BOULDER — Derrick White shares the title NBA champion with six current Celtics teammates. He and Jayson Tatum both won gold with USA Basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. But he’s now got a unique title that he’s bringing back with him to Boston.

“I’m gonna tell them to refer to me as Sir President from now on,” White said with a laugh.

The Parker native was back on Colorado’s campus Wednesday, as he often is during the NBA offseason, but this time was a little different. 

White has only grown in importance as an asset to Tad Boyle’s program since graduating in 2017 thanks to an ascendant career that has seen him become regarded as one of the NBA’s top role players, but now he’s giving back to his alma mater in more ways than one.

He was formally introduced as the Buffaloes’ first President of Basketball Strategy, which will see him become more involved with the future of the program along with a $2 million investment from him and his family that athletic director Fernando Lovo called “transformational.”

“What Derrick’s family has chosen to do for CU athletics is something that I will never, ever take for granted,” Lovo said.

It’s a role similar to one that several current and former NBA stars have taken with the schools that helped get them to the next level. Tatum is the “Chief Basketball Officer” for Duke. Damian Lillard is the general manager for Weber State. Steph Curry and Trae Young are assistant GMs at Davidson and Oklahoma, respectively.

White still has three years left on a contract extension worth nearly $126 million, and he’s coming off a season in which he posted career highs in points, assists, steals and blocks was named NBA first team All-Defense, but as he gets set to turn 32 next week, he’s starting to think about life after basketball.

“As I get older, it’s a good start for me to think about life after basketball. We’ll see where this goes,” White said. “Obviously, I’ve gotta be the best player I can be (for the Celtics), but I come here every summer, I’m passionate about CU and I’m always watching.

“I think it’s gonna be a great opportunity for me to learn and grow while I’m playing and try to use my resources to help CU and help everybody that’s here right now. I want to be a resource to the players, I want to be a resource to the coaching staff.” 

This process all started a little over two months ago when Lovo, Boyle and assistant coach Nate Tomlinson flew out to Boston for the regular-season finale. The Celtics also happened to be playing against the Magic and fellow CU alumni Tristan da Silva and Jamahl Mosley. 

After the game, the traveling party from Boulder went out to dinner with White and Josh Repine, his former CU teammate and roommate that he’s remained close friends with. They talked about family, life and Colorado basketball. 

“We left there super excited, fired up and with our bellies full of good Italian food,” Lovo said. “From there, we just kept talking and we got to where we are today.”

The only thing that is defined is White’s title.

What he does day-to-day to help the Buffs will be determined by the time of year. He still believes he has at least a few more seasons of high-level basketball in him and he’s a few thousand miles away in Boston for much of the year, but Repine will play a key role as a connector between White and the program so he can provide insight and resources when and where needed.

“He’ll be a great sounding board,” Boyle said. “He’s a guy that we’ve stayed in touch with, even before this transpired. We’re just gonna figure it out as we go. For big decisions and issues that come up, he’ll be a great part of the discussion.”

In the short term, the Buffs are hoping White kick-starts a wave of renewed interest in the program. His $2 million donation is about one-tenth of the budget some programs across the country are reportedly spending on their roster next season, so it’s going to take a lot more than what White can give for CU to keep up in an ultracompetitive Big 12.

“Hopefully the whole state of Colorado gets behind us,” White said. “That’s what I’m excited about. Obviously, we’ve got a lot of love here in Boulder, but we represent the whole state of Colorado, so we’re gonna need everybody. I can’t do it by myself. We’re gonna need all the past players that we have and everybody in this state. It’s gonna be a process, but I’m excited for it.”

Long term, Boyle hopes this is a move that will affect CU long after he’s done coaching. Now 16 years into his tenure as the winningest coach in program history, Boyle still has the drive he needs to keep leading the way. But that’s not going to last forever, while White has an entire postplaying career ahead of him.

“This is gonna transcend my time at Colorado,” Boyle said. “It’ll be fun to watch it evolve. Fernando’s a young athletic director and hopefully he’ll be here for many years to come and he and Derrick can build that relationship. I want to leave Colorado basketball, whenever I’m done, in a much better place than when I found it and this is a big step in that direction.”

That’s why a seemingly random week at the end of June is so meaningful to Boyle. Thanks in large part to Tomlinson and his ability to connect with his former teammates and other prominent former Buffs, over a dozen CU alumni got together for an event Tuesday night in Denver where White was introduced in his new role.

The likes of Spencer Dinwiddie, Alec Burks, Cory Higgins, Andre Roberson and KJ Simpson were all in attendance.

“I’ve been at CU for 16 years, it’s the best event I’ve ever been to,” Boyle said.

Stories were told about the glory days — six NCAA Tournament appearances and 10 NBA draft picks so far in the Boyle era — but more was said about the potential for better days ahead.

“Colorado basketball can be as good as we want it to be,” Boyle said. “Hopefully this gift from Derrick and his wife and his family (will) create momentum that’s very, very positive. His story has been well told and now it’s being retold and it deserves to be because it’s a special story, but I want it to be the impetus for positive change. 

“Instead of talking about what we don’t have, let’s talk about what we can have.”

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NBA players working with their alma maters

Stephen Curry (Warriors) — Assistant general manager, Davidson

Trae Young (Wizards) — Assistant general manager, Oklahoma

Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers) — General manager, Weber State

Terance Mann (Nets) — Assistant general manager, Florida State

James Harden (Cavaliers) — Advisory role, Arizona State

— The Denver Gazette