LaMarr Woodley says GreenWood Elite focuses on academics. / USA Today Sports
Arizona Cardinals linebacker LaMarr Woodley and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green started their new AAU program GreenWood Elite in March for one reason.
“We wanted to show young athletes that they’ve really got to be students first,” Woodley said. “Most of the time ‘student-athlete’ is just something to say, but we wanted to make it real for the kids here where we’re from.”
Green and Woodley are both Saginaw natives who attended colleges in-state – Green at Michigan State and Woodley at Michigan.
We caught up with Woodley to talk about everything from how the program has fared so far this AAU season to his Dennis Rodman-like background on the hardwood back in the day.
USA Today HSS: You guys cranked up in March, how has your first season been going so far?
LaMarr Woodley: Oh it’s been going great! Last week we went down to the King James event and our 16’s and 15’s went to the semis. Every week we have at least two or three of our teams making the final eight, final four, semis or winning their tournament. We’ve been steadily improving.
USAT: Why was it important for you and Draymond to start the program based in your hometown?
LW: Draymond and I have been knowing each other for years and our families are really close. We’ve all been close literally since elementary school. We’re two professional athletes that wanted to give back and we wanted it to be based out of Saginaw since that’s where we’re from. We both understand that you have to be a student before you’re an athlete. Everyone isn’t gonna make it to the professional level so it was important to us to make the focal point of this program about the books. We also hired a staff of coaches that have degrees and college ball experience. That way you’ve got a coach that has done what we’re trying to get the guys to do, which is get their degree, and he can also take you through some college level training on the court.
USAT: That’s gotta be a big draw for young players?
LW: Not just a draw it’s a reality of life. Kids really have to understand that they’ve gotta be a student-athlete first. We’re instilling that into them. We also have ACT and SAT prep in our program. We’re about the books. Another thing about our program is that everything is free. We understand that parents might not have the money to send their kids to tournaments all over the country every weekend so we take care of all the expenses.
USAT: We know about Draymond, but rumor has it you were pretty nice on the court in high school too?
LW: (Laughs) Oh yeah I was pretty good, but the right guy is in the NBA right now between the two of us. He’s doing what he does best and I’m doing what I do best. I wasn’t that tall back then, I was a big guy and I was pretty athletic. I averaged a double-double two years in a row, third team all-state. I did my Dennis Rodman dirty work!
USAT: We know that Draymond’s chasing an NBA title right now; how involved has he been?
LW: He’s definitely putting all of his focus into trying to get that title, but he checks in with me all the time asking how we’re doing and things like that. He’s really excited about this and he’ll be a lot more involved when the season is over. Hopefully after he wins that title!
USAT: How can people get more information about the program?
LW: They can go to GreenWoodElite.com or go to our Facebook page.
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