Legendary coach always willing to offer helping hand

JOHN CHANEY was a legendary Temple University basketball coach, the very face of the school on North Broad Street for a generation and a giant of his sport.

He died on January 29, aged 89.

Chaney led Temple to five appearances in the NCAA Elite Eight, the last trip in 2001, the year he was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In addition to 17 trips to the NCAA Tournament with the Owls, Chaney won a Division II national title at Cheyney University.

Known for his sometimes fiery temperament, his early morning practices, his unique matchup zone defence, his aversion to turnovers, and his fierce devotion to offering a hand to those who most needed a lift, Chaney retired in 2006 after winning 741 games between Cheyney and Temple.

‘‘A man who lived his life the way he wanted, and will be remembered for his service,’’ said Philadelphia Simon Gratz High coach Lynard Stewart, who played for Chaney at Temple.

‘‘He’s one of a kind,’’ said Bruiser Flint, now a Kentucky assistant coach.

Flint first met Chaney as a 10yearold at his basketball camp, and later went up against him coaching Massachusetts and Drexel.

His morning practices, usually from about dawn to 8am, were part of the Chaney experience. The Owls would be working on something, proceeding as normal, when

Chaney would say, ‘‘Hold up, hold up . . .’’ Then he would take his players for a journey lasting many minutes, offering not just life lessons, but applying life back to basketball.

He liked his basketball plain. Simple passes. Being in the right spot, passing to the right man.

‘‘He’s open for a reason,’’ he’d tell guards who passed to a big man who dropped the ball or missed an open shot.

‘‘Guard him like a windshield wiper,’’ he’d tell a forward charged with a big defensive assignment during the NCAA Tournament, where a matchup with Temple was a dreaded ordeal for any opponent.

Off the court, Chaney made his greatest impact as a public face of opposition to NCAA initialeligibility standards. — The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHOTO: REUTERS Pass the ball . . . US college basketball coach John Chaney yells at one of his players during a game in Philadelphia in 2006.