John Chaney: A Legend Leaves College Basketball
A few weeks ago, John Chaney’s coaching career came to a close – a rather uneventful one, unfortunately, as he was unable to be with his team in their final game so he could be with his ailing wife. My thoughts are with them, and hopefully she gets well soon.
As Chaney departs, college basketball loses the kind of coach, the kind of man, that is becoming an endangered species. There is so much that makes him special in this sport, partly because of the times and mostly just on his own.
The Hall of Fame coach will be remembered for a lot of things. He’ll be remembered for turning Temple into a perennial postseason team with 23 appearances in his 24 years, one that was on the cusp of the Final Four five different times in the NCAA Tournament. They were consistently one of the Atlantic 10’s top teams and a major part of the conference’s rise in the mid-90s for a time. He will also be remembered for his scheduling, consistently playing a number of the best teams in the country. It paid off many times, as even teams that didn’t have a great regular season record would win games in the postseason after being battle-tested.
Chaney will also be remembered for being a great post-game interview. He was a walking quote machine, a man whose press conferences you couldn’t afford to miss if you were there. Reporters would be kept in stitches, and the school’s sports information director would have to cut things short oftentimes because he could just keep going – which also brings us to the fact that Chaney was as sharp as a tack right to the end of his coaching career. In his address announcing his retirement, he talked for about a half hour before entertaining questions, showing his usual keen sense of history and how the world works. True to form, he still dropped in some quips that had those present laughing, and surely thinking back to many of his press conferences over the years. It was vintage Chaney, leaving us an accurate lasting image of the man.
Nowadays, so many players and coaches (and not just at the college level) often speak as though they’re reading from a script. John Chaney was never one to do that. He would address the media in an “uncut” fashion, telling us how he felt and not being afraid to take a stand. His comments could make you think, while at the same time giving you some comic relief.
Chaney will also be remembered for some negative events in his career. He once threatened John Calipari when he was the head coach at UMass, and last year there was talk of him being fired because he brought in a player to intentionally foul a Saint Joseph’s player because he thought the Hawks were getting away with illegal screens. The latter event backfired because the player, Nehemiah Ingram, not only fouled Hawk forward John Bryant, he sent him to the floor with an arm injury that would keep Bryant out of much of the postseason. Chaney and Saint Joseph’s head coach Phil Martelli have made amends since then, and both speak highly of one another.
Perhaps most important of all, Chaney will be remembered for what he did off the court. He’s been a constant voice about race in the sport – an issue that many would like to think is long gone in the sport, but hasn’t died away. Prop 48 was one of his biggest battles, and it hit close to home because he recruited some kids who were affected by it. Chaney also recruited a number kids from tough neighborhoods, areas where there was not a lot of immediate opportunity, and gave them a better chance. Not all were success stories – the graduation rates weren’t always among the best in the country – but he was there as a teacher about life and gave kids an opportunity at what has become known as Philadelphia’s flagship university.
John Chaney is one of the reasons I have come to enjoy basketball in Philadelphia. I’m not from the area, but love traveling there and especially during the college basketball season. It’s refreshing for me since the Boston area is a pro town first, second and third, but in Philadelphia college basketball has a special place thanks in large part to the Big Five. John Chaney is another in a long line of legendary participants in the Big Five, and watching Temple play and being at his press conferences to hear him talk not only about basketball, but about life, was always well worth the trip, whether it was to Philadelphia or to another school where they were playing (oftentimes the University of Rhode Island) or the Atlantic 10 Tournament just a couple of weeks ago.
There is so much to appreciate about John Chaney. His coaching record is just the beginning; his activism, his candidness, what he’s done for many young men who have played for him, and the fact that he’s wonderful to listen to when he talks about life as it relates to basketball are also right up there. College basketball was blessed to have him for many years, hopefully those who cover or follow the sport enjoyed him. A coach like him doesn’t come around very often.
