John Chaney

Known as a teacher of life’s lessons, John Chaney’s crack-of-dawn practices at Temple University were legendary. While the time of day the workouts began was distinctive, more famous are the values the veteran coach instilled in his players: discipline, teamwork, commitment, excellence, and execution. Chaney’s teams, first at Cheyney State in Cheyney, PA where he won the 1978 NCAA Division II national championship, and later at Temple University in Philadelphia, played hard-nosed, grind-it-out basketball, reminiscent of Chaney’s playing days at Bethune-Cookman College in Florida. His match-up zone defense gave opposing coaches nightmares and helped his teams reach the postseason 26 times in his career. Upon revitalizing Temple’s program in 1982, Chaney coached the Owls to five NCAA regional finals and seventeen NCAA tournaments. In 1987 and 1988 Temple put together back-to-back 30-win campaigns. Chaney won 516 games in all with the Owls, a record at Temple University.