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A Wilt~Wilt Situation

By Staff | Jan 14, 2009

Friday night’s Muncy-Montgomery varsity basketball game features an unusual match up. Greg Wilt coaches the Indians as they take on the Red Raiders, who have brother Matt Wilt at the helm.

The brothers are Milton graduates-Greg in 1977; Matt in 1980, and both are in their first year coaching these particular teams. However, their history in the game is a long one with a significant connection-other than blood.

Greg coached Milton’s varsity girls’ team for 13 years and served as an assistant to Milton legend Tony Fannick. Matt actually played under Fannick while in high school and went on to coach Lewisburg’s junior varsity boys for 15 years.

Greg said Fannick may have retired from the bench last year, but Fannick’s influence is apparent as he and his brother share similar basketball roots. Matt even said, “I learned a great deal from him defensively, and still run a lot of drills we ran in high school. I’ve had success playing the kind of game Coach Fannick like to play when I was a player.”

As for their respective teams, Greg said Muncy has a number of three-sport athletes. While the senior Indians may be struggling with his new systems and more up-tempo game, Greg added that he has good kids who he sees improving as the season goes forward.

Matt’s Red Raiders team about one-third of his team is seniors who have struggled under a number of coaches in the last few years. He credits the older members of the team, saying “I appreciate them believing in my system and keeping the younger guys working hard too.”

Neither man is personalizing the game. In fact, Matt claims that they have been on opposite benches with JV teams on the floor before while Greg does not recall playing one of his teams against one coached by his little brother.

Muncy hosts Montgomery at 7:30 p.m. Friday night, and while Matt claimed that he was not even aware the game against his brother’s team was so close at hand, he said, “From what everyone says, it should be fun with a decent-sized crowd.”

“We just need to win as many games as we can. It doesn’t matter whom it is against,” he said.