Erick Green Thinks His Style Fits In Well With The Nuggets

DENVER (CBS4) - With the 46th pick of the NBA draft the Utah Jazz took Erick Green from Virginia Tech and subsequently traded him to the Denver Nuggets. Green told CBS4's Vic Lombardi on Xfinity Monday Live! that he wasn't aware beforehand that he'd end up in Denver.

"I didn't (know) at first. My agent gave me a text saying I'll be a Nugget right when the Utah Jazz picked," Green said.

Green worked out for the Nuggets before the draft but he thinks his performance at the workout wasn't the only reason the Nuggets wanted him.

"I think they picked me because I'm a leader. I can play both one and two; I can score the ball very well. You know, I think I shot the ball pretty decent when I was out here for my workout," Green said.

Green admitted he wasn't too familiar with the Nuggets because he didn't see them much living on the East Coast.

"I watched them play on TV; they didn't come on a lot on the East Coast. But they play fast and that's the type of style I like to play. They get up and run, so I like it," Green said.

Green was a second-round pick and right now the roster is jammed. Lombardi asked Green what his expectations are for the upcoming season.

"Definitely to make the team here and contribute as much as I can. If that's coming off the bench scoring, playing defense, I can do anything that the coach needs me to do," he said.

Green led the nation in scoring for Virginia Tech last year, averaging 25 points a game.

"I think I can score in a variety of ways -- getting to the basket, drawing fouls, fast breaks, shooting the three," he said. "So I think I can do a lot."

When Green was a freshman at Virginia Tech he only averaged two points a game. Lombardi wondered how he went from two to 25.

"Just staying in the gym, each year progressing every year, getting more shots up," he said. "My senior year I made 20,000 shots (during the offseason), and I think that really paid off."

Green thinks his style of play fits right in with the way the game is played in the NBA, and especially the Nuggets.

"I love the pick-and-roll, I can make great plays off of it … the Nuggets style, they get out and run … I think in the clear I can make plays."

- By Matthew J. Buettner, CBSDenver.com

Watch more of the video with Erick Green in the Xfinity Monday Live! section.