Golden State Warriors: The rise of Draymond Green
By Tony Pesta
College and pre-draft
Draymond Green first got his name into the spotlight while playing for Saginaw High School back in 2007. As a senior, Green averaged 20.0 points, 13.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks a game. This elevated his team to a 27-1 record and placed Green at No. 36 on ESPN’s top 150 high school players list.
On June 28, 2007, Green committed to Michigan State University. There, he played under the guidance of legendary coach Tom Izzo. With the help of Izzo, Green was transformed into a jack-of-all-trades.
His game was greatly improved as he became an all-around threat on the court. By his senior year, Green was averaging 16.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. As a result, Green was crowned as the 2011-12 Big Ten Player of the Year.
Despite showing potential at Michigan State, the scouting reports for Green weren’t great. Coming into the 2012 NBA Draft, Green was listed as a questionable defender. Scouts believed he was too short to guard the taller players and lacked the lateral quickness to defend opponents shorter than him. Because of this, Greens draft stock plummeted.