Hi readers — this week is an encore of an ATB I wrote three years ago, on February 5, 2021. I really received an amazing response on this one.

February 10, 1988. McGonigle Hall. Temple University Campus. No. 1 ranked Temple Owls vs No. 20 ranked Villanova Wildcats. I was 20 years old and I painted my face for that game. Cherry and White, of course, with a Temple T.

Temple could have held that game at an easily sold-out Spectrum that evening, but in true Temple style, they elected to hold the game on campus, in front of just under 4,000 rabid fans. SRO!

Temple won that evening, in a Big 5 Classic for the ages. Thanks to John Chaney and Temple University, I have attended scores of Big Five Classics over the decades, but this one was the best. After the game, John Chaney said, “I think it showed the emergence of character in a team, in young men, from both teams.”

For John Chaney, that is what it was about for his student-athletes. Character. And attitude. “Winning is an attitude,” was Coach’s well-known mantra, and that was not just at his 5am practices and on the court. It was in life. Helping boys develop character and turn into fine, young men was what Chaney was about.

5am practices clearly cost John Chaney some top recruits. I mean for a 17-year-old kid to commit to an inner city school with rugged 5am practices wasn’t for every kid who saw himself as a future superstar. And some Owl boosters wished he would do away with the 5am-ers to bring in some more blue-chip recruits. This was not for Coach Chaney. He did it his way, developed character, and would not change. He would rather have a “lemon” that played his match-up zone like his life depended on it, rather than a 5-star recruit who preferred to practice after the sun came up.

Hearing Coach scream at his players (so many of whom went on to the NBA or to other successful careers) in his loud yet raspy voice, an entire arena holding up Chaney masks on a wood stick in front of our faces, the band playing T for Temple U at a rocking McGonigle Hall. Man, those were the days.

Wow. There is so much more I can say about John Chaney, and I still would only cover about .0001% of what could be said. Obviously, he is in the Hall of Fame, and he is a legend among legends.

A great coach. A greater man. Rest in Peace, John Chaney.

There is so much out there about John Chaney, that I just wanted to offer my personal perspective.

Many have written personal pieces in the short time since his death, and the greatest insider perspective I found is “This is the John Chaney I Knew” by longtime Philly sports writer, Mike Kern. If you want to understand more about what makes this man such a great person, I recommend this piece.

Some imagery in this e-newsletter was sourced via visitphilly.com and Canva.