Greer Glad to Be an Outsider at St. Mary’s

Josh Greer hopes his senior basketball season at St. Mary’s College will be his best.

“Each game I play this season seems to mean a little more because this could be my last year playing basketball,” Greer said.

Greer, who played at Esperanza High, started 23 of 31 games last season, averaging nine points and 4.8 rebounds. He started 18 of 26 as a sophomore and averaged 8.4 points and 5.9 rebounds.

Greer is averaging 10.2 points this season after scoring 15 Tuesday in the Gaels’ victory over Cal State Fullerton and seven Saturday night in a 67-59 loss to UC Irvine at the Bren Center.

Greer said the return of 7-foot-3 Brad Millard, who missed two seasons after breaking his foot twice, makes the Gaels much stronger.

“It’s a big difference with Millard,” Greer said. “We made it to the NCAA tournament with him, and I hope we can do it again this year. I think we have all the components we need to get back.”

Greer, 6-7 and 225 pounds, often had to play out of position at center the past two seasons because of Millard’s injuries, and he’s happy to be back at his natural forward position full time. He was effective from three-point range in the team’s first four games, and was three for four on three-pointers against the Titans.

“I feel I’ve been shooting well from outside, and I seem to be getting good looks from behind the arc,” Greer said. “I was a three-point shooter at Esperanza, but it wasn’t what the team needed from me last season.”

Greer said he was recruited by Fullerton and Irvine, but preferred to play out of the area. “I also wanted to sign early and St. Mary’s and Wyoming were the schools that offered me a scholarship early,” Greer said. “I think St. Mary’s is where I belong.”

NOTEWORTHY

Matt Paul of Hawaii, who played football at Servite, was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference second team as a defensive lineman. Paul had 75 tackles, including six quarterback sacks.

Matt DeLellis, a wide receiver from Servite, caught the winning pass for Dartmouth in its 19-18 victory over Princeton in the final game of the season. The winning pass was a 33-yarder from quarterback Brian Mann. DeLellis caught 29 passes for 249 yards for the season.

Loyola Marymount goalkeeper Tracy Sharp (Esperanza) has been selected to the All-Western Region first team in women’s soccer. She earlier had been named to the West Coast Conference all-star team. Sharp’s goals-against average was 0.83, with 23 shutouts.

Georgetown freshman outside hitter Lauren Warner (Mater Dei) was named Big East freshman of the year in women’s volleyball. She finished the regular season with 318 kills, 222 digs, 49 aces, 21 blocks and 36 assists.

Caryn Sale (Capistrano Valley High) of Cal State Los Angeles has been named a second-team All-American in Division II by the American Volleyball Coaches Assn.