4 things to know about new Arizona commit Josh Green

Josh Green, ranked as the No. 10 prospect by 247sports in the country for the 2019 recruiting class, committed to the Arizona Wildcats on Thursday afternoon.

Here are four things you need to know about the 6-foot-6, 5-star small forward:

1. He and Nico Mannion were a superstar duo in AAU

Fellow Arizona commit Nico Mannion and Green were nearly unstoppable during their time as teammates on the AAU circuit.

Ryan Silver of West Coast Elite, the pair’s AAU club, highlighted some of the duo’s accomplishments:

Mannion committed to Arizona in mid-September. Now the two AAU teammates can take their chemistry to Tucson together.

2. He’s from Australia

A product of IMG Academy in Florida in his prep years, Green is a native of Australia. He moved from the Land Down Under to the U.S. when he was 13 with basketball as his primary objective.

“I look back at everything I’ve done and I’ve come through to be where I’m at, and I feel proud and it feels crazy,” Green said, per Bleacher Report. “I moved from one side of the world to the other side of the world. A lot of kids in Australia would love to be in the situation I’m in. I’m excited for what’s next.”

Both of Green’s parents were also professional basketball players in Australia. Green spent his first two years of high school in Arizona before moving east to the IMG Academy.

3. Green was a multi-sport star as a kid

Bleacher Report’s profile on Green highlighted the fact that his parents, Delmas and Cahla, didn’t want Green to pursue basketball at first.

From B/R:

He swam and ran cross-country, and he played rugby, tennis, soccer, tag football and Australian rules football. He excelled in everything he tried—except for a brief stint in gymnastics. (“He told me he couldn’t do it,” says Cahla, “because he was too tall and his legs landed too early.”) When Josh was two, he was sitting in the stands to watch his five-year-old brother, Jay, play soccer. When Jay’s coach informed Cahla and Demas he was short a player, Josh volunteered to join. He was practically swimming in the oversized shirt, but he managed to keep the team afloat as its goalkeeper.

Green qualified for state teams in nine sports by the age of 10, but it eventually became apparent that basketball was his calling.

Green’s older brother, Jay, currently suits up for UNLV — furthering the process of Green’s development on the hardwood along.

4. He’s only taken one official visit...and it isn’t to Arizona

While Green has committed to the Wildcats, he’s actually only gone on one official visit so far in his recruiting process.

That visit was to Chapel Hill, N.C. to take in the North Carolina Tar Heels program, according to ESPN.

However, Green said he’s taken several unofficial visits to Arizona and plans to take his official visit to the Wildcats’ program next weekend.

“I’ve been to Arizona three or four times,” Green said, according to ESPN. “I’ve seen the campus multiple times. I’ve already seen the school, heard everything.”

Green cut his list down to six schools in August, but UNC was actually the presumptive favorite to land the Australian’s services. Green, according to ESPN, was a Tar Heels fan growing up.

”At the end of the day, North Carolina was my dream school as a kid, but things change,” Green said. “You have to pick the best situation for you. I just had to be smart. Arizona is 100 percent the best choice. I love the school. I think the one thing is my relationship with the coach. Not many players, I don’t think, have the same relationship that me and Coach Miller have. He has a relationship with my family as well. We’re able to trust them with my college career.”

With Green’s commitment, Sean Miller and Co. now have one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, particularly with regards to the backcourt with Mannion’s commitment.