklahoma, home.

The last time he played in Chicago was in 2019 at the United Center.  He loves playing here where his family can come and see him live and in action.

When asked about what he would tell his young fans who hope to someday have a career like his, “I would tell them to never give up on your dreams, you never know what can happen.  Don’t ever give up.”