Dunphy, DiJulia honored at Coaches vs. Cancer luncheon
PHILADELPHIA >> In typical, humble style, Temple men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy and former Saint Joseph’s athletic director Don DiJulia played down the awards they received Thursday at the seventh annual Coaches vs. Cancer preseason luncheon.
Dunphy was presented with the fourth annual Dean Smith Award, which is given by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association to the individual who embodies the spirit and values of the late Hall of Fame coach from North Carolina. John Thompson (Georgetown), Tom Izzo (Michigan State) and Dan Dohner (Dayton) are the previous recipients.
DiJulia was honored as the Champion of Hope Award winner for his commitment to the Philadelphia basketball community and his dedication to the fight against cancer. DiJulia retired earlier this year after two stints as the AD on Hawk Hill that covered 35 years.
This event, however, held at the Hilton Hotel on City Ave, wasn’t about them. It is held annually to shed light on the ongoing fight against cancer. And Dunphy and DiJulia chose to focus on that rather than their individual honors.
The Philly 6 coaches may be rivals on the court, but they’re teammates in this fight, and they take it seriously. The Philly chapter is the No. 1 fund-raising organization in the national Coaches vs. Cancer program, raising more than $14 million since its inception in 1996. Dunphy DiJulia
“We should be No. 1 because there’s six of us getting together and doing it,” Dunphy said. “And we have the best college basketball town in America to do it within, so we feel really good about it and are happy to be a part of it.”
“This is Philadelphia at its best,” added Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli. “It’s all of us together. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Penn guy. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of Temple, a fan of Saint Joe’s; it’s everybody together with the idea of crushing cancer, but also the good will that basketball brings.
“I say it tongue in cheek, we’re all undefeated today so we’re all OK, but to carve out time, to carve out two hours for Philadelphia basketball, but for a great cause of crushing cancer, this is all that Philadelphia is. We always look out for each other.”
That was evident as roughly 500 people joined DiJulia, Dunphy, Martelli, Villanova’s Jay Wright, La Salle’s Ashley Howard, Penn’s Steve Donahue and Drexel’s Zach Spiker at one of the five events hosted by the Philadelphia chapter in conjunction with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the American Cancer Society.
“The first event was a Coaches vs. Cancer breakfast and I think all 12 of us had a great time,” DiJulia said. “You look at it today and it’s all driven by the passion of the coaches and the Cancer Society folks. We partnered with them to create awareness and try to beat the disease.
“It’s definitely the No. 1 city in the country under the national umbrella of the Coaches vs. Cancer nationwide because of the degree of involvement from the coaches. They’re not just lending their names.”
As a group, they’re proud of the No. 1 status nationwide.
“They don’t want to be beaten, just like on the court,” DiJulia said. “They don’t want to be the secondbest city in the country. They want to be the first.”
While the focus was on beating cancer, the event also was an opportunity to honor DiJulia and Dunphy for their many years of service to the organization and college basketball in Philadelphia.
“It’s humbling,” said of the honor.
Dunphy is entering his 30th and final season as a head coach. He spent 17 years at Penn, where he compiled a record of 310-163 before taking over for John Chaney at Temple in 2006. He is 247-152 in his time on North Broad Street. With 557 career victories, Dunphy is the winningest coach in Big 5 history.
“It’s pretty cool,” Dunphy said. “I’ve downplayed it because that’s what I do. I get so many of my good buddies smacking me in the forehead saying respect it, honor it and be privileged by it, and I’m doing all of that. Dean Smith was a phenomenal coach in our world. He showed us all the way to give and be out there for causes for people out there who are not as lucky as we are, and so it’s an honor to receive it.” DiJulia