Could Royce White’s Fear Of Flying Cost Him In The NBA Draft

There’s a lot of things you can put on your resume that would make an employer think twice about hiring you. For Royce White, Forward for Iowa State and projected first round draft pick, it’s quite possible his fear of flying could be his deal breaker.

Via Yahoo Sports

The difference between his selection points could be significant. Though White is rumored to have a guarantee that he won’t fall below the Boston Celtics (who are working with the 21st and 22nd picks in the 2012 draft), a dip into the second round could mean suffering the disparity between signing a four-year deal guaranteed at around $6 million in total, or an non-guaranteed two-year deal with a starting salary of about a third of the probable $1.2 million White would make in his first year if he were selected by Boston.

White burst onto the scene this past March when he put forth big performances against Connecticut and eventual champion Kentucky in the NCAA tournament. As a result, the 6-foot-8 forward vaulted into the consciousness of NBA talent evaluators and was thought by some to be a lottery pick after declaring early for the draft as a sophomore.

But, like many Americans, White hates to fly. And that’s a big obstacle in the eyes of some NBA executives as players annually face a gauntlet of flights and hotels involved in 41 regular-season road games.

The fear of flying is part of a larger anxiety disorder for White, who has also admitted to struggling with obsessive compulsive disorder and uses medication to control both. That concerns NBA evaluators in light of former NBA draft picks like Eddie Griffin, the No. 7 overall pick in 2001 who battled depression before tragically dying at the age of 25 after his car crashed into a train in 2007 while he was under the influence of alcohol.

Of course a lot of people hate to fly. The problem with White is that his fear is a bit more severe. He’s flown before, however. This sucks that his phobia could take him from the first round, to second round draft pick and cost him millions of guaranteed dollars. Have they tried hypnosis at least?