My Connection to the Sweet 16

While watching Butler beat Maryland in the second round last weekend, I noticed someone named Mike Green grab a crucial rebound in the waning seconds of the game. He looked familiar, so I looked him up on ESPN.com. As it turns out, he was from Philadelphia. Why does this mean anything? Because when I was playing rec league ball in Philly when I was 14, there was a Mike Green on my team. And he was really, really good. And he looked just like the guy on Butler.

Sure enough, it's the same guy. The Mike Green I knew went to Franklin Learning Center for high school. This Mike Green went to FLC. Granted, the Mike I played with eight years ago was 5'5", and the current Mike is 6'1", but still. It is definitely the same guy. In fact, he's actually pretty good. You can see his stats here. 14 ppg, 6 rpg and 4 apg for a junior are solid, solid Division 1 collegiate numbers. And I used to be on his team.

If I recall correctly, Mike, who was our version of Allen Iverson - bring the ball up, take most of the shots - averaged close to 30 points a game in a league where teams averaged around 60. He carried us to the finals, where we lost to a team (the Timberwolves) with 3 kids who were 6 feet tall and theoretically 14 or younger. When Mike left the game for the last time in the fourth quarter of the championship with us down at least 10, he got a standing ovation. And it was deserved. I think the rest of the team had 4.3 points.

He was so good my dad noticed him during tryouts before the teams were even drafted. My dad was waiting for me to try out, and Mike, whose last name came before mine alphabetically, played first. (Every six players alphabetically played 3 on 3 for about 5 minutes before all of the coaches.) When we left that night, my dad mentioned a really talented player named Michael Green. At the time, I didn't really think much about it.

Then, a couple weeks later, when the teams had been established, we (The Magic) had a scrimmage. We played the Sixers and won by a few points, with me dropping 17 and my coach calling me a sleeper. (Apparently I was a 6th round pick). At that point I had no idea Mike was on the team, because he wasn't at the scrimmage. After the game the coach mentioned that we would be even better with our first round pick, Michael Green. My dad heard this, and looked up from his magazine and said, "Michael Green is on this team?" My coach replied "Oh yeah".

The thing is, we were already good. Mike made us awesome. At the time I didn't realize how cool it was to play with someone of his caliber, someone who made everyone around him better. And now I can watch him play in the big dance. That, my friends, is fucking cool. And so, the point of this story, other than the fact that I dropped 17 points in an organized basketball game, is that it's a small world. You never know who might get famous, so make sure all of your friends and teammates autograph something you own. That, and the Timberwolves were a bunch of cheaters. 6 foot tall 14 year olds my ass.