Frank Layden's eye for talent was not limited to the draft, though there were many successes (Karl Malone, John Stockton, Mark Eaton, and Thurl Bailey just to name a few). He scoured the country to find diamonds in the rough.
One trip brought him to Billings, Montana. He caught a CBA game that featured Rickey Green and Jeff Wilkins - two players who immediately caught his eye. Green became an NBA All-Star and Wilkins was a serviceable backup to Eaton.
Green was that diamond. He finished his career in Utah as the franchise's leader in steals and assists.
"I knew I could be in that league because over the summers I played in the summer league in Chicago. I’d play against all the guys - Maurice Cheeks," Green remembered of that time before the Jazz. "...So I would hold my own, and it was just a matter of getting with the right team - trying to navigate to the right place. I knew I belonged, it’s just how am I going to get there, you know?"
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