A former Hawkeye star is finally out of career limbo after inking a new pro contract

It's been an extremely busy week for former Fran McCaffery-era star players.

After a lengthy career in the NBA G League and in Europe, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native and former Hawkeye Jarrod Uthoff is representing Team USA at the 2026 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers. Luka Garza is also back in the national spotlight after rejoining the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team for qualifiers. Another former Hawkeye journeyman and Uthoff's former teammate is also in the news after signing a new professional contract in Japan.

Aaron White is signing a new contract in Japan, finally staying with a team for multiple years

For all of his flaws and inability to make it to the NCAA Round of 16, Fran McCaffery developed some of the best offensive players the program has seen. During the McCaffery era, the strategy was to simply outscore opponents, and defense was optional. One of his top scorers was Aaron White, who has finally stayed in a location for more than one season.

The SeaHorses Mikawa of the Japanese B League announced that they have re-signed White after he joined the squad before the 2025-2026 season. White was a solid role player for the SeaHorses last season, averaging 6.5 points and 5.6 rebounds on 51.4 percent shooting from the field and 34.1 percent from beyond the arc. White has had an extremely successful pro career in Europe, but has rarely stayed with a team for more than a season.

White has played professionally in Europe since the Washington Wizards drafted him with the No. 49 overall pick in the second round of the 2015 NBA Draft, but promptly waived him. He is a five-time champion, including the Lithuania LKL (2018, 2019), Greek League (2021), Serbian League (2022), and the ABA League (2022), which features teams from the former nation of Yugoslavia.

After White returned to the States to visit the Iowa men's basketball program, it seemed his professional playing career could be over. Now he is back with the SeaHorses for his 12th professional season.

White continues to prove that it wasn't all bad with Fran McCaffery at the helm

Despite the final few seasons of his tenure not ending well, former players succeeding after leaving the program prove that McCaffery did a lot for Iowa. Before McCaffery took over, the program was floundering under Todd Lickliter, and he worked hard to make the Hawkeyes relevant again. He earned a lot of criticism for his style of play and quick temper, but the program had some good moments.

He developed Garza into the program's best player of all time and guided him and Keegan Murray to an improbable Big Ten Championship title over Purdue in 2022. While most of his former players, excluding Keegan Murray, were better offensively than defensively, many have gone on to have successful careers. White is another key example, and even though it did not work out for him in the NBA, he has found a ton of success overseas.

White has proven he still has something left in the tank, and when his career comes to an end, he can still claim that he is a five-time champion.

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