Northern Iowa guard AJ Green to enter transfer portal, test NBA Draft waters

The two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year is on the move.

Northern Iowa guard AJ Green is entering the transfer portal and will also test the NBA Draft waters, Green announced on Instagram Wednesday morning. In his announcement, Green said he is entering the NBA Draft "with the full intent to pursue my childhood dreams of playing professionally."

He also wrote that he is entering the transfer portal "to gather as much information as I can in order to make the best decision for my future." He wrote that returning to UNI for another season is an option he's considering.

Green started all 99 games he's played at UNI over the past four seasons, logging 17.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 41.4% overall, 37.8% from long range and 90% on free throws. Those numbers this year: 18.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 41% overall, 38.8% on 3s and 91.5% on free throws.

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He was the Valley's newcomer of the year as a freshman in 2018-19, and he's been the league's player of the year both years he was healthy — 2019-20 and 2021-22.

In the portal, Green will surely draw interest from a who's-who of college basketball juggernauts as an immediate plug-and-play guard who can do everything at a high level.

However, there's already buzz that, if he does indeed want to play one more college season, that could happen at Iowa State, where he could play for his dad, Kyle Green, a Cyclones assistant coach. That situation would almost directly mirror his recruitment coming out of high school, when he was clearly good enough to play at high-majors across the country, but he chose to play for his dad and his hometown team at UNI.

This news comes two days after Iowa State star freshman point guard Tyrese Hunter entered the transfer portal, but the two moves aren't thought to be related.

Matthew Bain is the deputy sports editor for the Des Moines Register. He still covers some recruiting, too. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.