It is no secret that former Michigan State Spartans standout and current Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green is an emotional player. However, Green has managed to turn his emotions into fuel on the court, which was apparently taught to him by his high school basketball coach Bruce Simmons.
“His freshman year at Michigan State, he got one minute against Ohio State,” Simmons recently told ESPN. “He called and said, ‘Coach Bruce, I'm going to transfer. F— this s—.' And I said, ‘Noooo. We don't do that. This is what you're going to do. You're going to go into practice. [Senior] Marquise Gray is getting your minutes. Bust his ass. Talk s— to him. And then when you're doing that, look at Izzo, because Izzo is putting this [guy] on the court instead of you.'”
Of course, since his high school days, Green has become a five-time Western Conference Champion and three-time NBA Champion.
“The older I've gotten, I've learned to deal logically with situations instead of with emotions,” Simmons added. “So I tell him, ‘Kid, you made it. You ain't that second-round kid trying to make a team. You made it. You're a big reason why Golden State is winning. So you gotta take that right path when you express yourself.'”
Green and the Warriors are currently tied 1-1 with the Eastern Conference Champion Toronto Raptors in the latest installment of the NBA Finals. It is also worth noting that the ongoing series will now shift to Oracle Arena in Oakland, California after the Warriors and Raptors split the first two games in Toronto.
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