VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Syracuse High School basketball superstar takes his team to a new level
Ben Deitrick: Over 1,000 career points and nearly 30 points per game this season on one the top basketball teams in Central New York, the kind of numbers fit for most seniors. However, Bishop Ludden’s Jahzar Greene is just a junior, and yet the impact he’s had on his team is undeniable
Deitrick: Greene is the second leading scorer in Section III boys basketball, and has led his team to a 17-2 record heading into postseason play. For Greene, his passion for the game started many years ago
Jahzar Greene: My father, you know, he was always into basketball growing up. He played in high school, came out of New York City, played down there for a little bit, moved up to Syracuse. I’ve been being taught basketball since I was born
Deitrick: Greene’s father brought him to the Baldwinville YMCA when he was just five years old, where he initially made a lot of mistakes. But it was here where Greene learned about resilience
Greene: It’s alright to make mistakes in basketball. Losses are lessons, you learn a lot from losses, but you gotta really dig in and compete
Deitrick: Greene has certainly had a lot of individual success, but he wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the support he’s gotten from his teammates and coaches along the way
Deitrick: Head coach Gallagher Driscol is a Bishop Ludden alum in his seventh season coaching, and he says Jahzar and this group have been extra special to mentor
Gallagher Driscoll: We’ve been lucky to have really really good kids. Besides basketball players, they’re really really good kids. So, you know, I said it the other night, people say “Well I have to go to work I have to go to practice.” Well, I’m starting to think “I get to go to practice.”
Deitrick: Greene feels some pressure being the star player, but he says he just stays focused and trusts his teammates and coaches the same way they trust him
Deitrick: Ben Deitrick, NCC News
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Bishop Ludden High School junior guard Jahzar Greene has quickly become one of the most accomplished players in school history, and he still has another year of high school left.
Just two weeks ago, he surpassed 1,000 career points in a win vs Christian Brothers Academy. On Tuesday, Greene helped his team advance to the Section III Class AAA championship game with a 55-43 victory over Cicero-North Syracuse.
Where did Greene’s passion for basketball originate? Well, it came from where many players’ inspiration for the game comes from: his parents.
“My father, he was always into basketball growing up,” Greene said. “He played in high school, came out of New York City, played down there for a little bit, moved up to Syracuse. I’ve been being taught basketball since I was born.”
Greene’s father took him to basketball camps such as the Baldwinsville YMCA where he tried out the game for the first time. His play wasn’t always pretty, but according to Greene, mistakes are just a part of growing up.
© 2025 Ben Deitrick.
“It’s alright to make mistakes in basketball,” Greene said. “Losses are lessons, you learn a lot from losses, but you gotta really dig in and compete.”
Despite all Greene’s individual accomplishments, no player can do what he does without additional support from coaches and teammates along the journey.
Gallagher Driscoll, Bishop Ludden’s seventh-year head coach, has seen it all over his tenure. There have been some low moments for this program, including finishing the regular season 6-15 just two years ago. But for Driscoll, it’s all worth it watching young men develop and improve both on and off the court.
“We’ve been lucky to have really, really good kids,” Driscoll said. “Besides basketball players, they’re really, really good kids. I said it the other night, people say ‘Well I have to go to work, I have to go to practice.’ Well, I’m starting to think ‘I get to go to practice.'”
Greene admitted he feels a little pressure with all the attention and expectations put on him. What high school junior wouldn’t feel at least some pressure with so much attention on them? But Greene said he finds comfort in all the trust his teammates and coaches have in him, and he just strives to keep a locked-in mentality while working out and practicing to better his game.
That mentality has led to sky-high results, with Bishop Ludden now in the Section III Class AAA finals versus Liverpool Saturday afternoon. If numbers truly don’t lie, it can be safe to bet that Jahzar Greene will have a big game, just like he seemingly always does.
For more information on the Class AAA playoffs, a schedule can be found here.