Gerald Green, Boston's first-round selection, was undeterred after failing to make his high school team in his freshman and sophomore years, and he may be the steal of this year's NBA Draft.

09:20 AM EDT on Thursday, June 30, 2005

BY CAROLYN THORNTON
Journal Sports Writer

WALTHAM, Mass. -- His basketball résumé may not be very long and he still has much to prove, but one thing already seems clear about Gerald Green Jr.: He's one persistent son of a gun.

AP photo

Second-round pick Ryan Gomes, left, and first-rounder Gerald green show off their new Celtics uniforms yesterday during a news conference at the team's training center in Waltham, Mass.

He was undeterred when he didn't make the cut for the Dobie High School basketball team in his freshman year.

And when he was cut again in his sophomore year, the Houston teenager was back at tryouts the following season ready to prove to his coach that he deserved a uniform.

"He was going to get tired of me until he'd be like, 'Man, OK, we've got to get this guy on the team,' " said Green, who grew up idolizing another player -- Michael Jordan -- who was cut from his high school basketball team as a sophomore. "I was going to keep coming back and keep coming back. I didn't want them to say, 'Gerald, he just flat-out quit.' No. It ain't me."

Now, just a few years later, the 19-year-old, who finished up at Gulf Shores Academy and went on to become a

McDonald's All-American, is being labeled the biggest steal in this year's NBA Draft.

"I never wanted to quit because it's been my dream," said Green, proudly holding green and white jersey No. 5 that had just been handed to him by Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "I never wanted to quit."

Although he did not have to wait nearly as long as new teammates Ryan Gomes and Orien Greene to learn his fate, Green still had to wait longer than he originally anticipated, going 18th overall after some had projected him to go as high as fifth.

He says he doesn't feel that was a sign he had dropped out of favor with some teams, such as Portland, that had initially shown interest. But he attributes that more to other players raising their stock with good workouts in the last couple of weeks.

In any event, Green says he plans to use that as motivation as he begins preparations for his first NBA season and is eager to show Boston that it made the right choice in selecting him.

"I didn't think it was going to be this low, but everything happens for a reason," said Green, who appeared remarkably comfortable at his first Celtics press conference yesterday at The Sports Authority Training Center. "I'm glad to be a Boston Celtic. I know something great is going to happen to this city, and I'm glad to be a part of it."

Asked what he'd like Boston fans to know about him, the 6-foot-8 forward said: "I want them to know that I'm a hard worker and that I'm a nice guy, too. On and off the court, I'm nice and I'm not arrogant or nothing. I'm very happy to be in this situation and hopefully me and the Celtics fans can get along really good because they're great fans. And I know that the Celtics are going to do something big."

Green's father, Gerald Sr. -- who accompanied his son yesterday, along with his wife Brenda, to Boston -- said he knew their son would one day be in the pros "when he was born."

"He was 21 inches long, athletic build and just full of energy, real vibrant," he said. "So I expected it. My mom was an athlete. My daughter was an athlete. I was an athlete. All his uncles on my father's side and most of the folks on my mom's side, they were all athletes. So I just expected it. I knew he wanted to do that, so I just wanted him to fulfill his dream."

The circumstances of Green's birth may also have been foreshadowing his eventual arrival in Boston: He was born on Jan. 26, 1986, during halftime of Super Bowl XX -- between the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears.

(The Greens say the only reason they made it to the hospital in time to deliver him was because the Bears already were blowing out the Pats by halftime.)

Nineteen years later, Green is being touted as "a gifted athlete with great end-to-end speed and exceptional leaping ability."

With veterans Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis, as well as Delonte West, Tony Allen and Marcus Banks, ahead of Green, Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge said he doesn't anticipate that Green will have an immediate impact.

By the same token, seeing how much Al Jefferson overachieved in his rookie season despite coming right out of high school, Rivers said he probably will have higher expectations for Green in his first year.

"To me, the kid has talent," Rivers said. "Obviously, he has a lot to learn. The upside is . . . we won't have to break any [bad] habits for the most part, so I don't think it adds any more pressure. I'll let (Green) mature. We're not going to ruin this kid by just throwing him in there. But if he is ready, he will play."