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American basketball player (born 1940) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Personal information | |
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Born | Rochester, Minnesota, U.S. | July 30, 1940
Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
Listed weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
Career information | |
College |
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NBA draft | 1962: 3rd round, 26th overall pick |
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers | |
Position | Guard |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Stats at Basketball Reference |
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]
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 left the Bruins ranked No. 4 in school history with 1,148 career points.[lower-alpha 2] He was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.[3]
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".[28][29] However, they released him in September after acquiring veteran guard Dick Barnett.[30][31] Schaus was satisfied with his backcourt of Barnett and Hot Rod Hundley as backups to starters Jerry West and Frank Selvy.[32] Later that year, Green played in the San Fernando Valley Municipal Sports Association's preseason basketball tournament,[33] and won the championship with Goddard's.[34] In 1963, he played in the Valley College summer league with Powers Realty.[35] In the championship game, Green scored a game-high 24 points in a 81–63 win over Entre Nous.[36]
Green worked in banking and real estate appraising before retiring and moving back to Houston in 2003.[3]
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