By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN

dobrien@dailynews.net

John and Steve Crist and their families spent a lot of time together last fall.

The brothers who grew up in Quinter -- now both successful high school basketball coaches -- were home a lot visiting their mother, Susan, and their gravely ill father, Royce, who died in September.

The Crist siblings and their families will be together, supporting each other again, this week.

In a much happier time, they will be attending the Class 1A state basketball tournament at Fort Hays State University's Gross Memorial Coliseum.

John Crist is in his 17th year as head coach of the Quinter boys, who took a perfect record into today's 3 p.m. first-round game vs. Pretty Prairie.

John's oldest son, Scott, is a junior on the Bulldog roster.

Steve Crist is in his 11th year as head coach of the Lincoln girls, who will play their first-round game against undefeated Argonia at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Steve's oldest daughter, Jennifer, is a freshman for the Leopards and one of the top players off the bench.

In the stands for both first-round games, and hopefully more if one or both teams advance, will be Susan Crist, for whom family ties run deeper than her sons, the basketball coaches and her grandchildren, the basketball players.

John's assistant coach is Brian Roesch, whose wife, Linda, is the older sister of John and Steve Crist.

Steve's assistant coach is his wife, Mandi.

"It sure is a family affair for us, isn't it?" Susan said with a laugh.

Strong family support

Nothing probably brings a smile faster to Susan's face than her grandchildren, of whom she has bragging rights on 18.

While two of those will be busy playing basketball this week, several others will be cheering for their siblings and cousins.

Steve won't be able to make Quinter's first state game today because of his own team's practice in Lincoln.

But John plans to be in the stands to support Steve and the Lincoln girls Wednesday.

And should Quinter win today and achieve its goal of getting another shot at the state title -- the Bulldogs finished second a year ago -- Steve knows he'll have another couple of chances to watch his older brother in action later this week.

No matter what, Susan will be there each and every game, with different apparel each day.

Today, it'll be a red shirt.

"Being from Quinter, I definitely have a lot of red," said Susan, who attended many a school activities during the years with her husband of nearly 54 years as they supported their five children.

"I'm having to look up some blue," she added, "but I think I found something."

Ditto for John.

"I don't know if I'll be able to find much blue, but I'm sure going to watch him," John said of his younger brother.

"I haven't seen Jessica play, even in junior high," he said of his niece. "With being athletic director and coaching, I've never gotten to see them. It'll be fun to watch Steve coach."

Younger brother's turn

Steve, the youngest sibling, is used to hearing about John's success while watching from the sidelines himself.

Steve watched as a freshman in 1984 as John, then a senior, and another brother, Matt, then a junior, helped Quinter finish second in the Class 2A state tournament.

As a coach, John has led the Bulldogs to state numerous times and helped add to Quinter's trophy case with a state championship (2A in 2004) and a state runner-up finish (1A last year) in recent years.

But now, it's Steve's turn, too, and he appreciates all the support coming his way.

Several family members made the 200-plus mile trip from Quinter to Clay Center last week to watch Steve and Jessica in Lincoln's sub-state semifinal game.

"That really meant a lot," Steve said.

What would be really special, both brothers agree, is if they got to watch each other coach on the same day, in the same building -- GMC.

If Quinter and Lincoln both win their first-round games at state, they will play in back-to-back games in Thursday's semifinals, at 4:45 and 6:30 p.m.

"Hopefully Thursday, we'll both be coaching," John said. "That would be fun."