[PAmedic]

End of an era for Temple MBB- SCAR, break out your box of Kleenex

Talk about a guy who could give the nightly sports reporters highlight material!

Temple's Chaney announces retirement

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - John Chaney retired Monday after 24 seasons as Temple's basketball coach, ending a Hall of Fame career in which his temper sometimes got the better of him.

The 74-year-old Chaney, a fiery sideline presence admired as much for his mentoring as his success on the court, guided Temple to five NCAA regional finals and 17 NCAA tournament appearances and was twice the national coach of the year.

This season, Temple (17-14) made the NIT for the fifth straight season, a dramatic decline from when it was an NCAA tournament regular.

"I have said all along that I would know when it would be time to step down and now is that time," Chaney said in a statement. "I want to thank Temple University, its fans and community for allowing me to do what I love for so long. It has never been a job for me, but a passion."

Chaney will not coach the Owls' opening NIT game against Akron on Tuesday night because of his wife's health. It was not clear if Chaney would return to the bench if Temple won. Assistant Dan Leibovitz will coach Tuesday.

At a news conference, Chaney wiped away tears from behind sunglasses and talked at length about a favorite subject - education's role in helping the poor and disadvantaged.

Chaney has 741 wins as a college coach, including a 516-252 record at Temple in which he won six Atlantic 10 conference titles. He was twice the national coach of the year and was selected Atlantic 10 coach of the year five times.

With his tie pulled down and his shirt hanging out, Chaney was a commanding figure on the court, his raspy voice booming across arenas. Often, as he exhorted his team, he put himself in situations he later regretted.

Last season, Chaney seemed on his way out. He inserted a player into a game against Saint Joseph's for the sole purpose of committing hard fouls because he thought the Hawks were using illegal screens. A Saint Joseph's player, John Bryant, ended up with a broken arm after being knocked out of the air. Chaney later apologized and missed five games because of a suspension.

At that game, in which Chaney referred to one of his players as a "goon," he had a postgame meltdown, screaming at Atlantic 10 commissioner Linda Bruno and defending his actions by referring to himself as "mean" and "ornery."

He was publicly humiliated and listened to the critics calling for him to step down. Ultimately, the university gave him a reprieve.

In 1984, Chaney grabbed George Washington coach Gerry Gimelstob by the shoulders at halftime of a game. In 1994, he had a heated exchange following a game against UMass in which he threatened to kill coach John Calipari. Chaney apologized and was suspended for a game. The two later became friends.

Chaney, who took Cheyney State in suburban Philadelphia to the 1978 Division II national championship, arrived at Temple before the 1982-83 season.

He was a father figure for players who often came to Temple from broken homes, violent neighborhoods and bad schools. With notoriously early morning practices, Chaney talked about life nearly as much as he taught the intricacies of his matchup zone defense. He frequently said his biggest goal simply was to give poor kids a chance to get an education.

"They just want to bounce the ball and dribble the ball, but I talk about things that are going to stay with them for the rest of their lives," Chaney said Monday. "Somewhere along the line, it will reverberate and they'll remember it."

His teams did remarkably well considering Chaney couldn't recruit the high school All-Americans who filled the rosters of Atlantic Coast Conference and Big Ten schools. About the only thing Chaney couldn't achieve was a trip to the Final Four; he was 0-for-5 in regional finals.

Chaney refused to load his schedules with easy teams, and instead traveled to hostile courts to play teams supposedly brimming with talent, believing the grueling schedules got his teams ready for the NCAA tournament.

He showed flashes this season that his Owls could still play with the nation's elite, knocking off three Top 25 teams, including an upset over top-seeded George Washington last week in the Atlantic 10 tournament.

[LUconn]

it's about time I say.

[bigsmooth]

certainly past his prime, but was good for the game. he gave a chance to a lot of inner city kids who never got looks from any other school, and we was successful. plus he gave them the oppty. to get a degree. unfortunately, his goon incident and his flap with calipari are what many remember about him.

[LUconn]

The thing about the goon incident is I agree with what he was trying to do. He claims that they were getting away with illegal screens the entire game, which St. Joe's always does. His goon just went around trying to foul hard on rebounds and such. The thing to do was to make the goon run through the moving screens. Call attention to them if they're going to ignore them. But don't send a guy to push people while they're vulnerable in the air.

[Sly Fox]

I'm not a fan and glad to see this guy gone.

How he is in the Hall of Fame & Guy V. Lewis isn't is beyond me.

[PAmedic]

I was pretty sure you'd have an opinion on this one, SLY!

[TIMSCAR20]

Big John has done a lot for hoopers in the Philly area like myself as well as around the country. He is one of the scariest dudes I have ever met though for real and that includes Bobby Knight! We used to play our summer league games at Temple's old McGonagal Hall and he would stop a summer game in a heart beat if we weren't playing the game correctly. He used to do the same thing when I played up at the Temple/Ambler campus in the Philly burbs. Never had the desire to play for him like I wanted to play for Speedy Morris at LaSalle or Rollie Massimino at Villanova but I did have respect for him....And how is Guy Lewis not in the hall of fame?

[PAmedic]

SCAR didja see Rollie in the stands watching the 'Nova game Sun nite? Camera kept panning over to him- he looked pretty good, actually.

[TIMSCAR20]

No we didn't get the Villanova game until late when all the other games were over but I missed Rollie. I have seen him recently and he does look good still. 21 years ago they did the impossible. Seems like yesterday.