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Temple to name Fran Dunphy as next men's basketball coach

tkd7tkd7 Posts: 1,799 ✭✭
in Sports Talk
Likely not of much interest, but Temple has named Fran Dunphy as the new men's basketball coach, replacing John Cheney.

Dunphy has coached the Penn Quakers for 17 years and has won over 300 games over that span. That is saying something for an Ivy League basketball coach. As part of the last conference in Division I to not give athletic scholarships and the only conference not to have a post season tournament, Dunphy has kept the Quakers on the college basketball map and stayed competitive despite the financial and academic restriction of coaching in the Ivy League. On the surface, it may appear to be a defection, but I think the Penn fans see it for what it is, namely a chance for Dunphy to show his stuff on a national stage. Even better, he is a big believer in the Philadelphia Big 5, both as a player at LaSalle and coach at Penn. This should further strengthen the Big 5's commitment to basketball in Philadelphia.

All the best to Fran and his new team. I only hope he isn't put in a position to compromise his integrity to put a winning team on the court.

Dunphy to Temple

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Comments

  • AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭
    I hope he restores some dignity to that program, that has been marred repeatedly by Cheney's irratic, irrational, and bullyish behavior. He was responsible for a St. Joe's kid (their high scorer) breaking his arm, threated to kill another coach in a post game press conference, and numerous other incidents.

  • tkd7tkd7 Posts: 1,799 ✭✭
    I'm confident that Dunphy will bring dignity and pride to Temple University and Philadelphia basketball.
  • 1420sports1420sports Posts: 3,473 ✭✭✭
    Signing Dunphy was a great move. He brings his reputation to a storied program, and I fully expect this team to compete very soon.
    collecting various PSA and SGC cards
  • aro13aro13 Posts: 1,961 ✭✭✭
    I always liked Cheney but things have not been the same since Pepe Sanchez and Mark Karchner (sp??) left. I really thought that team had a good shot at the National Championship. I belive that was Cheney's last good team and chance. I remember sitting in the Temple section for the tournament that year and got a couple of the COACH CHENEY THE MAYOR OF BRACKETVILLE posters.
    Hopefully, Dunphy will turn the program around as the Atlantic 10 as a whole could use a little boost.
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