After completing the long journey from Louisville to Ohlone College (Calif.) to Division I basketball, senior Mychal Green has finally settled down in Athens to help lead the Bobcats toward the top of the Mid-American Conference this season. The Post's Nick Miller sat down to talk with Green about birthday gifts, juco ball and Randy Moss' booty dance.
Post: Get anything good for your birthday after the game Saturday (Jan. 15)?
Green: A lot of my family members came down -my aunt, my parents and sister -then we went out to dinner after the game. My parents come to all my home games, but it was nice for my aunt to come.
Post: Tell me about the trip from how you went to play junior college ball in California to back here.
Green: It was a chance happening. One of my best friends, Robert Smith, who went to Coppin State right out of high school and didn't like the situation, was going to play juco (junior college) in California, and he had never been to California, so he asked me if I was still interested in playing basketball so I could go out there with him. I said of course, then I got in contact with the coach, and he told me to come out. And as luck would have it, the coach liked how I played and wanted me to come back, and it worked out.
Post: Did you go somewhere before heading to Ohlone?
Green: I went to Louisville after playing four years of high school ball and just went to school.
Post: What got you to come to Ohio after your two years at Ohlone?
Green: Just the whole situation. When I was looking for a school, I wanted somewhere I could play right away and got along with the coaches. Those were the two main things. It wasn't a big thing about coming home; I'm not really into that.
Post: What's the biggest difference between playing juco and Division I ball?
Green: Probably just the intensity level and the speed of the game. Everything else is pretty much the same. It's still basketball, you prepare a little more with scouting reports and stuff like that. I was fortunate to come from a good juco program where I was pretty prepared.
Post: How many hours a week do you think about basketball?
Green: How many hours? (Laughs) All the time. Especially when it isn't the season -that's all I think about. Even with classes, once I'm done with class in the morning, I am thinking about practice and playing the upcoming game.
Post: Into any sports other than basketball?
Green: I'm into every sport really. Football, baseball, everything. I'll end up watching the whole draft, all seven rounds. Lots a people don't like baseball, but I do. I used to play baseball, and I am still into it. In football, I like the 49ers, so I had a rough season to watch.
Post: What do you think of Randy Moss and his antics and when other players run their mouths and get in trouble?
Green: A lot of times the media and people blow it out of proportion. I am a fan of football, and I think the players should have their freedom of expression. Sometimes they can go overboard with all the cell phones last year. But a lot of things TO (Terrell Owens) does I don't really have a problem with.
Same with Moss, everyone made a big deal out of his mock moon, but that wasn't anything for a fine. The thing I don't like about Moss, though, is when he says he'll play whenever he wants to, he might not mean it like that, but it implies that he doesn't always go hard.
Post: If you had one word to describe your basketball career up to this point, what would it be?
Green: Perseverance. A lot of people come out of high school and get recruited; they can go play wherever they want and play right away. I really had to stick with it, because my basketball career was over, so I went to school to be a student. So I got really into lifting and working out at Louisville, and then my friend got me to go with him to California.
Post: What was the last CD you listened to?
Green: On the way to practice I listened to Mos Def Black on Both Sides.
Post: Are you a person who likes all kinds of music?
Green: Nah, I only listen to hip-hop. I don't listen to too much rap, per se, the mainstream stuff. I'm into the lyrics. A lot of people like the beat or club songs, but I don't like all that R&B stuff, I like hip-hop. Mos Def and Talib Kweli, stuff like that.
Post: Any favorite books or TV shows?
Green: I do read a lot of books. A lot of people try to tease me about it at times, but when the team goes different places, my teammates buy shoes or clothes, I'll buy a book. I really like mafia books and things about the mob just because they are true stories, and you learn about the history and why things happened.
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Mychal Green
