City of Basketball Love

Rich Flanagan (@richflanagan33)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2022-23 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here)
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Lynn Greer III is cognizant that his basketball career hasn’t gone as some may have predicted.

With a father who was once a college star at a school on the same street where the son found success in high school, Greer was once dubbed the next great player to come out of Roman Catholic and appeared poised to meet the expectations brought on by a player of his caliber.

With stops at IMG Academy (Fla.) for a prep year following an accomplished four-year career with the Cahillites, Greer arrived at Dayton last fall looking for ways to realize that potential and bring it to fruition. 

However, things didn't pan out and he found himself back in a familiar place, transferring to St. Joe’s in the middle of the season.

While his initial destination may not have been Hawk Hill, he is hoping that the road less traveled will be the one that allows him to have the most success.

“I don’t really look at them as detours; I look at this as a journey,” Greer said. “Everybody has their own journey and mine has been very good. I’ve learned a lot from it.”

The 6-foot-2 sophomore guard gets to begin anew at St. Joseph’s following a season where he averaged 2.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 10 games for the Flyers. Greer admitted that the speed of the game got the better of him in his first collegiate season and that “the pace of college basketball is way different from high school.”

Still, he is not allowing a few setbacks to deter a career that is still very young and he’s hoping to emerge as a key member of the Hawks rotation.

“I don’t go into any situation thinking I’m going to start from the get-go,” Greer said. “It didn’t work out for me and that’s fine, but here I am and ready to work hard too.”

St. Joe’s fourth-year head coach Billy Lange has a connection with Philadelphia from his time under Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Herb Magee at Phillly U (now Jefferson) then at La Salle and later under another Hall-of-Famer in Jay Wright at Villanova. Add in the time he spent as an assistant with the 76ers, and Lange has a familiarity with the area that most Big 5 coaches dream about.

On the recruiting side of things, Lange has had some success in bringing players from the city from Rahmir Moore, who played at Mastery Charter North, to Chereef Knox, an accomplished player at Imhotep Charter, but he has not been able to bring in that key prospect from a city robust with talent. 

Lange recruited Greer out of high school and feels this player who had a storied high school career can officially be that missing piece for a program longing for a renaissance.

“He’s a connector,” Lange said. “At the same time, he’s still figuring himself out. He only played 10 games last year and his prep school year was riddled with COVID-19, like everybody else. He needs to get into his own game flow and have confidence in who he is. It’s a balance of you have to give him that space to figure that out and be patient with him while continuing to stress to him, ‘Hey, still be the connector.’”

Greer was a four-year starter at Roman Catholic under Matt Griffin, now an assistant on Pat Chambers’ staff at Florida Gulf Coast, and won two Philadelphia Catholic League championships and a PIAA Class 6A title. He made the game-winning assist as a sophomore to propel the Cahillites to the league title to down Miami (Fla.) guard Isaiah Wong and Bonner-Prendergast at the Palestra then poured in 20 points at the GIANT Center in Hershey in the state final against Abraham Lincoln. He finished his Roman Catholic career with 1,392 points, eighth-most in school history, and more than Maalik Wayns and the late Rasual Butler.

His tenure at Broad & Vine did not come without some hiccups as he initially transferred to Oak Hill Academy (Va.) but later chose to return to Roman Catholic prior to the start of the season. With the institution of new PIAA transfer rules, Greer was ruled ineligible for the state tournament during his junior season, one that saw the Cahillites repeat as Catholic League champions. Greer was part of a starting lineup that included Detroit Pistons big man Jalen Duren, Hakim Hart (Maryland), Seth Lundy (Penn State) and Justice Williams (LSU).

Greer may not be playing for a program in a Power 5 conference, but his focus remains on becoming the best version of himself.

“I’m just going to work hard and whatever comes out of that, comes out of it,” Greer said.

Greer states that he doesn’t really talk to his dad, Lynn Greer II “about basketball unless he’s giving me pointers or we’re watching film together,” but playing for a Big 5 school certainly has significance. Lynn Greer II played at Temple under legendary head coach John Chaney, leading the Owls to the 2001 Elite Eight and scoring 2,099 points in the process. Basketball might only be a small part of their relationship, but his father has definitely shared how to improve as Greer has seen a transformation in his game and physique, as he is up to 190 lbs. 

There is also the added element that his dad will now have to root for St. Joe’s, something Greer is relishing.

“Oh you know he’s going to root for us,” Greer joked. “But in the back of his head, he’s still a Temple dude. He’s always supportive of me, and I know he’ll be with us.”

More importantly, Greer has been as vocal as any member of the Hawks roster since joining the team. He looks to be in line for major minutes, specifically at the point guard position, and he wants to push the level of performance of his teammates.

“I’ve always been a talkative person and I want to engage them as much as I can,” Greer said. “I like that everyone is high energy and wants to work. We want to be very good.”

One player who has seen the leadership qualities in Greer is sophomore guard Erik Reynolds II, who enjoyed a spectacular freshman season by avgeraging 12.1 ppg. Reynolds sees a lot of similarities in each of their games and he’s looking forward to being paired with Greer out on the floor.

“He’s a tremendous point guard and always looks for his teammates,” Reynolds said. “He puts people in the best positions and always has motivating words for us. He makes sure you never feel disconnected on the court. That’s one of the major things that he brings to this team and that will help us a lot.”

With Taylor Funk (Utah State) and San Antonio Spurs rookie Jordan Hall having moved on, there will be a major opportunity not only for Greer to play but also potentially start with Reynolds slotted into the shooting guard spot. Having steadily improved in the win column over the last two seasons from five to 11, expectations have certainly risen but, in Greer’s case, Lange does not want to rush his progression.

“I have to give him the space and we have to realize he’s only played 10 games,” Lange said. “Forget the rankings, ratings, and expectations, let’s just go right to reality. A leader has to find a fine line between making an excuse and understanding the reality.”

“The reality is he has only played 10 games and we have to give him the space to develop. From the same point, his job has a requirement: the requirement of a point guard is to connect the guys. We recognize he needs that room to develop but also continue to push him to take the focus off himself and put it on the rest of the guys.”

A player once heralded by many can still very much find his place at St. Joe’s and he has tremendous opportunity in front of him as he continues along his basketball journey.  For Greer, there’s a sense of comfortability he has not had for a few years, and he feels he has found his spot.

“I’m really excited,” Greer said. “I like the vibe and students and coaches here. It feels like home.”