It's Nov. 6, the first game of the men's basketball season for Western Michigan University, and starting point guard B. Artis White is a bit nervous as he pulls on his No. 3 jersey.

There is another number which White would just as soon forget, though.

It's 612…the number of days since he'd been able to pull on No. 3 and play for the Broncos. And play that night he did, scoring 20 points with four assists, three rebounds and two steals in 41 minutes of action in an 80-76 overtime loss to North Dakota State.

It was a tough loss, but it showed…White was back, even though he tweaked his knee a bit in the game and sat out the next two games.

"I always knew I would be able to come back," the redshirt junior said. "But, would I be the same, have the same explosiveness, the same quickness, the same hops as before?

"I asked God to help me, just be there for me, for whatever I was going through."

White wasn't used to sitting on the bench for long periods of time, but that's what he did for the entire 2022-2023 season. This is his fourth year of competition and he's played 83 games in his WMU career, starting 76 of them and averaging 25.8 minutes per game.

"After the North Dakota State game, he became a little more apprehensive and it was more a mental thing than physical," WMU head coach Dwayne Stephens said. "He's in a really good place now mentally in terms of how his body feels and he's holding up well.

"He looks great, looks like his old self and we hope he continues to keep doing what he's doing."

What he's doing now is averaging 10.2 points a game, but more importantly he's finding teammates who are getting the ball in the hoop. His average of 3.4 assists per game is sixth in the Mid-American Conference.

WMU is tied for first place with Akron and Toledo in the MAC at 3-0. The Broncos (6-9 overall) host Ohio University (7-8, 1-2) on Saturday for a game which starts at noon.

The mental part of the knee injury was definitely the tough part for White.

"It was tough mentally trusting the knee when I got back," he said. "I knew the knee would be stronger, but it might not be as strong as before.

"It plays mind games on you."

While he sat last season, he learned more about the game.

"Seeing everything and the way plays came about," White said about what he observed. "It definitely brought a sense of hope, though, because they believed in me, they kept me, they wanted me here and I could make something happen."

It didn't take him long, like one practice, to start getting his confidence back.

"I felt good, but I definitely was nervous," White said. "I had a few scares where I would land wrong or take a step and it didn't feel right, but that's part of the game.

"It's going to happen and I just had to keep trusting the knee."

One of the things which gave him that confidence was working with WMU assistant coach Chris Fowler.

"He had me doing mobility drills to get my knee right," White said. "He had knee surgeries himself, so he knew about the injury."

White started out the season wearing a small brace with a knee sleeve over it, just as a precaution. It wasn't what he wanted, though.

"I felt a little hindered with it on," he said. "Once I was comfortable how the knee felt, I took the brace and sleeve off in practice and it felt good.

"The knee isn't giving me any problems now."

The point guard brings a lot to the Broncos.

"He has unbelievable quickness, he can shoot the ball from range, he has an out of this world pull up game and he's getting better at making plays for others," the head coach said. "I think he's a bit of a calming influence in that all the guys trust him."

White's return is just part of the improvement WMU has shown in the first three conference games.

"They have a lot of confidence in each other and themselves individually," Stephens said. "Our body language is better and guys are doing a better job of encouraging each other."

Added White: "When we were preparing for the start of the MAC season, a big thing we always say is 'Expect to Win.' That's what it's looking like now."

A huge part of the three wins is that two of them were on the road, beating Miami, 83-74, and Buffalo, 82-77, before edging Northern Illinois at University Arena in overtime, 95-90.

"Coach Heathcote (former Michigan State coach Jud Heathcote) used to say you got to hold serve at home and steal a couple on the road," Stephens said. "And we've been able to steal a couple, so now we need to hold serve and continue to get better."

The road only gets tougher as WMU travels to Akron and Bowling Green for its next games after Saturday's home contest.