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Why Kansas guard Brannen Greene is entering the NBA draft
The latest Kansas player to turn pro has started only three games in three years in Lawrence, has been in and out of Bill Self's dog house and has never averaged more than 5.7 points per game in a single season.
Reserve guard Brannen Greene is entering the NBA draft and hiring an agent, a decision he and his family feel good about despite his modest track record.
"He's spent the past few days in discussion with the coaching staff and feels that from the feedback he's heard regarding NBA tryouts, he's confident he can join an NBA team next season," father Jeffrey Green told Yahoo Sports via text message on Wednesday. "He feels like the only way to make this decision is to fully commit and will not entertain going back to college."
The attributes that will be Greene's ticket to a professional career — whether in the NBA or elsewhere — are his size and his lethal jump shot. The 6-foot-7 guard shot 49.2 percent from behind the arc this season and 42.2 percent from his career, good enough to make him one of college basketball's most feared perimeter marksmen.
Whether Greene goes undrafted or not will depend on if he can prove to NBA teams that he can do more than just catch and shoot. That has been his role off the bench at Kansas all three seasons, and that was unlikely to change had he returned as a senior.
Guards Frank Mason and Devonte Graham are penciled in as near-certain starters at two backcourt spots. The departure of Wayne Selden frees up the third, but Kansas is heavily pursuing elite recruits Josh Jackson and Terrrence Ferguson and has promising wing Svi Mykhailiuk as an option besides Greene in the unlikely event neither become Jayhawks.
Greene also has not always endeared himself to the Kansas coaching staff during his career. He served a five-game suspension early this season and drew Self's ire again in conference play when he needlessly dunked at the final buzzer against Kansas State to extend the Jayhawks' lead to 18.
"That was probably the biggest [expletive] move I've ever had a player do during a game," Self said on his postgame radio show.
With all that in mind, Greene essentially had three options. He could turn pro and not look back. He could return and risk playing a bit role once again. Or he could explore transfer options even if that meant sitting out a full year.
Jeffrey Greene says the latter option was never a realistic possibility.
"He wouldn't even consider transferring," the elder Greene said. "He wanted to be known as a former KU basketball player."
As a result, Greene is headed to the draft with no regrets. There's no guarantee he'll crack an NBA roster as he and his family hope, but anyone with his size and his shooting ability will at least have an opportunity to turn some heads.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
