Florida has keyed in on a key target in 2026, extending an offer to wing Manny Green. Green was one of the players to join on a visit week 1 of the football season, and shortly after it was announced that the Gators extended the offer.
Green hails from Ellenwood, Georgia, and currently plays at Cedar Grove high school. Recently he was invited to the Adidas All-American camp where his recruitment really heated up. These camps are always good to see players compete against other top talent as well as get official measurements–something that was particularly interesting with Green. Listed in various places at 6’5” or 6’6”, Green came in at 6’4.25” without shoes. More notably, however–was his wingspan which came in at 6’10.5”. While it jumps off the page as a major plus-wingspan, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise. When you simply see Green walk you can see his arms dangle down well beyond his waist and when the ball is tipped you can see that length at work right away. Green is absolutely dominant on the glass and seems to keep every missed shot alive. Where his long arms are even more apparent is on the defensive end, especially when he’s guarding the ball. Opposing players struggle to make any passes around him, and even when they think they are making a routine swing to a nearby teammate–Green somehow gets his fingers on the ball and is instantly going the other way for a dunk.
Right now Green is a decent athlete, but not an incredible one. He’s still a bit stiff and mechanical, but as a 2026 player he’s still got plenty of time to work on that element of his mechanics. Besides, he doesn’t need to be the most explosive when he’s got the length that he does.
Offensively Green has shown touch as a shooter which is incredibly surprising given his age and his length. Usually young wings don’t have the best jumpers, and usually players with massive wingspans really struggle to shoot due how long limbs hurt mechanics. That isn’t the case with Green who has a smooth release, and one that he can get off against just about any defender.
In 2023 he shot just 22% from three on the AAU circuit, but improved that number to 41% this summer. He also improved his free throw percentage from 59% to 76%, showing an ability to work on his game and see results that coaches will love to see.
At 6’4.25” without shoes right now but with a huge wingspan, it’s likely that Green isn’t done growing and could very well end up in the 6’7 or 6’8” range.
Right now Florida is making a priority to recruit long wings from the high school level as they have learned over the last two years that getting these kinds of players from the transfer portal is incredibly difficult. There are so few big wings at the college level and most of them either go pro early or command huge dollars in the transfer portal, and for that reason the Gators have been low on wings the last few years which could be a problem they face once again in 2024-25. The Gators aren’t looking to have huge high school classes but the players they are looking at right now are largely wings–and Green fits the bill.
Currently Green is ranked 48th in the class of 2026. Other schools in on his commitment are Cincinnati (who always seems to be in on the best high school players early), Tennessee, Indiana, and Georgia Tech.