The Millard North Mustangs wrapped up a busty month of June hoops on Thursday with three games in the Border Battle, an annual event in Council Bluffs featuring teams from Iowa and Nebraska facing off against each other.
The Mustangs — including new Nebraska target 2022 forward Jasen Green — went 2-1 in the event, beating Carroll Kemper 61-52 and Ames 59-47 before falling to Ankeny Centennial 65-49. The last two games were back-to-back and the Mustangs ran out of gas against Centennial as they were outscored 33-10 in the second half after leading by seven at halftime.
“I think we did pretty good as a team,” Green told Hail Varsity. “We still have to work on our second-half game because in the first half we were up seven, but the beginning of the second half they went on a huge run and that kind of killed us. Overall, I think we did pretty good today.”
The Border Battle marks the end of a month of high school competition as players will rejoin their summer select teams to compete during July. Green should return to the AAU circuit with a new sense of confidence after receiving his first offer from the Huskers following last weekend’s Midwest Showcase in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Showcase provided an opportunity for chosen players from states throughout the midwest to compete in front of Division I coaches during the new June live period created by changes to the NCAA recruiting calendar. Though a stomach bug prevented him from taking the court on Sunday, Green did enough on Saturday to earn an offer from the Huskers who had assistant coaches Doc Sadler and Matt Abdelmassih in attendance for the event.
“I think it was after the first game — I played pretty well, I think I had 12 [points] — so after that game my coach called my phone and told me that they had offered me,” Green said.
“I was really excited,’ Green continued. “Obviously, I’ve worked my whole life to get to the NBA, but getting a scholarship is the first step towards that. So I was just super excited when I got it.”
Green’s high school teammate, 2020 forward Max Murrell, received a flurry of offers following the event. Add in another Nebraska target in 2021 wing Hunter Sallis — who averaged 17.3 points on nearly 60% shooting during the Border Battle on Thursday — and the Mustangs are set to have three high-major recruits on their roster.
“I thought it was a really good chance for everyone to show off their skills because there’s no coaching, really, and there are no timeouts so it’s all about the players and how they create their own shots without having plays run for them,” Green said.
With that much talent and a good cast of role players, the Mustangs are eying a deep run in March after seeing their 2018-19 season end on a buzzer-beater in the district final.
“I think that our team is good enough to take state, and that’s really the main goal we all have,” Green said.
As for Green, he played up a grade through middle school with Sallis and Bellevue West point guard Chucky Hepburn, and now all three find themselves getting recruited by the Huskers.
“It’s a really good feeling,” Green said. “I grew up with them and now we’re all getting offers. It’s just a dream come true.”
Green said Sallis and Hepburn reached out to him after the offer to give hime their congratulations and tell him plenty more were on the way.
Green has grown to 6-foot-7 and will turn 16 next month. He started for the Mustangs as a freshman and put up 7.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game as Millard North went 16-8. Green said the experience of playing against older players has only helped his development.
“Playing against the bigger guys has definitely made me a lot tougher,” Green said. “Playing in high school, playing against people like three years older than me has just made me a much tougher player.”
Green’s a pretty fluid athlete for his size and has a versatile skill set. The jumper wasn’t falling on Thursday, but it did down in Kansas City last weekend and he has confidence in his ability to make shots.
“My biggest strength is definitely getting to the rim, and I can shoot well off the dribble also,” Green said. “Those are the two main things.”
Green said he’s been working primarily on improving his ball-handling so he can push the pace in transition better. He had a couple of impressive grab-and-go plays on Thursday, showing off his fluidity and touch at the rim.
After playing for Nebraska Hoops Elite through middle school and Team Factory last summer, Green joined MoKan Elite — the same program that produced one-time Husker Michael Jacobsen — for the AAU season so he could play at the highest level in the Nike EYBL.
“It’s really good,” Green said. “The EYBL is a super tough league. Every player that’s on every team has really good skills, they can score off the dribble and things like that, so it’s definitely a really good challenge for me as a player.”
For now, Green hasn’t had the chance to talk with Nebraska’s staff because of NCAA rules, but he said he’s looking forward to hearing from them soon and building that relationship as his recruiting process begins in earnest.
Jacob Padilla has been writing for Hail Varsity since 2015. He covers football, volleyball men’s basketball and prep sports. He also co-hosts the Nebraska Preps Postgame and Nebraska Shootaround podcasts for the Hurrdat Media and Hail Varsity podcast networks. His love of basketball can best be described as an obsession and if you need to find him, he’s probably in a gym somewhere watching, coaching or playing hoops.
