Irvine Believes in Green

Jerry Green isn’t the first talented basketball player to say how much faith he has in himself and he won’t be the last.

But to the talented senior guard and bedrock of a revived UC Irvine program, having faith is a claim he doesn’t take lightly.

Faith is the belief that by the end of this weekend, some how, some way, he can lead the Anteaters to a Big West Conference tournament championship and their first NCAA berth.

Faith is what powers the confidence that he can take the ball in his hands for a last-second shot--and make it.

Faith is what he leans on as he dreams of the NBA.

More than anything, though, faith is what binds the Green family, a close-knit unit drawing strength from a Pomona church founded in the 1960s by Green’s late grandfather, Alcide.

At Great I Am Pentecostal Church, Jerry’s uncle, Carroll, is the pastor. His father, Gerald Sr., takes care of the business operations. His mother, Linda, is the church secretary. His grandmother, Myrtle, is an assistant pastor.

And most Sundays Jerry is there for the sermon, as he has been for all of his 22 years.

“You’ve got to believe in something,” he said. “I believe in Jesus Christ. I live by His word.”

It is Green’s ability to shoot a basketball that has brought the Anteater program into the limelight, helping Irvine win at least 20 games in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.

The 6-foot-3 point guard became the sixth player to be named Big West player of the year in consecutive seasons and the first since Larry Johnson of Nevada Las Vegas in 1990 and 1991. He leads Irvine in 10 offensive categories, notably scoring, assists and steals. He also leads the Big West in scoring and became the Anteaters’ all-time leading scorer on Feb. 2.

Cal State Fullerton Coach Donny Daniels, who scouted Green in high school while he was an assistant at Utah under Rick Majerus, said the former one-dimensional slasher has worked hard to become an outstanding college player.

“He was the right player for the right program in the right situation at the right time,” Daniels said.

As a close game nears its climactic point, Green is often at his best. He won back-to-back games last season against Long Beach State and Boise State with last-second shots. On Jan. 10, the lanky guard drained a 12-footer at the buzzer to defeat Utah State in front of a national television audience. On Valentine’s Day, he beat Cal State Northridge with a free-throw-line jumper with 15 seconds left.

There have also been some unhappy endings. Green could have given Irvine one of its greatest victories Dec. 15 against UCLA, but his floating shot at the buzzer bounced away.

The thrilling finishes have made him a big man on campus and a favorite among the students who chant “Jer-ry, Jer-ry” at Irvine’s home games. Green has a link on the athletic department Web site devoted solely to his exploits.”You just expect Jerry to do something amazing,” sophomore center Adam Parada said.

Those shots are much like the ones he used to take against imaginary opponents on the basketball rim set up outside his home.

“Every day, he’d be out there practicing all by himself,” said Derek Pugh, Green’s coach at Pomona High and now an assistant at Mt. San Antonio College. . “The kid has always been prepared because he used to practice so much.”

In Green’s first year at Irvine, he started all 26 games and averaged 12.8 points. But the 2000-2001 season was his breakout year. He was an honorable mention All-American after leading Irvine to a school-record 25 victories and its first conference regular-season title.

Soon after, he looked to capitalize on that success by declaring for the NBA draft, in part to increase his national profile since he was largely an unknown commodity outside the Big West.

“We wanted him to be exposed,” Gerald Green said of his son.

Green went to the pre-draft camp in Chicago but struggled against top-level competition. Questions were soon raised. Could he play point guard on the next level? Could he shoot from outside? Was he strong enough?

Draft day arrived. Fifty-seven names later and not one of them his, Green began reconsidering his options.

Irvine Coach Pat Douglass, who calls Green his first major recruit, could hear the disappointment when he spoke with Green by telephone. Then he heard something that would make any coach smile.

“He called me the next day and told me he was coming back,” Douglass said. “Then he said he was going to go shoot some baskets.”

The decision to return--Green never hired an NBA agent, allowing him to retain his college eligibility--benefited both him and the Anteaters. He has improved his scoring average for the fourth consecutive year. He is also averaging a career-high four assists and has bettered his field-goal shooting percentage from 45.3% last year to 48.2%

Still, some of the same questions figure to await him after the season ends. A Western Conference scout said his chance of being drafted is slim, but it will depend on his performance at the NBA-sponsored Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational camp in April.

“He’s gotten better at what he’s good at,” the scout said. “He can create a shot for himself, he’s got decent quickness and he can use his body real well. The main issue is whether he’s going to be able to run a team.... At this point, I don’t see him getting drafted, but it only takes one team to like him.”

Marty Blake, the NBA’s director of scouting, praised Green’s ability to play both guard positions. But Green will be in a draft pool of smallish combo guards, including Duke’s Jason Williams (assuming he leaves school), Maryland’s Juan Dixon, Cincinnati’s Steve Logan and St. Joseph’s Marvin O’Connor.

“Nobody knows whether he’ll be drafted or not,” Blake said. “The draft is an inexact science. But we’re going to showcase him.”

Douglass didn’t give Green much advice on the draft last spring and doesn’t talk much about it now. But he did stress not focusing on the negatives that scouts or other “experts” bring up.

“What I’ve tried to tell him about playing on the next level is to not worry about the critics and what you don’t have,” he said. “There are some clubs out there who need someone who can come off a screen and score or get to the basket and score. That’s what Jerry can do.”

At Irvine, Green is a sort of celebrity on a campus known more for its academics. Back in Pomona, he is a role model for youngsters. When he goes home, he often brings T-shirts, a cap or shoes for them. They try to get their neighborhood hero on an outdoor court and impress him with their moves.

“When they score on Jerry, it’s a big deal,” Gerald Green said.

Pugh, who grew up in the same neighborhood, said Green is the same person at 22 that he was at 8. Quiet. Easygoing. Respectful.

“I think he’s the kind of kid who you were going to root for even if he had played for the rival school,” he said. “He’s made a positive impression on these kids.”

As his stellar college career comes to an end, Green would like to leave one last impression. Then he is prepared for the future and whatever that may hold.

It could be a career in the NBA. It could be as a guidance counselor. It could one day be taking the reins of the family’s church.

He has faith in a higher power.

“When something doesn’t go right, I always think that God has a better plan for me,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I didn’t get drafted. Maybe he is preparing me for that.”