The Last Of The -- Callero Clan -- Enumclaw's K.C. Is No. 13 In Same Family To Play Basketball

ENUMCLAW - Dribbling in the dining room is OK, but the living room's off-limits.

Raising 16 children, including 10 boys, Diane Callero quickly became flexible.

"There were 10 of them and only one of me," she says with a laugh, a common sound in their home.

If the kids got out of line, Diane and her husband, Vern, didn't have to threaten a spanking.

"They'd say, `We're going to take away your basketball,' " said K.C., a senior at Enumclaw High School and the last of the Callero clan.

That usually was enough. Tony, 22, who went on to play at Green River Community College and Central Washington University, once had his basketball privileges withheld for a week because he broke the china cabinet - an accident he blamed on brother Marc's inability to catch a pass.

Basketball has been a way of life for nearly all of the Calleros. Behind their 4,000-square-foot home are two basketball courts, including one in the barn. And no family gathering is complete without a game.

Before 40 family members gathered for a Christmas celebration at Sacred Heart Church in Enumclaw, four of the boys had a free-throw shooting contest, where Jimmy, 34, sank 69 in a row. Dinner was preceded by a shoot-around outside the church.

"It's inevitable," said Vern, the father, a doctor in Bellevue.

As inevitable as a Callero playing basketball for Enumclaw High. All but three of the 16 children have played for Enumclaw, beginning with Jimmy in 1972, when the family moved from Mercer Island.

The two oldest, Michael, 37, and Peter, 36, graduated from Seattle Prep and did not play basketball. When Mimi, 35, attended Enumclaw, girls' sports were not available. Since then, Enumclaw basketball seems to have been a continuous Callero fast break.

And the clan is as competitive as it is numerous.

Vern Jr., had a typical Callero reaction when someone mentioned a state track title in the 3,200 meters by youngest daughter Jill, 19, who now runs for the University of Oregon.

"What was her time?" he asked. When told, he said, "I wonder if I can do that."

Competitive? "They're very, very competitive, and that's what I would hate most of the time," Diane said.

"Everybody wants to prove something," K.C. said. "You want to make your own statement, your own mark."

It doesn't matter if it's basketball or checkers, a game that drew bets at the Christmas party.

"At the family reunion (in July), we had a contest to see who could spit in a barrel the farthest away," K.C. said.

So, who's the best basktball player? That's the type of question that generally leads to a game of one-one-one in the barn. And one their coaches, past and present, tend to dodge.

"Oh, brother!" said Gary Radliff, who was Enumclaw's head coach for 25 years before giving way to Bill Hawk in 1987. "They all had different abilities."

Hawk agreed, adding "They all had some things in common. They all were quick and had real basketball savvy, coming from a basketball family."

All have been guards, ranging in size from 5 feet 8 to 6 feet. Jimmy probably was the best shooter. Chris, 31, had great quickness. Joey enjoyed the most individual success, leading Central to fifth place at the NAIA championships in 1983. Marc, 20, and K.C. played together on Hawk's 1989-90 team that had Enumclaw's best record (27-1) and state finish (third).

K.C., who hopes to be the first to play in three state tournaments, has helped lead Enumclaw to a 6-1 record going into tonight's Pierce County League game at Gig Harbor.

All of the Calleros are known for their aggressive style of play.

"They all had to fight for a spot at the table," Radliff said. "Maybe that's why they're so aggressive."

Sit-down dinners at 6 p.m. remain a tradition, although K.C. said it's "really weird" now that it often is just Mom and Dad and him.

"It's so quiet," he said. "I can watch whatever I want on TV, and there's always enough orange juice and milk."

All but Chris attended college, at their own expense. Most chose not to live at home after high school because of the strict house rules. Vern's creed is "Love 'em, limit 'em, leave 'em alone."

Until Enumclaw joined the PCL three seasons ago, Vern said he attended every basketball game. "Going to Yelm was the last straw," he said.

Diane, who admits to yelling at officials, also is a regular and remembers going to five or six games a week when the kids were growing up. When K.C. finishes playing, the Calleros will stay busy watching grandchildren - they have 21, with another due soon.

Why has basketball so dominated the family?

"We couldn't afford to ski," said Diane, 57, who had 16 children in 19 years, none twins.

Diane came from a family of five girls. Vern, 58, had just one brother. When they got married in March of 1953, Diane wanted to have five sons and three daughters.

"At 18 or 19 and very naive, it sounded like a good number to me," she said. "Good Catholics are supposed to have large families."

But eight wasn't enough, and they might not have stopped at 16 if not for advice from Diane's doctor.

"When I went for my six-week checkup, I was pregnant (with K.C.)," she said. "I've always told him he was lucky to be here. I had to lay down for most of the pregnancy. I told him he's supposed to do something great with his life, because he really was a gift from God."

The others claim K.C. is spoiled, which he vehemently denies. And even if he is, just a little, he says he deserves it.

"If you had 15 older siblings, I would think being picked on would outweigh being spoiled a little bit," he said.

The most difficult part about being the youngest, K.C. says, was never having anyone younger to play basketball against. The older ones, after losing to their older brothers, sometimes would beat him 21-0. And once K.C. caught up in ability to Jill, she quit playing against him.

But it made him a better basketball player.

He knows his next opponent "isn't going to be as good as my brother," he said.

K.C. doesn't feel as though he's had to live up to the Callero reputation.

"I just play," he said. "I don't think about having to do good because I'm a Callero."

The positives of coming from such a large family far outweigh the negatives.

"I couldn't ask for a better family," he said. "There's always somebody to play basketball with."

Asked how many children he intends to have, K.C. first said "none," then quickly changed his answer to "17."

In the Callero family, someone's always got to go one better.

THE CALLEROS

Parents, age:

Diane, 57 . Vern, 58 .

. Children, age: .

. Michael, 37 . Gina, 28 . Peter, 36 . Cathy, 27 . Mimi, 35 . Vincent, 25 . Betsy, 35 . Vern Jr., 24 . Jimmy, 34 . Tony, 22 . Chris, 32 . Marc, 20 . Teresa, 31 . Jill, 19 . Joey, 29 . K.C., 18 .