The greatest programs: No. 23, Temple
Posted: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 7:45 PM
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Greatest hoops programs
Temple has all the makings of an elite hoops program.
One of Philadelphia’s legendary “Big Five,” the Owls have 26 NCAA tournament appearances, 16 conferences titles, claimed the first NIT trophy and produced their share of NBA players.
The most impressive number though? Temple’s 1,689 victories, sixth most among D-I schools. Yes, the program’s been around since 1895 (longer than any other school, though two seasons without a varsity team prevents the Owls from having the most overall seasons), but it’s won 64 percent of those games – the same percentage as Indiana and Arizona.
That kind of prolonged success is a big reason behind Temple’s position at No. 23 in the greatest college basketball programs of all time.
A lack of NCAA tournament success is what’s keeping the Owls from a loftier perch. Temple hasn’t won a title, it's been to just two Final Fours – in 1956 and ’58 – and is only 31-26 in the Big Dance. Recent struggles haven’t helped either.
Ever since a 24-13 season in 2001-02, the Owls have hovered around .500 and missed the NCAAs each season until returning this year. Give props to coach Fran Dunphy – a longtime coach at cross-town rival Penn – for guiding Temple back to prominence.
“There are signs that they are starting to come back,” says Jonathan Tannenwald, whose blog, Soft Pretzel Logic, keeps tabs on all things college sports in Philly. “For example, the Temple-St. Joe’s game at Temple. St. Joe’s has a dedicated fan base that will go to anything they can get into. In recent years there have been as many St. Joe’s fans, if not more at the game. But this year was the first it wasn’t that way in a long time.”
Fans were used to hoops success. When James Usilton coached the 1938 NIT title, it helped set the stage for legendary coaches like John Chaney and Harry Litwack to build on that legacy.
Litwack, a former Temple star in the 1920s, coached Temple’s great 1950s teams, which would vie with Philly schools La Salle and St. Joe’s for national prominence. And in 1950s Philadelphia, that was saying something. La Salle won the 1954 NCAA tournament, Jack Ramsey was turning the Hawks into a contender while Villanova and Penn were coming off NCAA tourney berths.
All of which points to the start of the Big Five.
Starting in 1955, the Big Five – Villanova, Temple, St. Joseph’s, Penn and La Salle – agreed to start playing each other annually in the Palestra, Philly’s famed hoops venue. The school’s proximity to each other and the hoops quality involved (they’ve all been among college hoops’ best at various times) make the Big Five one of the sport’s more interesting aspects. (For a great video archive of famed Big Five figures, click here.)
And Temple started off its Big Five history with perhaps the best team in school history. The 1955-56 squad featured the backcourt of senior Hal Lear and sophomore Guy Rodgers, finished 27-4 and beat SMU for third in the NCAA tournament. Lear averaged 24.0 ppg that season and torched the Mustangs for 48 points in that third-place game.
Yet it was Rodgers who made those Temple squads go. A future NBA star (often referred to as “the second Bob Cousy,” Rodgers was a fast, silky smooth point guard who couldn’t be stopped in the open floor.
Rodgers’ style endeared him to the Philly crowd and made him the playground idol for years to come. “Nobody ever played or ran the fast break like Guy Rodgers,” says longtime AP scribe Jack Scheuer. Rodgers guided Temple to another Final Four in 1958 (this time taking the Owls to a 27-3 mark) and pretty much made it impossible for any team or player to top Temple’s 1950s feats.
Though Chaney’s squads came close.
Taking over at Temple from Don Casey in 1983, Chaney took Temple from a good team to a school no one wanted to play because of their ridiculous defense and tough players. Teams couldn’t properly prepare for the Owls’ zone, which could make good teams look foolish. When things were clicking, Temple was tough. But it could never get over the hump.
"You don't even need to scout 'em anymore," UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian once said. "You're prepared to stop everything they do. Then they go ahead and do it anyway."
That 1988 season is a perfect example. The Owls finished 32-4 in 1986-87, but couldn’t advance out of the NCAA tournament’s second weekend. A year later, with precocious freshman Mark Macon carrying the scoring load alongside upperclassmen like Howard Evans and Tim Perry, Temple rose to No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time in school history and entered the Big Dance 29-1.
After landing on the cover of Sports Illustrated, streaked into East Regional final, but that’s when Macon’s shooting touch vanished. A loss to Duke ended Temple’s season at 32-2, the best record for any Chaney-coached Temple team.
He would sniff the Final Four four more times (reaching regional finals in ’91, ’93, ’99 and ’01), but earned a reputation as an eccentric disciplinarian and coach who would mold young men more than as a great coach. The role suited Chaney, who rose from hard times himself. His teams didn’t have prep All-Americans or guaranteed NBA stars, but they didn’t lack for talent, either.
Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie both played for Chaney, both of whom would thrive as defensive stars in the NBA. Others like Pepe Sanchez, Duane Causwell or Rick Brunson would emerge as good college players and serviceable pros.
By the end of his tenure, Chaney won fewer games and Temple dropped from the list of annual contenders. When the ‘goon’ scandal started in 2005, it signaled the end for Chaney and the start of a new era for the Owls, who won the A-10 tournament for the first time since 2001 this season under Dunphy.
“People knew that eventually Dunphy would get that team back to prominence. The fact that he did it in two years is pretty incredible,” Tannenwald says.
How long Dunphy has at Temple isn’t clear. He’ll turn 60 in October (though Chaney coached into his 70s).
What is clear is that Temple hoops appears to be back.
Next Tuesday, No. 22 on the list of greatest college basketball programs.
No. 24: Oklahoma.
No. 25: N.C. State.
