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Wayne State University Athletics

David Greer headshot

David Greer

UPDATED 11-17-2021

WSU Men's Basketball all-time leader in years as a head coach (20).
Holds school record for most wins as a basketball coach (266).
Selected GLIAC Coach of the Year in 2012-13 and 2020-21.
Teams have advanced to the NCAA Tournament five times (2004, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2021)
Coached 49 Academic All-GLIAC honorees during his first 20 years at WSU.
NABC Team Academic Excellence Award in 2014-15, 2016-17 and 2019-20.
Won GLIAC Regular-Season title in 2020-21.
Shared GLIAC Regular-Season title in 2012-13.
Won GLIAC South Division title in 2017-18.
Won GLIAC Tournament Title in 2011.
Coached 11 All-Region players.
Coached 17 All-GLIAC First Team honorees.
Coached 21 All-GLIAC Defensive Team selections.
Coached two GLIAC Commissioner's Award recipients.


David Greer retired on November 17, 2021, during his 21st season at the helm of the Warrior basketball program.  He was the longest-tenured coach and winningest coach (266 victories) in program history.

He equaled the school mark for years as a men's basketball head coach in 2018-19 tying Newman Ertell (1929-43, 1944-48) and Joel Mason (1948-66), as the longest serving head coach.  Greer finished with a 266-262 overall record (.504) as the Warriors’ head man, along with a 197-190 GLIAC ledger (.509).

In a unique and challenging season due to the pandemic in 2020-21, he led the Green & Gold to its first outright GLIAC championship since the 1998-99 campaign and the team's 14th trip to the NCAA Tournament.  The 2020-21 GLIAC Coach of the Year, Greer helped guards Brailen Neely and Darian Owens-White to NABC All-Region honors and it's the first time in program history that two players have been recognized as All-District during the same season.  Owens-White was a First Team All-Midwest District and a First Team All-GLIAC honoree, while Neely was a Second Team All-Region and a First Team All-GLIAC selection.  Owens-White was the first Wayne State student-athlete to be voted to the NABC All-District First Team since Tony Goins in 1998-99.  Avery Lewis earned Second Team All-GLIAC recognition, while being a member of the league's All-Defensive Team.

During the 2019-20 season, two Warriors earned All-GLIAC accolades with Brailen Neely being voted to the First Team and Karim Murray receiving All-Defensive Team honors.  In 17 of the 24 games, Wayne State was leading, tied or trailed by less than five points with under five minutes to play.  The Warriors went 2-5 in games decided by three points or fewer, including a trio of overtime games.

Wayne State won eight games overall and seven in the GLIAC in 2018-19, a rebuilding year for the Green & Gold.  The Warriors played tough all season long, but lost several close contests, including three in overtime, resulting in WSU missing the GLIAC Tournament.  Sophomore Darian Owens-White was named to the All-GLIAC Second Team, while junior Karim Murray earned All-Defensive Team honors.

With five seniors leading the way, Greer guided the Warriors to a GLIAC South Division title in 2017-18 as WSU reached the GLIAC Tournament for the second consecutive season.  WSU hosted a home playoff game for the seventh time in program history and the first since 2013.  Chuck Key was voted to the All-GLIAC First Team, while Marcus Moore earned All-GLIAC Second Team and All-Defensive Team accolades.  Ronald Booth also collected All-GLIAC Second Team recognition.

Greer led WSU back to the GLIAC Tournament in 2017 as the Warriors finished the 2016-17 campaign with a 16-10 overall record and a 13-8 league mark.  With a win on Dec. 3, 2016, over Hillsdale, Greer became the all-time winningest coach in the then 99 years of Wayne State men's basketball.  He passed his predecessor Ron Hammye's mark of 212 victories, which he collected in his 13 seasons (1988-2001).

His 2016-17 team had a school-record eight members receive Academic All-GLIAC honors with Michael Lewis, Oge Onwudiwe and Nick Mutebi being named to the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence team.  In addition, Lewis received a GLIAC Commissioner's Award for outstanding athletic and academic achievements.

Greer's 2014-15 squad was recognized with a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Team Academic Excellence Award.  WSU had a 3.136 team GPA during the 2014-15 academic year.  In addition, Michael Lewis earned a spot on the NABC Honors Court.

Greer was voted the 2012-13 GLIAC Coach of the Year by his peers after leading Wayne State to a share of the GLIAC regular-season title, the first for the WSU men's basketball program since the 1998-99 season.  The squad qualified for the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in Greer's WSU tenure.

Greer has led Wayne State to 12 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament appearances including the 2011 playoff championship.  The 2011 squad was his third to qualify for the NCAA tournament as the Warriors made back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances in 2004 and 2005, including a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2004.  The most recent NCAA Tournament appearances were in 2013 and 2021.

His 2011-12 team compiled an 18-9 overall record, including a 14-5 conference mark.  It marked the second straight year the Warriors had posted a 14-5 league record.

WSU's 2010-11 squad posted a 22-8 mark, the most wins since 1998-99, along with a 14-5 GLIAC ledger.  The Warriors defeated Hillsdale, Findlay and Ferris State in the GLIAC tournament to claim its first post-season crown since 1999. 

Greer earned his 100th collegiate coaching victory on December 21, 2006, with WSU’s 73-65 triumph over Indianapolis.

The 2004-05 Warriors rewrote the record books, but had to do it against some of the best competition around.  WSU had one of the toughest schedules in the nation with nine games against Top-25 teams (at the time of the contest), five of those were in the top six in the country, including a 79-72 win over No. 2 Findlay, handing the Oilers their only GLIAC loss of the year.

But the year ended in the second round of the Great Lakes Regional at No. 1 Findlay.  Senior point guard Darrell Evans finished the season with the most total assists in Division II with a school-record 232, while Morris Hall and Herb Goliday tied the WSU record for games played in a season (32).

Although WSU’s 2004 GLIAC title run was cut short by Gannon for the second straight season, the Warriors earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Regional.  That’s where Greer’s never-say-die attitude shined through and the fearless Warriors strung together two last-second upsets over top-seeded Lewis and Michigan Tech, only to fall to eventual national runner-up Southern Indiana by a single point.

In 2002-03, Greer’s Wayne State team finished with an overall record of 13-14 and 9-8 in the GLIAC for a third-place South Division finish.  The Warriors’ season ended in the first round of the conference tournament at Gannon.

Greer, who was appointed the ninth head men’s basketball coach at WSU on October 23, 2001, finished the 2001-02 season with a 15-12 record and led the Warriors to a berth in the GLIAC Tournament.  The Warriors were a surprise in the league in Greer’s first season as the team recorded a 10-7 mark in the GLIAC after being picked to finish next-to-last in the conference preseason poll.

While on the WSU bench, Greer has made the Matthaei an intimidating home court.  In 20 seasons, Wayne State has compiled a 163-95 home record (.632).

He has coached 30 All-GLIAC players (17 First Team and 13 Second Team) and 21 GLIAC All-Defensive team members.  In addition, Morris Hall earned two All-Great Lakes Region honors following the 2004-05 campaign, while Bryan Smothers garnered two All-Midwest Region accolades at the conclusion of the 2010-11 season. 

Ike Udanoh, a senior during the 2011-12 campaign, was named to both the NABC and Daktronics All-Midwest Region squads.  Ian Larkin was voted the 2012-13 WSU Male Student-Athlete of the Year, was selected to the NABC All-Midwest Region Second Team and voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team.

Not one to back down from competition, Greer has scheduled contests against Division I Butler, along with top-ranked Division II teams in Bellarmine, Lewis, Virginia Union, West Virginia State, Southern Indiana, Northern Kentucky, Florida Southern and Tampa.

Prior to WSU, Greer spent six seasons at Detroit Mercy, the last three as the Titans associate head coach.  First as an assistant coach and then after his promotion to associate in 1998, he coordinated the Titans’ recruiting, with focus on Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, and junior colleges.  He also handled coaching and practice planning for offenses and defenses, and scheduled the Titans’ games.

This is Greer’s second appointment as a head coach at the collegiate level.  In 1986-87 Greer was head coach at Tiffin University in Tiffin, Ohio.  He led the Dragons to a 16-13 overall record that season.

In 1987 Greer moved to Youngstown State University as an assistant coach for two seasons, then he was an assistant coach at Ohio University from 1989-93.  His last stop before joining the Detroit Mercy staff was serving as assistant coach at the University of Akron in 1994-95.

Under Greer’s direction, the Titans compiled a 38-1 record at Calihan Hall his last three seasons.  In that span, UDM won at least 20 games in each of those three years, including 25 victories in 2000-01 and 1998-99.  In 2000-01 the Titans finished 25-12 overall.

Greer was a four-time letterwinner at Bowling Green State University, and is the second former Falcon to coach the Warriors.  Former WSU head coach Ron Hammye lettered at BGSU from 1974-78.

During Greer's time at BGSU, the Falcons won two regular season conference titles and finished second twice.  He holds almost every assist record in program history, including career assists (768), assists in a season (242), assists per game in a season (7.6), and assists in a game with 15 against Marshall on Dec. 30, 1980.

He holds three of the top six single-season assist totals in school history, including the top two with 242 in 1981-82 and 217 in 1982-83.  In fact, he has 205 assists more than any other BGSU player ever had.  Greer’s 85.3 percent free-throw shooting during the 1981-82 season ranks as the 10th best performance in school history.  He was named First Team All-MAC following the 1982-83 season and was also team MVP that year, while serving as a team captain.

In addition, Greer is the all-time career assist record holder for the Mid-American Conference (MAC).   He was inducted into the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999, and was voted to the All-Anderson (Arena) Men's Basketball Team in 2010.

Greer holds a bachelor of science in education from Bowling Green State.

He and his wife, Bertie, reside in Farmington Hills, and have three children, Joshua, Courtney and David Anthony.

 
DAVID GREER'S WSU COACHING RECORD
Year Games Wins Losses Pct. GLIAC Wins GLIAC Losses GLIAC Finish
2001-02& 27 15 12 .556 10 7 5th/6-South -- 6th Overall
2002-03& 27 13 14 .481 9 8 3rd/6-South -- 5th Overall
2003-04&% 31 19 12 .613 11 6 3rd/6-South -- 5th Overall
2004-05&% 32 20 12 .625 11 6 T-2nd/6-South -- T-3rd Overall
2005-06 25 11 14 .440 6 11 T-5th/6-South -- T-9th Overall
2006-07& 26 13 13 .500 9 8 T-2nd/6-South -- T-4th Overall
2007-08 26 10 16 .385 4 13 6th/6-South -- 13th Overall
2008-09& 27 12 15 .444 10 12 3rd/6-South -- T-7th Overall
2009-10& 27 14 13 .519 12 10 3rd/6-South -- T-6th Overall
2010-11&% 30 22 8 .733 14 5 T-2nd/7-South -- T-3rd Overall / GLIAC Tournament Champions
2011-12& 27 18 9 .667 14 5 T-2nd/7-South -- T-2nd Overall
2012-13&% 27 17 10 .629 16 6 T-1st/8-North -- T-1st Overall
2013-14 25 12 13 .480 10 12 5th/8-North -- 9th Overall
2014-15 25 5 20 .200 5 17 7th/8-South -- 15th Overall
2015-16 25 7 18 .280 7 15 T-5th/8-South -- T-12th Overall
2016-17& 26 16 10 .615 13 8 T-2nd/8-North -- T-3rd Overall
2017-18& 26 15 11 .577 13 7 1st/6-South -- 3rd Overall
2018-19 25 8 17 .320 7 13 5th/6-South -- 9th Overall
2019-20 24 7 17 .292 4 16 6th/6-South -- 12th Overall
2020-21&% 19 12 7 .632 12 5 1st/6--South -- 1st Overall
2021-22 1 0 1 .000 - - -
Career 528 266 262 .504 197 190 .509

&-Qualified for the GLIAC Tournament (12 times, 6-11 record)
%-Advanced to the NCAA Tournament (5 times, 3-5 record)

Played at Bowling Green State University, 1979-83
High School Coach (Rossford, Ohio), 1983-86
Tiffin University Head Coach, 1986-87
Youngstown State Assistant Coach, 1987-89
Ohio University Assistant Coach, 1989-93
University of Akron Assistant Coach, 1994-95
University of Detroit Assistant Coach, 1995-2001
Wayne State University Head Coach, 2001-2021