The key names of that back-to-back championship Florida squad have become common knowledge in basketball circles: Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Corey Brewer. But at the center of those championship teams, manning the helm and maintaining the drive, was point guard Taurean Green. He held the strings and called the plays as the surest team in college basketball in the last two seasons fulfilled its destiny.
Fast forward exactly one hundred days. That same Taurean Green sits in the stands of the Thomas and Mack Center on the campus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the same school at which his father's number is retired. His Florida teammates no longer line-up beside him. Al Horford was selected as the third overall pick in the NBA Draft, going to Atlanta. Brewer went seventh to Minnesota, Noah ninth to Chicago. Green was drafted as well. He went 52nd overall - the 22nd pick in the second round - to the Portland Trail Blazers. Though he was selected in the same draft as his college brothers, he now stands in a world apart. First round picks in the NBA sign fully-guaranteed, multi-million dollar contracts. Their teams are heavily invested in them and they are all but assured of making the big-league roster and seeing substantial playing time. Second round picks are a different story. Neither contracts nor a spot in the show are guaranteed. Those who prove themselves in early-summer practices and the NBA Summer League get invited to Fall training camp where they have an outside chance of making the main club. Most collect their per diem, a small stipend, and a polite handshake from the general manager and assistant coaches on their way out the door.
That is why Green sits here in Las Vegas, watching two other Summer League teams play as he prepares for the Blazers’ next contest a couple of hours away. In a city built on the belief that long-shot odds do come through, he’s trying to convince the Trailblazers to gamble on the one-time sure thing.
Green’s on-court demeanor leaves no doubt that he feels he belongs here as much as any of his former teammates. In basketball jargon, he’s a guy with "a motor." Once his sneakers hit the court they never stop moving. He keeps his body in front of his man while defending, a feat which seems beyond many of his peers who have been bred towards offense more than defense. That energy and commitment have endeared him to fans and team officials alike. The team has expressed admiration for Green publicly, a rarity on a squad that now numbers the conversation-dominating Greg Oden - Green’s former championship game adversary - among its members. Knowledgeable fans are applauding his efforts.
But not everything has gone as smoothly as planned.
Green’s shot isn’t falling in Vegas. Scouts and coaches talk about doing the little things right but at the end of the day the big scorers usually get the lion’s share of attention even among professionals. He also averages more turnovers than assists, a huge detriment for a player auditioning for the role of back-up point guard. Coaches don’t look for flair in their reserve helmsmen. They want consistency... someone they can trust to manage the game until the starters come back in. The cardinal rule is simple: don’t give up the ball. Even in this chaotic swirl of NBA-speed basketball among players who barely know each other, each turnover is a black mark for an aspiring floor general.
A game impending and his future still up in the air, Taurean Green took the time to sit down and talk to About.com about all these things and more.
About.com: Did you always know you’d be a basketball player?
Green: I’ve always wanted to be a basketball player. It was a dream of mine growing up in a basketball home, my dad being in the NBA. Ever since I was little I’ve been playing basketball.
