Josh Green bulking up ahead of NCAA debut

Josh Green hasn’t even began his collegiate career at the University of Arizona, but the young Australian is already committed to the rigorous process of readying himself for the NBA.

The 18-year-old guard, who will soon join the Wildcats ahead of their season commencing in November, has been recovering from surgery that repaired a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Green has been using the rehabilitation process to bulk up ahead of the demanding pressures of an NCAA season.

According to Olgun Uluc of foxsports.com.au, Green, who stands at 6’6”, has gained 5.4kg on the back of a strict workout routine and accompanying meal plan consisting of dinners with two steaks, shrimp, and salad, with rice and fries. Green claims to have grown from 200lbs (90.7kg) to 212 lbs (96.1kg) since the end of his high school playing career.

While the immediate aim of getting healthy ahead of his sophomore NCAA campaign is of paramount importance, Green is also looking twelve months ahead and eyeing further growth ahead of his NBA eligibility.

“If I wanna play at the next level, the NBA, dudes like that who are in the league right now at the shooting guard position, they’re like 225-230 [pounds], so I have to make sure I get stronger,” Green told Uluc.

Green, who underwent surgery in April, explained to Fox Sports that he expects to be fully recovered by September. Seen as a guaranteed first round selection in the 2020 NBA Draft, Green was projected to be taken with the 15th pick by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony in his most recent mock draft.

The young Australian sounds prepared for a professional career that will almost inevitably begin next June, but isn’t overlooking the opportunity that a season playing in the Pac-12 with Arizona will bring.

“This year, for me, is gonna be the best year of basketball I’ve ever played,” Green said.

“People don’t realise I played through all the all-star games and high school games with a torn labrum, so I’m looking forward to proving a lot of people wrong. Obviously my name is still out there, but there’s a lot of doubters now because of my injury, so I want to prove them wrong.”

Led by Green, Arizona will enter with NCAA season with one of the best recruiting classes in North America. Nico Mannion, Zeke Nnaji, Christian Koloko and Terry Armstrong are all consensus top 100 recruits and join Green as new talents at the disposal Wildcats head coach Sean Miller.

Arizona will begin their season against Chico State on 1 November.