Dunphy singing different tune

By Mike Petty
Collegian Staff
April 26, 2006

Aug. 14, 2004: “My commitment remains with Penn and continuing to achieve the success that the men’s basketball program strives for on an annual basis. The support of Penn’s administration and the loyalty that both past and present players have shown throughout this process has been really meaningful to me. The year’s returning student-athletes and incoming recruits have great pride in the tradition of Penn basketball, and I look forward to continuing that attitude on and off the court this year and in the future.”

Fast-forward to April 10, 2006: “I am excited for the opportunity I am taking at Temple. It is a great program with history of success, and I look forward to continuing that tradition and keeping the Owls in the national spotlight.”

These two quotes, while nearly two years apart, both came from newly hired Temple men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy. In each, he talks about tradition, but the traditions he is discussing are very different.

Apparently the tradition that kept Dunphy at Penn during the La Salle coaching search wasn’t enough to stop him from going farther down Broad Street to fill the coaching shoes (or vest) of John Chaney. This is one columnist who is going to sit back and enjoy watching what is going to transpire over the next few years in Broad Street college basketball.

When La Salle was searching for a head coach for its men’s program after the resignation of Billy Hahn, it immediately turned its attention and nearly all its resources toward Quakers coach and La Salle alum, Dunphy. The university was willing to bend over backward to get Dunphy as its coach because of his knowledge of the school and the legacy that he left behind as a player.

He was a part of arguably the greatest Big 5 team ever, going 23-1 in 1968-69. In his three seasons as a varsity guard, he averaged 18.6 points per game, and he later went on to become an assistant coach under Dave “Lefty” Ervin and Speedy Morris for four seasons with the Explorers. The transition only seemed natural for him to return to La Salle and complete his career path as player, assistant coach and then head coach.

La Salle, according to reliable sources at phillyburbs.com and The Daily Pennsylvanian, was willing to hand Dunphy powers never before given to a coach on this campus.

The contract offer was reportedly around $400,000 over six years. Also, he would have received an increased recruiting budget, and he would have been the only coach on campus who would have not had to report to Athletic Director Tom Brennan or President Michael McGinniss.

La Salle was not throwing out guarantees to just any coach. Administrators at La Salle felt that Dunphy was the perfect candidate to help the team rebound from the rape scandal that ravaged the program. They felt like he was a coach with great knowledge of what the program was, what it could become and what it stood for.

Dunphy, however, with some advice from Governor Ed Rendell, decided to take a $25,000 raise over the La Salle offer and stayed at Penn, trumpeting that he would remain there for a long time.

It took the retirement of a legend for Dunphy to finally make the move many thought would never happen. Chaney retired after 54 years this past season, and played a vital role in the decision about the next coach. He recommended three people to take over for him, none of whom were Dunphy.

Dunphy left the Penn program after a school record 310 wins, 10 Ivy League Championships, and nine NCAA tournament appearances. While a legend at Penn, he is making a very questionable decision.

In the two previous seasons before being offered the La Salle job, he coached the Quakers to a 39-16 record, and the two seasons since then, Penn went 40-18. Temple, under Chaney, went 33-30 before Dunphy was offered the Explorers job, and 33-29 since then.

While Temple plays a much tougher schedule and Penn is considered the elite team in the Ivy League, Dunphy inherits a team that is very different from the Palestra-based Quakers.

He joins a team that annually plays one of the toughest schedules in the nation, graduates its top-2 and 32 percent of its scoring in Mardy Collins and Antwayne Robinson, runs an offensive and defensive set that Dunphy has never coached before, and he takes over the pressure of being only the fourth coach in Owl history.

Dunphy immediately has to deal with trying to keep the three recruits, Luis Guzman, Mike Scott and Matt Shaw, who Chaney got to come to Temple, from leaving. There are already rumors in Philadelphia newspapers that a couple, if not all, are looking at other schools, and possibly looking to get out of their letters of intent.

Temple has been known, during the John Chaney era, as a university that offers an education that is available to the average working family. Chaney was well-known for giving athletes with academic issues a chance, while Dunphy was well-known for making students better athletes in his basketball program.

All three candidates that Chaney offered the school came from the Temple program and understand the idea of what Temple basketball means. One has to question Dunphy’s recruiting ability because, at Penn, he never had to recruit, while Chaney prided himself on excellence in recruiting.

Chaney is also well-regarded as the founder and master of the matchup zone sets that his team runs and uses so well that they can play with top teams like Duke and Alabama. Dunphy has not commented on what he will do, but Penn has never run it, and he most likely will have to teach the current Owl players a completely different mindset on offense and defense.

Chaney also prided himself on his team’s ability to hold on to the basketball, as Temple over the past decade has always been in the top-10 in the nation in fewest turnovers per game. Last season, the Owls only turned the ball over seven times a game, while Dunphy’s team turned the ball over 13 times a game.

It is obvious that the Temple program is in for some drastic changes and, in my opinion, some very tough times. The Owls are most likely locked into games next season against Duke, UCLA, Alabama, Auburn, South Carolina and Villanova, besides all the regularly scheduled A-10 games.

With questions as to who will be on the court next season, what kind of system the team will be running and what kind of recruits will come, Temple is headed down a very rough road.

Two years ago, Dunphy could have taken the La Salle job and been welcomed to 20th and Olney like a hero. However, he waited two years for Temple, and today, the directions of the two programs have been reversed.

Temple is headed for a difficult stretch, while La Salle, under John Giannini and with the 18th best recruiting class in the nation coming in, are on the up-swing, and should be a factor for years to come in the Atlantic 10 and the Big 5. The 2006-2007 basketball season should be interesting as La Salle, in my opinion, will finish ahead of Temple by a margin of a few games, a margin that will grow in the coming years, leaving Dunphy wondering if maybe he made a wrong turn on Broad Street.

pettym1@lasalle.edu