C-USA it is for Green
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">As
the month of September is winding down and commitments are starting to
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href="http://sports.yahoo.com/virginiapreps/basketball/recruiting/player-Xavier-Green-171144">
style="text-decoration: none;">Xavier Green
was ready to end the recruiting process.
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">The
6-foot-6 Green gave a verbal pledge to Jeff
Jones and the Old Dominion
Monarchs out
of Conference USA after taking an official visit to the Norfolk school
this
past weekend.
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">"I
got a really great feel for the school and felt very comfortable.
style=""> I had a really great time
around the team and
felt like I fit in with the team," Green told VirginiaPreps.com.
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">"With
the coaching staff, you can see that they have passion with the players.
style=""> I feel like the players
have so much trust in
the coach, and it's also great that he has that for all his players.
style=""> The vision they have for
me and everything
they have set up for me, it just clicked.
It felt like home."
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Green's
list of suitors included the likes of Cincinnati, East Carolina, George
Mason, Mount
St. Mary's and Providence. In
ODU, he
heads to a program that appears to be on the cusp of big things as they
went
27-8 overall last season, just two years following a 5-25 mark before
Jones'
arrival. It's also
a place that's not
too far.
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Did
the proximity have much of a factor in his decision?
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">"Not
really, but honestly I didn't want my mom to miss my college," Green
replied. "I felt
like it would be great for my mom, my
grandma and my dad to come out and see me play.
Of course, you're not always going to be home, but having
that support
is always good."
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Green,
who helped his Team Loaded AAU travel team win the Adidas Uprising
Summer
Championship held in Las Vegas, played in the Monarchs' area while at
their
Team Camp in late June. Only
a few weeks
removed from undergoing prostate cancer surgery, Jones made sure to
make a
brief stop in to watch him play. That
left a strong impression on Green.
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">"That
actually meant a lot. For
him to risk
himself for any injury or anything that might happen to come and see
me, that
made me feel very important," Green admitted.
"I felt like that was something most coaches probably
wouldn't do. It
depends on the player. It
made me really feel wanted and that I
needed to go there."
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">A
native of New York, Green started his prep career in
Virginia at Jamestown High School before transferring.
During his first season at Williamsburg
Christian, he put up 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists per game.
style=""> Green followed that up
with averages of 19
points, 11 rebounds and six assists per game on his way to Metro
Conference
Player of the Year and First Team All-State recognition.
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">In
the eyes of first-year Williamsburg Head Basketball
Coach Chris Brown, the commitment
is
a win-win. He
believes Green and ODU are
a perfect match.
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">"The
type of institution that ODU offers is great.
I'm super excited for how it's going to pay
dividends to his life. It'll
allow his
parents, his family, us and the community to support him at the highest
level. You can't
get any better than
Jeff Jones, Bryant Stith and that ODU stuff, plus the academic support
that
they offer," remarked Brown, whose daughter is entering her sophomore
year on
the women's basketball team at ODU.
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">"Having
talked with Coach Stith and Jeff, Xavier is going
to be a person that can score the basketball for them, but at the same
time
give them a dual-threat. He
can eventually
be a combo player for them. Given
that
he has great court vision and length, he can play a point guard
position to a
wing. To be able to
have someone 6-5 to
6-6 that you can comfortably put the ball in his hands, that's a great
situation. They
also have the type of
players around him that he can create and make plays for them."
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Williamsburg
Christian figures to be one of the top private school squads in
Tidewater as
the addition of transfers like Cle'von Greene (Grafton) and twins
Da'Shawn Cook
and Ra'Shawn Cook (Warhill) further bolsters a roster that featured
five
starters back from last year's team that made the State Semis.
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Green
is setting high expectations for when he joins the Monarchs.
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">"I
think I have a lot to offer and can bring a lot to the table," he noted.
style=""> "I want to be able to help
them become even
better and bring more players around me.
My vision is to start my freshman year and make
All-Conference."
style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">
href="http://www.matthewhatfield.com">
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Hatfield
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href="http://www.virginiapreps.com">
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style="">
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style="">
He also files recruiting stories for Tar Heel Illustrated,
the UNC site
on the Rivals.com Network. Check
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Twitter page
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for more sports related updates, and
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News Herald
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and don't forget to listen to him
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