Report: Former 5-star Guard Quade Green Taking Official Visit to Washington

Jon Rothstein is reporting that 6’0 sophomore guard Quade Green is on an official visit to Washington beginning today. Green announced last week that he would be transferring from Kentucky where he was still a part of the rotation but had seen his playing time diminish from last season.

Green was the #26 recruit in the country in the class of 2017 and the #5 PG in the class according to the 247 composite rankings. He ultimately chose Kentucky over Syracuse when Coach Mike Hopkins was a part of the staff recruiting him although Hop wasn’t the primary recruiter for Green. Unlike many 5 star recruits, Green isn’t an athletic freak and was rated highly for his on court skills where he led the Nike EYBL in assists and was noted for being an excellent shooter.

In his freshman season at Kentucky he played in the backcourt alongside soon to be lottery pick 6’6 PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Green finished 5th on the team in scoring and 2nd in assists although he struggled at times with turnovers (9.3 ppg, 2.7 apg, 1.6 tpg, 45.1% FG, 37.6% 3pt, 80.8% FT).

This year Green fell behind incoming freshmen Immanuel Quickley, Tyler Herro, and Ashton Hagans on the depth chart at the guard spots and decided to transfer once he saw the writing on the wall. Green’s assist rate and shooting percentage increased this season leading to better per minute numbers but his turnover rate skyrocketed to completely unacceptable levels. He was averaging 8.0 ppg, 2.3 apg, 2.3 tpg, 44.9% FG, 42.3% 3pt, 89.5% FT in just 18 minutes per game. If you prorated his combined numbers from the two seasons to per 35 minutes (which is what Hop normally plays his point guards) they would be: 13.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.6 turnovers, 45.1% FG, 38.5% 3pt, 83.1% FT.

The Huskies have had a gaping hole at the point guard position for several years and so Green would be a welcome addition to the roster. David Crisp will graduate at the end of the season and there’s at least a chance that Jaylen Nowell could decide to leave for the NBA. Currently the only other potential lead guard on the roster is true freshman Elijah Hardy. We have no idea what Hardy’s capable of as he broke his hand within a minute of getting on the court and will likely be out for another month. There’s a decent chance given the timing of the injury that Hardy just ends up deciding to redshirt.

If Green makes a decision within the week and is able to enroll in time for winter quarter then he would likely become eligible in time for conference play next season. That would give Washington an extra bit of security at the guard spot for next season in addition to Hardy and incoming 3-star freshman Marcus Tsohonis. Given their similar size and Green’s play to this point in his career his comp is likely as an idealized version of David Crisp. Throughout his career he’s a 50% shooter on unguarded jump shots and shot 38.5% overall from beyond the 3-point line but Green has struggled with turnovers. Washington still has at least 3 extra scholarships for next season and seemingly only 2 recruiting targets left on their board so there is definitely room for Green to come in.

I would expect Green (a native of Philadelphia) to take at least one other visit before making a decision. Hometown La Salle was rumored as another prospective destination along with UW and Syracuse when the transfer was first announced. But because of the winter quarter deadline a decision will likely come in the next week.

***
You can follow me @UWDP_maxvroom for all your UW Men’s Basketball News and Notes