Greene’s message to players: Learn to play as a team

He will enter the Ebony Lifeline Support Group Hall of Fame Friday.

By JOHN KOVACH

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

YOUNGSTOWN — McLord “Pete” Greene has a message for today’s basketball players — Learn to play more as a team and you will have a better team and win more games.

Greene, 63, should know because he made the All-City basketball team two straight years in 1962 and 1963 at South High, thanks to a lot of team play emphasized by coach Pete Popovich. And as a guard and playmaker, Greene initiated a lot of the ball passing and plays that made the offense work more effectively.

“We played a lot of team ball. There was a lot of passing and give-and-go,” Greene said. “Popovich emphasized a lot of pass work, ball work and cutting to the basket.

“We had different plays that he came up with,” usually running a “figure eight” pattern usually beginning “from the top of the key.”

Greene said today’s basketball players have to learn the value of teamwork.

“You have a couple of guys that want to be the hot shots and ball hogs. They lose their concept of playing as a team. I think they would have a better team [with teamwork].

“For one thing, the defending team is concentrating on those couple of guys,” Greene said. “If you play as a team, it would make them harder to guard you and there wouldn’t be any egos in the way either.”

Greene certainly learned how to flourish playing with teammates John Tensley, Roy White, Ernie McElroy, John Turner, Jimmy Johnson, Benny Forest, James Forest and Willie Jones.

And he also learned to become a military team player while serving four years in the U.S. Navy from 1963-67, and winning the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with Bronze Star and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Dominican Republic).

For all his accomplishments, Greene will be inducted into the Ebony Lifeline Support Group Hall of Fame along with 10 other persons at the organization’s 11th annual All-Sports Banquet on Friday at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Social Hall starting a 6 p.m.

The other selections are Eddie Dukes (boxing), Patricia Clinkscales (bowling), Juan Santiago (track), Charles Sutton (football and contributor), Dwayne Harris (basketball), Sammy Bell (boxing), Willie Rogers (football), Eugene Teague (football) and Joe Wainwright (Football). Dukes and Harris will be inducted posthumously.

Guest speaker at the banquet will be Dr. Wendy Webb, superintendent of Youngstown City Schools.

Master of ceremonies will be Ode Aduma, retired broadcaster from WKBN-TV Channel 27, who was inducted into the Hall in 2006.

Tickets are available at the L.E. Black, Phillips & Holden Funeral Home and the F.D. Mason Funeral Home, or by calling Trudy Jackson (330-743-3893), Ed Prayor Sr. (330-743-6193), Pat Traylor (330-792-0234) or Jack Carter (330-783-0542).

Greene, who began high school at East but then transferred to South to start his sophomore year in 1960, said that he didn’t score that much but contributed in other ways.

“I was a playmaker and shooting guard and played a lot of defense. I didn’t average a lot of points. My average was pretty good when I shot,” Greene said. “I didn’t know too much about what my scoring average was. I just loved the game.”

He fondly remembers his teammates and how they played and said the team had good chemistry.

“For one thing, we got along pretty good,” he recalled, noting that Ernie McElroy and Roy White were the high scorers.

“John Tensley was captain both years (1962 and 1963) until he graduated. He was only about 5-10 or 5-11. He was a good rebounder and jump shooter and with the layup. He just continuously ran.”