Brannen Greene at Late Night in the Phog
Kansas basketball fans likely woke up sad, confused and still upset that the Jayhawks fell to Davidson in Kansas City Monday night. Those feelings can now quickly change to smiles and excitement this morning with the committment of 2013 SG Brannen Greene (Mary Persons/Monroe, GA). The 6’8″ and now 198 pound Greene chose Kansas over UCONN, Florida State, Florida, Georgia Tech and Louisville, amongst others, when he informed the Kansas coaches of his decision Monday afternoon.
“I let them know yesterday around 2:00,” said Greene of when he informed the Kansas staff of his decision to join Jayhawk Nation. “I feel excited,” he added.
Greene unofficially visited Kansas in October for Late Night in the Phog. It was there that Greene got a crash course in what Kansas basketball is all about and that visit confirmed what his parents had been telling him about Kansas all along.
“The visit gave them (KU) an extra boost. I would say things were pretty even then (between schools on his list) and maybe some schools were even in front of Kansas then,” said Greene. ” The fans and tradition are great. The campus showed me that I could excel there academically and socially as well,” said Greene about his visit to Kansas.
As far as Greene’s future major. Business is the front runner for Greene right now.
Greene is the second player in the 2013 class to commit to Kansas. PG Conner Frankamp (Wichita North/Wichita, KS) committed to Kansas this past summer and now Greene plans to hit the recruiting trail in hopes of getting a few more 2013 prospects to make the call to Kansas. Chris Walker, Isaiah Lewis and Allerik Freeman are all players that have often been mentioned as players that could attend the same school that Greene attends. Now that Greene is a Jayhawk it certainly is no guarantee that those
players will also be Kansas bound, but Greene will make sure they know that Jayhawk Nation is the place to be.
“Oh yes! I’m going to start recruiting now,” said Greene. “I’m going to hit the recruiting trail hard – like a coach. With those guys (Walker, Lewis and Freeman) and guys like Jordan Mickey and Julius Randle,” Greene added.
Greene’s father Jeffrey, might be even more excited about his son committing to Kansas. Jeffrey, who holds the single season scoring record at Pittsburg State University, fell in love with Kansas basketball many years ago and has followed them since.
“I’m excited as heck! I’m very proud and happy! I had a chance to see the environment during an All-Star game and thought it was special to see the love and affection fans have for the program,” said Greene about Kansas. “I then became a fan of the Jayhawks and I started to follow them and the way that Coach Self recruited Brannen and the entire family – it made the decision easy and both myself and his mother felt that it was the best environment to marry our son to,” Jeffrey Greene added.
Greene’s experience at Pitt St. was something that he shared with his son because moving far away from home isn’t something that is easy to do for anyone at any age.
“To me it’s the best school in the world and I had the best time of my life,” said Greene of Pitt State. “And they just got another National Championship,” he added about the Gorillas winning the Division II National Title last weekend.
“For me it was a wonderful thing. Over time you develop certain habit when hanging out with friends in your neighborhood and doing the same things all of the time with them. In moving 900 miles away from home all I had was my parents to rely on so I had to make new friends,” said Greene about his experience moving away for college. “It’s really a chance to mature and grow. I wouldn’t be who I am today if I hadn’t experienced that. Back then I was a young black man from the south and I went to a small town in the Midwest and no one seemed to notice that. Both his mother (who is originally from Neosho, MO) and I felt that it would be great for Brannen no matter where he decided to go to school,” Greene added.
As a former college basketball player himself, Greene has a pretty good handle on what Brannen does well on the court.
“His basketball intelligence,” answered Greene about what stands out about Brannen’s game on the court. “He makes the right decisions and really understands the dynamics of the game. At about 6’8″ and 198 pounds he can score, pass and really handles the ball well. He’s still only 16 years old, so right now he has above average strength for his age and he is so long and lanky,” he added about Brannen’s game.
Brannen certainly won’t stop putting in the work to keep getting better to ensure that he’s as ready as he can be for the college game once he arrives on campus.
“I’m working a lot on my post game because at my height I can post up a lot of smaller guards,” said Greene about what he’s working to improve on the court. “I’m also working a lot at point guard because the Kansas coaches that I could play the 1-3 positions on the court,” he added.
As for why Greene decided to commit to Kansas during his junior year of high school? It was just the right time.
“The actual recruiting process has been going on for years. He got his first letter back when he was in 8th grade from Georgia Tech – and it hasn’t stopped since,” said Jeffrey Greene. “Now he can enjoy this portion of his life and to be honest it would be disrespectful to Kansas, Duke, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State and all of the other schools that have taken the time during the process for us to continue to allow it to continue even though he had made a decision,” Greene added.
Brannen has said for some time now that his decision would come sometime in December or January and Kansas was just the right decision for him.
“Coach Self came out to see me the other day and after talking to my dad the time was just right,” said Greene about his decision to commit to Kansas.
For Kansas fans – the timing is perfect.
