Green sticking it out without classmate at Texas A&M

When Texas A&M introduced new men's basketball coach Billy Kennedy in May, recruits Jordan Green and Jamal Branch drove down from Dallas together for the festivities. The future Aggies listened intently to their new coach then stood side-by-side during the meet-and-greet session after the formal introduction.

Green and Branch played on the same AAU team in the Dallas area, and many Aggie followers expected to watch a lot of A&M's squad's only two scholarship freshmen this season for quite some time.

Green felt the same way until it all changed when Branch opted to transfer midseason.

"Off the court I lost a friend," Green said. "Me and him lived on the same floor of our apartment, and he was just someone I could talk to after practice about practice. We would always talk about what we could do in the future and how we are playing right now."

Green lost more than a sounding board in Branch, who orally committed to A&M as a sophomore in high school and was the more highly touted of the two recruits.

Having followed Branch since meeting at an elite camp at A&M early in their high school careers, Green used Branch as a barometer for his own game when they started practicing with Aggies.

"He was the guy that really pushed me," Green said. "I always wanted to outdo him in everything I did because he was really talented and came in as a star recruit. I thought, 'I'm going to outwork this guy, get good.' Definitely from a competitive standpoint he was always my motivation."

Until Branch left A&M on Dec. 29, the two had very similar numbers. Both averaged about 19 minutes a game with Green averaging 4.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists a game and Branch at 4.2 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

As one of Branch's friends, Green heard his disgruntled talk about playing for the Aggies but thought it was just that -- talk.

"It happened really, really fast, and it was something I couldn't keep up with because I was really focused in on the season," Green said of Branch's departure. "One day he just doesn't show up, and I'm [thinking] he actually did it."

Green admitted it hurt when Branch left for St. John's, but he has continued on and become a more integral part of A&M's rotation as one of only three Aggies off the bench playing double-digit minutes in Big 12 play.

Green talked to Branch earlier this week and said Branch is liking it in New York City.

Meanwhile, Green is enjoying himself at A&M and drawing motivation from junior Khris Middleton while leaning on freshman walk-on Grant Jolly.

"[Jolly and I] get along a lot better actually than me and Jamal did," Green said. "He's become one of my best friends. We talk, and he helps get my mind off basketball sometimes, lightens the mood because the season is a grind. We hang out, go to the movies, whatever. On the court I've always measured myself up against Khris because he's obviously the best player on the team, and I want to become the best."

*

NOTES -- A&M's current four-game winning streak over Oklahoma is its longest. OU leads the series at 28-8 with all of A&M's wins except one coming in the last four seasons. ... A&M has held its last two opponents, Texas Tech and Missouri, to their second-worst shooting percentages of the season.

Who: Texas A&M (10-7, 1-4) vs. Oklahoma (12-5, 2-3)

When: 3 p.m., Saturday

Where: Reed Arena

TV/Radio: Big 12 Network/WTAW-AM 1620

Oklahoma (12-5, 2-3)

Name Ht. Class PPG RPG

G Sam Grooms 6-1 jr. 6.4 *5.3

G Stephen Pledger 6-4 jr. 17.3 4.0

G Carl Blair 6-2 jr. 4.5 *2.8

F Andrew Fitzgerald 6-8 jr. 13.1 5.5

F Romero Osby 6-8 jr. 11.5 8.3

Texas A&M (10-7, 1-4)

G Dash Harris 6-1 sr. 5.5 *4.0

G Elston Turner 6-5 jr. 13.2 3.3

F Khris Middleton 6-7 jr. 13.2 5.6

F David Loubeau 6-8 sr. 10.0 4.4

C Keith Davis 6-10 jr. 1.2 4.0

*assists