This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
As an NBA prospect, Brannen Greene certainly has a skill. His jump shot can be lethal when given a bit of space. He can put up points in a hurry. He has range on. And at 6-foot-7, the shooting guard from Kansas has the requisite size and athleticism to get his shot off.
But Greene has been dogged by his share of issues stemming from his collegiate days, issues that could cloud his draft viability come next week.
He wasn't the greatest teammate at Kansas. He was frustrated with his bench role and thought he should've received more playing time and opportunity. That belief in himself caused considerable friction with Bill Self, his head coach, even leading to a team suspension this past season.
So Greene's NBA candidacy comes with multiple question marks. He has to prove he can play at this level, that he can defend, that he has a definitive position and that he can fit in with a team on the floor. He also has to prove he's a good person off the floor, that he's coachable, that he's someone who can be a good citizen. Of course, all draft prospects have to prove that. It's just a little harder for someone like Greene, who already has a documented history.
"I had a few issues at Kansas, and I thought I could play at the pro level, so that contributed to my decision to come out early," Greene said. "I didn't feel like my situation my senior year was going to get any better. A lot of my stuff at Kansas was me and coach Self just butting heads. All of the teams have asked me about it. I learned from it, I'm moving forward and I feel like it's something I can definitely work through."
Greene's year has been eventful. After his suspension, he came back and was a big part of the Jayhawks advancing deep into the NCAA Tournament. Even with the questions he's faced during the pre-draft process, he recently became a hero when he and his uber driver got into a car accident. Greene was forced to kick open a door, drag his woozy driver away from harm and run from the scene as the car burst into flames.
For Greene, the experience was like a film script.
"It certainly was like a movie," he said. "We got away from the accident and the fire was like 20 feet high."
Greene's workout with the Jazz on Wednesday morning didn't go so well. Greene was trying to play through a stomach virus, which caused fatigue. In the elevation of Salt Lake City, fatigue isn't a good thing, and it affected Greene adversely.
He had to pause his workout multiple times. He had to stop in the middle of the Jazz 100 shooting drill, and when he returned he didn't shoot the ball well. Despite this, the Jazz front office seemed understanding of Greene's plight. They seemed impressed that he gutted it out, instead of stopping all together.
"He really struggled today, but a large part of that was the stomach virus," Jazz VP of Player Personnel Walt Perrin said. "We have enough film on him from this season. It wasn't the most perfect workout for him and for us. But we've seen a lot of him."
Other notables at Wednesday's workout included Boise State small forward James Webb III; Stanford wing Roscoe Allen; Josh Gray, the point guard from LSU; Louisville guard Trey Lewis.
Former BYU great Brandon Davies was on hand Wednesday. He was part of a group working out against Jazz point guard Dante Exum, who was recently cleared for full contact, coming off his ACL tear.
twitter: @tjonessltrib