Florida Atlantic's Bryan Greenlee reflects on nearly playing at San Diego

In the rapidly evolving world of the NCAA transfer portal, more and more programs are coming to grips with the fact that it can be an important tool for building a college roster.

Now, the exact balance and which transfers are the right transfers to take in are tricky questions still. But it’s hard to deny the impact that the right kind of transfer can have.

Just ask Final Four bound Florida Atlantic, which features a couple of them on the roster.

“Honestly, I just think it was in God’s hands,” guard Bryan Greenlee said. “I played at Minnesota my freshman year. And it just wasn’t the right fit. I learned from it.”

So Greenlee set out looking for a new school.

He nearly didn’t end up at Florida Atlantic, with his offer to transfer there coming in very last second.

“When I entered the transfer portal, I obviously was weighing out all of my options,” Greenlee explained. “And when I committed to San Diego, I didn’t have the FAU offer yet. So I guess the situation happened before I got here, maybe like in the summertime at FAU, and it opened up a spot. And I got a call. And I just talked it over with my parents and it was the right fit.”

Coach Dusty May was able to convince Greenlee in a short amount of time that Florida Atlantic was the place for him.

It wasn’t a terribly difficult sell, presumably, as Greenlee hails from Gainesville, Fla., where the University of Florida is located. Before taking the gig at Florida Atlantic, May was an assistant on Florida’s staff there, so the two knew each other.

Boca Raton was just a few hours away.

“And when I came to Florida Atlantic, I’m from Florida, so it just seemed to be the perfect fit,” Greenlee explained. “I had a previous relationship with coach May from high school. And I just stuck with it, honestly. I was somewhere where I could play, somewhere where I had a good group of teammates. We just had to start from somewhere and continue to trust each other and build.”

Trust and build the Owls have.

Greenlee hasn’t necessarily been the star player, averaging 7.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. But he’s one of several that play regularly in a deep rotation for the Owls.

Florida Atlantic has been able to ride that rotation to the Final Four. Greenlee is pleased at how everything turned out.

The perfect example of a transfer that works for both parties.

“It was definitely a hard choice,” he said. “San Diego and FAU are both beautiful campuses, close to the beach. Good ball. But I just ended up going with my gut and staying here.”