What the Gamecocks are getting in walk-on Mike Green

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS BASKETBALL

Monday was a big night for South Carolina’s basketball program.

Not only did they land three-star big Jalyn McCreary but also the Gamecocks added a sharp-shooting walk-on guard from Myrtle Beach in Mike Green, whose coach thinks he could step in and give the team a boost in plenty of different ways.

“He’s not just a shooter; he’s got the ability to score in the mid-range and from deep and he’s a very, very good ball-handler. He understands the game,” Colin Stevens said. “It’s been fun at times to work with him and it’s been challenging at times because he’s hard-headed and competitive but we’ve developed a good relationship and we’ve put a ton of hours in together. I’m really excited for him and his opportunity.”

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Green committed right around the same time the Gamecocks landed McCreary, becoming the fifth member of the team’s 2019 class.

But Green’s far from the typical walk-on player at an SEC school. Green, who amassed over 2,000 career points at Christian Academy, had a few other D-1 offers and was receiving interest from other in-state schools like Clemson before committing to South Carolina.

And looking at Green’s stats, he doesn’t play like the typical walk-on either. Green averaged almost 27 points last season and shot 54 percent from three and Stevens said the 6-foot-3 guard is coming into Frank Martin’s program ready to compete and hopefully chisel out some playing time.

“He’s not a typical last-resort type of walk-on. He believes he has an opportunity to work his tail off and hopefully earn a scholarship,” Stevens said. “That’s where his mind is: to go in and contribute and be a part of the team, not just be along for the ride but to contribute.”

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Stevens is Green’s coach at not only Christian Academy but also works with him outside of school at F2 Basketball and Manzer Hoops.

The two have been working together for the better part of a decade now and Stevens has seen Green rack up almost 2,500 career points.

Green averaged 26.5 points and 5.9 rebounds this season shooting 59 percent from the field and 54 percent from long-range.

Stevens has seen Green develop over that time into more than a shooter and thinks if Green gets into games as a freshman he’ll be able to create opportunities for himself as well as some of the Gamecocks’ athletic guards and wing players.

“He’s a very good ball-handler,” Steven said. “He’s going to really stretch the floor for their guards that can really get to the rack and make plays. He’s going to give them more space. But he can make plays himself. He makes closeouts difficult because they have to respect what he can do from outside but he can also get in the paint and make plays, too. I think everyone knows he’s a shooter because, gosh, he shot 54 percent from three and he took a lot of them. Because he shoots it so well, it opens up the other parts of what he can do well.”

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Stevens said Green is also an underrated defender and has shown he can lock down high-volume scores.

Now it’s about doing it consistently and learning Martin’s complicated defensive style of play while also adjusting to the speed of the game.

“He’s going to get stronger, then it’s understanding how to defend at a high level all the time. He certainly did it for us in spots this year. He can definitely do it. I’ve seen him to it in EYBL this past summer and him shutting down some scorers. He’s really going to have to commit to doing it all the time. Offensively I think the speed of the game is going to be really important so for him to be able to get his shot off quickly and use his body and play at the pace the SEC plays at is going to be something for him to adjust to and be ready for.”