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Chicago's Phil Greene IV Lives His Hoop Dreams For Slain Best Friend

 Phil Greene IV, No. 1 of the St. John's Red Storm, reacts to a call during a game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Madison Square Garden last year.
Phil Greene IV, No. 1 of the St. John's Red Storm, reacts to a call during a game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Madison Square Garden last year.
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Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

CHICAGO — Phil Greene IV graduated from St. John's University on Sunday with his parents, grandmothers, two aunts and a cousin cheering in the audience.

Absent was Greene's best friend and former hoops teammate, Michael Haynes, who was fatally shot in 2012. But Greene, who played at Julian and Fenger high schools before a solid four-year career as a St. John's guard, said he felt Haynes' presence during one of the biggest days of his life.

"We still talk back and forth," said Greene, of Morgan Park. "He tells me he's proud of me, and I always tell him that I got him and don't worry. If he would have been there [Sunday], he would have been all smiles, all hype and very loud."

The players grew up a block apart — Greene on 116th and Vincennes and Haynes on 117th and Vincennes. They were best friends since Greene was 6 years old, even though Haynes was about 2½ years his senior.

Greene said their dream always was to play professionally.

"Since I touched a basketball," Greene said. "That's the goal: to make it, and to do something you love."

Greene said Haynes would be competing in the NBA right now if he hadn't been slain on July 26, 2012. Haynes, a 6-foot-7 forward, had bounced around a few high schools and colleges before he had earned a scholarship to Iona.

"He would have blossomed there," Greene said.

But before he got to college, Haynes was killed while trying to break up a fight over a stolen necklace. The shooter, Cinque Lee, is serving a 14-year sentence after being convicted of second-degree murder.

Soon after Haynes was shot, one of Greene's former coaches, Loren Jackson, called him.

"I just broke down," Greene, 22, said. Haynes "had called me that day; I had just talked to him. We were joking around like we normally do."

Former St. John's coach Steve Lavin said he vividly remembered Greene's call to him.

"He was so torn up, devastated," Lavin said. "There's no words to really say. You just try and listen."

Greene said he's been motivated by Haynes since. One of Haynes' last tweets, sent July 17, 2012, was a shoutout to Greene for all the hard work he had been putting in. Greene said he looks at the tweet frequently.

 Phil Greene IV (r.) graduated from St. John's on Sunday. His best friend and former teammate, Michael Haynes, was shot to death in 2012.
Phil Greene IV (r.) graduated from St. John's on Sunday. His best friend and former teammate, Michael Haynes, was shot to death in 2012.
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Phil Greene IV (r.); Twitter (l.)

"You could tell it became a driving force for him," Lavin said. "He was able to turn that situation, that loss, into an inspiration."

The shooting took place before Greene's sophomore season at St. John's. Greene said since his friend's death, during the national anthem of each game, he touches his head, stomach, heart and shoulder — "like a cross," Greene said — and then kisses the sky to honor Haynes.

Greene averaged 9.6 points per game for his career, but 13 per game as a senior. Lavin said Greene was "on all cylinders" as a senior.

"This year, it kind of all came together," Lavin said. "He was confident, he was aggressive, and he was providing leadership. ... He uses his emotional fuel in a very efficient way."

Greene's agent, Keith Kreiter, said the 6-foot-2 guard "is an NBA player without any question," and he wouldn't be surprised if he's selected in the second round of the upcoming NBA draft.

"He brings great athleticism, he's a combo guard and he's tough," Kreiter said.

If he's not drafted, Kreiter and Greene still expect the latter to play in the NBA's summer league. Greene said he's received interest from the Lakers, 76ers and Raptors.

"All the hard work I've put in, it's a great accomplishment, but there's still another level to take it to," Greene said. "But I'm very thankful and pleased that I've been blessed and put in the situation I'm in."

Greene is the first of four Phils — starting with his great-grandfather — to earn a college degree. After his playing days conclude, he wants to use his sports management degree to become a hoops coach.

Greene said he talks to Haynes every day because it keeps him focused and calms him. Most of all, it makes him feel better.

And, if he slips on an NBA uniform, Greene wants everyone to know he's representing Haynes and all of Chicago.

"It means everything, coming from Chicago," Greene said. "I want to put Chicago in a different light. Besides all the violence, we have a lot of great athletes who are trying to do something productive and make our city proud."

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