The following feature first appeared in the football game program on Nov. 12, 2022.
These days, winning in the eyes of David Greer is spending time with his granddaughter or playing a round of golf.
That's a distinct change from how Greer, who retired last fall as Wayne State men's basketball coach, has spent his time for the past three-and-a-half decades, including 20 years at Wayne State. Nobody coached WSU basketball for longer or won more games (266) than Greer. And after pouring everything he had into the program and his teams, early last fall he traded in his clipboard for a more laid-back lifestyle.
"Now I can play a round without rushing to the office or rushing to a recruiting visit or a tournament," said Greer, who also joked his golf game is finally getting better in his post-coaching days.
"Coaching is a 24/7 job," he said. "It's not one of those jobs where you get a little downtime in the summer – maybe a month – but it's pretty much a full-time job, and now I'm enjoying 'me' time, doing things I didn't really have a chance to do while I was coaching."
During his tenure as head basketball coach, Greer brought consistency to the program: the team made the NCAA Tournament five times, he twice earned GLIAC Coach of the Year honors, and also coached 49 Academic All-GLIAC honorees.
And in many ways, the success Greer helped bring the basketball program mirrors the success of the athletic program under Director of Athletics Rob Fournier. Greer was the first head coach Fournier hired at Wayne State in 2001.
Bryan Smothers, a Wayne State Hall of Famer from his playing days (2007-2011) under Greer and the new men's basketball coach, said he remembers first meeting Greer during a campus visit while in high school.
"I could immediately tell from his demeanor and attitude that he was welcoming but also have a way to make sure they are going to get the best out of you," said Smothers, who described Greer as a 'players' coach.' "Someone who would make me a better player, a better person, a better man."
Smothers was a key member of the team that won the 2011 GLIAC Championship – at the time, the first in 12 years for WSU – and that earned a spot in that year's NCAA Tournament. Smothers recalled that late in the season, when preparing for an opponent the team had already faced earlier in the year, the team paused Greer when going over a scouting report, because the team had already done their homework and felt prepared for the upcoming rematch.
"In that moment, we became the kind of team he wanted us to be," Smothers said. "He gave us the information, but also gave us the freedom to go out there and be our best. That team ended up winning the conference tournament and went on to the NCAA Tournament."
The ultimate supporter
Greer, despite the accomplishments on the court, was known around the Wayne State athletic department as a huge supporter of the other teams. Greer and his wife, Bertie, tried to attend Wayne State men's and women's tennis matches at the annual GLIAC Tournament – schedules permitting – and Greer was known to step up and help at golf tournaments, as well.
"I wasn't just a basketball guy," he said. "I enjoyed tennis, I enjoyed golf ... anything competitive, I enjoyed either watching or playing."
Bryan Morrow, Wayne State men's tennis coach, even asked Greer on one occasion to come and speak to the tennis team before a GLIAC Tournament.
"I don't remember anything specific from that speech, and I know he was hesitant to do it because he's a pretty humble guy, but he gave the team words of encouragement. He knows tennis and the players really love the fact that he shows up to support.
"For the smaller sports like tennis, to have somebody come out and show interest when they don't have to – especially as such a high-profile coach – was amazing. He is a guy who has always done everything the right way."
Greer, in his humble nature, said it is only fair that if the basketball team wanted other WSU student-athletes and coaches to show up for their games, they needed to do the same.
And in his mind, Greer said giving back in these small ways was the least he could do.
"For 35 years, I didn't have a real job," he said. "I always said I can't believe that somebody actually pays me to do this."
Time to hang them up
The majority of Greer's head coaching career took place at Wayne State and followed successful stints by two other Bowling Green State University alumni. Charlie Parker, who had previously served as an assistant coach at BGSU when the team won one Mid-American Conference championship, finished second twice and also went to the National Invitational Tournament, coached Wayne State men's basketball from 1982 to 1988. Parker then handed the reins to his assistant coach, Ron Hammye, himself a four-year starter at Bowling Green during his college days. Hammye spent 13 years as Wayne State's coach, before David Greer – a four-year letterwinner and Hall of Famer player at BGSU – took over in 2001.
Despite his long tenure as Wayne State men's basketball coach, there was no farewell season or fireworks when Greer made the decision to retire. Running the program, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, plus the self-realization that he was now older than the parents of the players he was recruiting, were challenges. But for Greer, it all boiled down to whether he could give his players and the program the same 100% effort he had given throughout his coaching years.
He tried venturing through the 2021-2022 season – which started with an exhibition game at the new WSU Fieldhouse against the University of Michigan – but after the first regular-season contest, he realized it was time to retire.
"We were building a new arena and there were a lot of festivities planned, and I wanted to stick around for that, but at that point, it became more difficult for me to go into hot gyms in the summertime, and if you can't give those young men 100% in that area, then it's time to hang them up," Greer said.
That's not to say that basketball has been entirely removed from Greer's life. In fact, he has had a few conversations with Smothers, the former Wayne State guard and now head men's basketball coach.
"Coach Greer is very much still a part of our program," Smothers said. "More so for me, I say jokingly that even if he didn't want to, I'd still be calling on him for advice and information. There's nobody else that has been in this position in a long time. He's always someone I'm going to lean on."
Smothers said that while his head coaching philosophy is a mixture of what he's learned from many different coaches he has worked with and played for, there are some specific elements he learned from Greer that he hopes to apply.
"The biggest influence is probably the connection with the guards," Smothers said. "Coach Greer was always hands-on with our development, and there was always an expectation and understanding that the guards had to be really connected with him, knowing what he wanted from them.
"That and defensively, having the mindset of making the other team uncomfortable."
Now, after a long career leading teams that made opponents feel uncomfortable, Greer is able to kick back and live a comfortable retirement.
