SC native KJ Greene heads into recruiting homestretch. Where do in-state schools stand?
With his AAU season winding down, four-star recruit KJ Greene is ready to focus on the recruiting process.
Greene, a Columbia native who now plays at Pace Academy in Atlanta, says he will be taking his official visits over the next few months with a possible announcement date before the start of his high school season in November.
“I wanted to take my time with my recruitment and didn’t want to rush anything,” Greene said Thursday. “I will take all my visits in the fall. I will probably hit a couple football games, see campuses when they are alive and what it is really like during school.”
Three of Greene’s official visits likely will be at in-state schools South Carolina, Clemson and College of Charleston. All three schools have been recruiting him heavily and were on site Thursday to watch his AAU team, Upward Stars, compete in the adidas 3SSB Championships at the Rock Hill Sports and Events Center.
Greene said he also will likely visit Pitt, Central Florida and Florida State. NCAA rules allow players to take unlimited amounts of visits. He has taken only one official visit to Georgetown, in November. That was before the Hoyas fired coach Patrick Ewing.
Of his official visits, Greene plans to have South Carolina as the final one.
“It’s my hometown and I want them to show me their best and put their best foot forward,” Greene said. “Their whole pitch is stay home, you don’t have to go far to do it. … They let their point guards play and dictate what they do. That is also a pitch to me. They trust their point guards to make the right play.”
Clemson and College of Charleston also have a lot to offer, Greene said.
“Clemson and coach (Brad) Brownell have been on me heavy since freshman year and never stopped,” he said. “They feel like I’m their guy and that can help bring their program to the top of the ACC. They feel like I could be successful in their system. College of Charleston has a great family atmosphere and coach Pat Kelsey is really involved in practices and is really a player’s coach. That resonates with me.”
Greene says he is a true point guard who can score and feels like he will be able to bring a lot to whichever school he chooses.
The 247Sports Composite ranks Greene as a four-star prospect and No. 89 nationally. ESPN has him ranked No. 65.
Greene participated in the NBA Top 100 last week and went against some of the top prospects in the country.
“Top 100 was a great experience and environment,” Greene said. “There were current NBA players, retired players. My coach was Jabari Smith and he just taught me so many nuances of the game. I learned so much to help me.”
Greene averaged 11.6 points, 6.5 assists and 2.7 assists this season in helping Pace Academy to the Georgia Class 4A championship. He had 19 points, four rebounds and four assists in the championship game win over Fayette.
“It is a feeling you can’t describe,” Greene said of the championship. “You don’t know until it happens. We were on the road after the first round and going through that in Georgia against tough crowds. It felt amazing.”
This story was originally published July 6, 2023 at 6:40 PM.
