Saginaw, Mich. — In a room bathed in a green glow and surrounded by his closest friends and members of his family, Draymond Green's professional career began.

Green, a former MSU basketball player and 2012's Big Ten Player of the Year, was selected 35th overall by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the 2012 NBA Draft Thursday night.

As he addressed the media following the selection, Green barely could contain his excitement, swaying from right to left while fielding questions.

“I'm just excited to get out there,” Green said. “Golden State's a great fit and I know Golden State definitely has the best fan base in the NBA. It's going to be fun, I'm ready to get out there and get acclimated to the Bay Area and just go out there and try to cause some havoc.”

Green left East Lansing as the program's leading rebounder, grabbing 1,096 boards in his four years with MSU. He is one of three Spartans to record 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 points, and ranks second in both career blocks and steals.

He was projected to go in the mid-to-late first round, but as name after name was called before his own, the crowd gathered in the banquet room at the Dow Events Center became increasingly anxious. Green spent most of the night nestled in a back room, away from the crowd, but after receiving the call from the Warriors, he emerged flashing his trademark smile.

“It doesn't matter if it was first or 35th — no matter what it was, it's a blessing,” he said.

Although Green waited a few hours to hear his name once the draft began, his mother, Mary Babers, said the wait began much earlier than 7:30 p.m.

“The last time I slept was Monday night,” she said. “I haven't eaten in two days. I just wanted to see the best for Draymond and he was nervous; he'd keep telling me he wasn't, but I know my son.”

Before the draft, Green worked out with a number of NBA teams, but said he felt something special when he traveled out to Oakland, Calif. for his workout with the Warriors.

“When I worked out for them, I called my agent and said, ‘Watch out for Golden State, because I had a great workout with them,'” he said. “I think I'm going to be a great fit for them. It's such a coincidence, because that's where (former MSU basketball player Jason Richardson) started out.”

Green shared the moment with two types of relatives; the ones related by blood, and the ones from his Spartan family. Plenty of Spartan alumni showed up to give their support including former football player Jerel Worthy, former basketball player Mateen Cleaves and Green's past teammate Anthony Ianni all were on hand.

Men's basketball coach Tom Izzo also was in attendance, and spent most of the night with Green as they waited for the phone call.

Izzo said the Warriors were a very good fit for Green's style of play, and Warriors head coach Mark Johnson had been high on the forward before the draft.