John Green (basketball)

Last updated
John Green
John Green portrait.png
Green with UCLA c. 1962
Personal information
Born (1940-07-30) July 30, 1940 (age 84)
Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
College
NBA draft 1962: 3rd round, 26th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Position Guard
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference

John Bernard Green [1] (born July 30, 1940) [2] is an American former college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins. He received honorable mention as an All-American in his senior year in 1962, when he led the Bruins in scoring, and they advanced to their first Final Four. Green was thrice voted all-conference in the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), including a first-team selection. He was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the third round of the 1962 NBA draft.

Contents

Early life

Green was born in Rochester, Minnesota. [3] He grew up in Houston (MN), [4] where his father, Bernard, ran a drugstore, before moving to South St. Paul. [3] Green attended South St. Paul High School, where he played basketball as a sophomore. In 1956, his family moved to San Fernando, California. [3] As a senior at San Fernando High School in 1958, the center-forward led the Valley League in scoring with 184 points and an 18.4 per game average, despite being double teamed by most opponents. [5] He was named the league's player of the year. [5] [6] Green also played baseball and led the league with a .400 batting average. [7] He then went to Pierce College and earned player of the year honors in the Western State Conference as a freshman after averaging close to 25 points per game. [6] [8]

Basketball career

Green transferred to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he was a three-year starter at guard for the Bruins. [6] [9] Extroverted and lively, he was nicknamed "the Mouth" by his teammates. [10] Green earned second-team All-AAWU honors in each of his first two seasons. [11] He led the team in scoring as a sophomore in 1959–60 with 265 points in 26 games for an average of 10.2 points per game, and ranked fourth in 1960–61 with 324 points (12.5 per game). [2] [12] In his senior year in 1961–62, UCLA began the season slowly, losing seven of their first 11 games. [13] The team grew adept at handling sophomore guard Walt Hazzard's incredible passes, which they initially thought were impossible and were not expecting. [10] He became a catalyst for their fast breaks. [14] The Bruins went 12–2 to become AAWU champions. [15] They clinched the title against Washington after coming back from 12 points down with 12 minutes remaining. Green won the game with a driving layup. [10]

Unranked all season, [16] UCLA entered the 1962 NCAA tournament with the worst record at 16–9. [17] They reached the Final Four for the first time in the school's history, and the first of 12 for their coach, John Wooden. [3] The Bruins lost 72–70 to No. 2–ranked and eventual champion Cincinnati, after the Bearcats' Tom Thacker made a deep 25-foot (7.6 m) shot with three seconds remaining. [15] [16] Green finished the game with a team-high 27 points, [18] including 19 in the second half and two free throws to tie the contest with 1:34 remaining. [19] He was chosen for the all-tournament second team. [20] UCLA's leading scorer for the season at 19.3 points per game, [21] he developed into one of the country's top shooters. [22] He played at top speed, convinced that Hazzard would get him the ball if he got open. [10] Green was voted an honorable mention All-American by United Press International. [23] The Helms Foundation named him a first-team All-American, [24] while Converse placed him on their second team. [lower-alpha 1] [25] He was a unanimous selection for the All-AAWU first team. [26] Green's season total of 559 points ranked second in UCLA history, behind Willie Naulls' 661 points in 1955–56. Green's 262 free throw attempts were almost twice as many as the next teammate. [lower-alpha 2] [28] He left the Bruins ranked No. 4 in school history with 1,148 career points. [lower-alpha 3] He was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001. [3]

Green was the leading scorer on UCLA's first Final Four team. John Green dribbling.png
Green was the leading scorer on UCLA's first Final Four team.

Green was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the third round of the 1962 NBA draft with the 26th overall pick. [2] He was impressive at the their rookie camp in June, when Lakers coach Fred Schaus said that "Green's good collegiate background is evident here" and he "can probably make the squad". [30] [31] However, they released him in September after acquiring veteran guard Dick Barnett. [32] [33] Schaus was satisfied with his backcourt of Barnett and Hot Rod Hundley as backups to starters Jerry West and Frank Selvy. [34] Later that year, Green played in the San Fernando Valley Municipal Sports Association's preseason basketball tournament, [35] and won the championship with Goddard's. [36] In 1963, he played in the Valley College summer league with Powers Realty. [37] In the championship game, Green scored a game-high 24 points in a 81–63 win over Entre Nous. [38]

Later years

Green worked in banking and real estate appraising before retiring and moving back to Houston in 2003. [3]

Notes

  1. ↑ UPI was used to compile the consensus All-American team that season. Helms (1929–1948) and Converse (1932–1948) had also been used in the past. [25]
  2. ↑ Hazzard was second with 143. [27]
  3. ↑ Ahead of him were Naulls (1,225), John Moore (1,202) and Walt Torrence (1,181). [29]

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References

  1. ↑ "Pat Taylor Weds John Bernard Green". The Newhall Signal. July 5, 1962. p. 3. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "John Green Stats". Basketball Reference. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Shooter: John Wooden became Minnesotan's friend for life". Pioneer Press. June 15, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Shooter Now: Wooden memorial brought Green to tears; Stars, Modano part; W.Va. adds Kevin Noreen". Pioneer Press. June 28, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "John Green Selected News' Player of the Year". The Van Nuys. February 2, 1958. p. 1-B. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 Mandel, Stan (June 17, 1962). "Hoop Star John Green Gets Lakers Tryout". Los Angeles Times. p. F-8. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "The News Presents Sports Highlights of 1958". The Van Nuys News. January 11, 1959. p. 1-B. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Top College Stars of 1959". The Van Nuys News. January 3, 1960. p. 28-A. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "John Green (2001) - Hall of Fame - UCLA". UCLA Athletics. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Cave, Ray (March 19, 1962). "Wizards in the Land of Oz". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Green, Goodrich to Start In Varsity-Frosh Contest". The Valley News. November 24, 1961. p. 2-B. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "John Green Leads UCLA In Title Quest". The Daily Herald. March 16, 1962. p. 20. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Bruins Trample Beavers, 88–69". Independent-Press-Telgram. UPI. March 18, 1962. p. C-1. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Davis, Seth (2014). Wooden: A Coach's Life. St. Martin's Press. p. 189. ISBN   9781250060853.
  15. 1 2 Bolch, Ben (April 22, 2021). "UCLA's Final Four run reminiscent of the team that sparked John Wooden's dynasty". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Howard-Cooper, Scott (1999). The Bruin 100: The Greatest Games in the History of UCLA Basketball. Addux Publishing Group. p. 124. ISBN   1886110565 . Retrieved October 17, 2024– via Google Books.
  17. ↑ "UCLA Triumphs; Pepperdine Falls". Daily Breeze. AP. March 17, 1962. p. 4. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Jerry Norman an overlooked figure in UCLA basketball". Daily Breeze. March 4, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Knee Injury May Hamper Play Of Ohio's Top Star". Troy Daily News. March 24, 1962. p. 4. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Paul Hogue Receives MVP Award In NCAA Tourney". Bristol Herald Courier. UPI. March 26, 1962. p. 6. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Well Balanced UCLA Cage Team Made Them Click". The California Eagle. April 19, 1962. p. 6. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Troy 'Must' Sweep UCLA Series". Daily Breeze. February 16, 1962. p. 23. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "UPI All-American". Gazette-Times. March 13, 1962. p. 9. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  24. ↑ "Helms Honors All-Americans". Evening Vanguard. April 3, 1962. p. 7. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  25. 1 2 Johnson, Gary K. (October 2005). NCAA Men's Basketball Finest (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association. pp. 188, 189, 211. ISSN   1521-2955 . Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Windsor Makes All-Big Five". The Times. March 16, 1962. p. 20. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ "1961-62 UCLA Bruins Men's Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Johnny Green Inks Contract With Lakers". The Van Nuys News. May 31, 1962. p. 22-C. Retrieved November 1, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  29. ↑ Mandel, Stan (April 22, 1962). "Bruins' Cage Marks Glow". Los Angeles Times. p. W12. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  30. ↑ Chortkoff, Mitch (June 23, 1962). "Rookie Centers Impress Schaus". Daily Breeze. p. 7. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ Twombley, Wells A. (June 22, 1962). "Rich Lakers Getting Richer". Valley Times. p. 16. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  32. ↑ "Lakers Trade Hawking to Cincinnati". Daily Breeze. September 14, 1962. p. 1. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  33. ↑ "Schaus Raves Over New Guard Barnett". Daily Breeze. September 8, 1962. p. 11. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  34. ↑ Chortkoff, Mitch (September 19, 1962). "Schaus' Job Hits Peak". Daily Breeze. p. 54. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  35. ↑ "Muni Basketball Meet Under Way". Valley Times. November 21, 1962. p. 12. Retrieved October 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  36. ↑ "Goddard's Tops Muni Loop Cagers". Los Angeles Times. December 20, 1962. p. F8. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  37. ↑ "14 Teams Prep for '63 Openers". The Van Nuys News. June 23, 1963. p. 3-B. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ Breen, Jim (August 27, 1963). "Powers Realty Cagers Climax Season By Winning Title". Valley Times. p. 10. Retrieved October 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
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