HS Basketball Player Hits Game-Winning Shot 9 Days After Taking Bullet to Leg

Nine days after taking a bullet in the leg, Tyquone Greer came back and took his basketball team to state.

Rich Mayor of the Chicago Tribune reports the Orr High school student was one of six people shot in the early morning hours of March 9 at a neighborhood party on Chicago’s West Side. The bullet hit Greer in the calf, and he was discharged from Stroger Hospital later in the afternoon. Stoger Hospital is currently being featured as part of CNN's eight-part original 'Chicagoland' series which explores where politics and policy meet real people's lives in the heartland city.

Less than two weeks later after being wounded, he hit a game-winning three-pointer to push the Orr High Spartans past North Chicago in the Class 3A Hoffman Estates Supersectional. 

According to Bob Hurst’s article in the Chicago Tribune, Greer had been stuck on the bench after the shooting. He watched as his team clawed toward its second trip to state, playing only a minute against Fenwick in Friday’s final.

The bench continued to be Greer’s home for the majority of the Supersectional. The 6’7” senior forward subbed in several times against North Chicago, but spent little time on the floor.

The limited playing time didn’t affect Greer’s shot, however. He said he felt confident when he pulled up for the corner three in the final moments of the game.

“For me to take that shot, God planned it for me,” Greer said. “I knew I was going to make it. I was very confident.” 

Greer’s shot elevated his team to a 71-68 victory and sends the Spartans to state for the second straight year. 

Orr coach Louis Adams said he was happy for Greer, who’d had much more to think about since the incident that left him watching on the bench

“He’s been through a lot,” Adams said. “He played great for us tonight.”

Greer claimed after the game that his leg still hurt, but didn’t want the wound to keep him from stepping up for his teammates.

“My leg was still kind of shaky, but this could have been our last game so I wanted to be out there,” Greer said. “If we lost, I wanted to make sure that I was on the court with my team. That’s all that really mattered.”

Join me on Twitter for more sports news.

Follow @Dr__Carson