High school teammates and now college teammates. Branford seniors Kody O’Connor (left) and Willie Greene (right) signed to play basketball for Webber International University.

BRANFORD — When BHS basketball star Kody O’Connor fell to the floor in a summer league game last year, blowing out his meniscus, a lot of thoughts raced through his mind about his basketball future.

“I thought it was all over,” he said. “It was really painful.”

The injury came at an unfortunate time for Branford’s best player. He knew he would miss part of his senior season due to the injury, and possibly the whole year.

O’Connor went through five months of physical therapy. He started slowly on the treadmill, then beginning to jog, before returning to the BHS basketball team a little more than halfway through his senior season.

On Thursday, O’Connor’s resilience and determination paid off. He signed to play basketball for Webber International University.

“It’s been a long return,” O’Connor said. “Everything worked out good.”

Joining O’Connor at Webber will be high school teammate Willie Greene. The duo signed in front of teammates, coaches, family and friends inside the Branford High School gym.

“Halfway through my senior senior, I was like, I really love this and want to take it to the next level,” Greene said.

The 6-foot-2 guard mentioned a game against Bronson as an important moment in his career. He scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the game on Dec. 14, 2015. That was the moment he realized he had an opportunity to play at the next level.

Greene went on a visit to WIU and said he liked the school, the players on the team, and that it felt like a family. 

Branford basketball coach Richie Frye spoke about the character of his two former players.

“What I’m most proud of them for is their grade point average and commitment to school,” he said.

Webber basketball coach John Shoffner talked about how much potential O’Connor and Greene have, both on the court and off.

“Willie’s a great student, a great character kid,” Shoffner said. “He’s going to become a leader one day. Kody has unbelievable talent that’s untapped. We’re hoping to gear him to become a great player and a great student.”