Two summers ago, Gabby Green, the region's top girl's basketball player in the 2014 class, broke her ankle in her first game with the Cal Storm club. The injury happened while she played in a summer Nike event in Chicago and ironically was her first game with that vaunted Southern California club. Green went for a left handed layup and was undercut by the defender, which caused her to land awkwardly and resulted in the injury.
The recovery time for Green was close to six months, as she did not make her season debut for St. Mary's Berkeley until the end of January against Piedmont. She ended up playing 15 games including the postseason. Green could have played earlier but made the decision to have the screws removed from her ankle before returning.
"Last year, [Gabby] came back early from her injury because she wanted to help lead her team to a third NorCal title," said St. Mary's Coach Nathan Fripp. "She performed well given the circumstances and I felt she played at about 70-75%."
The 6-foot-2 and 160 pounds shooting guard worked intently to be prepared for her junior year in Berkeley. During this past spring in 2012, Green was invited to the USA camp, but did not make the final team as she was still not fully mentally recovered from the injury.
During the summer, Green returned to play for Cal Storm and Chicago, where she came full circle and finally overcame her mental block regarding the ankle. Many college coaches commented that they could not tell that she had even gone through an ankle injury.
Green also worked on getting stronger and quicker on her feet with trainer, Anthony Eggleton. In addition, she worked on her various basketball skills with her father (Will Green) and basketball trainer (Donovan Blythe). Her father stressed working on her leg strength, quick cuts, and certain basketball moves.
Despite the ankle injury and the down time, Green is still one of the top girls basketball prospects in the 2014 class. Most of the major programs have contacted Green as she has not narrowed down her options and is still open to everything. Green plans to narrow her choices after her junior season and will likely be invited back to the USA tryouts in the spring of 2013.
Even with Green back in the lineup last season, the Panthers were unable to reach the state game. "This coming season I feel she is at 100% and ready to play at a high level," said Fripp. "We are planning to have Gabby continue to play on the perimeter at all three spots, leading the break, finishing, and in the decision making role. Her strengths for her physical attributes are her long arms, height, speed, quickness, and athleticism. She is very skilled as a scorer, shooter, ball handle, and defender."
The ankle injury was a temporary setback for this junior. Green has the proverbial chip on her shoulder to pay back her opponents for last season's postseason shortcoming. But watch in the upcoming season as Green is truly a renewable resource on the hard court in Berkeley, Calif.
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