Greer's
trip to NBA was long, but sweet
Marc Narducci / Special
to FOXSports.com
July 26, 2006
It was just a short one-sentence
note in the transactions column that likely was greeted by indifference
from most NBA fans.
The sentence read: Milwaukee
Bucks sign guard Lynn Greer to a two-year contract.
One sentence doesn't tell the story of a player who took the long road
to the NBA. It's a road that began in Greece, and continued through
Poland, Russia and finally Italy.
Lynn Greer's dream to play in the NBA took him to a number of different
places across Europe. (ELIO CASTORIA/AFP / Getty Images)
And now Greer, a 26-year-old
former star point guard at Temple, has secured employment in the U.S.
with a guaranteed two-year deal.
Greer is back on domestic
soil, prepared to show that he is ready for the NBA, a place he has
been eyeing since finishing his Temple career in 2002 with 2,099 points.
He never gave up the dream
to reach the NBA, even though there were plenty of sleepless nights
along the way.
"I've been in the worst
possible situation in Europe and I've been in some good situations,
but there is nothing like being able to come home and play in the NBA,"
Greer said.
Upon finalizing a deal, the
first thing Greer did was call his former coach at Temple, the now retired
74-year-old John Chaney, who was on the golf course The call didn't
do much for Chaney's golf game, but it sure lifted his spirits.
"I was just overwhelmed,"
Chaney said. "After he gave me the news, I took a big swing and
hit a terrible shot."
Chaney couldn't concentrate
on golf after hearing that Greer is the 16th former player he coached
at Temple to make it to the NBA.
"He and I have talked
about it so many years since he left Temple and I thought that he got
a raw deal," Chaney said. "This should have happened much
sooner."
