Wanna Know A Coach?
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In what I hope will become my glorious return as a regular contributor to ArmchairGM ( Insert Shameless Blog Plug Here), I will be profiling, dissecting, and investigating present, retired, and six feet under coaches from the universe of the NBA, MLB, NFL, and NCAA (basketball / football) in no particular order.
First on the menu will be Hall of Fame college basketball coach John Chaney.
John Chaney was born on January 21, 1932 in Jacksonville, Florida. John grew up in Jacksonville with his mother, stepfather, stepbrother and stepsister. His mother worked a thankless job cleaning the homes of white families in which she earned $3.50 and car fare. From a young age John knew what a “hard knock life” was. When John Chaney entered 9 th grade his family moved to Philadelphia and thus began his love affair with the game of basketball.
On the playgrounds of downtown Philadelphia, Chaney played with the likes of Wilt Chamberlain and other playground legends who never played in a NBA arena. He honed his skill of basketball while playing under the tutelage of Ben Franklin High School basketball coach Sam Browne. John sill refers to him as “my great white father” and his coaching helped him become the public league player of the year in 1951.
His stepfather insisted that he get a 9-5 job but Sam Browne insisted that John attend college. Still in the John Crow era, Division 1 schools rarely accepted black basketball players and John wasn't any different. Sam Browne mentioned a black school named Bethune-Cookman College which is located in his home state of Florida and while hesitant at first ( mainly because of the bad memories of his childhood while growing up there) finally committed and became am NAIA All-American in 1953.
After a short stint playing in the Philadelphia circuit of the Eastern League in which he made the all-star team 6 of his 10 seasons. His basketball playing career however ended abruptly when his car was involved in a head-on car crash he severely injured his leg in. John then settled into his role as junior high school teacher.
After returning to his role as a junior high school teacher, John Chaney began his ascension to Hall of Fame status as a basketball coach. From junior high, Chaney moved on to the storied Philadelphia Public League basketball mecca Simon Gratz High (alums include Rasheed Wallace, Aaron McKie, and Mardy Collins), to Cheyney State ( now called Cheyney University of Pennsylvania ) for 10 seasons, including the 1978 NCAA Division II national title. At Cheyney, John was 225-56. He didn't start coaching at Temple until 1982 when he was 50.
When he began coaching at Temple University, he was expected to make Temple a nationally recognized college basketball program. He refused to load his schedules with easy teams, and instead traveled to hostile courts to play teams brimming 5 star recruits. Speaking of five star recruits, it was something John Chaney hardly had while coaching at Temple. That's not to say that he never had great players ( Mark Macon, Eddie Jones, and Aaron McKie), but he never had a TOP 25 recruiting class. He couldn't compete with the Duke's, the Kentucky's, and the North Carolina's when it came to recruiting. He was however possibly the greatest coach ever in getting the most out of his kids.
And one thing John Chaney never forgot was that he was coaching kids. He held 6AM practices that his players hated, but later thanked him for. By scheduling his practices so early he made sure his kids had time to attend classes and succeed academically. He understood that there is a life after basketball and that his players needed to understand that. He was tough on his players but you ask anyone one of them if they regret playing for him they will look at you like you're crazy.
While a great coach and teacher, Chaney was known to lose his temper, sometimes resulting in some very embarrassing moments. On February 13, 1994, he said "I'm gonna kick your ass!", and threatened to kill then University of Massachusetts coach John Calipari at a post-game news conference. Chaney and Calipari did makeup however and are even friends now. Chaney's most notorious moment however was what is now considered by many as “Goon Gate”.
Chaney made headlines in 2005 after ordering forward Nehemiah Ingram to commit hard fouls against Saint Joseph's in response to what he thought were illegal picks being set by the Hawks. After the game Chaney admitted to "sending a message" and stated "I'm going to send in what we used to do years ago, send in the goons." John Bryant of Saint Joseph's suffered a fractured arm as a result of an intentional foul. John Chaney promptly suspended himself for one game, and eventually suspended himself for the remainder of the regular season and the A-10 tournament after hearing that Bryant's arm was fractured. Chaney later apologized to Bryant, his family, and Saint Joseph's.
While most casual college basketball fans will relate John Chaney to Goon Gate, enthusiasts and die-hard fans will relate the name John Chaney to excellence.
- Has compiled a 499-238 record at Temple
- Has compiled a 327-108 Atlantic 10 Conference Regular Season Record
- Won his 400th game at Temple against No. 1 ranked Cincinnati on Feb. 20, 2000
- NCAA Tournaments, 1984-1988, 1990-2001 (18)
- NCAA Regional Finalists, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1999, 2001
- National Invitational Tournament, 1989, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
- Atlantic 10 regular season Championships, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002
- Atlantic 10 Tournament Championships, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2000, 2001
- Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000
- Has compiled 15 20-win seasons at Temple
- USBWA National Coach of the Year, 1987, 1988
- Consensus National Coach of the Year, Associated Press Coach of the Year
- Eastern Basketball Coach of the Year, 1993
- Won his 700th game, becoming the first African-American in history with 700 wins
