Greathouse is humbled and honored to have Lancaster basketball court named after him
LANCASTER – Anyone that has been in contact with or around former Lancaster boys’ basketball coach Jack Greathouse, knows he is a big personality and loves to talk.
He had great success as the Golden Gales coach and took Lancaster basketball to new heights back in the late 1980s, the 1990s, and early 2000s. Greathouse has the most wins in Lancaster basketball history (224) and led the Gales to the Division I Final Four in 1991.
Last Friday, he was in a group of seven former outstanding Lancaster athletes inducted into the Gary Mauller Lancaster High School Athletic Wall of Honor.
However, Greathouse had one more surprise when it was announced the Lancaster gymnasium floor would bear his name and be called Jack Greathouse Court.
For the gregarious Greathouse, the honor left him speechless.
“I was just so honored to be in the Gary Mauller Wall of Honor and to go in with that group,” Greathouse said. “It is a fabulous group, and then to have the court named after me, it is hard to describe, and to be honest, I was speechless when I found out. I am extremely humbled by the honor, and to think that not only now, but in years to come, my name will be on the court, I just can’t wrap my head around it.
“It’s always been about our program, and it’s never been about Jack Greathouse, and even though that court now says Jack Greathouse Court, it means more about every player, assistant coach, and the community that was along for the ride. I am humbled and overwhelmed. I’m speechless.”
Greathouse said he remembers in his first season as coach of the Gales when things weren’t going well, he had to do some soul searching and recalls a loss that kind of changed everything. The pride in the L in the middle of Lancaster’s gym floor had to mean something.
“In my first season coaching Lancaster, we were embarrassed and lost by more than 30 points and against Watkins Memorial,” Greathouse said. “It was around 2 a.m. on a school night, and there I was out there in the middle of the floor on that L with a little bit of light, and I cried like a baby because I knew I had to do a better job. I had to do something to make our kids better. We all had to do better. I knew I had to be a better leader, and it just couldn’t all evolve around basketball. I had to focus on making sure they were going to be better young men.”
It obviously worked because three years later, the Gales were playing in the state tournament at Ohio State’s St. John Arena. In 2003, the Gales fell one game short of reaching another final four as they finished as regional runners-up and finished with 23 wins.
“We were the first team in any sport to win an OCC championship,” Greathouse said. “We had big wins, we had packed houses and sellout crowds and it was a great time to coach Lancaster basketball. The vibe in that gym, the Jacks Pack Student group, and how well our fans traveled, it was just a great time back then, but I also knew my job was bigger than basketball.
“People would ask me all the time before each season, how is the team going to be this year? I would tell them I will tell you in 20 years. Are they good husbands, are they good fathers, are they active in their community, are they making a difference, then I will tell you what kind of team we had?”
Greathouse, who now lives in North Carolina after retiring as Lancaster High School’s principal from 22009 to 2017, had an illustrious coaching career.
He was inducted into the District 11 Hall of Fame in 2009, the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2010, the Mid-Ohio Valley Hall of Fame in 2017, and the Ohio Capital Conference Hall of Fame in 2017. He was a five-time Central District Division I Coach of the Year, as well as the Southeastern District Coach of the Year. He was selected to coach in the Ohio North/South, Ohio/Kentucky and Ohio/West Virginia All-Star games. He finished with 333 career coaching wins.
“What an honor it was for me to coach in Lancaster and the Golden Gales,” Greathouse said. “I was so proud to be Lancaster’s basketball coach. Our kids worked so hard, and teams knew when they played us, it was going to be a battle. We took a lot of pride in that L and what it stood for. It doesn’t mean me, it means our community.
“It stood for Lancaster, it stood for our program, it stood for our city and who we are as a people. When you see me and our former players hitting that L, it was for the pride we had in our program, and we stood for a lot. I may live miles away, but my heart will always be right there on that court. It’s who I am and who we are.”
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at twilson@gannett.com for comments or story tips. Follow him on Twitter @twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Greathouse is humbled and honored to have Lancaster basketball court named after him
