City of Basketball Love

Ari Rosenfeld (@realA_rosenfeld)
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The best grassroots player in the area made his college decision tonight, as five-star Neumann-Goretti point guard Quade Green announced his commitment to join Big Blue Nation and attend the University of Kentucky.

After a whirlwind recruitment which saw him rack up 30-plus scholarship offers since the start of his sophomore year, Green was officially down to a final list of Villanova, Temple, Duke, Syracuse, and Kentucky. However, Neumann-Goretti head coach Carl Arrigale admitted earlier this week the decision ultimately came down to just two: Kentucky and the Syracuse Orange.

He visited both schools for their respective Midnight Madness events, then took in Syracuse’s season-opener at the Carrier Dome and Kentucky’s victory over Michigan State at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night before making his final decision.

Ultimately, it was the opportunity to start immediately that cemented Lexington, Kentucky as his college destination.

“That was [Calipari’s] only pitch to me,” Green said. “He told me to come in and I was gonna play and be the starting point guard for the upcoming team. After that, I just decided it’s my best option I had.”

Syracuse had been recruiting Green for over two years, and had been considered the favorite to land the 6-foot guard for some time. However, as he’s been known to do so many times in the past, head coach John Calipari and Kentucky made a late push to earn Green’s signature. Most of the buzz within recruiting circles in the 48 hours leading up to Green’s announcement was centered around the Wildcats.

Although there were other programs recruiting him, Green said he’s known for “seven months” that his decision would come down to Kentucky and Syracuse.

“This last week was probably the most stressful week I ever had in my life, deciding between schools,” he said. “Me and [Syracuse assistant Gerry McNamara] have a great relationship and the Syracuse fans love me up there, but I had to do what was best for me.”

“He struggled with this, he struggled with this decision. He has a lot of love for Syracuse University and their coaching staff,” Arrigale added. “It just came down to what he thought was best for his development moving forward. Quade wants to play in the NBA someday, and Kentucky produces NBA players.”

Green actually made his decision and signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, the last day of the early signing period, but kept his decision a secret so he could announce at the Saints’ first Midnight Madness festivities, which included a dunk contest, three-point shootout, and intrasquad scrimmage.

“This is the first of many, this is our very first annual Midnight Madness,” he said. “I’m glad to see everybody out and I hope next year will be the same way.”

Green becomes Kentucky’s fourth commitment in the 2017 class--and the fourth since the start of November--and with three guards potentially departing for the NBA Draft after this season, Green will most likely be handed the keys from the time he sets foot in Lexington.

“I think all of them are going to the draft really with how they’re playing right now,” Green said. “[Isaiah] Briscoe, [De’Aaron] Fox, and [Malik] Monk, I think they’re all leaving, so that just opens the door for everybody else in the 2017 class.”

After arriving at Neumann as a heralded freshman prospect, Green has lived up to expectations throughout his high school career. He entered the Saints’ starting lineup as a sophomore and was immediately the team’s leading scorer. Having amassed 1,275 points in his career thus far, Green will have a chance to surpass former Saint and current Miami guard Ja’Quan Newton’s Catholic League record 1,972 points.

Long considered a top prospect within the city and region, Green exploded onto the national scene this spring and summer due to his play with the New York-based PSA Cardinals on the Nike EYBL circuit. Previously known as more of a score-first lead guard, Green proved himself to be perhaps the best facilitator in the entire country, averaging an EYBL-record 10.5 assists per game and turning the ball over just 2.6 times per contest.

With the recruitment process finally in the rearview, Green will now shift his attention to his senior season, where alongside Villanova commit Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree he’ll hope to lead the Saints to their first Catholic League title in three years and their fourth straight state championship.

And with Kentucky, as per usual, looking to bring in a top-rated class to replace the litany of players it will send to the draft, Green will no longer be the one being recruited, but rather the one doing the recruiting.

He mentioned five-star prospects Hamidou Diallo (Putnam Science Academy), Kevin Knox (Tampa Catholic) and Jarred Vanderbilt (Victory Prep Academy) as Kentucky targets whose ears he’ll be in over the several months leading up to April’s signing period.

Perhaps most importantly, though, Green says he’ll be lobbying hard for close friend and PSA Cardinals teammate Mohamed Bamba--the Westtown School big man regarded as a top-3 prospect nationally--to join him in Lexington next fall.

“Now it’s my time to recruit him,” Green said.