FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 20, 2020) – The Northern Arizona men's basketball team tapped into both the international waters and the state of Arizona in one swift move on Monday with the announcement of the addition of Jay Green, a graduate transfer from UNLV. Green will be eligible to play immediately and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining beginning the 2020-21 season.
"Jay has high character, he's humble and he's coming here with a chip on his shoulder," said head coach
Shane Burcar. "Everyone we talked to had nothing but good things to say about him. He's somebody who we believe is cut from the same cloth as the players we have here right now and I was very impressed with how he and his family believe in what we're doing here and how he can help us take the next step."
The 6-5 guard originally hails from Sydney, Australia where both of his parents played professionally. Green made the move to the United States ahead of his senior season of high school where he wound up being an All-State selection at Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Ariz. Green then spent a year at Phoenix's Hillcrest Prep before committing to UNLV.
Green spent the previous three seasons with the Runnin' Rebels, including playing in 17 games and making two starts as a redshirt sophomore this past season. In just over 10 minutes per game, Green averaged 0.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. He made seven of his 11 field goal attempts at a 63.6 percent clip.
Known for his defense, Green saw increased court time in his final six games with the Runnin' Rebels. He averaged 15.8 minutes per game during a stretch in which UNLV went 5-1 with the only loss coming to Boise State in the Mountain West quarterfinal.
Prior to redshirting the 2018-19 season, Green, appeared in 15 games as a true freshman for a 20-win UNLV squad.
"To get to the next level, we have to be better defensively and Jay brings instant credibility to us," Burcar said. "He's someone we can put on our opponent's best player. Regardless of how many minutes he plays, he helps our defensive instantly, along with Malcolm (Porter). The last two guys we got in the last 96 hours really mixes well with the guys we have here."
Green arrived at UNLV after averaging 24 points, eight rebound and six assists per game at Hillcrest Prep. In his lone season at Mountain Ridge, he was named to the Division I All-State Second Team and All-Region First Team after averaging 24 points per game.
"(Mountain Ridge) beat us at our tournament and they ended up winning the tournament," Burcar said when recalling his Mesa High School team squaring off with Mountain Ridge in 2015. "I was impressed with his demeanor on the floor and that he was a hard-working player. He scored 23 points in that game against us and he wasn't a showboat. I respected him from then because of his toughness and his will to win a basketball game."
The addition of Green comes three days after NAU added
Malcolm Porter, a graduate transfer from Portland, last Friday. The two transfers join an incoming class that also includes four freshmen – Dayton Harris (Mesa, Ariz./Skyline HS), Carter Mahaney (Moraga, Calif./Campolindo HS), Wynton Brown (Bellflower, Calif./St. John Bosco HS) and
Carson Towt (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert HS/California Baptist).
