Former teammate Anthony Roberson helped Gators guard become a floor general.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
Published November 25, 2005
GAINESVILLE - It wasn't easy trying to find his way while playing behind one of the league's premier players last season.
Taurean Green tried, his teammates and coaches never questioned that.
But when you're fresh out of high school and thrust into a new environment as a role player, the change can sometimes be difficult.
"I had to adjust," Green, a sophomore, said. "The four freshmen that came in last year, we had to adjust to a new role and we just wanted to play the role that was going to be the best for the team."
The tough part was learning just what that role was.
Although he played in every game last season, making the transition from the guy who averaged 30 points a game in high school to the floor general in college didn't come easily for the state's former Mr. Basketball runner-up.
He got help from a most unlikely source: former teammate Anthony Roberson.
It was Roberson who would stay after practice with Green, providing his own brand of personal workouts and teaching him the nuances of the college game. It was Roberson who took a personal interest in making sure his eventual successor had all the tools necessary to succeed.
Exactly what did Green learn from Roberson?
"Basically, running the ball club," Green said. "How to run the ball club, passes I can make, passes I can't make, certain situations, how to read defenses and all that. Just watching him, and he taught me a lot in practice."
And according to coach Billy Donovan, that's the reason Green is off to such a solid start.
"I think the reason you've seen a big jump with Taurean ... is look at the guy he went against every single day last year in practice," Donovan said. "Taurean last year set turnover records in (practice). He was really dominated a lot by Roberson. ... So I think Roberson really helped Taurean. He was very good to Taurean as a person. He took time with him, he took him under his wing, he always stayed around him and that helped Taurean because I think it was a real transition, going from a guy that was scoring to "Hey, I've just got to run this team and get the ball where it needs to go.' "
Green has gone from scoring 3.9 points a game to the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.3 points and 5.3 assists in the first four games. Last week he was named the MVP of the 2K Sports Challenge in New York after scoring 23 in back-to-back wins over ranked opponents.
"He brings a lot of energy to the team and gets us going, and that's what we need," teammate Al Horford said. "He's the same way off the court. He's hyper all the time, and loud. That's what we expect, that's what we need from him and that's what he gives us."
Green's self-described "goofy" personality is well known and served him well during his high school days as he attended four schools in four years. Through that experience he learned adapting to change is part of life.
Now Green is hoping he can continue his new and improved play when the Gators host Florida State (2-0) tonight.
"I have a better understanding of the rivalry," said Green, one of nine players who are either freshmen or sophomores. "It's even more of a rivalry now because they beat us last year (82-69) and we're looking for a little revenge. We were all disappointed. We hated losing to them."
FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said Green's improvement is the result of hard work.
"He's a coach's son and really has a tremendous knowledge of the game. ... He's spent a lot of time in the gym working on his perimeter game and studying the game, and now he's playing like a smart, heady coach's son," Hamilton said. "They understand he runs the team, and he's a cool customer right now. I take my hat off to him."
Green's performance at Madison Square Garden in the season-opening tournament was a career-best but also meant as much to him on a personal level. It had been his grandmother's wish to see him play at the arena, but she died in January. Green's father, former UNLV and NBA standout Sidney Green, an assistant at Indiana, was at the game.
"It meant a lot," Green said. "I appreciate that Mike Davis let him come down to New York and come watch us play. It was a just a special moment. We both wished she was there to watch it."
Times staff writer Brian Landman contributed to this report
