LONG BEACH STATE NOTEBOOK / JASON REID : Greenberg Guides 49ers Through Perilous, Joyous Season

Injuries, infighting and rumors of Coach Seth Greenberg departing for positions elsewhere made this season one of the most traumatic in 49er history.

Greenberg’s skilled coaching, winning the Big West Conference tournament championship and earning a berth in the NCAA tournament also made this season one of the most joyful in 49er history.

Both ended Friday with a 76-64 loss to Utah in the opening round of the West Regional at the Boise State Pavilion. Long Beach finished 20-10, won 10-consecutive conference games and appeared in its second NCAA tournament in the last three seasons.

Success never comes easy at Long Beach, but this season was especially trying.

Greenberg initially built the team around guard James Cotton. The plan was for Cotton--Big West freshman of the year last season--to get the minutes and shots needed to become one of the nation’s best guards.

The plan was going well as Cotton led the team in scoring during the exhibition season. But Cotton suffered a severe left ankle injury in the 49ers’ final exhibition game.

He missed the 49ers’ first seven games and the Cotton family decided James would redshirt after he played in one game. This was key in the 49ers’ development.

With Cotton no longer in the on-court picture, the 30-35 minutes per game he would have played had to go somewhere. Most went to reserve junior guard Eric Brown.

Greenberg had been close to writing off Brown, mostly because of his previously poor defense. After a redshirt freshman season, Brown played little during the last two seasons.

But starting this summer, Brown dedicated himself to conditioning. The smooth-shooting Brown played considerably for the first time and was the 49ers’ leading scorer off the bench. Brown’s clutch three-pointer in overtime gave Long Beach the lead for good in the Big West championship game against Nevada.

When Cotton went down, senior forward Mike Atkinson became the 49ers’ undisputed leader. It was the role Atkinson wanted. He led the nation in field-goal percentage last season and was selected-second team all-conference.

But Atkinson also suffered ankle injuries. He continued to aggravate the injuries and they basically ruined his final season.

What’s more, Atkinson and senior forward Terrance O’Kelley, his best friend, harshly criticized Greenberg in newspaper stories for the coach’s treatment of players. Most of Greenberg’s anger about the stories, though, was directed at Atkinson and their relationship has not been repaired.

Greenberg changed the team’s direction again, this time for the final time. He made senior center Joe McNaull the offensive focus and put senior point guard Tye Mays in the starting lineup.

Once the team became McNaull’s, it took off. McNaull was selected first-team All-Big West and, some experts say, has a future in pro basketball.

Mays’ role was almost as important. Junior Rasul Salahuddin, a converted shooting guard, had been starting at point guard.

Salahuddin, recently voted the Big West’s top defender in a poll of conference players, is a warrior and a showman. But his decisions with the basketball aren’t always sound.

The steady, less-flashy Mays puts the ball where Greenberg says. Mays had a calming effect on the entire team and he allowed Salahuddin to concentrate on defense and scoring.

Junior forward Juaquin Hawkins, voted the conference’s second-best defensive player, returns next season, along with Salahuddin and Brown. No 49er works harder than Hawkins and he is determined to become a force in the offense next season.

Sophomore guard Everett Ratleff, nephew of 49er All-American Ed Ratleff, also returns. Ratleff is a good shooter who was in the rotation at the beginning of the season until he also suffered an ankle injury. But Ratleff must make a better commitment if he wants what he thinks he deserves.

Cotton returns and will have three seasons of eligibility beginning next season. Greenberg admires Cotton a great deal, so his plan to prepare the guard for the NBA will continue as long as Greenberg remains at Long Beach.

But how long will that be? Greenberg is a candidate for the Nevada Las Vegas position.

At $300,000 per year, the job pays about $125,000 more than Greenberg makes at Long Beach. A multiyear deal, which is what reportedly will be offered, would provide Greenberg and his family with the financial security he seeks.

Greenberg took himself out of the running for the USC job because the Trojans aren’t offering enough money.

Greenberg’s performance this season was one of the best on the West Coast. He is an accomplished recruiter and public speaker.

But he must learn to deal better with players. Some perceive his commitment to Cotton as favoritism and many agreed with Atkinson’s and O’Kelley’s comments about Greenberg’s private persona.

Ultimately, Greenberg is the main reason the 49ers achieved. Whether he pushed the right buttons out of a grand design or desperation, they were nonetheless correct.