Jeff Green's Game is NBA-Ready

There's a big time NBA player lurking in the college ranks and his last name isn't Durant or Oden. If you haven't seen Georgetown junior forward Jeff Green play, then the Final Four should be quite a treat.

That's not to say that Durant and Oden will have inferior professional careers, because I happen to hold both in very high regard. Green is just quietly showing that he has the ability to be just as good. Standing six feet and about nine inches, the forward is a unique player. His game combines the creative offensive prowess of Elgin Baylor, the size of Magic Johnson, and the on-court savvy of a handful of NBA legends. Like the Georgetown greats before him, Green has shown the ability to elevate his play when the Hoyas need it the most.

When I wrote my Big East preview in November, I predicted Georgetown to finish on the top of the league. I also predicted Jeff Green to make first team All-Big East. I don't mean to pat myself on the back, I just write that to tell you that even with those predictions, I had no idea how good Jeff Green really is. In new-age basketball where the emphasis is on statistics, Green isn't even a real stat-sheet stuffer. He just gets it done quietly, going about his business in an offense that doesn't leave much room for personal adornment.

He averages just over fifteen points and only about six rebounds. CBS Sportsline lists Green, in its power rankings, as the 45th best forward in America and only the 98th most productive player in all of college basketball. Excuse me if I no longer take those player rankings seriously. Green's game is fluffy, like cotton candy or soft clouds on a warm spring day. He never gets flustered and he never seems to have to push down on the gas petal. Still, he gets where he's going with a great deal of style and ease. Green shoots the three pointer so well that sometimes you forget he's almost seven feet tall. His running hook shot comes right out of the 1970s. With every passing game, it appears that Jeff Green is trying to single handedly return the mid-range game to its previous glory days. Did I mention that he's been known to throw down some pretty good dunks? John Thompson likes him because he's the team's best defender and most athletic rebounder. Simply put, Green is Georgetown's all-purpose man. He's a Chone Figgins of sorts.

Jeff Green's game is the best when it needs to be. Against Notre Dame in the semifinals of the Big East tournament, he scored a bucket with less than ten seconds to go to give the Hoyas the lead. He followed that 30 point performance with a double double in the championship game against Pittsburgh. He's continued to send his stock sky rocketing in the NCAA tournament by coming up big against Boston College in the second half of that second round game and by scoring another game winner against Vanderbilt with just a couple of seconds on the clock. It's a little bit sad to watch him rise up draft boards, though, because Jeff Green is no longer America's best kept secret. There was a time when many thought he'd declare for the draft and go somewhere in the 15-20 range. Now, he's a top ten player in most draft projections.

I, for one, will be following Jeff Green and his bunch of hungry Hoyas in this weekend's Final Four. When he graduates his advanced game to the next level, I'll follow him closely there, too. Not only has Green made a huge impact on college basketball, but it's players like him who will bring the NBA back to its former glory.