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Donte Greene

Donte Greene profile
Drafted #28 in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Rockets
RCSI: 9 (2007)
Height: 6'9" (206 cm)
Weight: 221 lbs (100 kg)
Position: SF/PF
High School: Towson Catholic High School (Maryland)
Hometown: Baltimore, MD
AAU: Team Melo
College: Syracuse
Current Team: Arecibo
Win - Loss: 17 - 22

Articles

Las Vegas Summer League Day Six

Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Jul 17, 2008, 07:49 pm
The young forward looked to build on his 40 point performance from a day ago today with mixed results. Greene knocked down quite a few looks from the perimeter, but he was obviously trying to get himself going throughout the course of the game to no avail. He does a great job creating space for himself, but that wasn’t enough for him to shoot well from the field today. He showed the ability to get to the rim consistently against Cleveland’s power forward, and did a good job taking contact and going to the line. Greene had a poor game today, but it is tough to fault him for being aggressive after how well he played yesterday. Outside of scoring, the former Syracuse player did a nice job playing passing lanes, but didn’t do much rebounding or playmaking considering the number of opportunities he had. Today was a reminder of why Greene was picked where he was. He’s got awesome potential, but his consistency and fundamentals still have a long way to go.

Las Vegas Summer League Day Four

Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Jul 16, 2008, 12:06 am
Greene played out of his mind today. He looked incredible comfortable knocking down catch and shoot jumpers from NBA three point range, and even better taking his man off the dribble. Greene showed a very nice perimeter repertoire, but had a hard time taking some athletic defenders, namely DJ Strawberry, off the dribble when they weren’t recovering. When he did get the ball with a defender closing out, he showed the ability to not only get by him, but also change direction and spin to the rim when the defender caught up.

Greene’s shot was lights out today, and when he wasn’t knocking down shots from the perimeter, he was making a killing at the rim where he finished consistently and earned quite a few trips to the line. His footwork was very solid, and he created separation with ease against the Suns lackluster big forwards. Greene didn’t do much rebounding or playmaking, but picked it up in those areas when the Suns moved their stopper, DJ Strawberry, onto him defensively. Greene effectively won the game with a great spinning assist late, but was clearly winded by the middle of the third quarter. It will be interesting to see if Greene plays this well against a team with a comparably athletic player at his position.

NCAA Weekly Performers, 3/6/08-- Part Two

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Mar 07, 2008, 02:35 am
While many of the elite members of this terrific freshman class have taken their game and their teams to an entirely new level as the regular season comes to a close, one of its most talented players—Donte Greene—has not shared the same fortune.

Greene is still the same super-scoring oversized wing player oozing with NBA potential—standing 6-10 or possibly even 6-11, with a terrific frame, smooth athleticism, and uncommon mobility and coordination for a player his size. He seems to have hit a bit of a wall late in the season, though, after averaging over 35 minutes per game for 30 games now, as his team has been crippled by injuries and has basically nothing to turn to off the bench, and the fatigue now seems to be catching up. Syracuse looks to be outside the bubble at the moment, and will likely miss the NCAA tournament unless they string together a few wins in the Big East tournament.

Greene has become more and more of a spot-up shooter as the year progresses, attempting over 50% of his shots from behind the arc on the season, but seeing his accuracy drop to a miserable 28.7% in 17 Big East conference games thus far (32.9% total). At his size, Greene can get his shot off virtually whenever he pleases, which is precisely part of the problem, since he’s shown very little self-restraint. His 7.3 3-point attempts per game ranks him 3rd amongst all players on our 08 or 09 mock drafts.

What’s ironic is that he actually has one of the prettier shots you’ll find in this draft, blessed with picture perfect mechanics, a high release point, and a very quick release. The problem is that his shot-selection has been poor, as he’s fallen into some of the same selfishness that has plagued his entire team (particularly Paul Harris) in Big East play. Greene has been taking too many rushed, off-balance, contested shots as of late, not fully setting his feet, contorting his body unnecessarily, and thus not getting the kind of accuracy he enjoyed earlier in the season. Regardless of whether his shot has been falling, he’s continued to take them (he attempted sixteen 3-pointers in a single game a few weeks back), and thus has shot his team out of a few games.

As the year moves on, the scouting report has gotten out to a certain extent about how best to neutralize his potent scoring—further aided of course by the injuries and lack of depth Syracuse suffers from. Teams are forcing him more and more to his off-hand (his left), which he’s not particularly comfortable operating with at the moment. He’s struggling to beat players off the dribble, and has thus failed to emerge as the shot-creator Syracuse needs in their half-court offense. Not being incredibly explosive finishing around the rim, and possibly lacking some toughness at times going through contact, he’s had his problems finishing his drives in traffic, and isn’t getting to the free throw line at a particularly high rate. To his credit, he’s responded by showing a better post game than we had seen earlier in the year, hitting some beautiful jump-hooks and turn-around jump-shots, even if it hasn’t been on a consistent enough basis.

Defensively, it’s never easy to evaluate Syracuse players because of how heavily they rely on their zone defense. There might be some question marks about how he’d be able to defend NBA small forwards, though, considering that he at times struggles to stay in front of players attacking him off the dribble, getting stuck flatfooted on the perimeter. He does have excellent size, length and a good frame, and seems to be a fairly smart player, so he should be able to become at least decent in this area down the road if he’s willing to commit himself. He picks up a solid number of blocks and steals already within Syracuse’s zone.

We’re definitely holding Greene to a high standard here, especially considering that he’s just a freshman, as he obviously has the potential to emerge as one of the most talented players in the NCAA. Considering his size, tools, and scoring instincts at the small forward position, it’s hard to see him not getting drafted somewhere in the lottery, even despite his struggles this season, as he has more upside than any small forward in this draft. From what we understand, it’s still somewhat up in the air whether he enters the draft this year or not, although it seems like if he gets word that he’ll be taken in the lottery, he will probably leave. He’s the type of player that will look phenomenal in private workouts, and thus could see his stock bounce right back into the top 10 fairly quickly. He won’t be rolling into the NBA on the red carpet (with the huge endorsement deals and marketing hype that goes along with that) though—he’d need another year in college to achieve that most likely.

NCAA Weekly Performers--Freshman Edition, Part Two

Kyle Nelson
Kyle Nelson
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Nov 25, 2007, 05:21 am
Donte Greene has gotten his college career off to a very nice start, wasting no time stepping into the feature role at Syracuse. Most scouts were already aware of Greene’s smooth jump shot and athleticism, but he’s showing a lot more than that in the early going for the Orange, with two strong performances against Ohio State and Washington.

Greene’s offensive game is very much built around his jump shot, which has an extremely quick release with a high release point, thanks to his outstanding length, making it pretty much unblockable. Greene has been getting off his shot in a variety of ways thus far, showing range all the way out to the NBA three-point line, where his stroke is still effortless. Greene can be a bit streaky from behind the arc, but is shooting a strong 39% so far, hitting on pull-up and spot-up shots alike.

Greene’s confidence looks improved since we saw him at the various high school all-star games this summer, especially with his mid-range game. Greene still doesn’t have the tightest ball-handling, but he’s doing a good job making use of one or two dribbles to get separation from his man, using his right hand to get enough space to get off his pull-up jumper, which he’s been hitting consistently from mid-range. Greene has also showed flashes of proficiency in the post, using a turnaround fadeaway jumper from the baseline on occasion.

Greene can seem to disappear at times on the offensive end, just going through the motions and waiting for the ball to come to him, but at the same time, he’s also done a good job not forcing the issue when he has the ball this year, being efficient with his possessions and not committing many turnovers or forcing bad shot attempts. He’s also shown some nice vision and decision-making abilities with his passing off the dribble, dishing out four assists against zero turnovers in Syracuse’s win over Washington.

What’s really encouraging about Greene’s first few games at Syracuse, though, is his excellent effort on the boards, where he’s putting his length and athleticism to use well. Greene doesn’t have much bulk and isn’t able to really body up around the basket, but it hasn’t stopped him from pulling in almost nine rebounds per game, as he’s constantly been fighting on the boards. Greene will need some more strength and fundamental rebounding technique to maintain this kind of production, especially in the pros, but his effort is a great sign. That effort is also seen in short spurts on the defensive end, where Greene can show good awareness on team defense and use his length to disrupt in the passing lanes and coming over to contest shots from the weakside. There are questions regarding whether his lateral quickness is good enough to defend NBA small forwards--something we'll have to monitor as the season moves on and more favorable matchups to evaluate him emerge.

Greene is an early-entry candidate to leave potentially as early as after this season, and based on his early showings, that possibility seems to be coming more and more likely. If he does declare, he should be in lottery discussions His priorities need to be on continuing to improve his ball-handling and perimeter defense, along with gaining more strength. He has the potential to develop into a Rashard Lewis type player, but he’s not quite there yet.

Nike Jordan All-American Classic: Main Event Recap – Blue Team

Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
May 03, 2007, 09:49 pm
Donte Greene had a very strong game for his team, showing everyone why many scouts are so intrigued with his potential. Some say Greene is still a very raw player, and while he does lack polish in many areas of his game, he does have some excellent skills at his disposal already, the most obvious of which is his smooth jump shot. He can be inconsistent with it at times, but for the most part, he displays solid shooting mechanics and excellent body control when shooting the ball on the move, something he exhibited on multiple occasions in this game. Greene’s not in his class as a player, but it’s hard not to think of Kevin Durant when this 6’9, lanky and athletic combo forward pulls up from behind the three-point line, swishing in his extremely smooth jump shot. Greene had two three-pointers in the game, one by pulling up from behind the line in the halfcourt and the other catching and shooting in transition. He also hit an assortment of long two-pointers, including a pull-up from 18 feet and a fadeaway, contested shot from about the same range.

Greene scored the rest of his points getting to the rim, mostly just finishing on shots created by others, as his post game still needs some further refinement. Greene exhibits excellent body control when going to the rim, especially with his ability to adjust in mid-air in transition, which he did a few times throughout the games and practices. Whether it’s taking contact and adjusting his body to still get off a good lay-up attempt or extending his body to catch a poorly thrown alley-oop pass and still having the balance to put it in the hoop before touching the ground, Greene’s usually finding a way to impress in the air. He had a few athletic jams in transition in this game, one of which he went full extension on, jumping from a good distance away from the hoop. On his sole back-to-the-basket attempt in the game, Greene backed down a smaller opponent to put up a no-look hook shot, which he missed.

Greene still has a few areas of his game he needs to work on, most notably his ball-handling, defense, and post-up game, but he has a lot of things he can contribute right away at Syracuse. His ball-handling is a bit too loose at this stage of his development, and he will need to tighten that up so he could better utilize his ability to hit jump shots off-the-dribble. Defensively, Greene had one nice transition block here, but he’s going to need to develop either his post-up or perimeter man-to-man defense in the future, depending on whether he goes the small forward or power forward route, both of which he could find success doing.

Nike Jordan All-America Classic: Friday Practice

Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Apr 21, 2007, 01:59 am
Donte Greene didn’t have one of his best games, just going through the motions a lot of the time and not really showing off how effective he can be hitting outside jumpers. He took only two three-pointers in the game, hitting one smoothly and missing the other, which was well beyond NBA range. He had some putbacks around the rim and finishes in transition, but for the most part didn’t have a great impact on the game.

Nike Jordan All-American Classic: Thursday Practice

Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Apr 20, 2007, 02:22 am
Greene had a strong performance here, showing off his athleticism and ability to hit a variety of shots from mid and long-range. Greene’s shot looked smooth here, and he took a lot of shot attempts while on the move. He hit a pull-up jumper from three-point range and a 10-footer off the glass, along with some other spot-up shots. Greene also finished around the basket on multiple occasions, including a nice alley-oop in transition in which he showed the coordination to catch a poorly thrown ball and still finish before he hit the ground.

Nike Hoop Summit Team USA Player Recap (Part Two: the Combo Forwards)

Apr 19, 2007, 01:58 am
Syracuse-bound Donte Green was clearly the least polished player on this Hoop Summit team, but that isn’t necessarily a knock on him. He also has the highest learning curve, as a 6’10 teenager attempting to make the transition from post player to full time wing. His frame is absolutely immaculate, his athleticism and body control first-rate, and his offensive skill clearly coming along at a solid clip. There may be some question about how soon he is ready to emerge at the NCAA level, but Greene is clearly a player that is going to turn heads sooner rather than later.

The first thing you notice about Green is the smooth athleticism in the open floor. Very rarely do you see a 6’9 player this young with such a natural gait, and he isn’t exactly a string bean either. Greene should fill out very nicely by the time he is in prime at the NBA level, and has the body control to continue playing on the perimeter even if his quickness begins to abandon him someday. Greene has work to do as a ball-handler, but is capable in the open court and actually displayed some impressive court vision in the Hoop Summit game.

Greene has the basics of a very nice jumper and clearly has the feel of a natural shooter, but is still working getting a consistent release down. He also appears to be a bit shot happy at this point, which is where the main issues with his game come in. Because for all the gushing about Greene’s body control and skill in the open court, he is still at his best using his athleticism and length around the rim. There were moments in the game where his ability to get to the rim for a loose ball or flush with downright scary ease. But he is a player that sometimes has a tendency to float on the perimeter, and clearly doesn’t want to typecast himself as a post player. Greene’s effort was a bit inconsistent throughout the week of practices as well, as you could see him kick it into a higher gear the moment the game started, and even higher when he was within immediate range of a dunk or easy bucket.

2007-2008 Outlook: It should be interesting to see how Jim Boeheim chooses to utilize Greene next season. The Orange are low on bodies and experience in the paint, but Greene is clearly a player focused on developing his perimeter game for the next level. It remains to be seen if he would be satisfied with playing more of a Hakim Warrick, skill-oriented 4-man role as opposed to that of a traditional wing. Boeheim might have more depth than he’ll know what to do with on the perimeter, and Greene could be a year away from blowing up on the college level. Nonetheless, it would never be smart to bet against a talent like Donte Greene. He certainly doesn’t have to invoke the freshman year ghost of Carmello at the Carrier Dome to get drafted in the first round in 2008, and if I were a Syracuse fan I wouldn’t get my hopes up for year two.

2007 McDonald's All America Game: Player Breakdowns

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mar 29, 2007, 02:04 am
DraftExpress: You play scout for me. Give me a self evaluation of your performance tonight.

Greene: I could have played harder, and I could have played more aggressive. I knocked down a three, I showed that I can dunk. I caught a couple of oops. I really didn’t show my driving ability, but it was ok. It was a good game.

DraftExpress: Tell me a little about the role that you’re going to be playing next year at Syracuse. Are you going to be a combo forward, or are you going to be playing strictly on the perimeter?

Greene: I’m going to be a combo forward. I might start off the early season at the four, and then slide up to the three depending how my other teammates develop. I just want to go out there and have a great year next year.

DraftExpress: What are your thoughts on the NBA’s age limit?

Greene: Oh man, I don’t think they should ban high school kids from entering. It does help guys get into college and get started as far as education, but there are a lot of guys who could still probably test the waters. Put their name in, and not necessarily get an agent. Just put their name in and see what’s up.

DraftExpress: Now what would you have done personally had they not put the age rule in place?

Greene: I probably would have put my name in the draft. I don’t know if I would I would have went, but I would have put my name in to see where I was at, and then move on to Syracuse.

DraftExpress: You’re a guy who people mention as a possible one and done candidate. Does that stuff go through your mind a lot now, and did that have anything to do with why you picked Syracuse?

Greene: No. It never goes through my head. If you go through college looking to be one and done, you’re not going to be one and done. You’re going to be there all four years, I think. You just have to go in there and enjoy life…Enjoy being a teenager. I’m going to be 19 years old going into Syracuse. I’m just trying to go in there and have fun.

DraftExpress: Now the summer camp circuit has changed, with Nike being the only camp announced for a while this summer and Reebok just recently announcing that they were holding their own camp. Do you like it better with one or two camps, or how it was when you were on the circuit?

Greene: I think it would be better with only one camp, so more of the top players play against each other. You’re going to see who has what, and it’s going to make the young guys go harder. It’s going to be real competitive, and it’s going to be great from the media.

DraftExpress: What’s the pressure like having all three shoe companies fighting to get you to play in their respective all-star games?

Greene: It’s tough. I was originally a Nike guy, but Reebok has been showing me mad love. I’ve gotta stick with Nike though. I can’t let Nike go.

DraftExpress: What things do you feel you need to work on next year for college, and for when you decide to go to the NBA?

Greene: The big thing is strength. I’ve gotta put on at least 15-20 pounds of muscle from now until the beginning of the season at Syracuse. Then I probably need to work on my foot speed the most.

DraftExpress: What position do you see yourself being in the NBA eventually?

Greene: Small forward most likely.

DraftExpress: Who is your pick to win the NCAA championship?

Greene: My pick….Man I gotta go with my boys from G-town. My boys back home.

DraftExpress: A lot of people compare you to Kevin Durant. Do you think those comparisons are warranted? Do you see similarities in your games?

Greene: There are some similarities. I think his stroke is better then mine. I can dribble better though. I wanted to show tonight that I can create my own shot tonight, but I should be good. I still have the Jordan Game and the Nike Hoop Summit.

DraftExpress: What are your plans for the rest of the time you have left til you go to Syracuse?

Greene: Well I have the Nike Hoop Summit coming up next week in Memphis. Then I have the Jordan Game. After that I’m taking a break for a while…Just lift weights, get ready. After that, I go to Serbia with the USA team.

McDonald's All America Game Practices: Day Three

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Mar 28, 2007, 06:05 pm
During the scrimmage, Greene played on the perimeter the majority of the time and looked mighty fine doing so. He shot the ball well from the perimeter and was able to break down smaller defenders off of the dribble to get to the rim. The future Syracuse forward still struggles a bit staying in front of opposing small forwards on the perimeter, but is able to use his excellent length to make up for it. He will have the opportunity to be a “one and done” candidate next season at Syracuse, given their lack of a formidable scoring presence in the post for next season.

McDonald's All America Game Practices: Day Two

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Mar 27, 2007, 10:03 am
The Baltimore native put his silky smooth game on display Monday by killing opposing power forwards on the perimeter with both his ability to go off the dribble and deadly shooting ability. It has been evident this week that he is much more comfortable facing the basket and handling the ball, and it is likely that he will play a role similar to Kevin Durant this year at Texas when he arrives at Syracuse, as a perimeter oriented power forward.

McDonald's All America Game Practices: Day One

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Mar 26, 2007, 01:23 am
As ridiculous as this may sound, Greene resembled a bit of a poor man’s Kevin Durant on Sunday. He put the ball on the floor, shot the three pointer, and used his outstanding length and athleticism on both ends of the floor. While he is about an inch shorter and not the deadly shooter that KD was at this stage, the similarities in their games are definitely evident. The Baltimore native used his deceptive athleticism to block numerous shots in the paint against stronger post players, and was able to take opposing big men out to the wing and score on the perimeter against the more traditional posts. He is certainly a name that draft fans should keep etched in their heads, as many feel that he has a great chance of being a “one and done” player once he hits Syracuse.

Spalding HoopHall Classic Player Report

Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss
Jan 18, 2007, 09:00 am
By far the most impressive player over the weekend. His combination of length, athleticism, skill, and intelligence makes him a virtual lock for future success. Greene has a picture perfect jumper that he releases at the apex of his jump with arms fully extended. At 6’9” with the wingspan of a seven footer, the shot is pretty much unblockable at any level. He mixed his shots in nicely with his drives to the basket, showing a smooth pull-up shot off the dribble as well as an ability to finish in traffic after contact. He doesn’t have much in the way of post moves, but with his length and body control all he really needs to do down low is catch the ball in good position and get a single hand free on the turnaround or reverse pivot.

Greene has a good frame for putting on weight and should be able to play at a solid 230 without hurting his quickness. He showed no hesitance to mix it up inside against a much more powerfully built Samardo Samuels, grabbing a number of tough rebounds and blocking a couple of shot without going for Samuels' fakes. Greene didn’t force many shots and found teammates off of his drives very nicely. He needs to be more aggressive with his hand and footwork defensively and has to improve his ball-handling, especially going right. He’s definitely a player to watch at Syracuse next season.

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