Greenbergs go for state title sweep

GET READY Hershey, the Greenbergs are coming!

An official head count is still under construction, but when the Archbishop Wood Lady Vikings and the La Salle High Explorers play for their respective state titles Saturday night, the Greenberg family certainly will descend upon the Giant Center en masse.

Bailey is a 5-11 sophomore forward for District 12 No. 1-seeded Wood, which plays No. 1 Blackhawk from District 7 at 6 p.m. in the Class AAA girls' championship game. Sean is a 6-3 senior wing for the No. 3 Explorers, who play District 7 top dog New Castle at 8 p.m. for the boys' AAAA crown.

And with the cousin count in the 20s along with double-digit aunts and uncles, anticipate many, many Greenbergs.

"I expect there to be a lot of them," Sean joked on his way home from school yesterday. "Yeah, definitely a miniature family reunion in Hershey.

"My one cousin told me to send her a funny selfie, so I did. She said, 'You're gonna regret that!' She's probably gonna blow it up and make it like one of those posters you see on TV that people hold over their heads and wave around."

Both championship contenders are the progeny of Chip Greenberg, Big 5 Hall of Famer (La Salle, 1982-1986) and leader of La Salle High's 1981 Catholic League title team. But, when push comes to shove in the backyard of the family's home in North Wales, they have to answer to mom, Jane.

"Neither one of them likes to back down, that's for sure," Jane laughed.

"Recently we just started getting along," Bailey said on the phone from school, "but before that we were always fighting. We'd play one-on-one a lot when we were younger and he would always beat me up."

"I try to rough her up a little bit," Sean joked. "Just to make her tougher. And I guess it works because she's really tough on the court . . . a lot of them ended with one of us going inside not too happy, usually over an argument or foul call or something like that."

"They definitely have their moments," said Jane, who has three siblings of her own. "There was always some kind of competitive juices in there. Who could climb the highest in the tree, etc."

Congratulatory texts and calls have flooded in since Tuesday night when Wood wasted Holy Redeemer, 74-56, behind Bailey's 18 points (15 in the second half) and 10 rebounds (junior wing Aubree Brown led with 19 points). Sean added six points and quality glasswork in La Salle's 61-55 conquest of Chester (juniors David Krmpotich and Shawn Witherspoon led with 19 and 17, respectively).

The Greenbergs won't be the only title-seeking family in town. Marlena Arrigale is a senior reserve guard for the Ss. Neumann-Goretti girls, who will face Seton La Salle at noon tomorrow in the Class AA title game. Her father, Carl, will skipper the boys' Saints against Susquehanna Township at 8 p.m. for AAA glory (the boys own three AAA titles from 2010-2012).

As for the Greenbergs, Chip is just one of 12 children in a family tree with numerous basketball branches.

Dan, Chip's first cousin, was a 6-2 guard at Bishop McDevitt (1988) and is the son of Charley Greenberg, who coached at Father Judge from 1963-1973 and started for the 1954 NCAA champion Explorers, led by Tom Gola. Also, Jim Greenberg, Chip's uncle, was a reserve on Abington's 1974 state title squad.

And that's just the tip of the Greenberg!

Joe "Hank" Greenberg captained then-La Salle College in 1949 while his nephew Chip co-captained the '86 squad with Gary Jones.

Sean and Bailey also have a younger sister, Nicki, who is an eighth-grade hooper at Mary Mother of the Redeemer Catholic Church & School.

"If you're in the family you had to have played," Sean said, adding later, "it's crazy how competitive our family is."

"You never know what's gonna happen," Bailey said of get-togethers. "Something crazy happens every time. Everyone is always laughing and having a good time. You can't be serious in our family. You have to be able to take a joke."

This weekend could have a similar feel.

"I don't know the plan yet," Jane said. "We're getting that together. Some have been talking about staying in hotels and we're also going through the whole ticket crunch. We're still working on that one!"

The title-contending siblings said that playing back-to-back for state championships never crossed their minds until both were victorious Tuesday night. Sibling rivalry aside, they are certainly looking for the surname sweep.

"It would mean a lot to the family," Sean said. "Everyone will be up there. I just couldn't imagine any mood for the family other than utter happiness. My uncle actually called me yesterday and said, 'Your grandmom [Mary Greenberg] couldn't be happier. She's on cloud nine.' So, I couldn't even imagine if we both won."