UA’s Green works out for Nuggets, Jazz
Ex-Wildcat Nnaji has had several NBA auditions
Josh Green has diligently and intensely worked over the last six months to become an “NBA-ready two-guard” under legendary trainer Joe Abunassar.
“Very explosive, but also moves so quickly and easily and fast,” Abunassar said Sunday. “What we’ve got now with Josh is an NBA-ready two-guard, a wing guy who can guard multiple positions. His wingspan is almost 6-11. He’s got that long reach. He can switch onto guys.”
Green has worked out for Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz as the 6-6, 218-pound guard out of Arizona is projected to go in the first round of next week’s draft.
“It was getting him back to comfortable to shooting the ball, which he’s been amazing,” said Abunassar about Green, the Australian native who averaged 12 points and shot 36.1% from 3 in his oneand-done season with the Wildcats.
“I really believe that Josh Green is one of the sleepers in the draft. Not so much a sleeper because he’s obviously projected in that14 to15 range, but I think he’s going to be a really good player. He’s done a great job of improving and getting back his ability to shoot the ball deep and his ball handling.”
Fellow former Arizona teammate Zeke Nnaji have worked out for Miami Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, Nuggets and Jazz as NBA teams must visit players for workouts amid COVID-19 pandemic.
Green and Nnaji have been training under Abunassar, founder of IMPACT Basketball, in Las Vegas.
“It’s been great here,” said Nnaji back in September during Zoom media interviews. “Definitely gotten a lot better in my time being here. Shooting the ball really well. Overall, my body feels great.”
Abunassar said Sunday the Phoenix Suns haven’t worked out his guys yet in person. He’s also been training projected first-round picks Tyrese Haliburton (Iowa State), Devon Dotson (Kansas) and Tyler Bey (Colorado).
Haliburton is expected to be a lottery selection.
“I’ve been working on a lot of different things in preparing to do whatever I’m asked,” said Haliburton back in September during Zoom media interviews.
NBA teams must visit players in the player’s “home market” for in-person, individual workouts amid COVID-19. The visits can’t last longer than 41⁄ hours and
2 may include an on-court workout, medical evaluation and sit-down meeting.
NBA teams can visit up to 10 prospects, but players do not have a limit on how many teams that can visit them for workouts. The teams can bring four people (three coaches, one medical staff member).
Personnel from multiple teams, with
player consent, can watch a player’s individual workout at the same time, but the workout counts toward each team’s 10visit limit.
“Some of the teams are traveling, some have decided not to,” Abunassar said.
“It’s all over the board.”
Green and Nnaji have trained in Vegas for months after the pandemic abruptly ended the 2019-20 college basketball season and changed the normal NBA schedule, pushing the draft to Nov. 18 as the season ended last month in the Orlando Bubble.
Like all NBA draft prospects, Green and Nnaji have found themselves working in the gym far longer than previous drat prospects.
This extended period has proved to be beneficial for both.
The 6-11 Nnaji has added nearly 20 pounds of muscle, up to 249 pounds.
“He got here on June 1,” said Abunassar about Nnaji, who left Arizona after one season after winning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.
“This is his sixth-month training. When you take someone for five months and you fine tune their nutrition, it’s very helpful. It’s been a combination of his nutrition, his diet, his ability to use the supplements and get the calories, but when you talk nutrition for him and you’re putting on that kind of weight, it’s all about calories and you got to get the right calories in your body. The right ratio of protein.”
Add an intense weightlifting program and Nnaji is bulked up the right way, but training for six months has helped add that much mass in a healthy manner. Nnaji is at 6% body fat.
“We could’ve never added that amount of weight with a normal predraft, which is normally two months at the most,” Abunassar said. “We’ve had a lot of time to make some good ground with Zeke.”
Abunassar doesn’t see the added weight hindering Nnaji’s activity as he was an energy guy at Arizona.
“Whenever we put weight on anyone, we make sure it doesn’t take away their speed because the NBA is a game about speed,” Abunassar said. “It’s all about speed. Big and strong is out. Fast is in. He’s so explosive and fast right now, it’s crazy. He’s a physical specimen. The added strength and weight for him has added to his explosiveness.”
Green has added nearly 10 pounds. At 6% body fat, Green, like Nnaji and the remaining prospects, have been on a 24hour nutrition program as IMPACT is partners with Herbalife.
“Josh is a big kid, he’s naturally strong,” Abunassar said. “He’s an amazing athlete. I think Josh would be the type of kid who could play any sport.”
On the court, Green has taken the repetitive, intense drills for his shooting in the half court and in transition and put them in NBA basketball situations.