BVOV Magazine 2013 - present

To call that “something” a gift from God may have been a stretch, since his family was not religious. But anyone who watched this skilled youngster from Baton Rouge handle a basketball could see that he was talented. Looking back, Greg is quick to acknowledge God’s presence in his life—that His hand was on him even as a child. Greg also knows the Lord had a plan for his life and that, while that plan may not have involved a career in basketball, it would require his learning to apply at least one of the same disciplines—dealing with failure. “I didn’t grow up in a Christian home,” said Greg, who was one of six boys and three girls born to James W. “Penu” and Ruby Green. “But we loved one another. We were a close-knit family, and my parents did the best they could with the knowledge they had.” Though his relationship with his father was good in most respects, especially sports, Greg knew very little about his dad’s military life. “In later years, I learned of my father’s role in the military, but he never talked about it,” Greg said. “I believe he was profoundly affected by his military service in World War II. Even though he struggled, I do know that he provided for us the best he could.” Greg had heard stories about his father’s athletic prowess, like the one told by legendary coach Eddie Robinson of how Penu Green made a winning touchdown, catching the football behind his back! “After the game they made up a cheer that went: ‘One big cheer for the football team, and three big cheers for Penu Green,’” Greg said. Everyone in the neighborhood knew that as a child, Greg was a very good basketball player, and many encouraged him to try out for the junior-high and high-school teams, which he did. “They called me ‘Pop’ Green, because I was known for always ‘popping’ the nets [making shots].” The nickname actually originated with Greg’s dad, who called his son “Pop” because of his affinity for the cereal “Rice Krispies.” Three cartoon mascots associated with the crisped-rice cereal are named, Snap, Crackle and Pop, explains Greg. “When I started playing basketball, the name just fit,” he said. James Green died in 1974, when Greg was 17 and a senior in high school. In the years to follow, the absence of his father would have a major effect on Greg. The First of Many Nails Though Greg knows his father was inwardly proud of his accomplishments during his early years playing basketball, the elder Green had difficulty relating those feelings to his son. In fact, it was words his father once spoke to him that would follow Greg for years to come—causing him to carry a failure mentality. One day after returning home from school, Greg fell asleep while waiting to head out to play in an evening basketball game. When he woke up, it was clear that he would be late to the game. Instead of encouraging his son to press to get to the game on time, Greg’s dad started comparing him to other players on the team. “You should be like this person. He’s going to be a success,” Greg recalled his dad saying. “You see this person right here, they’re going to make it.” “I realize now that he meant well, and was just trying to help me to be more responsible,” says Greg, “but those words were like a nail in the coffin. They became a seed that caused me to feel rejection. I began to see myself as a failure.” That wouldn’t be the only “nail” Greg would encounter. . During junior high, and most of his senior-high-school years, he was a starter on the team and experienced great success. “It was in my senior year of high school that I found myself sitting on the end of the bench,” Greg recalled. “Even though I had the talent, for some reason I wasn’t put in the game. I felt held back—rejected! I saw that as another nail in the coffin. “When the team was losing, or the crowd was yelling, ‘We want Pop,’ the coach would put me in the game,” Greg said. His senior year in high school, Greg received a basketball scholarship to Southern University in Baton Rouge. Ironically, at the same time Greg transitioned to college, his high-school coach took a job at the same school. And the rejection continued. It would be years later, during a chance meeting with one of his former assistant coaches, that Greg would learn the real reason for the ill treatment he received. “This man told me it was all because my coach was jealous of my popularity,” said Greg. “I could not believe it. I wanted to ask, ‘Didn’t he understand that all my playing ability was for his benefit as a coach? Did he not understand that?’ “I thought about the Bible story of Saul and David and how the people were yelling, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.’ Saul was so fixated with jealousy over David that he didn’t realize David was killing his (Saul’s) enemies. That spirit got ahold of Saul and he became jealous and envious of David’s popularity. “Finally, I realized what had happened was a spirit—a curse in operation—and that same spirit had dogged me through this one man. I knew I wasn’t rebellious, and that I did everything he asked me to do. Yet he would never truly acknowledge my talent. All these things just gave more validity to the words my dad had spoken to me years before. They represented one failure after the next, and I carried that for a long time.” One Final Nail! In 1978, Greg was drafted by the New York Knicks of the NBA. Although it appeared he had finally attained success, that the rejection and all that came with it was over, Greg would quickly discover that was not the case. Despite being in the NBA, doing what he loved most and enjoying all the things that came with this newfound popularity, it didn’t fill the emptiness Greg was feeling inside. BVOV : 17 ***article continues on next page***

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