When asked to describe the impact junior forward Stevie Green has on the Washington basketball team coach Steve Flowers said, “We go as he goes.”
So far the Pam Pack has been going pretty well as it is 4-2 on the year thanks in part to Green, who’s having a monster season tallying team-highs in points and rebounds per night with 14 and seven, respectively.
Last Friday Green put forth his best outing of the season as he scored 23 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in Washington’s overtime loss at Jacksonville.
At 6-2, Green has decent size for a forward and is capable of slashing to the basket or scoring on putbacks. The junior’s contributions are counted on heavily by Washington, which is amazing considering he couldn’t even get on the court for a JV game as a freshman.
“My ninth grade year I didn’t make the team,” Green said. “But in my 10th grade year I tried again and I made varsity.”
Green not only made the varsity team last year, but was its top scorer and rebounder. Though he has had a meteoric rise through the Pam Pack hoops system he remains humble.
“It’s good but I know I got to improve more on my game,” Green said.
Ideally, Green is best suited to play the wing, but with Washington lacking in the height department the athletic junior is asked to do it all.
“He’s kind of a slasher but he’s mostly an offensive rebound putback guy,” Flowers said. “He got a lot of points the other night (against Jacksonville) doing that.”
Flowers said in order for Washington to have a successful season Green will have to continue to be a force in the paint.
“He’s got to keep doing what he’s doing,” Green said. “He’s going to have to be our leading scorer and our leading rebounder.”
With the decision to not play basketball by Washington senior Jimmy Williams, who was a WDN All-Area first-teamer last season, Green must not only pick up the slack scoring-wise but also increase his role as a leader along with captains D.J. Bell and Tyvon Copeland.
Green tends to defer to Bell and Copeland, but said when the team is struggling he has to be more of an active leader.
“When everything is going well it’s good, but when we’re down we have to talk up the court and try to get things going,” Green said. “As a junior that’s a little hard because we are a team with five seniors.”
Though his game speaks volumes, Flowers said Green is more of a quiet, even-keeled type of person on the court.
“He’s quiet and reserved. He’s leadership is that he’s a leader by example,” Flowers said. “He’s not excitable. He doesn’t get way up or way down.”
Way up is where is hoops career appears to be headed and Flowers said if his game continues to grow at this pace the sky is the limit.
“By next year he could be phenomenal,” Flowers said. “He didn’t play his ninth grade year and then he started on varsity his next year, so if he grows that much every year he could be a really good player.”