Okafor remembers Green having a coach-like influence on him during the ’10-11 season – even though Green is only 14 months older than Okafor. “He was big on giving words of encouragement that were uplifting,” Okafor said of conversations with Green. “He always came to me (before games) and said, ‘Hey Mek, with this (Hornets) team, the more energy you have, the better you do and the better the team does. When you do well, we all do well.’ He’d be in my ear about that.”