Photo courtesy of Position Sports/Nike/Jon Lopez
By David Cordova
Basketball in the city of Philadelphia is a very big thing, especially due to the guard play from many of the best programs out there. Everywhere you go in the City of Brotherly Love, there is always one guard that is waiting to outshine the other and stand out above the rest.
This season, one guard that held his own was none other than Lynn Greer III. The 6-foot-1 point guard was one of the premier guards in the Philadelphia Catholic League this season, and maintained a reputation as a true floor general.
When asked what makes him want to be successful in the game of basketball, Greer replied, “My dad pushes me to be responsible, I want to be greater than him one day.”
The game of basketball runs deep in the Greer family, which first started with his grandfather, Lynn Greer, Sr., who played at Virginia State University and was an eleventh-round draft pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 1973 NBA Draft. Then there was his uncle, LaMarr Greer, who was a part of the 1994 McDonald’s All-American Game, played four years at Florida State University from 1994-1998, and then played overseas. Then lastly, his father, Lynn Green, Jr., who played at Temple University for five seasons from 1997-2002 and playing professionally in Turkey, Italy and Poland.
“Well, basketball is in my family, so, since I came out, so we’ve always been a basketball family,” said the younger Greer about the family business.
On lessons passed down from his father, Lynn, Jr: “He always told me to stay level-headed, never too high, never too low. He said if I can take anything away from him, it would be, always have a good attitude towards everyone.”
Greer started his first two years of high school basketball at Roman Catholic, the school in downtown Philadelphia which is home to a powerhouse hoops program that has produced players such as Eddie Griffin (Seton Hall/NBA), Rasual Butler (LaSalle/NBA), Maalik Wayns (Villanova/NBA) and the Penn State quartet of Tony Carr, Lamar Stevens, Nazeer Bostick and Shep Garner, who recently led the Nittany Lions to an NIT championship this past March.
As a freshman, Greer averaged 13 points, five assists and four rebounds per game for the Cahillites. This past season, he stepped up his performance with 15.3 points, 4.8 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game as he led Roman to a 24-6 record, a Philadelphia Catholic League title and a PIAA state title. In two years with the Cahillites, he led them to 44-12 record.
When asked about his two years with the school on Broad Street, Greer replied, “My first year, we got cut short, because I got injured in the [Philadelphia Catholic League] city playoffs, so I didn’t get to play at the Palestra. So my second year, I had a chip on my shoulder, and I had a great season.”
When the ball is in his hands, he has a penchant for making big moves in the most crucial games. One example of that, came on February 26th, in the Philadelphia Catholic League championship game at the Palestra against Monsignor Bonner & Prendie, in front of 9,000 screaming fans. What happened in that final possession will go down in history as a very memorable event.
During the last twenty seconds of the game, Roman Catholic had the possession of the ball. In Philadelphia, the games are played with no shot clocks, so the offense can hold the ball for as long as they want. In the case of Greer, that’s just what he did.
When asked about the historic moment, he replied, “Yeah, that was a great moment. There was like 10,000 people in the stands. It came down to the final second, I think it was like thirty seconds on the clock, I had the ball for like twenty-five seconds, and I just kept dribbling and kept dribbling, and then the clock got down to like ten seconds, and Seth Lundy came over and set a good screen, I found the open man, and Hakeem Hart finished it.”
This spring, Greer averaged 9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for Team Final on the Nike EYBL circuit. Although Final finished with a 2-14 record through four sessions, Greer was one of the bright spots for the program.
When asked about his spring with Team Final, he replied, “It’s going pretty rough right now, but I feel like I’m playing okay, I think we’ll start to get used to things going on from here.”
Any chance of the Cahillites defending their city and state titles with Greer at the point guard position ended on May 23rd, when he announced that he would national powerhouse Oak Hill Academy, a school located in the rural town of Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.
In describing the move to Oak Hill, he said, “I just wanted to play on the highest level possible. I know that Coach [Steve] Smith and Cory Alexander will push me to be the best player I can be.”
As far as his recruitment, he has kept a low profile, preferring to remain focused on just continuing to progress as a player. But one thing is certain, pretty soon, he will have a bevy of colleges knocking at his door.
His plans for the summer: “A few camps. I’ll probably go on a few visits this summer, I’ll announce them later, and that’s it.”
Now that he leaves Roman Catholic as a city and state champion, the next goal for him is a national championship, and the opportunity to attain more and more offers. What’s next for Lynn Greer III? “I don’t know, you’re just gonna have to find out.”
Highlights of Lynn Greer, III:
Courtesy of Hoop Journey.
Courtesy of NJ Hoop Recruit.
Courtesy of 8Eye Media.
Courtesy of BLF Sports.
Courtesy of DMV Elite.
Courtesy of Finest Magazine.
Courtesy of 8Eye Media.
Courtesy of Raw Sports Films.
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