Rising Star Green Soaring Like Role Model Burroughs

Randy York N-Sider

Official Blog of the Huskers

Four years after Olympic gold medalist Jordan Burroughs became the face of USA Wrestling, Nebraska recruit and fellow New Jersey native James Green is singularly changing the competitive landscape and refining the concept of winning on a world stage.

"This is a family, and Jordan and James are showing what a program can achieve when the right foundation is built,” Nebraska Wrestling Coach Mark Manning told me Monday following Green’s gold medal performance in the Freestyle World Cup in Los Angeles.

A four-time All-American and Big Ten Conference champion, Green is striving to reach the same level that Burroughs has accomplished as a 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist, four-time world champion and 21-time international champion.

“Like Jordan, James wants to wrestle the best in the world,” Manning said. “He’s made two university world teams and now that he’s won a world cup, he looks at the path that Jordan created and is asking the same question Jordan did – ‘Hey, why not me?’”

Husker Coach Mark Manning: Green Has Been Soaring at the Highest Level

Manning would be the last man on earth to dispute the validity of that question. “James has been soaring at the highest level,” Manning said. “He beat a really good Iranian wrestler and destroyed the other three in Los Angeles over the weekend. James is five years younger than Jordan, but he was in the midst of seeing Jordan become the superstar in his sport and wants to follow.

“Jordan and James see the same horizon across the world,” Manning said. “Jordan loves seeing James pick up a lot of the same great things he’s done. They’re different wrestlers, but they use the same tactics, strategies and techniques. James has been around Jordan so long, he can’t help but pick up his best traits. They have different styles, but they really are similar wrestlers.”

How similar? Go back to a pre-world tournament in Spain a year ago when Green “beat a world champion to win the tournament,” Manning recalled. “All the coaches came up to me and said the same thing. Foreign coaches who couldn’t speak English tried to say the same thing – “Wrestle like Burroughs! Wrestle like Burroughs!! Wrestle like Burroughs!!!”

Bottom line, harkening back to that experience and following this past weekend’s accomplishment, Manning has come to a conclusion. “Jordan is the biggest wrestling star in the world right now and James just might be the fastest rising star.”

Nebraska Leading the Way for America’s National, Global Wrestling Superstars

Since perennial wrestling powers Iowa, Oklahoma State and Penn State have deep national and international roots, I ask Manning to compare Nebraska to the sport’s regal historic order. “They don’t have anyone doing what Jordan has been doing,” Manning said diplomatically. “With Jordan and James, we’re on some pretty sacred ground right now.”

Unfortunately, while Green’s star continues to rise, there is no available Olympic weight class. That means Green will fortify his credentials next weekend at the Poland Grand Prix, which will include Russia’s top world team. Green’s next major opportunity will be at the World Championships in Turkey in December.

“The family aspect of our team is doing what we need to do to become the best we can be in the world,” Manning said. “It’s a huge thing and a big deal, and Jordan and James feel like all their needs are getting met.” The top three questions get affirmative responses: Am I in the greatest training environment? Am I getting better? Am I ready to beat the best in the world?

“It’s tough to win at the world’s highest level,” Manning said. “The margin of error is very, very small. Right now, Jordan and James are where they need to be. It’s sad that James’ weight class is not in this year’s Olympics, but he looks great. He hasn’t been a world champion, but he’s very capable later in the year.”

Coaches Manning, Snyder: Nothing Beats Training with an Olympic Champion

Manning points out that Green “smoked” a runner-up in the European Championships and another runner-up in the Asian Championships last weekend. “He’s so strong right now, he made it look easy,” Manning said.

Manning and associate head coach Bryan Snyder know how big Burroughs’ footsteps are, yet see the benefits of having a world champion and another potential world champion learning from him. As a role model, Burroughs inspires Green and spurs the daily camaraderie for both wrestlers to take it to the limit one more time.

Success has not come overnight for Green. He’s benefitted from the team approach and the opportunity to understand that mathematically impossible odds can become tangible, week by week, month by month and year by year. 

In Nebraska's Wrestling Family, Burroughs, Green Serve Like Big Brothers

“That’s why we’re a family,” Manning said. “Both Jordan (pictured above at the 2012 Olympics) and James have played big brother roles in our family. Like any family, there’s give and take and both have given a lot to our other guys to help them grow. They’ve done a lot for our program because they believe so much about what’s been given to them.

“That’s the greatest thing about a family,” Manning said. “There’s a lot of love and a lot of appreciation for each other and what it takes to be great. Jordan’s and James’ stability goes a long way for everyone who decides to come here. Our recruits have learned that once they get here, Nebraska feels like home.”

Send a comment to ryork@huskers.com (Please include city, state)

Follow Randy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RandyYorkNsider

N-Sider Archives