Boston takes top-rated high-schooler Gerald Green, a 6-foot-8 forward with their first pick in the NBA draft.

10:04 AM EDT on Wednesday, June 29, 2005

BY CAROLYN THORNTON
Journal Sports Writer

WALTHAM, Mass. -- For all the talk about increasing the Boston Celtics' basketball IQ and leaning toward both a college player and a big man, Danny Ainge ultimately decided to stick to his plan to go with "the best player available," selecting 19-year-old high-schooler Gerald Green with the club's 18th pick in last night's NBA Draft.

AP file photo

Gerald Green, the Celtics' first-round draft pick despite being only 19-years-old, shows his shooting form while playing in the KMOX Shootout last December in St. Louis.

A couple of hours later in the second round, Boston selected a local favorite in Providence College's Ryan Gomes with its 50th pick, and then obtained Orien Greene , a 6-4 guard from Louisiana-Lafayette, at No. 53.

Rather than choosing a player who might help Boston win a few more games in the short-term, Ainge said he felt it was more important to use the team's first draft pick to acquire a player with the kind of athletic tools that with the proper guidance will pay bigger dividends down the road.

This 6-foot-8 forward from Houston, Texas, is just that type

of player, the Celtics executive director of basketball operations said.

"He's the best athlete in the draft," said Ainge.

"We think he's got a tremendous upside. This kid can shoot and he can fly. I will say on the downside that he's 19 and he's not ready to win in the NBA, so I'd be surprised if he beat out our young guards in Delonte (West) and Tony (Allen) and obviously Paul (Pierce) and Ricky (Davis). He's just another piece for the future that's got some tremendous upside that we're very excited about.

Ainge -- who was not able to get Green to come in for a workout, but saw him play and practice a number of times over the course of his final high school season -- said that he and his staff were sitting in "the war room" at The Sports Authority Training Center with their fingers tightly crossed last night, although they never imagined Green would drop below 10.

But the Celtics camp saw a glimmer of hope when they heard over the last couple of days that Portland, which had been extremely high on Green, might instead opt for Seattle Prep guard/forward Martell Webster -- whom the Trail Blazers took with the sixth overall pick.

Boston became increasingly hopeful when Green was still around after the 12th pick, which the L.A. Clippers used to select Russian forward Yaroslav Korolev.

Ainge was also encouraged knowing that Minnesota and Indiana were looking to draft guards, which the Timberwolves did by grabbing North Carolina's Rashad McCants at No. 14.

The Celts began "celebrating," he said, when New Mexico's Danny Granger and Green were still available at 16 "because we knew we had one of those two."

"You should have heard our phone ringing with about two picks to go," before Boston's, said Ainge. "We had everybody drooling to get Gerald Green."

"It kind of felt nerve-wracking," Green said of waiting for his name to be called. "I thought I was going to be picked a little earlier. But that's OK. That's God's plan, so I'll just go with it."

Rated the top high school prospect by Rivals.com, Green did not play basketball his freshman and sophomore years at Dobie High School in Houston. After playing his junior season there, he transferred to Gulf Shores Academy, where he repeated his junior year.

In his final high school season (2004-05), Green averaged 33.0 points, 12.0 rebounds and earned his second All-State selection.

The MVP of the 2004 Reebok ABCD All-Star Camp, he went on to score a game-high 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting that included a 6-for-9 performance from the perimeter in the 2005 McDonald's High School All-America Game. He also won the McDonald's Slam Dunk Contest.

Green originally committed to Oklahoma State, then opted for early entry into the NBA Draft.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers says he loves the pick, and though he hates to put that kind of pressure on him, is already comparing Green to Tracy McGrady.

"He's a freak athlete. He really is," said the Celtics coach. "But he also shoots the basketball well, has very good range, handles the ball, does a lot of good things. He has shown that he's a thinker on the floor. So an athlete who can think is something that any team would like."

Celtics draft picks

RYAN GOMES, 6-feet-8, 248 pounds, forward, Providence

ORIEN GREENE, 6-feet-4, 208 pounds, point guard, Louisiana-Lafayette