Make use of your years in undergrad

If you thought John Chaney displayed
an intimidating demeanor on the sidelines,
imagine talking to him one-on-one.

I’ll admit that it was daunting . . . but
only for about five seconds. That was the
time it took for the former coach to rise
from his chair and welcome me into his
Liacouras Center office with a warm handshake and an ear-to-ear smile.

My conversations with Chaney - I’d
rather not refer to them as interviews,
because we talked about more than basketball - were special. He wasn’t so much worried about his team as he was with my outlook on life. Among other topics, he’d ask about my academic career, my professional ambitions and my role with the student newspaper.

The individual opportunities I spent
chatting with Chaney were those which I
will never forget. The same goes for the
seasons I spent covering his - and now coach Fran Dunphy’s - teams.

With this being the final edition of
“The Temple News” for the current academic
year, it marks one last opportunity
for me to say how fortunate I really was
during my time at Temple before graduating
later this month.

Plus, it gives me a chance to shamelessly
pitch getting involved at your student
newspaper. (But we’ll get back to
that.)

I’ve been covering Temple sports for
nearly eight semesters, being a member
of “The Temple News” staff since my first
days on campus. In that time, I’ve experienced first-hand so many milestones.

I was in the second row of press
conferences bringing an end to Chaney’s
career at Temple and, three weeks later,
celebrating the start of Dunphy’s.

I was there when coach Al Golden announced
to the media that he would lead the next generation of Temple football.

As a beat writer, I’ve been afforded
the opportunity to travel to various places
to cover Temple sports.

I’ve boarded trains to Washington, D.C., and I have driven to Cincinnati and
Annapolis, Md. If it weren’t for “The Temple News”, I wouldn’t have been in Cincinnati to witness up close Chaney’s last career victory.

And in covering the majority of this institution’s athletics teams, I’ve gained a great (nay, greater) appreciation for the student-athlete. How they manage to juggle their schedules and meet their time commitments is beyond me.

Over the years I’ve developed lasting relationships, whether they were with members of Temple’s athletic department or my counterparts in the journalism industry.

I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. So here’s my plug: Get involved with the student newspaper - or at the very least another organization here at Temple where you can leave your mark. Classes and tests will always be there, but there are experiences to be had and memories to be forged, those which you can only enjoy as members of the student body.

Years from now, I won’t remember the individual games I covered. It won’t be the scores or stats that will stick with me, either.

Rather, I’ll remember Temple for the opportunities it provided me. In an interview in November 2005, women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley likened
Chaney to “that antique chair” you can never bring yourself to get rid of.

Ultimately, Chaney said goodbye to this university. We all have to say goodbye at some point in our lives. Now is my time to do just that. It’s without regret or remorse, but certainly with pride and pleasure.

And it’s been a fantastic journey I won’t ever forget.

Christopher A. Vito can be reached at christopher.vito@temple.edu.

Dunphy’s chance to woo top talent

The next Mardy Collins could be in Fran Dunphy’s backyard this weekend.And the men’s basketball coach doesn’t want an opportunity like that to slip through his grasp.

Dunphy will be on campus all weekend, when the first-ever Coaches vs. Cancer Amateur
Athletic Union tournament takes flight.

The university will host more than 50 AAU teams from the East Coast, all of which are composed of current high school sophomores
and juniors. The three-day tournament will run from April 27-29, and will play its games at McGonigle Hall, the Student Pavilion and Pearson Hall.

There are plenty of reasons why it’s beneficial that Temple host this tournament. I’ll offer two of them.

First, there’s the obvious: It’s a perfect opportunity to raise awareness of Coaches vs. Cancer, a nonprofit organization for which Dunphy serves as the national president.

Secondly, and most importantly, the tournament also gives Dunphy a chance to watch the players who could help lift Temple back into the national spotlight.The Owls haven’t made the NCAA Tournament
since 2001. In Dunphy’s first year as the Owls ended their 24-year postseason run.

The exposure this tournament could provide is just what the new coach and his program needs.

Just think of the possibilities - in down time from their games, these youngsters might walk around campus. They might peruse the TECH Center or stop into the Student Center for a bite to eat. No matter what they do or where they go, they will get a first-hand glimpse of what Temple has to offer.

Division I coaches can’t put a price tag on that kind of exposure.At the thought of these players touring Temple’s campus, Dunphy was overjoyed.

“I hope they do [take a tour],” Dunphy said last week by phone. “That would be terrific
for Temple.” On top of that, Dunphy
might be watching the next great NBA player take the floor. Temple basketball
fans don’t have to look too far down memory lane to recall the Owls discovering a standout right in their own backyard.Five years ago, John Chaney wandered into McGonigle Hall fresh off a road trip.

Then the Owls’ coach, Chaney was weary and ready to call it a night. But it was then that the Hall of Fame coach first saw Mardy Collins play a high school basketball game. At the time, Collins was a scrawny guard for Philadelphia’s Simon Gratz High. Fast forward to the present day and Collins has just wrapped up his rookie season in the NBA, where he ranked third among rookies in double-doubles.

“To see Martavis Kee, [Dunphy] had to go to South Florida. So to see the players of his make all in one place, all in one nine-hour slot, it’s very appealing,” said Bill Campo, the director of the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament.

Yes, it’s a stretch to think that one weekend will be enough time for Dunphy to fit these players for their very own cherry and white jerseys.

Though Dunphy hasn’t ruled out the possibilities, he’ll have some competition. All Division I basketball coaches are free to attend the tournament, as April marks an open recruiting period for the NCAA.”It’s a chance for these young men to showcase their talent in front of a lot of coaches,”
Dunphy said.

Jeff Wilson agreed. The director of men’s basketball operations said this tournament will be a valuable tool for Temple’s recruiting efforts.

And, he said, it gives Dunphy and other area D-I coaches a weekend off.

“They travel so much during the spring and the summer that it’s nice for them to know they can stay home one weekend,” Wilson said.

In the recruiting game, it’s all about having a leg up on the competition. This weekend, Dunphy will have that advantage. He’ll also have some of the nation’s top high school talent right in his own backyard.

Christopher A. Vito can be reached at christopher.vito@temple.edu.

Showing at championship not enough to deter senior

In trying to build a national reputation, the volleyball club found its platform last weekend at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky.

While there, at the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association championship tournament, the Owls won four of their nine matches. It was their second-ever trip to the NIRSA tournament.The final rankings have not yet been announced, but senior setter Alex Mobarak said he believes the Owls earned a higher national finish than last year’s 13th place showing at Salt Lake City.

The Owls opened pool play Thursday by losing two of three matches. After winning their first match Friday, the Owls fell in their final two. Wins in either of them could have re-entered the Owls in the running for the national crown.Ultimately, the Owls were sent packing with Saturday’s loss to Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“I’m pleased with how we did,” Mobarak said. “We won a quarterfinal game in the Silver Division, which is better than we did last year. But I thought we had the makings of a top 10 team.”

Of course, he said, he would’ve liked for the Owls to have won the national
championship. The road to the title, however, was mired by losses in matches in which the Owls had won the first of three games.

“That was pretty deflating - knowing we could hang with a team and possibly beat them, then only to lose,” Mobarak said.

In an effort to distinguish itself among Temple’s other 16 club sport teams, the volleyball club reached several milestones this season. It achieved a program-high 11 wins between its regular season and the Mid-Atlantic Club Volleyball Conference tournament.

The Owls were runners-up in the MACVC tournament, bowing out to a nationally-ranked Messiah team they had upset during the regular season. Second place marked their highest finish since joining the conference in 2004. In their two prior seasons at the MACVC tourney, the Owls had placed fifth on both occasions.

The prospects for the volleyball club next season remain promising, Mobarak said, as only two of their 13 players are seniors. He and fellow senior Aaron Pagoda will graduate in May.

“I think we’ve established a pretty solid club and we have some guys who can keep it going successfully for another three years,” said Mobarak, the club’s founder. “There’s a lot of potential there.”

Christopher A. Vito can be reached at christopher.vito@temple.edu.

A national affair

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There are times when Alex Mobarak wishes the questions would subside. But when the senior talks about Temple’s volleyball club, the inquiries always seem to pour in.

Someone might say, “I didn’t know Temple
had a Division I men’s team.” It doesn’t, Mobarak often responds.

“So, it’s an intramurals team?”

No, not quite.

These queries are all part of Mobarak’s involvement in the volleyball club, which has been a vibrant part of Temple’s club sport landscape for the last four years.

This week the Owls will have a chance to strengthen their reputation in the sport with a trip to Louisville, Ky., for the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association Championship.

Last season – in its first-ever trip to the NIRSA national tournament – the volleyball club finished 13th in a pool of 36 teams.

“It was one of those ‘We’ve made it’ moments for us, and for the future,” said Mobarak, who founded the club as a freshman in 2003. “We’ve had big wins before, but that was a proud moment.”

It hasn’t always been so proud, however, as certain limitations have been imposed on the fledgling volleyball club.

For starters, the kind of acknowledgement
afforded to Temple’s 22 Division I intercollegiate sports usually evades the 13-man club.

Additionally, the Owls are without a coach as they have opted for a non-traditional, completely student-run operation.

They don’t have a posh home floor, either.
For practices and home games, the volleyball club has been relegated to an obsolete gym toward the back of Pearson Hall.

All the while, the club has found unprecedented success in its four years of existence.

Modest beginnings

When Mobarak first concluded he would develop a volleyball club, he didn’t have much backing.

He anticipated some pitfalls. Hanging flyers, assembling a roster and making a schedule single-handedly were bound to create a collective burden for Mobarak.
Hiring referees and reserving court time were high on his to-do list, as well.For his sake, strong roots in high school volleyball and active participation in Net Nights, a volleyball activity at the Student Pavilion, helped Mobarak’s cause.

But overcoming the obstacles that new club teams often face – like earning financial and university support through responsible team management – still stood in the club’s way.

Through their first two seasons, Mobarak and his teammates played while on probation. That is, they weren’t recognized as an official club until they had proven their legitimacy to the university through a trial period.

“Finding support the first couple years was hard,” Mobarak said. “Not having the support from Temple, or at least what we deserved, was hard. I think most of us are here because we love playing the sport.”

Those growing pains didn’t keep the club from winning or organizing a club the right way, according to Temple’s Sport Club Coordinator Jordin Schaffner.

“They’ve been a cooperative group – meeting deadlines and following all of the policies and procedures set forth by Campus Recreation,” she said. “We give them our full support.”

Schaffner, who is in her first year at Temple, said the Owls have maintained a clean record of responsibility, which has translated to wins on the court.

“The volleyball club, in itself, is a very good club in terms of organization and responsibility,” Schaffner said. “They’ve been very successful in club management, and that shows with how successful they’ve been playing.”

“Something’s going very right”

Temple’s volleyball club hasn’t always been as competitive as it is today. Nor has it ever been this successful, in terms of wins and losses.

The club Mobarak formed in 2003 was just the latest edition of a volleyball club that had existed on and off since the 1970s.

John Susko knows of the club’s spotty, up-and-down history. He played for and coached the Owls during his undergraduate career at Temple in the 1990s. He said the current squad – with two straight trips to nationals under its belt – has achieved the club’s high-water mark.

“It’s had its undulations, where there was a really strong body like the guys that are there now, and they’ve made the program flourish,” Susko said, “And then it gets to the point where folks might have graduated or they experienced a change in personnel, and that usually had an adverse effect on the club.

“In a club, sometimes it’s a group of people that just wants to whack the ball around,” he continued. “What you see in that gym with these guys is not the expectation. It doesn’t always have to be a competitive brand of volleyball. It’s nice to see the club get to that level. It shows something’s going very right for them.”

The club’s history isn’t well documented. Susko said he received some historical documents and old rosters when he took over as coach in the 90s, but very little is known about the club that once was.

That doesn’t make a difference to Aaron Pagoda, a current senior on the club.“Our club, it’s grassroots right now,” Pagoda said. “In our conference, we’ve built up a reputation. Now it’s about building a rep here.”

And that is possible according to Susko, who has taught four of the current players in an introductory-level volleyball course through the kinesiology department.

“Some years, we had kids who were passionate about playing, but they lacked the essential skill sets,” Susko said of his time playing with and coaching the club. “I always wanted to see it survive, and it has a chance with this group.”

The Road to Louisville

Following a practice Tuesday night, the Owls will board a flight Wednesday morning and head to Louisville and the NIRSA national tournament.

Sure, they’ve been there before. But it hasn’t kept some of them from feeling jittery.

“It’s like no other tournament,” said sophomore Mike Colgan.

“It’s definitely a good feeling playing at nationals,” added sophomore Nate Baker. “I can’t wait.”

He corrected himself.“We can’t wait,” he said.

Getting there – not what’s waiting for them, some said – was the tough part.The Owls posted an 11-2 record this season,
including a win at nationally-ranked Messiah. Less than a week later, the same Messiah team beat the Owls with the Mid-Atlantic Club Volleyball Conference Championship on the line.

A second-place finish in the MACVC was the Owls’ best ever, following two straight fifth-place finishes in the conference.

At Louisville, it will be easy for the Owls to become overwhelmed. Nearly 200 club teams – 100 all-male and 100 all-female teams – will head to Kentucky this week with aspirations of going all the way.

“Some teams are happy to just be there,” Mobarak said of nationals. “When we get there, we’ll be a bit more focused than that. We’ve seen what it’s like, so the goal is to play better than the next team.

“The other goal is to come home having won it all.”

Christopher A. Vito can be reached at christopher.vito@temple.edu.

Men’s Basketball Notes: Despite loss, Christmas keeps head up

ATLANTIC CITY — The opportunity was there for Dionte Christmas to show his value Wednesday night.

An opportunity to give the couple-thousand in attendance a glimpse of the recently named Atlantic Ten Conference Most Improved Player.

But when he launched a potential game-tying three-pointer in the last seconds of the Owls’ A-10 tournament opener, Christmas’ shot clanged off the rim and the wind in Temple’s sails went with it.

Christmas put up just seven points - well below his 20 points-per-game average this season - as the Owls couldn’t hold off a third loss to Saint Joseph’s this season.

The Owls dropped a 66-62 decision in the nightcap of the A-10 tourney, held at Boardwalk Hall. And Christmas couldn’t help but feel responsible.

“[That shot] definitely usually falls for me, but tonight St. Joe’s did a good job playing me,” said Christmas, who was also named to the conference’s all-Second Team. “I think [Hawks guard] D.J. Rivera knew the play was going to me.”

Despite the loss - and the end to his breakout season - the conference’s scoring leader kept his head up.

The sophomore guard didn’t look like himself, the player who was named the Atlantic Ten Conference’s Most Improved Player. He knew it. So did the Hawks.

Though he played 34 minutes, Christmas could be found on the bench at some key stretches of the second half.

“You want your best five guys out there. Dionte coming out of the game hurt us for a stretch,” coach Fran Dunphy said.

In all, Christmas finished 3-of-9 from the floor. That total includes his final shot of the game, which bounced off the rim with 20 seconds to play.

“Dionte is our best shooter coming off screens. It was his shot,” senior captain Dustin Salisbery said. “He had a good look. It just didn’t drop.”

A year removed from his 3.5 points-per-game scoring average as a freshman, Christmas has averaged 20.3 points a contest this year. He scored at least 20 points on 12 occasions and reached the 30-point plateau five times.

Personal accolades aside, Christmas said he would have wanted a couple more wins in the A-10 tournament to solidify this season as a positive experience.

“The only thing I could’ve expected for us was to go further in this tournament and win the Atlantic Ten,” Christmas said.

St. Joe’s coach Phil Martelli said he wasn’t happy with his team’s overall play, but he was satisfied with their defense on Christmas. In three games against the Owls this season, the Hawks have buckled down on Christmas to allow him just 10, nine and seven points.

“To come out of here with Christmas with seven . . . I was pleased,” Martelli said.

Christmas represents the first Owl to earn the A-10’s Most Improved Player award.

But Christmas is less concerned with history or his spot in the A-10’s postseason honor roll. He said he thought teammate Mark Tyndale was deserving of a higher place in the all-conference teams.

Among guards in the conference, Tyndale, who was named to the honorable mention team, finished in the A-10’s top five in points, assists, steals and rebounds.

The junior has also improved his field goal percentage significantly, which is at 54 percent and up from 33 and 39 percent in his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively.

A-10 ROUNDUP
The Owls might have lost in Atlantic City, but the Hawks and three other teams extended their seasons by at least one more game with first-round wins Wednesday:

No. 8 Dayton 81, No. 9 Charlotte 63
In the tournament opener, Charlotte held tough with Dayton, but the higher-seeded Flyers pulled away behind a late run in the second half.

Dayton guard Brian Roberts drilled a three-pointer in the 11th minute of the second half. The trey broke a 50-50 tie, started the Flyers on a 15-2 run and gave them a permanent lead.

“It was big. We knew the type of team Charlotte is. They’re streaky,” said Roberts, who tallied a game-high 24 points. “If we could get them buried, it would be to our advantage.”

Dayton (19-11), which moves on to play top-seeded Xavier Thursday at 12 p.m., will be without top reserve Marcus Johnson, who was helped off the court with five minutes left.

The 49ers (14-16) received 23 points from guard Leemire Goldwire.

No. 5 Fordham 63, No. 12 Richmond 61
A missed layup kept the Spiders from pulling the first upset of this season’s tournament.

With nine seconds left, the Spiders (8-22) trailed by one when David Gonzalvez hit the side of the backboard on a five-footer from the baseline. The Rams took the ball the other way, where Sebastien Green made one free throw to close out the Spiders’ hopes.

“Piece of cake. I knew it from the beginning,” Fordham coach Dereck Whittenburg said jokingly. “[The Spiders] hung in there. They’re a gutsy team.”

Richmond’s Dan Geriot scored 27 points, while Fordham’s Bryant Dunston and Marcus Stout dropped 21 and 17 points, respectively.

The win was just the fourth-ever in the A-10 tournament for the Rams (18-11), who will play fourth-seeded Rhode Island at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

No. 7 Saint Louis 78, No. 10 Duquesne 77
It took a while, but one team finally set itself apart from the other in the third game of the opening round.

Saint Louis’ four-headed attack of Ian Vouyoukas (19 points), Kevin Lisch (18), Luke Meyer (16) and Tommie Liddell (14) combined to help eliminate Duquesne, which has made the quarterfinals only twice since 1995.

The Dukes eventually lost the game at the free throw line. That’s where guard Scott Grote converted one of his free throws but missed the other with 7.6 seconds remaining, leaving Duquesne one point shy of a tie.

With the win the Billikens (19-12), in their second year in the conference, picked up their first-ever A-10 tourney win. They’ll face second-seeded Massachusetts Thursday in a 6:30 p.m. start.

Three Dukes (10-19) reached double-digit scoring totals, including a team-high 14 points from Keiron Achara.

NOTES
In the first of a two-year contract with Atlantic City and Boardwalk Hall, the A-10’s championship tournament was sparsely attended for each of the first three games. Officials said they anticipate a spike in attendance as the tourney progresses. . . .

According to the athletic department’s Web site, Temple fans were divided on how far the men’s basketball team would advance in the A-10 tournament. Of participants in the poll, 41.1 percent said the Owls would bow out in the opening round, while 40.3 percent said they’d win it all.

Christopher A. Vito can be reached at christopher.vito@temple.edu.

Another late-game scoreless stretch spells doom for Owls

ATLANTIC CITY - The men’s basketball team has suffered through late-game scoreless streaks several times this season.

Those prolonged stretches often cost Temple a win.

This time, such a draught ended the Owls’ season.

The 11th-seeded Owls scored just four points during an eight-minute span late in the game Wednesday. This allowed sixth-seeded Saint Joseph’s to erase a nine-point deficit and hand Temple a 66-62 loss at Boardwalk Hall in the Atlantic Ten Conference tournament’s opening round.

In knocking the Owls out of the conference tournament for the second consecutive season, the Hawks beat their cross-town rivals for the third time this year.

This game was a lot closer than the previous two.

“Coach [Fran Dunphy] said before the game that if we left it all out on the court, then we have nothing to hang our heads about,” senior Dion Dacons said. “In a way here, you can take pride about everybody individually doing everything that they could, but we just didn’t pull it out in the end.”

The Owls (12-18) led most of the game and kept pace with the Hawks’ interior. Temple fell just shy in rebounding margin, 33-30. Dacons led the team with nine boards.

Mark Tyndale chipped in from the perimeter, grabbing six rebounds. The junior guard also scored a game-high 22 points, dished out four assists and snagged three steals.

Freshman Ryan Brooks, playing a career-high 34 minutes, scored 15 points, including 10 in the game’s first 13 minutes.

“I found myself with a couple of open looks,” Brooks said. “I took them and started getting into a rhythm. Then, I felt like my teammates starting looking for me more down the stretch.”

As a team, the Owls limited the Hawks to 44 percent shooting.

“For the most part, I thought we guarded about as good as we could get,” said Dunphy, who concluded his first season with the Owls after 17 seasons at Penn. “But we’ve got to get better at it as the years go on.”

Still, all the positives weren’t enough to keep the Hawks from beating Temple for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings.

The Owls, who failed to make the NCAA Tournament the last six years, will likely miss out on the National Invitation Tournament. If so, that will end their string of 23 straight postseason appearances.

Dacons and fellow co-captain Dustin Salisbery ended their Temple careers. Salisbery’s final line read: 12 points, two reboards, three assists and one steal. He also committed five of the team’s 11 turnovers.

A four-year starter, Salisbery finished with 1,276 career points. That ranks 26th among Temple’s all-time scorers.

“I’m upset with the loss,” Salisbery said of his final collegiate game, “but I feel that all of our players and coaches did the best job they could do preparing. I think we gave it all we got.”

The Hawks (18-13) jumped to the early lead, holding a 7-4 margin at the 15:21 mark.

Fueled by sophomore guard Dionte Christmas and Brooks, the Owls took a 10-0 run. Both players scored five points as the Temple took a 14-7 advantage.

Following a defensive rebound, Christmas then hurled a pass across the court. The Hawks’ Garrett Williamson picked it off and eventually found forward Rob Ferguson open for a three-pointer.

Williamson then notched a layup on the Hawks’ next possession. Suddenly, the Hawks had closed the gap to 14-12 with 8:43 left in the first stanza.

Temple - never able to fully distance itself from St. Joe’s - went up by seven again, at 21-14, but the Hawks eventually tied the game, at 27-27, with 1:55 left before the break.

The Owls retook the lead on a layup by Dacons. Salisbery drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer from just inside mid-court to pad the Owls’ lead, at 32-28. The points were the guard’s first of the game.

The game remained tight in the opening minutes of the second half. Mark Tyndale’s three-pointer from the left wing broke a 32-32 tie and started an 18-9 Temple run.

Salisbery capped the stretch with a trey of his own, pumping his fist in celebration. With 11:39 remaining, the Owls owned a 50-41 lead, their largest of the night.

The game slowly unraveled for the Owls from that point.

An 8-2 St. Joe’s run made it a one possession game, but a layup by Tyndale gave the Owls a tad bit of breathing room, at 54-49.

The Owls went five minutes without scoring. Fortunately for Temple, the Hawks only managed one field goal during that span.

Tyndale finally broke the draught with a layup, giving the Owls a five-point lead, at 56-51. With 3:34 showing on the clock, the game was still in their control.

Then the wheels fell off.

Temple managed just two more points - both off of free throws - over the next 3:28. Tyndale again broke the Owls’ scoring slump with a layup. The clock showed six seconds remaining.

But the Hawks’ 63-60 lead was not safe.

A Tyndale foul allowed the Hawks to pad their cushion to 64-60, but Salisbery raced up the court and dunked the ball to cut the Owls’ deficit to 64-62 with three seconds left.

The Owls failed to pick off the Hawks’ inbounds pass, forcing Brooks to foul Darrin Govens. Govens then made both of his free throws, icing the game.

“We were leading the whole game,” Christmas said. “A lot of small mistakes caused us to lose the game today.”

NOTES:
The last time Temple lost three games to the same opponent in a season came during the 1995-96 campaign, when Massachusetts gave the Owls trouble. The Minutemen were ranked No. 1 in the country during the first two games between the A-10 foes, and No. 2 in their final matchup. … The Owls, who have won more A-10 tournament games than any other conference member, have only been eliminated from the tourney in their opening game three times. … Temple fell to 1-4 all-time at Boardwalk Hall, which is also the site of next season’s A-10 tournament. … Christmas got the seven points he needed to become the 10th player in Temple history to record at least 600 points in a season.

For more on the Owls and the A-10 tournament, visit www.temple-news.com and read Christopher A. Vito’s men’s basketball notebook, Despite loss, Christmas keeps head up.

John Kopp can be reached at john.kopp@temple.edu.

Operation transformation

Lavoy Allen doesn’t know what it’s like to lose.The physically intimidating center helped build a perennial district and state contender at Pennsbury High in Fairless Hills, Pa. Hoping to do the same at Temple beginning next season, Allen said he hasn’t second-guessed his decision.

“Oh no, definitely not,” said Allen, a McDonald’s All-American. “I hope I can come in next year and help us win some more games and possibly win the [Atlantic Ten Conference] tournament.”

Undaunted by Temple’s five-year absence from the NCAA Tournament, Allen, along with point guard Martavis Kee and power forward Michael Eric, have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Owls next season.

Without a fourth scholarship available, another recruit - guard Ramone Moore - has verbally committed, but remains unsigned. Moore has made it known he wants to be a part of Temple’s transformation. And so have the other three commits, who Temple coach Fran Dunphy said possess the talent to eventually see hefty minutes.

“The three guys who have signed letters of intent are really three guys that can help us,” Dunphy said. “How soon … will be determined by how they make the adjustment to the college game.”

Dunphy said he likes what his first full recruiting class at Temple will have to offer. The seasoned coach will have at his disposal a talented point guard in Kee and two big men in Allen and Eric - both areas of this year’s squad which could benefit from their help.

Allen’s talent in the middle has helped Pennsbury to a 23-4 record and a potentially lengthy run in the PIAA Class AAAA state tournament.

As the Falcons’ leading scorer, rebounder
and shot-blocker, the 6-9, 225-pound Allen has paced the Falcons. He might even have the opportunity to start next season.

“[Dunphy] does tell me that,” Allen said. “I know when I go there next year, they’re not just going to let me start. I have to earn that spot.”

Allen tops Pennsbury in field-goal and free-throw percentage and ranks second on the team in assists.

A three-star recruit, Allen had fielded scholarship offers from Big East schools Villanova, Providence and Rutgers. Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said Allen saw something more at Temple.

“He liked a number of things,” Sciolla said. “But the most important thing was that he could come in and immediately be a big contributor. I can’t be presumptuous and say he’ll be a centerpiece for Temple, but he’ll be pretty darn good.”

Eric, who has put up similarly impressive numbers, will accompany Allen in the frontcourt.

At the lesser-known Church Farm High in Paoli, Pa., Eric led the Griffins to a league championship this season. The 6-10 center did so in fashion, posting 24 of his team’s 54 points in the title game.

And what Allen and Eric likely will provide in the paint, Kee will add on the perimeter.Because of his 6-3, 185-pound build, left-handed shot and capable play, Kee has drawn comparisons to former Temple guard Lynn Greer.

Greer, now in the NBA with the Milwaukee
Bucks, led the Owls to their most recent Elite Eight finish, in 2001, and ranks second among Temple’s all-time scoring leaders.

“If [Kee] has the career that Lynn Greer had, we’ll be very, very happy,” Dunphy said.

With high expectations, Kee said current
guard Dionte Christmas and the Owls’ coaching staff has passed along some helpful advice.

“Dionte just says, ‘Stay humble and keep working hard,’” Kee said on visit to Temple a few weeks ago. “I talk to him the most.”After taking in an Owls’ win, Kee said he was impressed with Temple’s guards.

“I like the style they play,” Kee said.

“It’s more of a guard’s team. They have a lot of freedom. Coach Dunphy feels comfortable with his players. It’s something I can come and contribute to.”

Kee, who averages 20 points and nine assists, saw his high school career come to a close Saturday in the Florida State Class 5A quarterfinals. And as for Moore, a 6-4, 185-pound shooting guard, he remains confident he’ll eventually don a cherry and white jersey. At South Philadelphia High, Moore led all city players with a 24.1 scoring average.

A scholarship at Temple might not become available for him until 2008, but, according to Moore’s high school coach, the guard is excited about eventually playing here.

“I was surprised by how adamant he was about Temple,” said South Philadelphia coach George Anderson.Anderson said Moore was influenced by Nate Blackwell, a former Temple standout who hails from Moore’s neighborhood.

“He’s known Nate since he was a little kid. They’re so close, he calls him his cousin,” he said.

According to Anderson, Moore hasn’t made a decision on his future. But he said Moore received promising advice from Dunphy
and his staff.

“They really like Ramone, so they’ve given
him suggestions on which prep schools to attend,” Anderson said. “If he does that, great. But he likes Temple, so I think he’ll fit in there well.”

John Kopp and Christopher A. Vito can be reached at templenewssports@gmail.com.

Christmas, Owls continue to struggle

Dionte Christmas stepped to the foul line shortly into the second half of Temple’s game against Saint Joseph’s Thursday.

Usually a safe bet from the line, Christmas’ two shots both clanged off the rim.

Christmas is struggling and so are the Owls.

The Owls dropped their third straight game, 92-76, to the Hawks at the Palestra. During that three-game stretch Christmas, the leading scorer in the Atlantic Ten Conference, has shot 11-of-43.

That’s 25.6 percent.

“Good players have streaks like this,” Christmas said. “I just got to bounce back from it. Our last three games are big. I definitely have to come back stronger and more aggressive.”

Just over a week ago, the Owls owned a four-game winning streak. Despite playing with an injured left hand, Christmas averaged 24.8 points as the Owls (11-15 overall, 5-8 A-10) separated themselves from the bottom of the A-10 standings.

The Owls shot 56 percent in those four wins and 48 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

But as the Owls have discovered all season, when those jump shots fail to fall, they struggle to score. With 6-6 Dion Dacons their most skilled post player, the Owls have trouble pounding the ball inside.

And against 6-8 Rob Ferguson, 6-9 Ahmad Nivens and 6-10 Pat Calathes, the Owls again found that task to be difficult.

The Hawks (17-10, 9-4) owned the interior Thursday. Nivens notched his third double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Ferguson scored eight points.

But the talk of the night was Calathes.

The junior forward led all scorers with 27 points. He reeled in seven boards while dishing out seven assists.

Calathes has the build to drive to the hoop, but he’s also a sharpshooter. He hit all four of his attempted treys.

“Calathes was unbelievable,” Dunphy said. “His line is fantastic. He’s getting to be as good a player as there is in the area, let alone the Saint Joe’s team. He’s been great.”

The Owls opened the game with a dunk by Mark Tyndale, who had averaged 23.9 points in the last seven games. But Tyndale attempted just one more shot the remainder of the first half.

“The defense didn’t give me too much room,” Tyndale said. “So, I had to take what the defense gave me. I didn’t want to run anybody over - I had one foul early in the game. I didn’t want to commit a charge or anything like that.”

Tyndale said he was more aggressive in the second half, when he scored 16 of his 18 points.

Temple came up with only two offensive rebounds in the first stanza, but hung tough. The ciy rivals exchanged the lead three times in the first eight minutes. With 8:20 left, the score was tied at 21.

That’s when Calathes began extending his range. He drained three pointers on back-to-back possessions. He then hit two free throws to pad the Hawks’ lead to 29-23. In that stretch, he scored eight consecutive points for the Hawks.

Dacons then performed his own gig from beyond the arc, hitting two treys to pull the Owls within 31-29.

That’s as close as the Owls would come.

The Hawks finished the half on a 7-0 run and opened the second half by scoring on nine straight possessions. The 20-4 run put the Owls to bed.

“Obviously, we need a lot of work,” Dunphy said. “But the good part for us, is [that] we get a chance to go right back at it in less than 48 hours against a good Charlotte team.”

The Owls have lost 10 of their last 11 games against the Hawks. The loss also clinched a losing regular season for the Owls, their first since John Chaney’s inaugural season, 1982-83.

NOTEBOOK - By Christopher A. Vito

LINEUP SHUFFLE
Coming off the bench is as unfamiliar to Christmas as starting a game is for DaShone Kirkendoll.

But both players found themselves in unlikely positions last night when the Owls took the floor of the Palestra against Saint Joseph’s. And neither found his stroke.

Christmas, who sat out the first five minutes, was limited to just 10 points. Kirkendoll played only six minutes, hitting 2-of-4 from the floor for five points.

Dunphy said “a hiccup” earlier this week led to benching Christmas.

“That kid has as much zest for the game as anybody I’ve ever coached,” Dunphy said of Christmas. “I’m kind of a stickler for perfection and, while I don’t expect it, I want the attempt made all the time.”

It’s been quite a while since Christmas watched the tipoff from the bench. In fact, that last occurred against St. Joe’s in the semifinals of last season’s A-10 tournament in Cincinnati.

As for Kirkendoll, he had never started a game prior to last night. The junior was excited but treated it like any other game.

“I went about it normally, but just that I was coming in earlier than I normally do,” Kirkendoll said.

Prior to last night, Dunphy had used only two variations of his starting lineup - one with Mark Tyndale out due to academic ineligibility, and another featuring the guard seven games into this season.

HIGH SCHOOL REUNION
At Lower Merion High in Chester, Pa., Ryan Brooks and Garrett Williamson worked together to win a state championship last season.

Now at opposing Big 5 schools, Brooks earned some bragging rights with a second-half steal off his former high school teammate, which he followed with a dunk at the other end of the floor.

The play - one of just a few Temple highlights - was “special,” Brooks said, but Williamson ultimately got the upper hand.

“We had a laugh and a few words for each other when we’re out there and after that [dunk]. It’s good to be on the same court together,” said Brooks, who finished with five points and two steals.

NOTES
Less publicity was made of Dunphy’s latest game at the Palestra, but last night’s loss kept the coach winless in his two trips back since leaving Penn. …The Hawks’ student section took some of the edge off the deflating loss with some interesting rollout signs. One read, “What’s so Fran-tastic about losing?” taking a jab at the Owls’ coach.

John Kopp and Christopher A. Vito can be reached at templenewssports@gmail.com.

Win against St. Joe’s could spark strong finish

Thursday’s game against Saint Joseph’s really is Temple’s ‘biggest game of the rest of the season.’

That’s the mantra the Owls (11-14) have been taking into each of their contests in recent weeks. It’s their way of making sure they don’t overlook anyone.

But the Owls’ next game likely will be their toughest contest in their final four games. And the most important.Saturday’s 84-72 road loss to George Washington dropped the Owls to 5-7 and into 11th place in the Atlantic Ten Conference.

That puts them two games in front of St. Bonaventure for 12th place, the final spot for next month’s A-10 tournament. Though a first-round bye, given to the conference’s top four teams, is almost unattainable,
a few wins could catapult Temple much higher in the A-10 standings.

The league’s fifth and 11th places are separated by just two games. In between are five teams, all with mediocre records at or around .500. The Owls will play three of those teams - Charlotte, Dayton and Fordham - to close the season. Despite a two-game losing streak, the window to a decent seed is still wide open for the Owls.

A win over fourth-place St. Joe’s (16-10, 8-4) could set the tone for the Owls’ final three games. These city rivalries have a tendency of doing just that.With a victory, the Owls would end their skid knowing that their competition won’t get any tougher until the A-10 tourney.

A loss would have them mired in a three-game losing streak and scrambling back to the confines of the Liacouras Center, where the Owls are 8-4.The Hawks have had Temple’s number in recent seasons. The Owls have won just once in their last 10 meetings against their crosstown
counterparts.

A bigger problem - both literally and figuratively - is the Hawks’ Ahmad Nivens. The 6-9 forward, who averages 15.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, staked claim of the interior in the teams’ previous meeting. Nivens notched 20 points and grabbed eight boards as the Hawks exited the Liacouras Center with the win. Double-teaming Nivens doesn’t necessarily
benefit the Owls, either.

“If you help off [Rob] Ferguson, he’s got a tremendous jump shot,” Owls coach Fran Dunphy said. “If you help off [Pat] Calathes, he adds a lot to their team. He really has a complete game.”

Still, the undersized Owls have shown they can hold their own against a hefty frontcourt.

The Owls, who did so against UMass, have stressed team rebounding. Dion Dacons,
despite a commendable effort, can’t handle the interior on his own. If any of the players have received that message, it’s Mark Tyndale.

The junior guard has notched four double-doubles in the last six games. Tyndale, who’s averaging 23.3 points and 10 boards during that span, has risen to 13th in the conference in rebounding.

Against the Hawks, the Owls will need more of the same from Tyndale, but they’ll also need Dionte Christmas to rebound from two sub-par showings. The A-10’s leading scorer was held to just five points against the Colonials over the weekend. The sophomore guard collected 17 at La Salle, but struggled to find his shot. Christmas has made only 7-of-29 shots in his last two games, including 4-of-21 from beyond the arc.

The Hawks limited Christmas to just 2-of-12 shooting and nine points, which marked the first time this season Christmas had been held under 10 points.

“They didn’t let him get the ball,” Dunphy
said. “When they did, they surrounded him.”

NOTES

Three Owls - Christmas, Tyndale and Dustin Salisbery - currently rank in the A-10’s top five in scoring. Christmas tops the league with 21.0 points. Tyndale is third with 18.4 and Salisbery is fifth with 17.0. … Tyndale earned A-10 Player of the Week honors for the second consecutive week.

An Owl has been given that honor for the fifth straight week and sixth time this season. Christmas leads the A-10 with four Player of the Week honors.

John Kopp can be reached at
john.kopp@temple.edu. Christopher A. Vito contributed to this report.

Strengthened by newest recruits, football team assembles the puzzle

No one ever told Al Golden recruiting was going to be easy.But Golden must have known this was the case when he came to Temple, where wins are almost as scarce as four-star recruits.Almost.

With his second recruiting class officially
signing on last Wednesday, Golden has wrapped up what appears to be a strong and vibrant 29-man group.

That group is headlined by Philadelphia’s own Daryl Robinson, a four-star running back/defensive back combination who originally gave his word to West Virginia.

It’s foolish to think that one player could change the tide at Temple, where the Owls have been without a winning season since 21990. That’s because bringing in the pieces of the puzzle is not enough; the puzzle must be assembled in full to really see what you have before you.

“It’s ‘Let’s go.’ I mean, we’ve got our guys now,” Golden said to the media from Edberg-Olson Hall. “…We’re excited. I don’t set [win totals] out there, but we have high expectations of winning the [Mid-American Conference].”

Golden thinks the pieces are in place to build a winner. He just might be right.

Fresh off a 1-11 season in which the Owls started 22 true freshmen, Golden implied that the Owls will only get greener. The second-year coach said he expects all 25 of the true freshmen in this class to start at some point next season, which might not be such a bad thing.

This young team meshed under the direction of its spry, enthusiastic coach. And having the opportunity for this year’s recruiting class - and that of the season prior - to grow together for three seasons will only aid Golden’s efforts.

“We don’t have many Achilles heels right now,” Golden said. “[Other teams] can go after us on our record, but, like I’ve said, I’ve only been here for one year. And we’re just beginning.”

Record is one thing, but production is another.In terms of offensive output last season, the Owls were near the bottom in almost every category in a field of 119 Division I-A teams. Similarly, they were at the bottom of the barrel on defense, too.In recruiting, however, the Owls ranked much higher. Recruiting Web site Rivals.com tapped Golden’s latest signees as the nation’s 90th-best class. SuperPreps.com, another recruiting site, put them 18 spots higher at No. 72, and above all other Mid-American Conference teams.

That doesn’t happen by accident.

Last year Golden needed just two months to assemble the MAC’s top-ranked recruiting class and he likely achieved that same honor this year. So, for the Owls, the future is bright. Along with Robinson, several others figure to be prominent pieces of that future:

There’s Chester Stewart, a strong-armed quarterback from Maryland’s DeMatha
High who Golden said is “clearly different”
than others at his position.And what about Joseph Jones out of Florida? Labeled as “dynamic” by Golden, the 200-pound running back runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds.

Then finally, there’s running back Kee-Ayre Griffin, out of New Jersey’s Saint Peter’s Prep. Touted highly as a junior - when he had as many as 30 scholarship offers
- Griffin did not play football as a senior.

(His school had abandoned its football program in preparation for its closing.)

And as he was being abandoned by so many D-I programs, Griffin could have transferred elsewhere. But doing the opposite attracted Golden.

“He didn’t take the easy way out,” Golden said.

In a way, neither has Golden.The young coach’s background is in recruiting, which he did exceptionally well at Boston College and Virginia prior to his arrival here. Recruiting is how he’s built his name in college football. It’s where he bolstered two already-powerful programs.And it’s where he’ll find a way to turn Temple from laughing-stock to bowl-game eligible.

While addressing the media, Golden momentarily thought about the future of Temple football. And he beamed.

“You can’t just have a vision,” he said, “You’ve got to be able to execute, and we’re ready to do that.”

Christopher A. Vito can be reached at christopher.vito@temple.edu.

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