A Kinder, Gentler Greenberg Leads a Tougher 49er Team : Basketball: After an 11-17 rookie season, the CSULB coach has curbed his temper this year. And his players have turned their record around to 17-11.

After a tumultuous and disappointing rookie season last year as head coach, in which Cal State Long Beach went 11-17, a kinder, gentler Seth Greenberg has emerged. Perhaps as a result, the 49ers bring a 17-11 record into the opening round of the Big West Tournament when they play rival Cal State Fullerton (12-15) at 9 p.m. Friday at the Long Beach Arena.

Not that Greenberg has always gone quietly this season. There have been outbursts. But when Long Beach and UC Santa Barbara players got into a brawl during the second half of their meeting Feb. 29, it was Greenberg who helped restore order by speaking to an unruly crowd over the public address system.

After the game, he accepted responsibility for the bench-clearing fight, although videotapes revealed that a Santa Barbara player initiated the fight by punching a 49er. Nevertheless, minutes after Long Beach won, 72-70, in overtime, Greenberg apologized for the incident and later suspended three players.

“Seth’s demeanor this year versus last has been a constant topic of discussion,” said Dave O’Brien, interim director of athletics at CSULB. “One thing that we have been concentrating on is getting Seth to channel his intensity in the right direction and not lose control of himself as a coach.”

O’Brien has known Greenberg for several years. They competed against each other when O’Brien was a guard at Marist College in New York and Greenberg was a guard at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.

“Seth was the kind of guy you didn’t like going up against,” O’Brien said. “He was a guy who got by on using his head, his intelligence and just his willingness to get the job done, whatever it took. He was the kind of guy that you didn’t like the way he did it, but you had to hold grudging respect for him for getting the job done.”

Greenberg, who is often described by 49er players and administrators as intense, honest and loyal, did not make a lot of favorable impressions in his rookie season as coach. In one incident, he got into a shouting match at midcourt with Fullerton Coach John Snead.

“I got upset a lot last year,” Greenberg said. “The team didn’t play the way I wanted it to play. This year I like the kids. They understand where I come from. It’s not that important to get their attention (by yelling at them).”

Greenberg was called for six technical fouls last season. His only technical foul this season came in a 68-57 loss to UCLA.

“I think he learned from his mistakes by getting all those (technical fouls) and getting all uptight,” said junior forward Lucious Harris, the team’s leading scorer.

According to players, a calmer Greenberg has been beneficial to the team. Many players suggested that his outbursts unsettled them last season and contributed to the disappointing season.

Said forward Bryon Russell: “The first year he was going off on people for no reason. Then, bam! Greenberg, he changed. So we said, ‘Hey, if he can change, we got to change too.”’

“He gets intense now,” O’Brien said. “But I think that (not having an outburst) is so prominent in his mind that he’s controlling (his actions). As a result, the team is more controlled and relaxed and able to execute better.”

Greenberg said he took a hard look at himself after last season. He talked with family and friends and others at Long Beach and decided that he needed to change: No more dwelling on details; he would stress positive points.

“Now I don’t allow a play to stay with me more than one play,” he said.

Greenberg’s overbearing and protective attitude still gets the best of him. Boosters complained in October when he locked them out of practice sessions. In December, when the women’s volleyball team played host to a regional playoff match with Northern Iowa, Greenberg lost his cool and threw a temper tantrum after the basketball team had to leave University Gymnasium so the volleyball team could practice.

“All I can do is be honest (with people), and that honesty gets me in trouble sometimes,” Greenberg said. “I don’t hide the way I feel. I don’t tell people what they want to hear. I tell people the truth.”

When it comes to Greenberg, what you see is what you get, players say.

Said Harris: “When I first met him, he was kind of hyper, but that’s kind of good for a coach. The main thing for me was (that) he was motivated about basketball, and I liked that.”

During a six-game exhibition swing through Canada last summer, some of the players noticed the changes in Greenberg.

Said Russell: “He came to us and said, ‘Guys. I got this little trip for you all, and we’re going to have some fun.’ That’s when I noticed something had changed. Fun? Greenberg? What?”

Indeed, the changes may have been good for Greenberg because he, too, appears to be having more fun. Still, the pressure inherent in the single elimination Big West Tournament, in which Long Beach is seeded third, will test his new image.

“All the pressure I face is self-inflicted,” he said. “No one can put more pressure on myself than me.”