Wildcats Daily

Former Northwestern Guard Wins NBA Title With Oklahoma City Thunder

The former Wildcat is in the early stages of a coaching career.
Ryan Cole|
Jan 15, 2022; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Joey Hauser (10) moves the ball against Northwestern Wildcats guard Ryan Greer (2) in the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images
Jan 15, 2022; East Lansing, Michigan, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Joey Hauser (10) moves the ball against Northwestern Wildcats guard Ryan Greer (2) in the first half at Jack Breslin Student Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Dale Young-Imagn Images | Dale Young-Imagn Images

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Winning the NBA Championship takes a whole villaige. Of course, it all comes down to what the players do on the court. But the front office is also responsible for assembling a roster that can compete with the other best teams in the league. And the coaching staff is tasked with getting the most production possible out of that roster.

A staff is a bigger unit than most understand. The head coach is most recognizeable, receiving the credit when things go well and catching the most flak when they don't. But there are also assistant coaches and other staff members who make an impact.

The Oklahoma City Thunder took home the title Sunday night, and one of the coaches on their staff was a former Northwestern Wildcat. Ryan Greer, who was a high-intensity guard at NU from 2018-22, is currently a video analyst with the team.

A video analyst is exactly what it sounds like--a coach responsible for watching tape and figuring out how to make the team better. It's a common entry-level position for former players looking to embark on a coaching career.

Greer was the type of college player one might assume would try to get into coaching. For newer, younger Wildcat fans, he was somewhat of a smaller, less-skilled Brooks Barnhizer. As a high-effort bench piece, Greer made his mark hustling around the court and making high-basketball-IQ plays.

Greer averaged just 2.4 points per game for his career, but he also consistently saw the floor in all four of his seasons with the program. By his senior year, he was playing 19.2 minutes a night and averaging almost four points.

Greer is still a very young coach, and he has a long way to go before his name is recongizeable in the NBA sphere. But he's now checked a very important thing off the bucket list: an NBA title.

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Ryan Cole
RYAN COLE

Ryan Cole is a writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI covering every team on campus. He’s currently a junior at NU where he’s studying journalism and previously wrote and edited for Inside NU. He also studies business with an eye towards eventually helping develop business models to revive local news. In his free time, Cole enjoys watching sports, playing sports, reading the news and singing.

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