‘Inspirational’ Green provides offensive spark
Each time Brian Green sinks a 3-point shot, he slaps his elbows. For most of his debut season at Utah State, no one in the crowd knew what he was doing. At the end of the Western Athletic Conference tournament in Reno, Nev., someone finally asked him what it meant.
“I’m just loading the guns,” he said.
Green, a 6-foot-1-inch guard, is starting his second season at Utah State. He grew up in Kaysville, Utah, playing basketball, as well as baseball and football. After playing at and graduating from Davis High School, he went on to play at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC).
In his two years at SLCC, Green averaged 14 points a game, shooting 44.2 percent from 3-point range. His freshman year, he was named to the National Junior College Athletic Association all-tournament team. That same year, he received the Bud Obee Award, which is given to the best small guard in the national tournament.
His sophomore year, he helped lead the Bruins to a 32-4 record and an appearance in the championship game of the NCJAA tournament.
As he got close to finishing at SLCC, Green said he had a lot of options when it came to deciding where to go next to continue his education along with his basketball career.
He said he had offers from schools across the Big Sky and Big West conferences, as well as from Colorado State and the University of San Diego. In the end, however, he decided USU was the best fit for him.
“It’s all a good fit,” he said. “The way we run our offense, the coaches, the Spectrum and the fans make this a great place to be.”
Green said he knew USU would be a place that would help him achieve his goals.
“My whole life I wanted to play in the NCAA tournament,” he said. “I knew Utah State would give me a good chance of doing that.”
Green’s impact on the USU basketball program has stretched across a very wide range, said Aggie assistant coach Tim Duryea.
“Brian’s always one to dive for a ball, but then he’ll celebrate more for a shot made by a teammate than one of his own,” he said. “He is full of infectious qualities.”
Last season, Green led the Western Athletic Conference in 3-point shooting, making 50 percent of the shots he took.
Green showed promise from the beginning of the season, but it took until spring semester for him to really show what he could do. Once he did, his actions made national waves.
“He had a bit of a slow start,” Duryea said, “but he got his feet wet and became the best shooter in the country. I wouldn’t put it past him to maintain that percentage this year.”
That shooting percentage took Green past the previous school record held by Jaycee Carroll, who shot at 46.5 percent from behind the arc during his career.
“It’s a compliment to be compared to a player like that, and an honor to be able to shoot like him,” Green said. “I wasn’t even trying to break his record, it just happened. I look up to him a lot.”
Duryea said Green’s impact to the team extends past the court.
“Brian’s hard work starts before anyone sees us,” he said. “He’s always helping someone, whether it’s on the court, in the locker room and in things not even related to basketball. He holds people accountable.”
Sophomore Preston Medlin is Green’s fellow guard on the USU basketball team, as well as his roommate.
“We have tons of fun,” he said. “He’s a great guy to live with.”
Medlin said he enjoys playing basketball with Green.
“He’s fun to watch,” he said. “Just give him his space and he makes the shot.”
Going in to this season, the team is really excited, and with good reason. With Green on board and prepared for another run, the Aggies have high expectations. Still, Green said, the team isn’t getting too far head of itself.
“We just don’t want to have any regrets,” he said. “We have a lot to work on, but we’re just going to take it one game at a time.”
The game all Aggie fans are looking forward to is the game at BYU on Nov. 17, but the team isn’t too focused on that game yet.
“That’s still like three games away,” Green said. “We’re excited and we’ll be ready, but we’ve just got to go game by game.”
The coaches and other players all agree Green is a leader both on and off the court.
“Brian leads by example first, and then verbally,” Duryea said. “Every team needs one of those guys.”
Last year, along with forward Tai Wesley, Green was voted “most inspirational player” by his teammates. To keep himself motivated, Green said he makes sure he stays competitive, but doesn’t let it get out of hand.
“I love to win, and it’s a competitive sport,” he said, “but I really just want to have fun.”
This season, Green said he plans to work on his personal defense.
“I need to work on my one-on-one along with a bit of ball handling,” he said.
The guard will be wearing a different jersey for Utah State this year, after being handed the number 12 when he first arrived at USU.
“I just didn’t like it,” he said of his old number. “I needed a change.”
Ideally, Green said he would want to be number 24, his favorite number, but that one has been claimed by senior guard Tyler Newbold for his career. His decision to adopt number 23 for this season wasn’t just based on proximity to his favorite number, however. Green hopes it will help him capture some of the magic of the game’s best player in history.
“I’ve always really looked up to Michael Jordan,” Green said, “so I decided that was a good way to go.”
Green will graduate in May with a degree in psychology. After graduation, he plans to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Green said the team has a lot of chemistry which helps them work really well together.
“We can hang out and have fun, we don’t fight,” he said. “That’s part of what’s special about this team. Our coaches recruit good, quality guys who are also good, quality players.”
Overall, Green said he is very excited about this season.
“It’s my senior year, so I’m just going to play hard and have fun,” he said. “No regrets.”
– megan.allen@aggiemail.usu.edu