Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Analysis: Jay Green brings quirky game to UNLV basketball

UNLV Basketball Versus Wyoming

L.E. Baskow

UNLV head coach Marvin Menzies does his best to keep his players dialed in versus Wyoming during their game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016.

Jay Green was the first player from the class of 2017 to commit to UNLV, but his November pledge was eventually overshadowed by incoming star recruits such as Brandon McCoy, Amauri Hardy and Shakur Juiston. It’s understandable why Green has been overlooked — as an unranked, three-star prospect, his recruitment couldn’t hold a candle to something like the McCoy saga in terms of plot twists and excitement, and there simply wasn’t as much information available about Green.

Compared to the rest of the class, Green was an unknown. The native of Australia moved to the United States and played as a post-grad at Hillcrest Prep in Arizona last year, so there wasn’t a lot of game footage available and the hype machine had a difficult time getting revved up.

But now that he’s on campus, how will the 6-foot-5 guard contribute this season? Even after watching a handful of his games from last season, it’s still difficult to project how Green’s skill set will fit in.

Green is listed as a guard, but at Hillcrest he didn’t really play a backcourt position. In offensive sets, he was often utilized in post-up situations, either on the low block or on the elbow. Green did show good vision and passing skills from those spots on the floor, but it’s unlikely he’ll be used similarly at UNLV:

When Green did get out on the perimeter, the results were mixed. The left-hander was fairly elusive when the defense allowed him to go to his strong side, but he struggled when forced to go right. When his preferred driving lanes were closed, he lacked the athleticism or burst to beat his man off the dribble consistently:

Green did show a nose for the basket, however. When creases were available, he was quite good at snaking his way to the rim and converting, usually by getting to his strong side and finishing with his left hand:

Guards that can’t consistently win with penetration usually need a solid jump shot to keep defenses honest. The threat of the 3-pointer can sometimes pull defenders closer and make it easier for athletically-challenged ball-handlers to drive past. In the games we watched, however, Green didn’t display that kind of 3-point ability.

He attempted just five 3-pointers in four games, making only one:

In the open court, Green looked like a better finisher than playmaker. He was able to get above the rim easily to throw down an alley-oop, but when put in a position to create with the ball in his hands, he turned it over twice in two transition opportunities:

One aspect of Green’s game that stood out was his toughness. He is a smart player, constantly in motion on offense, and he pursues rebounds like a much bigger player. Whereas most players concede defensive rebounds on free throws, Green battled for the offensive board every time and came away with a good amount:

When viewed in whole, Green remains hard to peg as a player. He’s a 6-foot-5 guard, but he doesn’t shoot or handle like a guard. Instead, he shows passing ability out of the post and a nose for finishing and swiping offensive rebounds. Defensively, there just wasn’t enough available footage to draw any conclusions about Green’s ability on that end of the floor, though he showed good hands by digging out a few steals as a help defender. It’s an odd skill set for a player his size, and it remains to be seen how it will translate to the college level.

It’s worth noting that the recruiting landscape was entirely different for UNLV at the time of Green’s commitment. Marvin Menzies had been on the job for about six months and had yet to land a true difference-maker, and the prevailing thought was that it would take until 2018 (at the earliest) for the Rebels to put together a good, foundation-type class. From that perspective, Green could have looked like an intriguing “jack of all trades” type worth developing for a few years, rather than an immediate contributor.

Another angle to Green’s recruitment is the status of his younger brother, Josh Green. Josh is also a 6-foot-5 guard, but his stock is much higher in recruiting circles, as Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 28 prospect in the nation for the Class of 2019. So if Menzies, six months on the job, felt that bringing in Jay Green might give the Rebels a leg up in the younger brother’s recruitment, it was probably a risk worth taking.

It will take a while — maybe even a year or two — before we know what UNLV has in Jay Green. His quirky style of play could have a place on the roster, but odds are it won’t be this season.

Editor’s Note: As the UNLV roster turns over in Marvin Menzies’ first full offseason, the Sun’s Mike Grimala will break down each new incoming recruit.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.

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