(Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part column series on Monday’s Coaches vs. Cancer golf tournament in Olean.)

OLEAN — Seth Greenberg told stories, busted chops with some of those in attendance and invited Mark Schmidt and Greg Paulus to comment on the state of college basketball.

But he also made Monday’s keynote address at the Coaches vs. Cancer 716 Golf Classic personal. As many involved with the CVC cause, benefitting the American Cancer Society, often note, practically everyone knows someone, if not themselves, affected by the disease. Greenberg is no different.

About nine months ago, Greenberg’s oldest brother flew in from his home in Hawaii to visit their mother in New York and suddenly fell ill.

“He flies to New York, gets off the plane, taking the subway to see my mom, who’s 96 years old, lives in Manhattan,” Greenberg said. “He drops in the subway. Drops. Rushed to the hospital. Acute leukemia. The last eight months through, quite honestly, the research, great medical discoveries, the great doctors at Mount Sinai in Manhattan, an experimental procedure, he’s hanging in there. You (might) know what Coach (Dick) Vitale’s going through, you hear about what Bill Walton and Stuart Scott went through, you hear about all those other stories, but other stories live in all of us every day.

“The money that’s being raised, whether it’s the V Foundation or whether it’s American Cancer Society, (those) monies are being put to use to change our loved ones. To me, that’s the main reason that we’re here today.”

Greenberg, an ESPN commentator who spent 22 years as a head coach (nine at Virginia Tech), said Schmidt called him in November to ask him to give the keynote at the fourth annual CVC at Bartlett Country Club. Previous speakers at the tournament have included Phil Martelli and, last year, Pete Gillen.

The 2024 events — a Sunday night awards reception, Monday’s tournament and post-golf reception — brought in several names well known to area basketball fans.

St. Bonaventure was well-represented with women’s coach Jim Crowley, new athletic director Bob Beretta and many athletic department staffers. Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade attended as well. So did Paulus, the Niagara men’s coach, and UMass coach Frank Martin, who made the drive from Amherst, Mass., on Sunday.

“I saw Frank (Martin), and I didn’t realize that you had Martelli, so basically, he’s just trying to find people that have less hair than he does,” Greenberg quipped to Schmidt.

Greenberg heard from many St. Bonaventure advocates since agreeing to speak at Bartlett, from former NBA executive and Portville native Jeff Nix to retired coach Jim Baron to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

“When you speak to those guys, it’s one thing. But then when you come here and see it and feel it,” Greenberg said. “I always say culture isn’t a sign or a saying, it’s a feeling. I can walk into any practice in America and you can feel the essence of what that program stands for. And being here the last two days, you can feel … a lot of schools talk about brotherhoods and family, (and) that’s what you guys are. And to do what you’re doing and what Mark’s done and Anita’s done, this community has done, being selfless and doing things for others.”

On the state of college hoops — Greenberg joked “Jay Bilas was going to be here … I think Mark reached out to Jay Bilas but Bilas put his name in the portal” — he struck a tone of caution over the effects of a mostly unrestricted transfer system and “name image and license” payments.

“Bilas always tells me, ‘well, they’re pro athletes,’” he said. “Name me another sport that has year-to-year free agency, because that’s what we have in college basketball.”

Calling up the two Big 4 coaches in attendance, Schmidt and Paulus, he asked for their perspectives on the portal. In three years, Schmidt’s team has lost 25 players; Paulus’ has lost 31.

“It’s become almost like soccer, where you rent players,” Schmidt said.

“In essence, that’s what it’s become. But at the same time, the rules are the rules, and if you don’t adjust to them, you’re going to die. So we’ve got to adjust, and we are doing that.”

In line with that ‘adapt or die’ thinking, Schmidt said Bona might not have $7 million — the statistic Greenberg cited major schools’ collectives as spending in NIL per season for hoops — but it does have a collective.

“We have some old alums that feel like the scholarship, the platform we give them, the food, the travel, the coaching, ‘what else do they need?’” Schmidt said. “And that’s good, but if we have too many guys thinking that way, we’ll be playing Alfred and Alfred State. That’s what’s happening, so our thing is we’re going to adjust the best we can, and we’re going to see how good we can be.”

Paulus has 13 new players this season. He wasn’t able to golf in Olean because he was showing the new guys around campus for the start of fall classes, but came down for the Monday evening dinner.

Greenberg asserted “we’ve lost the value of education” if players are transferring from school to school and, if their credits don’t transfer, they don’t graduate. And most of them are not headed for the NBA.

He suggested incentivising academics and service.

“I have an idea that I think that all this NIL stuff is, to some extent, fine, but what we should really do is incentivize academic progress (in that) we go into an account, and when you leave school, you’ll get that money,” he said. “It’ll accrue interest, and instead of wasting your money away, you’ll have somewhere to start. Graduation will be part of your NIL contract, community service will be part of your NIL contract.

“(And) if we had two-year contracts with stipulations on behavior, academic progress and things of that nature, we could maybe get the portal a little bit under control.”

Greenberg coached against Schmidt and the Bonnies twice at Tech. He marveled at Schmidt’s longevity with one program; this winter will mark his 18th at SBU after six seasons leading Robert Morris.

“I’m not saying this because he’s right here, he’s one of the five best coaches in college basketball,” he said. “This dude is ridiculous. He’s ridiculous to coach against. He’s surely ridiculous to coach against in one game when you’re not seeing it every single year, because he’s got tricky plays for his tricky plays.”

Coaching against Bona at Blue Cross Arena in 2010 — Bona and the Hokies played a “home-and-home” in Rochester and Blacksburg — Greenberg was greeted by the passion of Bona fans.

“I walk out for warmups, because I used to sit and watch warmups, and it was about 20 people behind me, and all they did was MF me for the next two hours,” he said.

“I mean it was worse than going to NC State, and NC State was brutal. I mean, it was brutal, but it was a great game.”

Tech managed to escape with the win, though. Even after giving up a tying 3 on a “tricky play” with misdirection opening up a shooter.

“I lost any bit of hair I had,” Greenberg said. “We couldn’t guard them man-to-man, I had to go to that 1-3-1, and we were fortunate enough to win.

“But what he’s done, the consistency of winning and the identity of how they play. You always want to be a team that other people don’t want to play against. I can tell you, other people don’t want to play against these teams.”