Complex sentence: Howard had basketball in his blood well before The White Shadow "debuted; the nickname' The White Shadow" was given to him in 1961 by the Long Island press as he was the only Caucasian starter on the Manhasset High School varsity basketball team.
Split into simpler sentences: Howard had basketball in his blood well before "The White Shadow" debuted. The nickname "The White Shadow" was given him, by the Long Island press, in 1961, as Howard was the only Caucasian starter on the Manhasset High School varsity basketball team.