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Monday, March 13, 2006
Temple Coach Chaney Announces Retirement
 Temple University's men's basketball coach, John Chaney -- known for producing great teams and NBA players, as well as bursts of unpredictable behavior -- announced his retirement this morning.The medical problems of his wife, Jeanne, may have been a factor in his decision. So, too, his age: 74. "When he leaves, it's going to be devastating," said NBA guard and former Temple player Eddie Jones yesterday. Always a colorful character, Chaney recently entertained reporters with talk about his $600 Gucci shoes and washing his "drawers" in the sink. Chaney, who went to Philadelphia's Ben Franklin High and coached at Simon Gratz, never lifted Temple to a national title, but he did win one as coach of Division II Cheyney State in 1978. His teams were known for playing a tenacious matchup zone defense that often led to upsets over confused higher ranked teams. Even though he had a No. 1 ranked team in 1988, he never reached the NCAA tournament's Final Four. Under Chaney, however, the Owls did get to the Elite Eight five times. More bio info. Chaney's most infamous incident took place at a news conference in 1994, when he yelled death threats at Massachusetts coach John Calipari. Last year, Chaney again came under fire when a St. Joe's player was injured by an Owl acting under orders from Chaney to commit hard fouls. Temple said it won't name a succesor today, but speculation has already begun. Among names mentioned: Penn coach Fran Dunphy, and Aaron McKie, who played for Temple and the Sixers. A recent blog mentions two dozen names, including Drexel coach Bruiser Flint; Portland Trailblazers assistant Dean Demopoulos, once Chaney's assistant and choice for successor; and current Temple top assistant Dan Lebovitz. Former Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins could be on the list, says WIP's Mike Missanelli, who once covered college basketball for The Inquirer. On a wilder limb: Hire Dawn Staley, coach of Temple's women's team, WIP's Al Morganti (a hockey guy) suggested this morning.
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