Kalana Greene

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Kalana Greene
Kalana Greene.JPG
Personal information
Born (1987-07-13) July 13, 1987 (age 34)
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolTimberland
(St. Stephen, South Carolina)
CollegeUConn (2005–2010)
WNBA draft2010 / Round: 2 / Pick: 13th overall
Selected by the New York Liberty
Playing career2010–present
PositionGuard
Career history
2010New York Liberty
2011–2013Connecticut Sun
2014Washington Mystics
2015San Antonio Stars
2015Minnesota Lynx
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com

Kalana Lanette Greene (born July 13, 1987), is an American professional women's basketball guard, who last played for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and CCC Polkowice in Poland. She played her college career at the University of Connecticut, where the Huskies were the 2009 and 2010 NCAA national Champions.

Early life and high school[]

Greene grew up in St. Stephen, South Carolina, as the daughter of Addison and Cynthia Greene.[1] Greene played basketball for Timberland High School in St. Stephen, South Carolina. She helped her team win twenty or more games for three consecutive seasons, and in her senior year, she led the team to its first ever state championship.[1] She averaged 17 points per game as a freshman; by the time she was a senior, she averaged 28 points, 18 rebounds, nine steals and eight assists per game.[1]

Greene was named a WBCA All-American.[2] She participated in the 2005 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored four points.[3]

College[]

Kalana Greene with her parents at Senior Day ceremonies February 27, 2010

Greene's choices came down to Georgia and Connecticut. She liked the Georgia program, but the UConn program, with both a family atmosphere and an expectation you have to work hard for everything you get swayed her to choose to come to join the University of Connecticut Huskies.[4]

Greene suffered a major knee injury in a game on December 17, 2007, against South Carolina, an injury that would end her season.[5] It turned out to be a damaged ACL and torn LCL. UConn rarely played South Carolina, but set up a two-game series, with a game in 2007 against South Carolina in Connecticut, with a return trip to South Carolina in 2008, scheduled so that Greene could play in her home state as a senior. Her coach, Geno Auriemma, worried it might be a career-ending injury.

That day when she got hurt, I was really in a somber mood because I thought this could be the end of Kalana's career

— Geno Auriemma, [6]

She worked hard to rehabilitate her knee, including staying on campus over the summer to work out in the gym every day.[6] She played the following season, for a team that won the national championship, although not at the same level as before her injury. During the year, she had to make a decision whether to leave as an academic senior, or return for a fifth year. Players who are injured during a year can get an additional year of eligibility, if they have not played too many games in the season. Greene's injury occurred in the eighth game of her junior season, so she was eligible to return if she chose. She considered her options, and chose to return for a fifth year.

On March 9, 2010, Greene played in her 151st game as a UConn Husky, more than any other player in UConn Women's basketball history, breaking the mark held by Renee Montgomery.[7] Greene played in 157 games in her complete college career, an NCAA record.[8]

Greene helped lead UConn to the Championship of the Big East Tournament, and earned Most Outstanding Player of the tournament for her performance.[6]

WNBA[]

Greene was the 13th overall selection in the 2010 WNBA Draft, selected by the New York Liberty.[9] After playing one season for the Liberty, she was traded to the Connecticut Sun for the draft rights of Sydney Colson, the Texas A&M selected by the Sun in the second round of the 2011 WNBA draft.[10]

Europe[]

Greene plays for CCC Polkowice in Poland[11][12] – silver medalist of the PLKK 2010/2011 season.

Awards and honors[]

  • WBCA All-American.[2]
  • Kalana Greene All-BIG EAST First Team[13]
  • Kalana Greene Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player[14]

University of Connecticut statistics[]

Kalana Greene Statistics[15][16] at University of Connecticut
Year G FG FGA PCT 3FG 3FGA PCT FT FTA PCT REB AVG A TO B S MIN PTS AVG
2005–06 35 58 132 0.439 1 5 0.200 30 47 0.638 74 2.1 12.0 28 9 16 475 147 4.2
2006–07 36 187 375 0.499 3 24 0.125 71 104 0.683 270 7.5 65.0 71 13 57 1048 448 12.4
2007-08 8 29 51 0.569 2 10 0.200 6 7 0.857 41 5.1 18.0 13 6 9 178 66 8.3
2008–09 39 141 242 0.583 6 30 0.200 50 65 0.769 181 4.6 68.0 61 11 37 990 338 8.7
2009–10 39 190 326 0.583 11 24 0.458 54 78 0.692 182 4.7 65.0 60 62 60 1009 445 11.4
Totals 157 605 1126 0.537 23 93 0.247 211 301 0.701 748 4.8 228 233 101 179 3700 1444 9.2

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "32 Kalana Greene". University of Connecticut. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Past WBCA HS Coaches' All-America Teams". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  3. ^ "WBCA High School All-America Game Box Scores". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  4. ^ Sapakoff, Gene (March 14, 2010). "One on One with Kalana Greene". The Post and Courier. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  5. ^ "Greene injured in UConn's rout of South Carolina". ESPN. December 17, 2007. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Elsberry, Chris (March 10, 2010). "ELSBERRY Greene saves best for Big East finale". CTPost.com. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  7. ^ "UConn women's notebook: Greene sets record with 151st game played". CTPost.com. March 10, 2010. Retrieved March 11, 2010.
  8. ^ Adamec, Carl (June 3, 2011). "She's new to Sun, but no Greene horn". Journal Inquirer.
  9. ^ "Greene taken 13th overall by New York". The Post and Courier. April 9, 2010. Retrieved April 9, 2010.
  10. ^ Altavilla, John (April 16, 2011). "WNBA: Greene Eager To Join Sun". Courant. Retrieved April 17, 2011.
  11. ^ "Team". CCC Polkowice.
  12. ^ Kalana Greene in CCC jersey.
  13. ^ "Connecticut's Moore and Charles Highlight Women's Basketball All-Conference Teams". Big East Conference. Archived from the original on March 9, 2010. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
  14. ^ "Huskies rout No. 8 Mountaineers for 16th Big East championship". ESPN. March 9, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  15. ^ "Media Guide History". UConnHuskies.com. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  16. ^ "UCONN Season Statistics". University of Connecticut. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
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