Different school, same staff for Dunphy

Men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy said he was looking for loyalty, a solid work ethic and an understanding of the duties of coaching when he selected his first Temple coaching staff.It turns out Dunphy had to look no further than the coaches who worked with him at Penn.Dunphy completed his coaching staff Wednesday, naming Dave Duke the final member of his Temple staff. Dunphy had previously named former Quakers assistants Matt Langel and Shawn Trice – both of whom are former Penn players as well – to the staff.”They know me,” Dunphy said. “I know them. I know what their work ethic is like. I know what their loyalty factor is like.”As assistant coach, Duke brings the most coaching experience to the staff. He spent that last eight seasons working on Dunphy’s Penn staff, a span that included six Ivy League championships. Prior to his time at Penn, Duke coached Lehigh for eight seasons. His 90 wins at the school rank second all-time.Langel coached under Dunphy the last two seasons. He played for the Quakers from 1996-2000, leading the team to two Ivy League championships.Trice, a former Penn forward, began his coaching career last season after working as a YMCA sports coordinator in Detroit for seven years.Here’s a roundup of what has happened among Temple’s other sports since the semester ended:BASEBALLThough the Owls finished the season 12-41 overall, four Owls were awarded for strong individual performances by the newly formed Diamond Five, which represents the five Philadelphia area schools sporting a baseball program.Freshman outfielder Jamie Abercrombie was named the Rookie of Year. The Owls’ lead-off hitter hit .288, scored 21 runs and swiped nine bases.Junior third baseman Dan Brady, sophomore pitcher Arshwin Asjes and sophomore outfielder Devon Swope each earned a place on the All-Diamond team. Brady’s .310 average, seven homers, 35 runs batted in and 33 runs led the team. Asjes finished the season with a 5-7 record and 4.26 earned run average. Swope batted .303 and led the Owls with 17 doubles.Earlier last month, Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw announced the re-naming of the baseball field to the James “Skip” Wilson Field to honor the former coach who retired last fall. Wilson concluded his career as the winningest coach in Temple history, with 1,034 wins.FIELD HOCKEYSenior Ashley Shepps was named to the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II Women’s At-Large Second team. She held a 3.89 grade-point-average during her tenure with the Owls and was awarded Temple’s Female Student Athlete of the Year Award.LACROSSEJunior midfielders Casey Cech and Allison Frengs, who helped lead the Owls to a second-place finish at the Atlantic Ten Conference tournament last month, were named Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Regional All-Americans. Both players were also named to the A-10 First team.Frengs, a first team regional all-American, earned the status for the second consecutive season. Her five-goal performance against St. Bonaventure in the A-10 semifinals secured a comeback win. Her season total of 35 goals led the Owls.Cech, a second team all-American selection, finished third on the team in scoring with 32 goals while adding 18 assists. She stepped up her game in the A-10 tournament, providing the Owls two eight-point games.MEN’S BASKETBALLPoint guard Mardy Collins has been busy working out for various NBA teams in preparation for the June 28 draft. Thus far, Collins completed workouts for the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz. He will workout for the Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow.Several mock drafts have Collins going in the middle of the first round. After working out for the Bulls, Collins told Bulls.com that he thinks he would be a good fit for the team.”They’re young and they’ve shown that they compete every night,” Collins said. “They’re the hardest playing team in the NBA. If I was fortunate enough to get picked by this team, I think I’d fit in nicely with the smaller guards, being able to play along side [center Kirk] Hinrich or [guard Ben] Gordon and guard the bigger guards on the floor.”As a senior, Collins led the Owls with 16.8 points per game, 127 assists and 89 steals.Another former Temple guard, Lynn Greer, was recently named the Most Valuable Player of Italy’s top professional league, Lega A. In leading his team to the 2006 Italian Cup, Greer averaged 22.8 points and 3.4 assists per game. He netted 91 percent of his free throws.Greer ended his Temple career in 2002, as the Owls’ second-highest scorer with 2,099 points. His .852 free throw percentage and 305 three-pointers are Temple records.TRACK AND FIELDMen’s middle distance runner Matt Kobialka was named to the A-10’s all-Academic team. A history major, Kobialka owns a 3.73 GPA.WOMEN’S BASKETBALLIncoming freshman forward Jasmine Stone has been invited to try out for the 2006 United States Basketball U18 National Team. The tryouts will be held June 16-19 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Stone will be one of 34 players ages 18 and younger attempting make the final 12-player squad.John Kopp can be reached at jpk85@juno.com.