LONG BEACH STATE NOTEBOOK / JASON REID : 49ers Are Raw, but Greenberg Ready to Work

Most of the passes and shots were unacceptable. Some were especially wild, almost silly, and if attempted during games they might cause the coach to lose what little hair he has left.

Many points had to be repeated. Most were lost on the guys completely, or so their play indicated. Yet here’s the twist: Men’s basketball Coach Seth Greenberg was content and, for the most part, pleased with what he witnessed.

Greenberg returned to the favorite part of his job at 7 a.m. Sunday at the Pyramid, the first day the NCAA allowed Greenberg and his colleagues to gather their players and preach hoops.

The miscues, miscommunication and perplexed looks were all there. But that stuff can be worked out, the coach explained. Besides, what’s work worth without some work to do?

“I agonize during games--I enjoy practice,” Greenberg said. “Practice is fun. If you can’t have enthusiasm and energy in your first practice, what are you going to be doing in March?

“Obviously, [hundreds] of coaches around the country are going to be optimistic today. I’m just one of them.”

And deservedly so.

The 49ers are steadily climbing under Greenberg, who is beginning his sixth season. They haven’t reached the heights yet, but they don’t have to look quite as far up to see the best.

Two starters and a roster full of experience and athleticism return from last season. That team had a record of 20-10 and won the Big West Conference tournament, earning the conference’s automatic berth in the NCAA tournament. It marked the second time in three seasons Greenberg guided Long Beach to that double-dip.

For all the success of last season, though, that group wasn’t Greenberg’s ideal team. He got away from some of the things he likes to do (the wide-open game comes to mind) because of his personnel and numerous injuries. Also, the guys weren’t as close as the coach would have liked and infighting occurred.

The horizon appears clear this time.

“Last season was last season, and I would hope that wouldn’t become an issue,” Greenberg said. “I think we’ve got a great group of players to work with this season. This team reflects my passion for the sport probably as much as any team that we’ve had in my six years as a head coach.

“They want to get better. They want to work on their games. I think they all love the game. Obviously, that makes my job more enjoyable because we’ve got something in common. I think we’re all on the same page.”

Finding playing time for all these passionate players figures to be Greenberg’s biggest challenge.

Senior guard Rasul Salahuddin, redshirt sophomore guard James Cotton and forward Juaquin Hawkins, a former Prop. 48 player who already has graduated and is beginning work on a master’s degree, are the only ones guaranteed starting spots. And Greenberg isn’t sure what positions they will occupy.

“Last year people asked me the same question [about playing time] and then we had all those injuries, and injuries equaled opportunity,” Greenberg said. “Through injuries we really developed our depth for this year.

“We might not play guys in the position everybody thinks they should play, but we’ll create mismatches on the other end.”

Now, Greenberg just has to make it work.

*

Dallas takes Long Beach: Dallas Boychuk, the 49ers’ first-year women’s basketball coach, led her first practice Sunday after Greenberg’s ended.

Not that she needed to, but the opening practice only strengthened her status on campus. Many in the sparse crowd were impressed with how Boychuk handled herself, the assistant coaches and players.

“She has been everything we hoped for and more,” Athletic Director Dave O’Brien said. “Her enthusiasm has been incredible.”

Said Long Beach President Robert Maxson: “She really is something.”

Long Beach hired Boychuk, an assistant at Purdue for three seasons, in late April to replace Glenn McDonald, who was reassigned within the athletic department after last season. The once-powerful program floundered under McDonald, whose record last season was 13-14, 10-8 in the Big West.

“I think it’s going pretty well,” Boychuk said. “It’s really strange because everyone is asking me how we look, and the truth is I haven’t seen them that much yet.

“I’ve worked with them individually so I’m familiar with some of their individual skills and I’ve seen them on tape. But it’s not the same thing.”

Boychuk, a successful recruiter, believes she will turn the program around. However, she’s stressing patience for now.

“In the past, I used to have two or three freshmen at a time to teach,” she said. “Now, I have to teach everything to everyone. I’m getting to know them, but it’s going to take time.”

49er Notes

The water-polo team won its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game in two seasons Saturday with an 11-9 victory over Pacific at the Belmont Plaza pool. The victory stopped the 49ers’ 14-game MPSF losing streak. Long Beach is (6-8, 1-4 in the MPSF) ranked seventh in the nation. Moreover, the victory was No. 299 for Coach Ken Lindgren. Lindgren, whose career record is 299-278-3, could win No. 300 Saturday against UC Santa Barbara at Belmont Plaza. Kip Parsons (Villa Park High) leads Long Beach in scoring with 30 points. . . . Deanna Mays has been hired as pitching coach for the softball team, Coach Pete Manarino announced. Mays pitched and played first base for Nebraska from 1989-92. She has worked as a private pitching coach since graduating from Nebraska. This is her first collegiate coaching experience. Also, Manarino announced that three players have transferred to Long Beach: junior Tiffany Blood, utility player, Kansas; junior Tammy Dietrich, pitcher, Riverside College; junior Marie O’Beck, pitcher, DePaul. . . . The cross-country team competed in the California/Nevada championships Saturday on the campus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The men finished 11th with 247 points; the women sixth with 183 points. Pat Bendzick was the men’s top finisher, placing 27th with a time of 26:01. Christa Ayuso paced the women, finishing 12th with a time of 18:54.