It is lunchtime somewhere. So, welcome back to the lunch hour read of the Meat & Three. Every weekday I dive into a big picture topic and three things to get you through a quarantine spring. 

Jalen Green’s big decision to go pro leads the charge in today’s column. A lot to discuss here. There are also some important local commitments for some non-major programs. Our MJ stream of the week continues with a one of the GOAT’s best playoff performances in the NBA Finals and, of course, the Stan Johnson photo of the day. 

THE MEAT: JALEN GREEN, TRENDSETTER? 

Jalen Green is going pro. 

That's the big news today in a slow news cycle. The teenager from California announced he will enter the G-League. He’s pioneering a potential new era where the top prospects bypass the college life for new gateway league to the NBA.

I know the G-League fairly well. I've watched over 100 games and been to quite a few in person. I’ve worked closely with teams at this level for a decade. The league isn’t for any good player that thinks he can hoop. This is a league with tough guys, hungry guys, older guys, paycheck-earning men who want to keep the game they love alive as long as they can. 

The G-League is also about late nights, early mornings, discount flights, motels, continental breakfasts and less than 1,000 fans most nights. Truth be told, life on the shoe circuit as a teenager is much more glorious. Much more. 

The G-League is the Grind League. Rather, the Grit League. 

Jalen Green has NBA star potential. He’s a wired-to-score guy and can do so in a variety of ways. His game translates so well to the next level. There’s never been a question about whether or not he’s good enough. Because he is. I’d argue the last player to go this non-college route that was this good was Brandon Jennings. And Green is better at the same stage. 

Here’s the thing about today’s modern athlete - college basketball allows you to “grow your brand” more than the G-League. But that’s if you need to grow it. 

We are now in an era where people can make more money in social media than they can on a rookie contract. Jalen Green has 878,000 followers on Instagram. He has more followers than Penny Hardaway, Memphis athletics, Memphis men’s basketball, Auburn athletics and Auburn men’s basketball combined (they total to 847,300). 

You think Jalen Green needs an athletic department to help boost his profile for six months? Please. The college level needs Green more than he needs them. This is a business decision and that’s what basketball has always been about.

THE NOTE

We’ve seen some really important and localized decisions this week from players that have either played at our HoopSeen events or we’ve covered over the last 12 months. 

North Carolina native Alex Holt picked High Point, giving Tubby Smith’s program one of the better available big men in the 2020. South Carolina native Quentin Hodge picked USC Upstate. Tri-Cities (GA) guard Demetrius Rives joined the big Kennesaw State class. Alabama guard  Kameron Woods is headed to Troy, an important commit this late in the game. 

Also, take note of this pledge: Texas big man Jordan Wood is headed to Howard. He's a smooth shooting post player that I really liked at the National HoopFest down in Tampa. Keep an eye on this one down the road. 

THE STREAM 

The documentary we've all been waiting for is almost here. The Last Dance, a 10-part docuseries, focuses on the 1997-1998 Chicago Bulls. Each episode will be an hour long and aired on ESPN. 

The series will begin April 19 and run through May 17. 

To ramp up for what should be a terrific run of Michael Jordan and his Bulls teams, we will focus on five of MJ’s most memorable games. Yesterday we shared “The Shot Game” against the Cleveland Cavs in 1989 of the NBA Finals. You know the bucket.

Today we dive into the 1993 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns. We saw Beast Mode Jordan in this game. Enjoy his scoring explosion. 

THE STAN JOHNSON PHOTO OF THE DAY 

I asked our guy Stan Johnson to send me some of his favorite shots from the 2019 season on our HoopSeen platform. We begin his gallery today in the Meat & Three.