IN THE CROSSHAIRS

Fran Dunphy Will Leave His Mark on the Game

Ken Cross

February 25, 2019 at 12:51 pm.

Jan 19, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Temple Owls head coach Fran Dunphy looks on during the second half against the Pennsylvania Quakers at Liacouras Center. Photo Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

Jan 19, 2019; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Temple Owls head coach Fran Dunphy looks on during the second half against the Pennsylvania Quakers at Liacouras Center. Photo Credit: Derik Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

College basketball is filled with iconic coaches who have made their mark on the game and when they leave the game, it leaves a space inside of the enormity of the basketball community.

Temple coach Fran Dunphy is just that. He is on a farewell tour of his own after 13 years as the head coach of the Owls and 17 years in a successful tenure at Pennsylvania from 1989-2006.

Dunphy is truly a man of Philadelphia as he went to college at LaSalle where he was a star for the Explorers from 1967-70. He then did his graduate work at Villanova where he still lives.

“I have been very fortunate that way,” he said after his Owls survived a 70-69 overtime win at South Florida. “I tell guys in the profession, I have lived in the same house since 1984. Nobody can believe it, not in our profession. I have just been very fortunate.”

Dunphy is a humble man who is the epitome of class. He is celebrated by every coach in the profession who knows him or who has competed against him. Dunphy is an educator as well, as he continues to teach an honors course in Temple’s renowned Fox School of Business. Its name is “Management, Theory and Practice: From the Locker Room to the Board Room.”

South Florida coach Brian Gregory goes back to the days when his Dayton teams competed against Temple in the Atlantic 10. Dunphy guided Temple to its first outright A-10 title in 22 years in 2012.  He then led the Owls to an 80-32 record in the A-10 and three straight titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

“I was fortunate to be competing against him in the A-10 as well,” said Gregory. “He just does things the right way – first class guy all the way around. He is obviously a great coach and the success of the teams that he has had obviously speaks volumes.”

Dunphy and his staff kept things normal after he announced that the 2018-19 season would be his last.  Former Owl and Philadelphia 76ers guard Aaron McKie will take over the program. Dunphy has helped sell recruits on McKie, in whom he takes great pride, as he has tried to empower his coaches as much as the players in his program.

“His guys have always gotten better and his guys have always graduated,” commented Gregory. “College basketball is going to lose out on one of the true gems of this profession.”

He was ultra-successful at Penn and gave Quakers hoops a new persona as he won 10 Ivy League championships with nine NCAA Tournament appearances and four Big 5 Championships inside of Philadelphia. Dunphy transferred that success to Temple as he has led the Owls to his 266th win there after the victory over South Florida.

As the Owls look to the postseason, they are in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid — which would be a great accomplishment in his last year. After wins over the Bulls and Tulsa last week, Temple is now 20-7 and tied for third place in the AAC with a 10-4 conference record.

As the Owls move through league play, almost every school has honored Dunphy and acknowledged his positive impact on the college basketball world.  At the end of the season, there will be no remorse. Dunphy is ready to move on to the next chapter in his life.

“I really appreciate it,” said Dunphy of the acknowledgements in the AAC and throughout the country. “It has happened at many locations. I am very grateful for it. It has happened a lot of places around the country. There are some really nice people in places where we have gone throughout the league and similar kinds of things.”

 

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