Draymond Green’s college credentials are nearly impeccable:
* First-team All-American.
* Big Ten Player of the Year.
* Averaged a double-double in points/rebounds in both of his final two seasons.
* Made two Final Four appearances, and was part of three Big Ten regular-season championships and one conference-tournament title.
* Played in 145 games over a four-year career at Michigan State.
But can he make it in the NBA?
Green (6-foot-7, 230 pounds) is being projected by many analysts as a late first-round pick for Thursday’s draft, but there are questions about whether he’s too much of a “tweener” – not tall enough to play power forward, not quick and agile enough to guard small forwards.
To some, he’s a classic case of someone who is in-between positions, which could result in him sliding to the second round.
Green has a very simple answer for anybody who wonders about his position at the next level.
“I’m just a player,” Green says, flashing his contagious smile.
Before and after his team’s NCAA Tournament game against Michigan State last spring, Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus raved about Green.
But Majerus was usually quick to interject “collegiate” whenever analyzing Green’s greatness as a player.
Stardom in college doesn’t always translate to success in the NBA.
“He’s going to have to go to the right team,” Green’s college coach, Tom Izzo, said. “He’s not going to be a draft pick of just everybody because he doesn’t have that size or that speed or athleticism that unfortunately a lot of people get caught up in.”
Izzo, naturally, is a little biased. But he’s also been up-close-and-personal the last four years to observe Green’s multitude of skills and intangibles.
A player’s measureables and his perceived potential are more attractive to scouts and general managers these days than production and reality.
The eyeball test often loses out to stop watches and measuring sticks.
“I still marvel at the NBA and the NFL about how a combine workout, where somebody puts the clock a little faster, can make a difference (in draft value),” Izzo said. “It makes me want to be a GM. I think I’d have a leg up on a lot of people.”
Green is one of those players who have a knack for making basketball plays even if he’s not the biggest, fastest, quickest.
He’s a winner.
He’s a leader.
And he's smart.
Despite not being an exceptional individual defender in terms of athleticism, Green helped take Michigan State’s defense to a higher level because of his intelligence and communication.
He also filled a point-forward role at times because he is such a good passer with uncanny court vision.
Off the floor, Izzo compared Green to the likes of Magic Johnson and Mateen Cleaves, two of the best leaders who ever played at Michigan State, or anywhere, for that matter.
Nobody is more picky and demanding when it comes to leadership than Izzo.
Green will be the ultimate NBA glue guy – dependable teammate, quintessential role player - for whatever team selects him.
He also will be one of the top rebounders to come out of this draft class because he takes pride in doing it more than anyone else.
“He has a knack for the ball,” Izzo said.
Some have described Green as a “NBA-ready player” because of his experience, maturity and basketball IQ.
What’s being questioned is his upside. Has he already gotten the most of his ability? Has he peaked?
Two NBA players who Green has been compared to are Miami’s 6-foot-8, 225-pound Shane Battier (for his court sense) and 6-8, 235-pound Udonis Haslem (for his toughness).
Battier was the No. 6 pick overall coming out of Duke in 2001. Haslem was not drafted a year later after playing at Florida.
Other comparisons could be drawn between Green and Utah’s 6-8, 253-pound Paul Millsap and New Orleans’ 6-9, 248-pound Carl Landry. Millsap and Landry were both second-round picks.
Some of the current projections have Green going to Indiana with the 26th pick, Miami at 27 or Oklahoma City at 28.
Green, a Saginaw, Mich., native, made visits to work out for all three of those teams. Other clubs who have shown interest include Boston, Chicago, Golden State, San Antonio and Minnesota. Pistons president Joe Dumars is also a big proponent of Green, who is good friends with Dumars’ son, Jordan.
Whoever ends up taking Green isn’t going to get the prototype power forward or the typical small forward.
But they’re going to have an extremely versatile player who will find a way to make it, one way or another, in the NBA.
