By Barry Faulkner for ucirinesports.com

The circle is a sacred symbol in Native-American culture, often representing the change of seasons and the cycle of life.

For Brad Greene, a Native American competing for the UC Irvine men's basketball team, the cylinder that mirrors the shape of a basketball goal may also illustrate the broad spectrum of experience the 6-foot-11 redshirt junior has encountered since arriving on the UCI campus.

Since becoming an Anteater in the fall of 2016, Greene has undergone a remarkable physical transformation that has seen him shed 80 pounds from a once-pudgy frame. Coming off a redshirt season, Greene's muscular 260-pound physique and improved athleticism and agility figure to greatly enhance his ability to contribute on the court.

But Greene's evolution has also included personal growth, manifested in a consciousness shaped by gratitude, altruistic urgency and a newfound passion for activism.

Though his focus heading into the 2019-20 season is on protecting the paint, rebounding and chipping in occasional offensive productivity, the tallest tribal member of the Paiute-Shoshone Reservation in Lone Pine is also anxious to carry a torch of inspiration for younger Native Americans.

"Native Americans are a misrepresented set of people," said Greene, for whom an awareness of the world beyond the "Res" began in his teen years, when word of his basketball talent started migrating toward college basketball recruiters.

"I love where I grew up, but I saw basketball as a way out," said Greene, who played in 70 games over his first two seasons and averaged 4.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, nearly one block, and 12.1 minutes per game in the 2017-18 campaign. "Playing for traveling teams and going to some [recruiting] showcases, I was able to see there was a world outside of Lone Pine. I told myself 'I can't be stuck. I need to explore other opportunities.' "

Part of Greene's basketball development came at the Native American Basketball Invitational, known as the NABI summer tournament in Arizona that annually showcases Native American players from throughout the southwest and beyond.

"The first time I played at NABI, I learned more cultural aspects of just who Native Americans are as a people," said Greene, who wears tattoo imagery of mountains, flowers, a bear and a killer whale to signify his connection to his native Lone Pine and his family. "The community there was just so incredible. I was the only one from Lone Pine, playing on a team based in Arizona, and the way everyone welcomed me there was really great. Seeing Native American people and the connection we have with each other was incredible. I saw how big of a community it is and how everyone is all together and it was really inspiring. It was so cool to be around other people who were Native American and the way we are all family."

Greene said he is strengthened by appreciation expressed to him by younger Native Americans, friends, neighbors and family members in Lone Pine familiar with his ascension to Division I athletics. And he is  determined to relate his story about seizing the opportunity to pursue athletics and a college education.

"I saw a lot of [Native American] men's tournaments with so many great players who were better than me," said Greene, who after beginning his collegiate career started working NABI clinics and was even a keynote speaker at the NABI event's educational summit last summer. "The opportunity I have right now is one that a lot of guys I think should have, but don't get. If I don't make the most of my opportunity now, it may make it harder for someone else to get that opportunity later."

Greene said the  higher profile generated by his visibility with a UCI team that won the program's first NCAA Tournament game last season, has prompted him to seize opportunities to speak to young Native Americans about the virtues of attending college.

"My biggest takeaway from growing up on the reservation, is just family," Greene said just before the beginning of November, which is Native American Indian Heritage Month. "My grandparents lived next door to us and I had some cousins down the road. There was an aspect that you are everyone and everything you do will affect them in some way. My mindset was that my going to college and playing basketball was going to affect everyone. I feel like I can show that I can do it, and those guys can do something as well. I know people are seeing what I am doing and they know the school I went to and the things I had to do to get this opportunity. So, I feel like I can help them take chances to make it out of town, or if they are older, to help create those same chances for their children."

Greene has spoken to Native American high school students who have toured the UCI campus. He also speaks at the NABI clinics he works, and spoke to a full auditorium at the aforementioned educational summit.

"I've had several opportunities to spread the message," said Greene, a sociology and education major who is on pace to graduate next spring. "I really had to grow into it. There are times when I don't really want to be in front of people talking. But playing basketball here helped me mature. Some of the first speaking I did was to some donors at a meeting the whole basketball team was at. I progressively began talking to groups of students, then was on a panel at a conference, then was a keynote speaker. When I went up on stage and saw the auditorium was full, I looked at the power point behind me and said to myself, 'All right, I guess I am doing this,' and just jumped into talking."

Greene said he hopes to play professional basketball, but whenever his playing days end, he wants to continue to be a catalyst for positive change in the Native American community.

"I like what I am doing now, talking to young people and encouraging them to pursue not just athletics, but also academics," Greene said. "Eventually, I kind of want to be in some sort of program where I can help. I don't just want to be a voice telling them 'You can do it,' but a person who can be more hands-on and help get Native American kids [to college], then do something for them when they get here."