With a 23-game losing skid, it’s not so easy being Green

Victoria Sun

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2000 | 10:21 a.m.

First-year Florida Atlantic head coach Sidney Green had been there before.

His team trailed UNLV 25-5 with 7:41 left in the first half Tuesday night thanks to a few unforced -- and unsightly -- turnovers, but not once did he yell at his players in disgust or throw up his arms in frustration.

The former Rebel standout remained so calm throughout 95 percent of the game, you might have thought he was a priest patiently listening, or in this case watching, his congregation act out their basketball sins in the form of ill-advised shots and awful ball-handling.

"I refuse to scream," he said after watching his team lose its 23rd consecutive game. "That's not my style, it's not how I wanted to be coached.

"I'm coaching these guys the way I wanted to be coached."

Not that Green hasn't had reason to get upset.

Undersized and outmanned at almost every position, the Owls fell to the Rebels, 81-60, in a sleeper before an announced crowd of 10,614.

Green's team is now 1-25 with its only victory of the season coming against NAIA school Nova Southeastern on Dec. 1.

Despite the loss, Green, the second-leading scorer in UNLV history, remained upbeat.

"You've got to take a lot of positives," he said. "We played effectively, we executed much better in the second half.

"The bottom line is that we're lacking depth, they had bigger guys than us. Our center is about 6-6, 6-7, and we had no substitution for him so we're playing a freshman at the five spot.

"Next year we'll have a 7-footer and a 6-10 kid for that position so then we'll be ready.

"This is a building year. We're starting history right now. Setting the foundation. What I mean is, there's our work ethic, our discipline and our structure. I am very positive that we are headed in the right direction."

If he's right, this will be the third basketball house he's had to build from scratch.

After playing 13 years in the NBA, Green began his coaching career at Southampton College. He inherited a team there that had won six games the previous season, and led the team to a 16-13 record, its best in more than 20 years. The following season, his team was 13-14 before he moved on to coach at the University of North Florida in 1997.

There, he helped improve the team from 8-17 his first season to 12-16 the following year.

When Florida Atlantic called, he accepted the position knowing there would be tough times ahead.

Last year, the Owls were 6-20.

"Behind closed doors, it's very frustrating, but I don't want my kids to see it," he said. "I don't like to lose. ... But this is not pressure from where I came from. I've been from hell and back growing up in Brooklyn. (After) all the obstacles and challenges I've faced in life ... this is nothing. The only individuals I feel sorry for are my kids."

As the losses mount, Green can only look forward to working with a promising recruiting class to help turn things around.

"We're not playing up-tempo the way we initially wanted to play," he said. "That's the hurting part for me as a coach.

"I'm adjusting to the limited talent we have on the team, but it will come. This is the first time in my coaching career we're playing half-court basketball. But it's going to get better. I'm very confident about the new kids coming in."