Julie McCombs
Carlton Greene acknowledges the crowd's ovation during a ceremony Tuesday night.
Julie McCombs
Carlton Greene coaches in his final regular season home game at Greer High School Tuesday.
Julie McCombs
It was fitting that Greer Girls Head Basketball Coach Carlton Greene was honored on the same night the senior class received its recognition.
Julie McCombs
Carlton Greene and Greer High School Principal Marion Waters observe the ceremonies commemorating the seniors Tuesday night.
Carlton Greene has seen neighbors become high school basketball players, who have become college graduates, and mothers or members of any number of professions in society.
They all came to play a game that was measured in wins and losses. They left as young women embarking on career paths – all knowing that their coach and mentor would be there for them just as he was in high school.
Greene will be honored tonight, at the end of the girls basketball game, at a retirement ceremony that will commemorate his 25 years of service and coaching at Greer High School. The girls play Southside at 6 p.m.
Former players speak reverently of Greene.
“I think his legacy goes beyond girls basketball. He sets the standard on how a coach should be … men, women, college or church league, it doesn't matter,” Jessica Ward Bruce said. “To be able to share a love of the game and to love and encourage your players to grow as people and athletes is something every coach should strive for. Being a coach goes beyond the sport and to help shape the character of young people is an important role.”
“He was not only a great coach, but he was a mentor, a supporter, a father figure and a friend,” Leanna Craft said. “He was a perfect example of what a coach should be and that is someone who strives to not only make girls better basketball players but better young ladies off the court.” Craft is a dental student in Charleston and won't be able to attend tonight's ceremony.
Among Greene’s coaching career highlights at Greer he will be remembered for:
• Most wins, 253, in school history for women’s basketball. His overall record is 253-136.
• 3-time Region coach of the year, 2002-2003, 2003-2004, 2010-2011.
• Upper state girls finals, 2003-2004.
• North-South basketball all-star assistant coach.
• 2014 North-South all-star coach.
Greene was also awarded the Educator of the Year in 2013 by the Greater Greer Education Foundation.
Bruce said Greene’s dedication to his players extended beyond practice and the school week. “His willingness to work extra with me after practice and on the weekends is what helped me reach my goal of playing college basketball,” Bruce said. “He spent hours rebounding for me and helping me fine-tune my skills when he could have been doing a million other things. He is selfless.
“He’s been a coach to me as far back as middle school church basketball, a teacher since 7th grade social studies in the portables at Greer Middle (now Chandler Creek), has been someone I look up to since I moved to Greer when I was eight-years-old and was our Elder representative when we (husband Neil), baptized my son, Collier. (Coach Greene) was a coach even when he wasn’t my coach – giving me advice before JV games and always there to encourage. He watched out for me when I wasn’t even his to watch out for. He cares for people,” Bruce said.
Craft played for Jamie Garrett, Greene’s daughter, in the 9th grade. “I really looked up to (Coach Greene). He came to our games in middle school and he was always encouraging. He didn’t put pressure on you but you didn’t want to let him down,” Craft said.
Greene is competitive and drives his players during practice to improve on the past. There’s no shouting, stomping, fist-waving or demonstrative displays at practice or at games.
Craft said she could tell by Greene’s body language when he was stressing a point. “He didn’t yell but you could see him cross his hands and get red in the face and knew he was intense.”
“Down, up, through. That is what I tell my kids every time they shoot the ball because that is how he taught me,” Bruce said. “He stresses fundamentals and encourages hustle. Practice, repetition, dedication and hard work are expected but when you play for Coach Greene you want to do all those things and more.”
Bruce said two of Greene’s favorite words were “effort” and “intensity”. “He always encouraged us to play our hardest. When dealing with losses he just had a way of putting everything into perspective,” Bruce said. “In basketball, as in life, the ball won't always bounce your way. He would always remind us of that, and that when we gave our best and did everything you could it was reason to keep your head held high.”
“Coach Greene was a great basketball coach, but what made him so special was his encouragement, optimism, and the positive impact he had on his teams,” Craft said. “Anyone who knows me knows the love I have for basketball and I credit that to Coach Greene and the knack he had for making practices and games fun.”
Greene’s command of respect didn’t give players many opportunities to test him at practice. If was often the younger players, who had yet been schooled in the team’s culture, that tested Greene.
Craft laughingly deferred to Bruce’s team to describe how players enjoyed their brief opportunities to annoy Greene at practice.
“There were some younger girls on my senior team who would try to pick at him. I remember we always laughed at him if he made a bad shot while he was instructing us on techniques,” Bruce said.
Even that, Bruce said, turned into an apology. “I had to tell (Coach Greene) the other day I did the same thing with my fourth-fifth grade team. (I took a) terrible shot while trying to show them how to shoot. It's so much harder than it looks to do both (talk and shoot) at one time so I had to apologize.”
“Words like kind, caring, patient, godly and mentor come to mind when I think of Coach Greene. He makes you want to be a better person,” Bruce said.
“Other than my parents, he has been the biggest influence in my life. He teaches us about what it takes to be a good person by just being himself. He sets an example of what it means to be a Christian.”