Zaay Green: College Basketball Player, University of Alabama

Resilience, urgency, and passion. Three words that Zaay Green lives by and ones that have remained at the forefront of her mind throughout her journey in basketball. It all started at the age of four years old when Zaay joined a little league team and immediately fell in love with the game. This was only the beginning. From joining the Nike EYBL circuit as a sixth grader and playing against older competition to receiving her first offer as a seventh grader, Zaay experienced tremendous success in her basketball career early on. Through it all, she kept her eyes on the prize. For Zaay, these feats served as fuel to develop her game further and strengthen her basketball IQ even more. Throughout her time at Duncanville High School, Zaay continued to strengthen her skills on the court and make an impact on the game—earning an array of accolades including a McDonald’s All-American honor, a Jordan Brand Classic selection, and multiple State Championship MVP recognitions. Even then, she remained focused. Upon graduating from high school, Zaay embarked on her collegiate career at the University of Tennessee before transferring to Texas A&M and the University of Arkansas Pine-Bluff (UAPB) respectively. It wasn't all smooth sailing though.

At the beginning of her sophomore season at Tennessee, Zaay suffered an ACL injury that sidelined her for the season. "That’s when I learned how to live life without being able to play basketball and try figuring out what else I could do outside of the sport," she shares as she ponders on her biggest takeaway during that time. One that she returned to during her time at UAPB—where she suffered her second ACL injury. Despite facing these adversities, it was her love for the game of basketball and commitment to getting back on the court that fueled her day in and day out. Sure enough, she did just that. Zaay returned to the court for her senior year at UAPB. The rest is history! Currently playing her final season of college basketball at the University of Alabama, Zaay is excited for all that's in store in this upcoming chapter of her basketball career as she looks to enter the WNBA Draft and achieve her childhood dream of playing basketball at the professional level. Truly incredible!

You were a multi-sport athlete—you played basketball, soccer, volleyball, and ran track. When did you know that basketball was the sport you wanted to pursue full force?

When I realized that I was starting to be recognized in the sport—getting USA Olympics invites and stuff like that, and being able to play on the Nike EYBL stage at such a young age. Around that age, when I was in middle school around sixth and seventh grade, that’s when I realized: “Ok, I guess I am good. I am a little better than a lot of these girls around here, so I should start taking this more seriously.” (*laughs*)

You had an incredible career at Duncanville High School and won an array of accolades including multiple state titles, MVP Championship awards, a McDonald’s All-American honor and a Jordan Brand Classic selection. What did earning those honors and achieving those milestones mean to you?

It actually means a lot. I mean, I was putting on for my high school and the city I'm from. Just getting recognized, making my parents happy and making them proud…that was just like the biggest accomplishment—making them proud and seeing how happy they were for me. A lot of girls are not able to say, “I’m a McDonald's All American.” So I feel like that was just really a big accomplishment for me. Then, winning championships in high school and being named the MVP of the state tournament too was big. I was just honestly grateful and happy.

From there, you took that next step and started your collegiate career at the University of Tennessee. How was that transition from high school to college like for you?

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