Marcus Greene slides into Hawaii basketball team’s starting lineup
After attending three colleges in four years, Hawaii guard Marcus “MarMar” Greene is at ease at his new home in Manoa.
“I definitely thought it was the culture,” Greene said of selecting UH for his final NCAA season. “One of the things I was looking for was a program that is committed to getting better. Meeting the coaches, seeing the coaches on my (recruiting) visit, it was clear their focus was always on getting better. And that’s one of my mentalities. I needed to go somewhere for my mentality, and that was Hawaii.”
Greene came off the bench in the first seven games before relocating to the Rainbow Warriors’ starting lineup in last week’s road game against Long Beach State.
“My mindset is to give it my all and win and do it together as a team,” said Greene, who is expected to start tonight against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. Tip-off is at 7:05. “Whatever way that is — coming off the bench, being a starter — it’s the same mindset.”
Green’s ambidextrous ball-handling and three-quarter-court speed will be key against the Islanders’ obstacle course of presses and traps. In two road games last week, the ’Bows committed a combined 37 turnovers that were parlayed into 49 points. The Islanders average 18.9 points off turnovers per game.
“Patience,” Greene said of minimizing turnovers. “Sometimes we try to over-extend. … I can be more patient. Let the game come to me, and just take what’s available. It’s an issue that can be fixed.”
Greene grew up in Gilroy, Calif., which was once the “Garlic Capital of the World.” (Fresno has now overtaken Gilroy in garlic production.) Greene attended Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose. Aaron Gordon of the Denver Nuggets played for the Monarchs.
Greene played at Sacramento State as a true freshman. After a coaching change, he transferred to Panola College in Carthage, Texas, leading the Ponies to the junior college region final and a No. 10 national ranking. At Houston Christian last season, Greene averaged 15.1 points, converting 42.7% of his 3s, and 3.6 rebounds.
At UH, Greene is averaging 11.3 points per game. Relying on cross-over drives and step-back moves, Green is hitting 68.6% of his shots from the lane. But he has struggled with his deep shot, converting only six of 30 from behind the arc. UH coach Eran Ganot has expressed optimism, however, that Greene will reclaim his 3-point accuracy.
“One of the biggest concepts of being a shooter is knowing you’re a shooter,” Greene said. “You’ve got to have that confidence when the bright lights (are on) and even in the darkness. I believe I’m a shooter. I know I’m a shooter. It’s all with that confidence. You just have to stay with it, stay with your work, and time will tell.”
