Warrior Insider

Before he can make an impact with the University of Hawai’i basketball team, Leland Green understands that he must make the necessary adjustments in becoming a NCAA Division I student-athlete.

It means eating right, training properly, and keeping up with academics, in addition to battling for playing time at the guard position.

“It’s been off and on, kind of hard,” said Green, a 6-foot-3 true freshman from Los Angeles. “I’m kind of new, getting adjusted to college, on and off the court.”

For example, while Green might look fit and trim upon first glance, he admits that he is still learning about the benefits of various workouts, and a balanced diet.

When asked about the toughest athletic adjustment from high school to college, Green replied: “Probably doing weights and then having to go to practice, and then practice to individual work after practice.”

Green, a 2016 graduate of Redondo Union High School in California, added that the size of the UH-Manoa campus is something he is still getting used to. “Just finding the classes the first day of school was pretty hard,” he said.

On the court, Green is in the mix for playing time at the “2” guard position. He said he is willing to do what ever it takes to earn minutes.

“Probably sticking (defensively) the other team’s best player, knocking down open shots when I’m open, making the best play for my team, at the time,” Green said of the skills that he can bring to the position.

Green, and his coaches, are hoping that more healthy meal choices might also make a positive difference in his progress. During his first month on the UH campus, Green said he was surviving on “burgers, fries and chicken nuggets.”

“I talked to some of the coaches and I’m trying to get on a different diet,” he said.