When it comes to heritage, Philly has a living embodiment in Lynn Greer III joining St. Joseph’s

Billy Lange sat in his office inside Hagan Arena, eyes fixated on a 5-by-7-inch booklet. He couldn’t make out what it was. Across from him sat Lynn Greer Sr., clutching the book, and Lynn Greer II, whose son had recently committed to St. Joseph’s.

Nobody made any mention of the book. The three spent an afternoon sharing stories and divulging how Lynn Greer III would fit on Hawk Hill, transferring in after one season at Dayton.

At the end of the meeting, the eldest Greer shook Lange’s hand and passed over the booklet.

It was written and assembled by Greer Sr. in 2019 with some help from his daughter, Kelli. Gazing out from the cover is a young Greer III at Chris Paul’s 2016 Rising Stars Camp. Behind him is a faded collage from Paul’s career.

» READ MORE: St. Joseph’s welcomes Lynn Greer III to Hawk Hill

The homemade manual is aptly titled, “The Nuts and Bolts of Basketball For LG3.”

“I thought it would be a good idea to share that with Billy so he could see what the Greer family has done,” said Greer Sr., who was the Phoenix Suns’ 11th-round pick in the 1973 draft. “How we thought about basketball and what we tried to do.”

The contents across all 10 pages break down fundamental basketball lessons on how to be an effective point guard. Man and zone defenses are dissected. Why layups need to be high and soft off the backboard. Being overplayed? Cut backdoor. Best practices for communicating with coaches and teammates, too.

The conclusion, before signing off, stresses that the teachings will make it “very clear to anyone scouting you” that Greer III has a high basketball IQ.

Prepared by Lynn Greer Sr., also known as Pop Pop.

Know that I LOVE YOU very much.

“Things he has been telling me literally my whole life, he decided to make a book about,” Greer III said. “He put pictures of me inside it. Coming from him, he knows a lot about basketball, so it helps a lot. But I’ve heard that stuff my whole life.”

Ten pages offer a gateway into the youngest Greer’s basketball instincts. But it’s not enough to unravel the story of his unique basketball travels.

Greer II didn’t have an immediate affinity for organized basketball. Playing pickup with friends at local North Philly parks was plenty. Or joining warmups during his dad’s Eastern League games.

His son was quite the opposite. Greer III showed no resistance to basketball. He has consistently been around the game. There’s even a picture of the Greer family at middle Lynn’s graduation from Temple in 2002 with Hall of Fame coach John Chaney holding a 2-week-old Greer III.

Temple’s second-all-time leading scorer spent the next four years playing in Greece, Russia, and Italy before signing with the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2006-07 season.

Back home in Marlton, a 5-year-old Greer III was outfitting himself in a Cavaliers LeBron James jersey or Kevin Garnett with the Timberwolves. He had headbands, sleeves, and sneakers to match. All of it to practice on a mini Nerf hoop in his grandparents’ basement.

“He had to look like a basketball player in order to play in the basement,” Greer II joked.

Greer III started playing organized ball soon after. Ask him, he was enjoying putting up 60 against his South Jersey peers. But his dad — a former Public League product ―knew those games weren’t indicative of how basketball would be.

Family friend Marvin Stinson ran an AAU program in West Philly called Bottom Ballers. Stinson’s son Jaylen, who later played at Archbishop Wood, was on the team, too. Greer II thought that might give his son a flavor of tough, inner-city hoops.

His first game was at Rose Playground in West Philly — about two miles from St. Joe’s.

Opening possession of the game, Greer got the ball. He faced up to the hoop and jab-stepped. Two defenders smothered him, one picking the ball clean, leading to a breakaway layup. Next possession, he was a little more cautious. Greer kept his guard hand up, dribbling down the floor.

Whoosh — Greer gets ball swiped again.

“I was on the side smiling like, ‘yep,’” Greer II said. “This is exactly what he needs.”

In the years that followed, the young Greer encountered worldly experiences that molded an emotional intelligence uncommon among kids his age.

He saw tanks drive down his street living in Ukraine. Dead animals painted the sidewalks, ribs protruding from cold, lifeless fur. All of it nearly triggered tears. His sixth birthday was spent with his dad’s Olympiacos Piraeus team in Greece. Players bought him a bike to ride around the gym during practice. He once met his basketball idol, Allen Iverson, at a TGI Fridays in Turkey. Hearing “What’s up, Little Lynn?” instantly brought him to tears (happy ones, of course).

“I was supposed to play on my middle school team in sixth grade,” Greer III said when he realized he didn’t have a normal childhood. “I made the team and I only got to sit on the bench for one game. All my friends were like, ‘Why aren’t you playing?’ I was like, ‘I’ve got to leave. I’ve got to go see my dad.’”

He never knew how to answer the question, “When are you coming back?”

A few months out of the year were spent in New Jersey. Then he would enroll at international schools wherever his dad was playing. Greer’s friends were often children of soccer players or embassy workers.

“Every year he came home with five or six friends that he met in these schools,” he said. “Most kids go to college and it’s like a culture shock or a shock to be out of your comfort zone. He’s able to adapt to those environments.”

Lange says his point guard’s upbringing made him the connector of a group that includes five international players. He’s the sociable one with a prominent voice in the locker room.

Flip through the current St. Joe’s roster and there’s only one player with Philly roots. It’s Greer, who played four seasons at Roman Catholic, took a prep year at IMG Academy in Florida disrupted by COVID-19, then went to Dayton before transferring home. He’s Lange’s only player with a true understanding and appreciation of the Big 5.

Sitting in Lange’s office is Philadelphia Tribune sports writer Donald Hunt’s 1996 book, The Philadelphia Big 5: Great Moments in Philadelphia’s Storied College Basketball History. Greer III on multiple occasions has strolled into his coach’s office to unassumingly thumb through the history textbook.

“No one else has ever done that,” Lange said. “It sits there. They see it. They know what the Big 5 logo is and who the teams are. But Lynn is genuinely interested in the history of it.”

Sitting in the stands of Hagan Arena, the young Greer pointed up to banners of Jameer Nelson and Delonte West. He rattled off more names spanning generations of Big 5ers, arguing, “Playing in the Big 5, you have to appreciate the history of it.”

“This is where I want to be at,” Greer said. “This is my new beginning. This is my new chapter. And we’re going to close the book here.”