RALEIGH, N.C. -- UMBC's Jay Greene is accustomed to underdog status.
"Nobody is giving us a chance against Georgetown, and that's fine," said Greene, the junior point guard prepared to lead the 15th-seeded Retrievers (24-8) against the heralded Hoyas (27-5) on Friday. "I'm used to that. People have been telling me I was too small my whole life, and I've always refused to listen."
At 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, Greene can't remember the last time he wasn't the smallest player on the court. Thanks to his size and a hometown matching his stature (Whitehall, Pa.), Greene garnered exactly one Division I scholarship offer as a prep senior in the tiny burg just north of Allentown. It didn't seem to matter that Green was the Morning Call's two-time Player of the Year in the Lehigh Valley; there isn't much demand for the vertically challenged, however skilled, in the sport of giants.
Even UMBC's offer involved a fair degree of serendipity. In 2005, UMBC coach Randy Monroe was scouting a big man at an AAU tournament in Florida when then-assistant Kevin Baggett called his attention to the diminutive guard dominating play on an adjacent court. Monroe swallowed his better judgment and invited the guard to make an official visit, and Greene committed upon touring the Baltimore campus.
By his own admission, it might have been the best gut decision of Monroe's career.
"He's pretty much started since the first day he set foot on our campus," Monroe said. "He's the straw that stirs our drink."
Mirroring his Georgetown counterpart Jonathan Wallace, Greene's entire career at UMBC has been an exercise in efficiency and overachievement. Entering today's game against the Hoyas, Greene ranks second in the nation in both assists (7.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.68-1) while shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range.
"I'm more proud of the assist-to-turnover stat," said Green, who was named the MVP of the recently completed America East tournament after collecting 25 assists against only three turnovers in the Retrievers' run to the title. "This time of year especially, you've got to value the ball."
After several days of watching UMBC on film, Georgetown players were universally impressed with Greene. When a member of the media made a snide comment about Greene's size yesterday in the Georgetown locker room, junior forward Patrick Ewing Jr. immediately came to his defense.
"Have you seen him play?" asked Ewing. "He's for real. If you look at him, he doesn't really look like a basketball player. But once the game starts, he jumps off the tape at you. He has great court vision. He doesn't turn the ball over. He finds guys in great positions to score. He's got great range from behind the arc. He can play. I don't care how big he is or what league he's in or whatever, he's definitely one of the better point guards in the nation."
And for a kid who has spent his entire life playing David, Georgetown is simply today's Goliath.
"This is something you dream for since you're a little kid, and this is an opportunity to showcase what our team can do," said Greene. "We know we have a good team, and we are not going to back down to Georgetown."
