Bryan Green, a star forward for Dougherty (class of '01) and later part of the program
at Arcadia University, is now in the Air Force and part of the All-Air Force Basketball Team.
   Bryan is justifiably proud because most of the team members played D-I ball in college!
   He said with a smile of training camp, "It made coach (Mark) Heimerdinger's practices
seem like nothing."
   Bryan reports (in Feb. 2007) that his sisters are a freshman and sophomore, respectively,
at Dougherty and that they play JV ball while also suiting up for the varsity. (They're
mentioned in the story at the bottom of the page.)
   Bryan also said, "The Air Force is treating me very well, but I can't wait to get back to
Philly to sit in the Looney Bin. GO CARDS!!!"
   Bryan was extremely thin in high school and the Judge fans created a stir by chanting,
"Someone feed him! . . . Someone feed him!" He got a kick out of it and sent in some
funny remarks for the site. He was a very personable, popular young man.
   We wish Bryan nothing but the best and thank him for serving our country.   

Here's a story about Bryan in The Whiteman AFB (Mo.) Spirit Times. It's on pages 18 & 20.
(Ted's story on Bryan is at the bottom of this page.)

23Sept05Spirit.pdf

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Team pic
Bryan is third player from left in top row.

And here's Bryan receiving an award.

Photo Update, Feb. 2007
(From Bryan's Four-Month Stint in Kuwait)

Bryan is at far right.

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GREEN TAKES CARE OF CARDS

by Ted Silary, Daily News Sports Writer

Bryan Green doesn't change diapers. Doesn't warm a bottle. Doesn't sing, "Rock a bye, baby. . . "

Then again, he doesn't have to.

Green's sisters, Brittany and Ashley, are 10 and 9, respectively, which places them safely beyond baby or toddler range. But they still need care, and that's where Bryan comes in.

You know how some guys disappear from basketball teams because of poor grades or injuries or lack of interest? Well, Green last year disappeared from Cardinal Dougherty's squad because of baby-sitting.

Mostly, he had a tough time making it to Saturday practices.

"My mom [Brenda Fuller] is a supervisor for Blue Cross," Green said. "It's me and her and my two sisters. If something came up with her job and the girls had to be watched, that meant me.

"If I had showed more responsibility on the front end and explained to coach [Mark] Heimerdinger what was going on as it was happening - I admit, I was upset about [being relegated to the junior varsity] - it probably would have been OK. But I'd miss practice, not let anyone know, then show up Sunday and try to explain it then. One day he just called and said, 'Bryan, we need your uniform. You're off the team. ' "

Now a senior, the 6-7, 152-pound Green, who indeed is that tall and that light, is trying to make up for lost time.

Yesterday, the former carpentry student - he spent his freshman year at Mercy Tech - made important contributions as the Cardinals sanded visiting Archbishop Wood, 62-55, in the Catholic League Northern Division.

Not in the scoring column. Green took just four shots from the floor, sank one and finished with two points. But he also grabbed nine rebounds and logged four blocks, along with untold numbers of "alters. "

Green was mostly the back man in a diamond-and-one defense designed to stop Wood star Mike Spadafora, a junior guard.

Starter Mike McDonald and substitutes Mark Seidenburg, Bryan Cole and Donnell Smiley took turns hounding Spadafora, and every time he got the ball, the nearest guy stepped out of the diamond to double. Spadafora collected 14 points while shooting 5-for-11 from the floor, 1-for-5 on threes and 3-for-6 at the line.

"Bryan Green's presence in the middle is the reason we can do the things we do defensively," Heimerdinger said. "I love a 3-2 zone, but it doesn't make sense to put him on the back line and let teams throw to the corner and drag him [far] away from the basket.

"His ability to block shots, alter shots and rebound have been wonderful for us. . .There's nobody else" to do those things to any significant degree.

Now, thank goodness, there are alternate baby sitters.

"If my mom runs into something where she can't be around on Saturday, we get my aunt or a neighbor to help out," Green said. "In fact, I'm usually the first one at the Saturday practices. The guys are always joking, saying I'm going to be late or not show up at all. I keep fooling them. "

Dougherty's scoring was handled almost totally by wing players Tim Smink, a junior, and Isaac Greer, a sophomore.

Smink shot 6-for-11 (floor), 5-for-9 (treys) and 9-for-10 (line) en route to 26 points. Thrice he made three free throws after getting hacked while launching treys. Greer shot 7-for-15, 2-for-6 and 4-for-5 for 20 points.

Dougherty went ahead for good, 54-52, with 1 minute, 42 seconds left when Greer (seven boards, three assists) drained a left-corner three on a pass from McDonald (four assists, three steals). Spadafora missed a floater, Green rebounded and McDonald converted a double bonus. The Cardinals maintained comfort from there.

Green is still sore from doing a flip and landing awkwardly last week while playing against Archbishop Ryan.

"[Ryan's Chris] DiStasio saved my life," Green said. "He grabbed my jersey at the last second. If not, I would have landed straight down on my head. "

Green has not yet faced such an emergency during his baby-sitting career.

"Mostly I just have to keep my sisters apart," he said, laughing. "If they're fussing, I make one go in her bedroom and the other go in my mom's bedroom. Sometimes I'll let them play PlayStation, but even then, phew. They start arguing. Whose turn is it? Who's cheatin'?. . . "

Green, who lives near 23rd and Lehigh, has an 840 SAT score and is academically qualified for freshman eligibility. He is receiving Division II and III feelers and wants to major in communications with an eye on becoming a broadcaster.

"I can see it now: Bryan Green's Baby-sitting Tips," he kidded.

Meanwhile, if you're a college coach, tell him the cafeteria gives multiple helpings at no charge.

"I've been drinking milkshakes. Taking vitamin supplements. Nothing seems to work," Green said. "I eat a lot, but I must have a high metabolism. My mom and dad filled out later, though, so I'm hoping. I try to avoid using [being skinny] as an excuse. I try to play as hard as everyone else. "