Basketball recruiting: Roman Catholic star Lynn Greer III plans to visit Temple
Greer is the son of former Temple great Lynn Greer II, who played under Hall of Fame coach John Chaney for five seasons.
Lynn Greer III’s college destination might be a quick subway trip north from his high school.
The Roman Catholic senior, a three-star guard in the 2020 class, said he plans to take an official visit to Temple on Sept. 27.
“I’ve always been around Temple because of my dad, so I’ve seen a lot of things,” said Greer, who averaged 15 points per game last season for the Cahillites and helped them win their second straight Catholic League championship. “Since I’m considering going there, I think I really have to seek deeper into it.”
Greer is the son of former Temple great Lynn Greer II, who played under Hall of Fame coach John Chaney from 1997-2002. The elder Greer ranks second on the program’s all-time scoring list with 2,099 career points and shot 39.8% on three-pointers.
Greer said his father hasn’t pushed him to go to Temple, but the 6-foot-1 star said it would mean a lot to him to wear the same Owls jersey his father wore nearly two decades ago.
“It would definitely be an honor to play at the same place that my father played at,” Greer said. “Just knowing what he did, it would probably push me harder to be as good as him or better than him.”
Greer said Temple coaches like the way he can create plays for himself and others on the floor and guard both backcourt positions.
Earlier in the summer, Greer listed Villanova, Florida, Miami, Indiana, and Wake Forest as the top schools involved in his recruitment.
Temple wasn’t included in that list, but Greer said the vibe around the program, with Aaron McKie at the helm, and moves such as adding former Westtown standout Jake Forrester, Roselle Catholic’s Josh Pierre-Louis, and Wisconsin transfer Tai Strickland have increased his interest in the Owls.
“[McKie] just wants to win. I can tell you that,” Greer said. “That’s what he talks about a lot. … He’s really trying to get a winning mentality over there at Temple, and he’s telling me that he knows what I can do. But he wants me to come in and work hard, and basically nothing is given to me. So I like that.”
Greer doesn’t have a list of schools from which he’s choosing. He said Florida, a school he recently considered, is now out of the picture.
Except for his visit to Temple, Greer doesn’t have any other official visits set up. He said he’ll have more in the coming weeks, but he declined to get into specifics. Greer said that he planned to commit to a school before December and that he’s not in a hurry.
“If I chose a school and feel like it’s the right fit, then I definitely will commit before the season,” Greer said. “But I’m not going to rush anything.”
Recently, Greer’s overall ranking took a plunge on Rivals.com. He used to be ranked in the site’s top 150 prospects, but he’s not featured in the latest edition, published this week.
“It doesn’t matter to me, to be honest, because I know what I’m capable of doing, and there are a lot of players on there that I know I’m way better than,” Greer said. “It’ll change soon.”
Last season, Greer had to watch from the bench during the PIAA state playoffs after being declared ineligible when an application for a hardship waiver was rejected. (Greer transferred briefly to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia but returned to Roman in November.) He said he is looking forward to the coming season and earning a third straight Catholic League title alongside highly recruited sophomores Jalen Duren, ESPN’s No. 2 ranked player in the 2022 class, and Justice Williams.
“I can’t wait to play with my team this year,” Greer said. “We have a lot to look forward to. We play in a lot of tournaments out of state, and we play the top teams in the country, and I feel like that’ll definitely get us prepared for the Catholic League.”