Florida State University Athletics
Photo by: Ryals Lee, Jr./FSU Athletic Depa
Never Any Doubt: Darin Green Jr. Earns His Florida State Degree
5/4/2024 9:40:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TALLAHASSEE – There was never any doubt that Florida State basketball player Darin Green Jr. was going to earn a college degree.
Not after his mom, Nena, earned her bachelor's degree from UNC Greensboro and her master's degree from Gardner-Webb (both in education) and his father, Darin Green Sr., earned his bachelor's degree in sociology with a double minor in psychology and business from George Washington University.
After finishing his career as one of the top 3-point shooters in the history of the Seminole program, Green Jr. will cross the graduation stage in his college basketball home on Saturday and earn his degree in social science. He'll hear his name announced inside the arena one last time as he crosses the stage and shakes FSU President Richard McCullough's hand.
He will then look into the stands as he did during each of Florida State's games in the last two seasons and find his most supportive fans who will be beaming with pride at his latest accomplishment.
"Graduating from college is very important to my parents," said Green Jr. "Both my mom and dad graduated from college, and they will be proud that I've accomplished something they have preached to me my whole life."
A successful academic career for Green Jr. has always been at the forefront of his career. He earned the Academic Award for his basketball team as a senior in high school for the highest GPA among his teammates.
Following a three-year academic career at UCF, he made the choice to transfer to Florida State to not only become one of the top shooters in the nation, but to earn his bachelor's from one of the top public academic institutions in the nation.
While at Florida State, he earned Dean's List academic honors and was named to the 2024 All-ACC Academic Basketball team. To be named to the All-ACC Academic Team, which includes players from each of the league's 15 schools, players must earn a 3.0 grade point average or better for their career, a 3.0 GPA or better during the most recently completed semester, and have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games during the season.
"It has always been more important to us than any of his accomplishments on the court that he earn his degree," said Darin Green Sr. "We know that at some point the ball will stop bouncing and Darin will have to use his academic strengths as a foundation for his success."
Green Jr's success came early and often on the basketball court during his collegiate career.
He began making his mark as a collegiate player as a freshman at UCF. He averaged 10.1 points scored per game and led the American Athletic Conference with a career-high .417 3-point field goal shooting mark. In his second season, he increased his scoring average and ranked seventh in the league with 53 3-point field goals made. Green Jr. led UCF in scoring (13.3 ppg), earned All-AAC Third Team honors, and ranked in the nation's top 25 with an average of 3.0 3-point field goals made per game as a junior.
At the end of his third season at UCF, he chose to transfer to Florida State to play for Hall of Fame Head Coach Leonard Hamilton and the Seminoles in the ACC. Because his collegiate career began during the Covid pandemic, Green Jr. would have two years to make his mark as one of the top 3-point shooters in the nation's top collegiate conference for basketball while earning the degree he so dearly coveted.
"Florida State was the right choice for me at the right time of my career," said Green, Jr. "It helped me fulfill my basketball dreams of being successful against the top talent in the nation every night and led me to graduate and earning my degree from a great institution."
From the start, Hamilton knew he was getting a leader for his basketball team and a student-athlete who would work diligently to earn his degree.
"We knew the type of high-character person we were bringing into our program when we began recruiting Darin," said Hamilton, who has seen 97 percent of his players graduate during his coaching career. "We knew he was going to work towards earning his degree, and we had a pretty good feeling we were getting a player who would be one of the top shooters in school history. We were right on both assessments.
"We couldn't be more proud of Darin for earning his degree from Florida State and for reaching a milestone that is so important to him and his family."
His work in the classroom and on the basketball court helped him become a favorite of Florida State's Athletics Administration.
"From my first conversation with Darin, it was apparent how important achieving his educational goals was to him and his family," said Assistant Athletics Director of Academic Services Charlie Hogan. "He worked just as hard off the court toward achieving his goals as he did toward his basketball pursuits on the court."
While earning his degree from Florida State University, Green Jr., did in fact become one of the top shooters in school history.
His name is etched in Florida State's record book 13 times – an incredible list of accomplishments for a student-athlete who played just two years as a member of the program. He is ranked 10th with 455 career 3-point field goals attempted, 11th in school history with 169 career 3-point field goals made, and 16th with a career 3-point field goal percentage of .371.
Green Jr's 91 3-point field goals made in 2023 are the third-highest single-season total in school history, while his 78 3-point field goals made this past season rank as the seventh-highest total in a single season by a Seminole player. Twice he made his career-high of eight 3-point point field goals in a game – a total which is tied for the third-best in a single game in school history.
He scored nearly 800 points in just 64 games played as a Seminole for a double-figure scoring average of 12.4 points per game.
"Graduation means a lot to me," said Green Jr. "My mom and dad both have their degrees, so it was only right to be an example for my little sisters to finish school and earn my college degree."
As he completes this chapter in his life and begins his professional basketball career, Green Jr. knows two things for certain: he will always be a Seminole, and he will always have a degree from Florida State University.
Not after his mom, Nena, earned her bachelor's degree from UNC Greensboro and her master's degree from Gardner-Webb (both in education) and his father, Darin Green Sr., earned his bachelor's degree in sociology with a double minor in psychology and business from George Washington University.
After finishing his career as one of the top 3-point shooters in the history of the Seminole program, Green Jr. will cross the graduation stage in his college basketball home on Saturday and earn his degree in social science. He'll hear his name announced inside the arena one last time as he crosses the stage and shakes FSU President Richard McCullough's hand.
He will then look into the stands as he did during each of Florida State's games in the last two seasons and find his most supportive fans who will be beaming with pride at his latest accomplishment.
"Graduating from college is very important to my parents," said Green Jr. "Both my mom and dad graduated from college, and they will be proud that I've accomplished something they have preached to me my whole life."
A successful academic career for Green Jr. has always been at the forefront of his career. He earned the Academic Award for his basketball team as a senior in high school for the highest GPA among his teammates.
Following a three-year academic career at UCF, he made the choice to transfer to Florida State to not only become one of the top shooters in the nation, but to earn his bachelor's from one of the top public academic institutions in the nation.
While at Florida State, he earned Dean's List academic honors and was named to the 2024 All-ACC Academic Basketball team. To be named to the All-ACC Academic Team, which includes players from each of the league's 15 schools, players must earn a 3.0 grade point average or better for their career, a 3.0 GPA or better during the most recently completed semester, and have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games during the season.
"It has always been more important to us than any of his accomplishments on the court that he earn his degree," said Darin Green Sr. "We know that at some point the ball will stop bouncing and Darin will have to use his academic strengths as a foundation for his success."
Green Jr's success came early and often on the basketball court during his collegiate career.
He began making his mark as a collegiate player as a freshman at UCF. He averaged 10.1 points scored per game and led the American Athletic Conference with a career-high .417 3-point field goal shooting mark. In his second season, he increased his scoring average and ranked seventh in the league with 53 3-point field goals made. Green Jr. led UCF in scoring (13.3 ppg), earned All-AAC Third Team honors, and ranked in the nation's top 25 with an average of 3.0 3-point field goals made per game as a junior.
At the end of his third season at UCF, he chose to transfer to Florida State to play for Hall of Fame Head Coach Leonard Hamilton and the Seminoles in the ACC. Because his collegiate career began during the Covid pandemic, Green Jr. would have two years to make his mark as one of the top 3-point shooters in the nation's top collegiate conference for basketball while earning the degree he so dearly coveted.
"Florida State was the right choice for me at the right time of my career," said Green, Jr. "It helped me fulfill my basketball dreams of being successful against the top talent in the nation every night and led me to graduate and earning my degree from a great institution."
From the start, Hamilton knew he was getting a leader for his basketball team and a student-athlete who would work diligently to earn his degree.
"We knew the type of high-character person we were bringing into our program when we began recruiting Darin," said Hamilton, who has seen 97 percent of his players graduate during his coaching career. "We knew he was going to work towards earning his degree, and we had a pretty good feeling we were getting a player who would be one of the top shooters in school history. We were right on both assessments.
"We couldn't be more proud of Darin for earning his degree from Florida State and for reaching a milestone that is so important to him and his family."
His work in the classroom and on the basketball court helped him become a favorite of Florida State's Athletics Administration.
"From my first conversation with Darin, it was apparent how important achieving his educational goals was to him and his family," said Assistant Athletics Director of Academic Services Charlie Hogan. "He worked just as hard off the court toward achieving his goals as he did toward his basketball pursuits on the court."
While earning his degree from Florida State University, Green Jr., did in fact become one of the top shooters in school history.
His name is etched in Florida State's record book 13 times – an incredible list of accomplishments for a student-athlete who played just two years as a member of the program. He is ranked 10th with 455 career 3-point field goals attempted, 11th in school history with 169 career 3-point field goals made, and 16th with a career 3-point field goal percentage of .371.
Green Jr's 91 3-point field goals made in 2023 are the third-highest single-season total in school history, while his 78 3-point field goals made this past season rank as the seventh-highest total in a single season by a Seminole player. Twice he made his career-high of eight 3-point point field goals in a game – a total which is tied for the third-best in a single game in school history.
He scored nearly 800 points in just 64 games played as a Seminole for a double-figure scoring average of 12.4 points per game.
"Graduation means a lot to me," said Green Jr. "My mom and dad both have their degrees, so it was only right to be an example for my little sisters to finish school and earn my college degree."
As he completes this chapter in his life and begins his professional basketball career, Green Jr. knows two things for certain: he will always be a Seminole, and he will always have a degree from Florida State University.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Men's BasketballEYES UP: An FSU Football Series | East Texas A&M Sneak Peek
Wednesday, September 10
DL Jayson Jenkins: “We have to play hard and that’s our identity"
Wednesday, September 10
LB Stefon Thompson: "Same standard and energy"
Wednesday, September 10
HC Mike Norvell: "It has to be about us"
Wednesday, September 10