YouTube Gold: Jumpin’ Johnny Green

A wonderful and surprising rise to greatness

One of the better stories in Big Ten and NBA history was that of Johnny Green.

In high school he was just 6-0 and didn't play basketball. He joined the Marines, grew five inches, and emerged as a brilliant athlete.

Someone recommended him to Michigan State and he enrolled as a 23-year-old freshman.

He quickly emerged as a star and entered the NBA at the age of 25.

As a pro, he developed quickly and had a long and fruitful career, continuing on until he was 39.

He was one of the great leapers in the NBA, one of only a handful of players who could dunk from the foul lines in the pre-merger NBA.

It’s really a pretty great story and it has a cool epilogue too.

After his basketball career ended, Green went into the restaurant career and ended up with a McDonald’s very close to John F. Kennedy International Airport which is one of the busiest McDonald’s in the world.

It’s pretty clear from this video that he was a good guy who was as surprised as anyone that he emerged as a great player.