What if his Louisiana-Lafayette squad – the David to the Goliath that was Louisville in the 2005 NCAA Tournament – followed Greene's lead until the end of a white-knuckle first-round matchup, and the Cardinals' Final Four run was stopped before it even started?

What if Francisco Garcia and Reggie Theus – the Kings' player and head coach who were then the Louisville star player and an assistant, respectively – didn't reap the benefits of so much fame and glory, and Greene was the one on his way to prominence?

It was not to be, though. Greene fouled out with 7:18 left in the 68-62 loss to Louisville, having played only 18 minutes in what was called the key of the game.

"That was devastating to us," Ragin' Cajuns coach Robert Lee said afterward.

And to Greene.

The Kings' newest starting point guard is used to getting close by now. He has been doing it for years, showcasing his talents at the highest levels but never quite figuring out how to soar on the next stage. His latest chance comes tonight, when he replaces the injured Mike Bibby in the regular-season opener against the New Orleans Hornets.

"I've learned a lot, but I just want to get a chance to show what I learned, to show that I'm capable," Greene said Tuesday.

Greene's NBA resume is thin.

As a rookie in Boston, he was solid in backing up Delonte West as a defensive specialist before a late-season trade for Sebastian Telfair and the eventual drafting of Rajon Rondo rendered him irrelevant.

Despite having surgery on his right foot before his rookie season and missing the summer league, Greene surpassed Marcus Banks and Dan Dickau to secure a spot to the surprise of the Celtics, which had drafted him 53rd overall in 2005.

"At this point, it seems more a question of when, not if, Greene will be a major player for the Celtics," the Boston Globe's Shira Springer wrote as the regular season approached.

Yet Greene was waived and had his three-year contract picked up by Indiana – a job that was appreciated because it was a job but was far from ideal, as he was never given a role. Just hours before he would have been guaranteed the money from the third year of his deal, he was waived again, a move that eventually led to his Sacramento signing after Greene played in the summer league for Miami.

But the question of his own capability was always quickly answered in his home state of Florida, where he was named 2000 Mr. Basketball and known as a monstrous defender from Gainesville High School who could score at will and whose game – hyperbole or not – was compared to Jason Kidd's. His fellow Floridian, the Miami Heat's Udonis Haslem, once compared Greene's offensive skills to Dwyane Wade's.

"Orien Greene was everything (at Gainesville High)," said David Thorpe, an ESPN analyst and Greene's offseason coach at the Pro Training Center in Bradenton, Fla. "He would dominate a game in a way very few high school players do, in a way Jason Kidd does now. That's how he played. If you watched Orien Greene as a junior or senior in high school, you would say, 'That's what Jason Kidd looked like.' The only difference was Orien was a better shooter in high school, and Jason Kidd was a little faster."

Along with an ability to play lockdown defense with a 6-foot-4 frame fit for a linebacker, Greene accepted local coaching legend Billy Donovan's scholarship offer to play at Florida.

But after two seasons at Florida, Greene said the strain of playing in his hometown was too much. Friends and influences were always close, and issues between him and Donovan resulted in a split. All the while, his father, Orien Greene Sr., had been released from prison after being incarcerated for a white-collar crime since Orien Jr. was 9, complicating an already tricky situation.

"I respect coach Donovan, love coach Donovan, but we had our differences," Greene said. "We had a little meeting, kind of had words or whatever, but that was minor compared to the other stuff going on.

"I was with my hometown crowd, hanging with my people still, my father was just getting back home. A lot of stuff was going on that I just had to get away. I just had to get away from the nest."

So Greene transferred to Louisiana-Lafayette, where he had to sit out the 2002-03 season because of NCAA transfer rules. The Ragin' Cajuns with Greene qualified for two NCAA Tournaments, with Greene playing his senior season with a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot that hindered his momentum entering the NBA draft.

He has never been farther from the nest than now, though, across the country and at another crossroads in his NBA career. Greene, who was guaranteed $100,000 for his one-year deal with the Kings but isn't guaranteed the entire $770,000 until Jan. 10, still has to more to prove to Theus.

"There is a reluctance to let it all out," Theus said of Greene and the team's other younger players. "If it's me, and the minutes that are available right now, I'd be slobbering at the mouth, picking up full court (press), diving at the ball, and there'd be no denying what's getting ready to happen. I don't see enough of it, that sense of urgency that I would love to see. I'd like to see a player who's in that situation play with a reckless abandon that is teetering on out of control. That's what I'm looking for."

Greene showed Theus what he could do once before, and is sure he can do it again.

"I try to focus on doing the right things every day, and the good stuff will come," Greene said. "Stay humble, and stay hungry. Keep pushing. I know I can play this game just as good as the rest of them."

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