Like virtually every highly rated prospect, Devonte Green hopes to reach the NBA. But unlike many others, he has a mentor who has proven it’s possible.
His older brother, Spurs shooting guard Danny Green, reminds him of what it takes every time they talk.
“It’s a big motivation,” Devonte said. “I get to watch him do big things, in college and the NBA, and it makes me want to work harder and get to where he is.
“He knows what I have to do to get there. He gives me good advice, how I should play, to keep working hard.”
The 6-foot-1 point guard from Centerreach, L.I., one of the area’s top freshmen, is just beginning to create his own path. He already has scored more than 1,000 points on the high school level, as an eighth grader at North Babylon and this past year for St. Mary’s of Manhasset, and is a key piece for nationally ranked AAU program Team Scan’s 16-and-under team.
His father, Danny Green Sr., said Devonte already has landed scholarship offers from Cincinnati and Florida, while North Carolina (Danny’s alma mater), Georgetown, Syracuse and Connecticut, among others, have expressed interest.
Devonte started playing basketball at the age of four, inspired by watching his older brother’s games at St. Mary’s. Green Sr. said Devonte isn’t the shooter Danny was at the same age — the older brother, after all, is one of the top 3-point shooters in the NBA — but is a better ball handler and defender.
“When I look at Devonte, the ceiling for him is unlimited,” Green Sr. said. “He could be the best out of all of them. He puts the ball on the floor so well, he gets to the rack. Devonte can just lock down, he stays in front of most point guards.
“The difference is he can get to wherever he wants to on the floor. Danny couldn’t do that. He can be a much more efficient scorer than Danny [was].”
Devonte has a lot to live up to. Danny was a McDonald’s All-American at St. Mary’s and enjoyed a solid four-year career with the Tar Heels before he was drafted 46th overall by the Cavaliers in 2009. Yet, Devonte doesn’t feel any added pressure because of his brother’s legacy.
“I like having the name because everybody knows who you are,” he said. “When you’re out there, I just have to perform.”
* Penn State and Boston College are the latest schools to express interest in sophomore sharpshooter Matt Ryan of Iona Prep and New Heights’ AAU program.
Point guard Isaiah Briscoe from St. Benedict’s Prep (N.J.), one of the top sophomores in the country, added offers from Indiana and Ohio State.
Brooklyn point guard Naiel Smith, who just finished up a postgraduate year at Queens City Prep (N.C.), signed with Texas State.