Florida State University Athletics
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Kennesaw State
Green Jr. Among Nation's Top 3-Point Shooters As Season Opener Approaches
11/8/2023 8:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State's Darin Green Jr. made his first collegiate 3-point shot on November 9, 2019, in leading UCF to a 73-69 victory over Prairie View at the Addition Financial Arena in Orlando.
With 114 games and a transfer from UCF to Florida State behind him, Green enters the 2023-24 season with 299 career 3-point shots made. He averages nearly 75 3-point shots made per season during his four-year career and made a single-season career-high 91 shots from the bonusphere in his first season as a Seminole in 2023.
As a player with that many 3-point shots made, he remembers every one of them.
Green will look to hit the 300 made mark for career 3-point shots as Florida State opens its regular season against Kennesaw State on Friday, November 10, at 6:00 p.m. The Seminoles' game against the Owls marks the second between the two teams and the Seminoles' first season-opener against a team from the state of Georgia since defeating Savannah State, 79-46, on November 24, 2002. Florida State is 4-1 in season openers against teams from the state of Georgia.
Green certainly remembers his first career 3-point shot against Prairie View. He remembers that it came in the first half of his first game of his career, on the second shot of his career. He remembers making six against Tulsa and five against East Carolina as a freshman. He'll never forget the two he made against Florida State as he scored 20 points against the Seminoles in his future home – the Donald L. Tucker Center in December of 2020. He'll always remember making seven from long range and scoring 27 points in the Knight's win over Michigan during his junior season.
"My most memorable made 3-point shot would be when I sized up the big (All-American Hunter Dickinson) and pulled from deep against Michigan," said Green Jr. "I'll also never forget my game-winner at the buzzer against East Carolina (Feb. 2, 20022) to win the game 69-66. I knew both of those shots were going in when they left my hand. That's the mentality you have to have to be a good 3-point shooter."
In his first season at Florida State, he scored seven 3-point shots against Troy and eight against St. John's in the Orange Bowl Classic. His 91 3-point field goals made in 2022-23 is the third-highest single-season total in school history, behind only 115 made by George McCloud (in 1989) and 110 made by Tim Pickett (in 2004). Both McCloud and Pickett are members of the Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame.
"I never thought I would make this many 3-pointers," said Green. "The three became my signature shot when I was in high school."
Green begins the 2023-24 season having made at least one 3-point field goal in 24 straight games. He dialed in from long distance in 31 of the Seminoles' 32 games last season.
With an extraordinary season, Green has the chance to become one of just 25 players in NCAA Division history to make 400 or more 3-point shots in his career.
"You need short term memory if you are going to get to a number like that," said Syracuse great Gerry McNamara who is one of the top-25 3-point shooters in NCAA history. "Great shooters trust the work that they've put in, and they trust that every time they shoot the basketball it's going to be like the repetitions they put in. It's all about the makes; it takes short term memory to get to a number like that."
While Green lists Charlotte, N.C. as his hometown, his basketball career began at Wharton High School in Tampa, Fla. He finished his career as the all-time leading scorer (1,410 points) and leader in career 3-point shots made – records that still stand today. He was the Hillsborough County Player of the Year, an All-Hillsborough County First-Team selection, and the MVP of the Hillsborough County All-Star game as a senior in 2019. He averaged 22.5 points, shot .430 percent from the 3-point line, and led Wharton to a 28-3 record that season.
"My high school coach ran a system that was built for shooters," said Green. "Many of the plays were called for me to shoot the three. As I began to get Division I offers during my junior year, I realized being a good shooter could be my meal ticket."
Green comes from an athletic family which has achieved success on the Division I level in both football and basketball. An uncle, David, played in 17 career games at Duke as a quarterback (1993-97), while a second uncle, Derek, played on the offensive line as a center at NC State (2000-01).
Green realizes that he certainly got some of his shooting genes from his father, Darin, who played collegiate basketball at The George Washington University. In four seasons for the Colonials (1994-98), Darin Sr. averaged 3.1 points while shooting .366 from the field for his 89-game career. He made a total of 20 3-point field goals during his career.
"My dad was a solid shooter, but he was more of an athlete who got into the lane and used his athleticism to rise up on people and punch his shots that way," said Green.
Florida State Head Coach Leonard Hamilton, who signed Green out of the transfer portal in 2023, has often said Green could be one of the top shooters in school history by the time his career in the Garnet and Gold is completed.
"If he can see the orange on the goal, if he can see the orange on the rim, as far as I'm concerned, he can shoot it," said Hamilton. "I'm not going to hold him back."
Hamilton also noted that Green has worked on improving his all-around game including his mid-range and driving to the basket skills.
"He's improved in other areas of his game," said Hamilton. "I think he's learned to include his mid-range game. I also think he's taking the ball to the basket better because we've insisted that he take advantage of all of his skills.
"Last year we were not a very good perimeter shooting team and people would load up on him (Darin). This year he has some complementary guys around him that can shoot the ball.
Among those players with outstanding outside shooting abilities on Florida State's roster this season is sophomore Baba Miller. Miler averaged 9.4 points in helping Spain to the championship of the FIBA U19 World Championship tournament in Hungary.
When asked to describe Green, the Spaniard called him a "big brother to all of us."
"Darin's got the experience in college basketball, so he can lead us on the court and off the court," said Miller. "He's always looking out for us. If we need anything, we can count on him."
Green averaged a career-high 13.4 points per game in his first year at Florida State and averaged 2.8 made 3-point shots per game – a mark that leads all active ACC players.
"I don't look at the record books," said Green. "My goal is to lead this team back to the NCAA Tournament – a place I've never been before. That's all I have on my mind this season."
