TThunderinghundering HerdHerd RRecordsecords aandnd HHistoryistory Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Member Hal Greer Marshall ‘58 Greer is one of only 258 basketball players to * Photo courtesy of the Naismith be enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall Basketball Hall of Fame. of Fame in Springfi eld, Mass. 9977 r “Consistency,” Hal Hal Greer was named one of the NBA’s Top e Greer once told the e 50 Players in the late 90’s. He averaged 19 r Philadelphia Daily points, fi ve rebounds, and four assists in his G News. “For me, that was l NBA career. a the thing … I would like H Hal Greer to be remembered as a great, consistent player.” Over the course of rebounds and 4.4 assists per contest. With injuries limiting the 15 NBA seasons Schayes to 56 games, Greer took over the team’s scoring turned in by the slight, mantle. He ranked 13th in the NBA in scoring and ninth soft -spoken Hall of in free-throw percentage (.819). In the 1962 NBA All-Star Fame guard from West Game, Greer racked up a team-high nine assists - one more Virginia, consistency than the legendary Bob Cousy - and hauled in 10 rebounds, was indeed the thing. just two fewer than another legend, Bill Russell. Greer led He turned in quality the Nationals to the playoff s, where they fell to Warriors in performances almost every night, scoring 19.2 points the Eastern Division Semifi nals. per game during his career, playing in 1,122 games, and The smooth guard broke into the ranks of the top 10 racking up 21,586 points (14th on the all-time list). He NBA scorers in 1962-63 by garnering 1,562 points, an remained with the same franchise throughout his career, average of 19.5 points per game. He also had the fi ft h- starting with Syracuse in 1958 and then moving with best free-throw percentage in the league at .834. As an the Nationals when they became the Philadelphia 76ers acknowledgement of his superb off ensive performance, in 1963. He was an All-Star for 10 straight seasons and a Greer was named to the All-NBA Second Team at season’s seven-time member of the All-NBA Second Team. He was end. Syracuse fi nished second in the Eastern Division with also the second-leading scorer on Philadelphia’s vaunted a 48-32 record, then lost to the Cincinnati Royals in the championship team of 1966-67. division semifi nals. Harold Everett “Hal” Greer grew up in Huntington, West The Nationals changed ownership aft er the 1962-63 Virginia, where he starred for Douglas High School. The season and moved to Philadelphia for 1963-64, to be reborn fi rst African-American to receive a scholarship at Marshall as the Philadelphia 76ers. The new surroundings seemed College and the fi rst to play intercollegiate athletics in the to suit Greer just fi ne. He sett led into a seven-year stretch state of West Virginia, he averaged 19.4 points in his three in which he averaged at least 20 points in each season. He varsity seasons. He was an all-conference selection in 1957 made the All-NBA Second Team in six of those years and and 1958, and an All-American pick in 1958. Aft er being played in the All-Star Game in all seven campaigns. Greer’s selected by the Syracuse Nationals in the second round of production was aided by the arrival of Wilt Chamberlain the 1958 NBA Draft , Greer came to his fi rst training camp during the 1964-65 season. “When you have Wilt, you don’t as a skinny kid who lacked confi dence. work as hard to get your shot,” Greer told one writer. But in his fi rst season Greer already showed the skills If Chamberlain was the team’s go-to-guy, then Greer was that would eventually make him a star: a deadly jump shot, its quarterback, the man who made the action happen. But quick penetrations to the basket, and tenacious defense. he wasn’t fl ashy or fl amboyant and didn’t att ract much He came off the bench for 11.1 points per game in 1958-59, att ention from the media. In fact, one Herald-Tribune shooting .454 from the fi eld and .778 from the line. His sportswriter claimed that “if there were an award given fi eld-goal percentage was the fourth-highest mark in the for a player who is most respected by basketball insiders, NBA that year. while gett ing the minimum public appreciation, Greer In 1959-60 Greer shot even bett er from the fi eld, hitt ing at could win hands down.” a .476 clip to place second in the league. Syracuse fi nished One of Greer’s strong points was his jump shot. His with a 45-30 record but was eliminated in the fi rst round of favorite spot to hit from was inside the top of the key. His the playoff s by the Philadelphia Warriors. one-time coach, Alex Hannum, said Greer could sink that In 1960-61, his third NBA season, Greer moved into shot about 70 percent of the time and encouraged him to a starting role and emerged as a star. He raised his take it whenever he had the opportunity. “Hal’s quickness production to 19.6 points per game and earned his fi rst trip enables him to free himself for the moment of daylight that to the NBA All-Star Game. He ranked second on the team he needs,” Hannum said. “He’s so good on his jumper that in scoring to Dolph Schayes, who averaged 23.6 points. The it startles you when he misses.” Nationals made it through the Eastern Division Semifi nals Greer played a major role on what many feel was the but were demolished in the division fi nals by the Boston greatest team of all time, the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers. Celtics, four games to one. That squad, which also included Chamberlain, Chet Greer averaged 22.8 points the next year, adding 7.4 Walker, Billy Cunningham, Wally Jones, and Lucious 9988 H Hal Greer Greer played three more seasons for the Sixers, his a production and playing time dropping steadily each year. l Greer was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. In his fi nal season, 1972-73, Greer also served as the team’s G assistant coach. He split time between the bench and the r e court, appearing in 38 games and averaging just 5.6 points. e At season’s end he retired, ending an illustrious 15-year r Jackson, romped to a 68-13 record, the best in league history playing career. At the time of his retirement Greer had until the Los Angeles Lakers went 69-13 in 1971-72. appeared in more games (1,122) than any other player in The Sixers, who won 45 of their fi rst 49 games, rolled NBA history. His 21,586 career points ranked among the through the postseason, fi nally defeating the San Francisco all-time top 10, as did his totals for minutes played, fi eld Warriors in six games in the 1967 NBA Finals. For the goals att empted, and fi eld goals made. His eff orts earned season, Greer contributed 22.1 points per game, second on him a place on the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team the club to Chamberlain’s 24.1. Greer then stepped up his in 1996. game in the postseason, pouring in 27.7 points per contest. Greer believed that in order to succeed in the NBA a “It was a beautiful, beautiful season,” Greer told the player had to keep learning and adjusting. The advice Philadelphia Daily News. “We had everything. We knew we he once gave to young players reveals something of his were going to win most of our games - it was just a matt er philosophy toward the game: “Each player should try to of by how much.” improve,” he said. “Each game, each minute, each time on Greer saved his fi nest individual performance of his the fl oor, you should try to learn something diff erent. That career for the following year, 1967-68. He shot a career-best was the way I went about things.” .478 from the fi eld and averaged 24.1 points, fi ft h best in During his induction speech aft er being elected to the the NBA. In the 1968 All-Star Game he was 8-for-8 from Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982, Greer the fi eld and tossed in 5-of-7 free throw att empts in only said that before he entered the NBA in 1958 there were 17 minutes to lead the East to a 144-124 victory at Madison four things he wanted to accomplish in basketball. The Square Garden. His 21 points included a record 19 in one most important was to buy a new, shiny car, the kind that quarter and earned him the game’s MVP Award. players who grew up in small towns oft en dreamed about. The Sixers had another sensational year in 1967-68, In descending order, the other goals were to be an All-Star, fi nishing with a 62-20 record, eight games ahead of second- to win an NBA Championship, and to get into the Hall of place Boston int he Eastern Division.