Coming out of high school, scouts labeled him a "tweener," which meant that he possessed the body for one particular position, but the skills for another. Scouts knew Quemont Greer could play, but they worried about his height.
Greer, a Milwaukee native, attended Vincent High School before he transferred to Berkshire Academy in Homestead, Fla. after his junior year.
Greer spent his first three seasons at DePaul in the shadow of talented forwards Delonte Holland and Andre Brown.
Although he performed well as a role player (last year he averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game), it was not until this year that Greer had a chance to prove his doubters wrong.
The 6'7" senior — an "undersized" power forward who unexpectedly leads Conference USA in scoring at 21.5 ppg — will pose the biggest threat to Marquette's defense tonight in Chicago. The game will mark the 100th meeting between the schools.
"Anytime you're playing against a forward like Quemont Greer, who's as dangerous as he is on the perimeter, in the post and in transition, it's going to be a great challenge," Marquette head coach Tom Crean said.
Greer has been a model of consistency during a season in which his 10-4 team has fluctuated from superb (an 84-73 win at Notre Dame in December) to wretched (a 29-point loss at Cincinnati on Jan. 6).
DePaul hopes to repeat its run from the second half of last season, in which it won 15 of its final 19 games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Demons have been losing or tied at halftime in 9-of-14 games this season. In its first three conference games, Marquette has trailed at the half.
"I haven't thought that we played with that genuine toughness, enthusiasm and energy that we need for long stretches in the first half," Crean said about the last three games.
Crean also identified guarding DePaul's penetration and setting solid screens on offense as keys to the game.
"When our best screeners like Marcus Jackson and Chris Grimm are limiting our ability to run offense, that's a problem," Crean said.
The Golden Eagles must bounce back quickly after the DePaul game, for Charlotte awaits them on Saturday afternoon at the Bradley Center.
Charlotte forward Curtis Withers has yet to find his top form, but Eddie Basden's defensive prowess and Brendan Plavich's stratospheric shooting range will give Marquette plenty to prepare for.
Plavich lit up highlight shows in December when he drained a half-court buzzer-beater to beat Indiana in Bloomington.
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Jan. 20 2005.