Temple played in 5 Elite Eights under John Chaney and won a pair of NCAA Tournament games under Fran Dunphy, but considering what the program was dealing with 9 days ago, this has been one of the more remarkable runs for them in recent memory, regardless of what happens tomorrow.
I'm honestly not sure how to process or organize my thoughts right now about John Chaney's passing. Just grateful to have spent some time around him. No adjective or anecdote will ever fully do him justice. This world is a better place because of him. RIP to a legend.
Tonight's attendance: 15,215. The atmosphere at the Wells Fargo Center has been great.
To the city's athletic directors: Don't screw this up. Do it again next year.
Yesterday marked my 20-year
@TempleUniv
work anniversary, and
@TheTempleNews
staff surprised me with a cake at our budget meeting today. I'm so fortunate to be their adviser. There's a Temple T there if you look closely at
@JackLDanz
' craftsmanship!
I was talking to John Chaney for a
@TempleUniv
Magazine story when he retired in 2006, and he gave this to me as was cleaning out his office. So much good stuff in here that brings back memories of what he used to talk about in postgame interviews and conversations in his office.
This is an excellent hire by new Temple head coach Stan Drayton. Wiesehan is a highly-respected coach who knows how to recruit and win at Temple. He coached the Owls' offensive line from 2014-15 and 2017-18. Pro Bowler
@DDawkins66
credits Wiesehan for a lot of his success.
An emotional Stan Drayton starts by looking directly at the players in attendance. "I've always wanted to lead men on a large scale ... I want you to go for the top. I want you go to be great. ... That's what this program is going to be about."
I'm honored to be a recipient of a College Media Association 2024 Distinguished Adviser Award and looking forward to seeing some of my colleagues at our fall national
@collegemedia
convention in New Orleans in October!
@MackenzieMays
Similar thing. In writing a football game story, I transcribed a quote from a coach and wrote momentum shit instead of momentum shift. It was up on our side for a few hours before it was pointed out to me. I was mortified at first but eventually had to laugh.
My Dadโs birthday is coming up Tuesday. He would have been 75. I really miss him right about now. Heโd call to talk about the game, ask me if Iโm watching Postgame Live, and then tell me to get some sleep and tell me he loved me. Iโd give anything to hear the phone ring. โค๏ธ
Good morning, Temple fans. Need a little extra motivation for today's game? Read about UAB coach Andy Kennedy, the man who took shots at John Chaney when he was an assistant at Cincinnati - and left a paper trail.
Bradley has a great story. Put up big numbers at Rancocas Valley High School but didn't have any big offers and came to Temple as a greyshirt after taking classes at Rowan College at Burlington County in the fall of 2015. Became a 3-year starter and now an NFL player.
An excerpt from Aaron McKie's session with reporters about John Chaney: โIn just talking to him over the past year, he was at peace with everything. โฆ I have a heavy heart now, selfishly, because heโs one of those guys whoโs supposed to be here forever. But Iโm at peace. ...
Wildwood Catholic point guard Jahlil White, who is out for the summer after surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee, is watching from the bench and wearing a knee brace. Heโs also wearing a Temple shirt. Heโs one of Aaron McKieโs top priorities in the 2020 class.
Tonight's announced attendance: 13,607. Once word got out that the Pumpkins were playing nothing but the hits tonight across the street, attendance numbers here were doomed.
Hysier Miller entered the portal after the coaching change. He actually verbally committed to SMU on a visit before he changed his mind and decided to stay at Temple. He's been asked to do a lot this season, and he could/should be better with more talent around him next season.
There it is. Wildwood Catholic star Jahlil White commits to
@TUcoachMcKie
and Temple, giving the Owls their first verbal commitment from the 2019 class.
Temple's roster transformation continues with a big addition. The former Trenton Catholic star was ranked No. 122 in the 2019 Rivals150 and a 4-star recruit and 82nd in that class by ESPN. Per a source, the Owls will pursue a waiver to try to get him eligible this season.
Drayton's message to Temple's former players: โThere is an open door policy. I need you. The brotherhood that weโre creating now, it is a brotherhood already in existence ...
Temple is certainly rebuilding in Adam Fisher's first season, but the Owls play hard for him. A gritty OT win today at Wichita State and big moment for Shane Dezonie in his long and winding basketball career. Owls are now 10-17 overall and 3-11 in the American.
Last night's
@TUKleincollege
Claire Smith Center for Sports Media fundraiser was surreal. Hearing people like David Cone, CC Sabathia and Steve Garvey honor
@MzCSmith
was a reminder of the indelible mark she's made in the world, and she's not done! I love you, Claire!
A great week for
@TUMBBHoops
continues, as Lynn Greer III announces his commitment to the Owls, who now have their point guard heading into the 2024-25 season.
We lost the heart and soul of our family yesterday. My father, John Anthony DiCarlo, bravely fought a rare, incurable, Stage 4 sarcoma cancer for three years before he passed away at the age of 74. I love you so much, Dad, and always will.
Sources: Penn State defensive coordinator Manny Diaz has emerged as the focus of Dukeโs head coaching search. A decision is expected in the next 24 hours.
So Temple ended up going 5-for-5 on its last official visit weekend. Appiah Darkwa has three seasons left to play after transferring in from Penn State.
Beyond happy to announce that I will be committing to
@TempleOwls
@Temple_FB
โผ๏ธ
Iโm more than grateful for
@StanDraytonTU
believing in me and giving me a chance to play for his team and further my education. Iโm more than ready to be
#TempleTuff
Temple, the 11th seed in the
@American_MBB
tournament, has knocked off No. 3 seed Charlotte, 58-54, to advance to Saturday's semifinal against No. 2 seed FAU at 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Gritty win for the Owls, who got 14 from Settle and 11 apiece from Riley and Miller.
SOURCE:
#Wisconsin
offensive coordinator/OL coach Joe Rudolph has interviewed with
#Temple
for the Owls head coaching job, and word is he was impressive.
I've been covering college basketball for 27 years. I don't think I've covered a triple-overtime game before. Temple 96, La Salle 92 with 3:46 left in the third OT here at the Liacouras Center.
You know I like you, but you're being incredibly shortsighted here. You're assuming that all of these students don't work. Even more, you're just assuming that everyone in this world has a family who can help. College students can still work very hard and still need help.
Has nothing to do with Villanova. Work a job or two like I did when I went to Temple or get the money from your family. Shame on you for asking me.
#getOUT
As mentioned earlier, Battle becomes a significant piece of Temple's future for Aaron McKie and his staff. The Butler transfer is a former 4-star recruit out of Trenton Catholic.
.โฆ
@Marlins
โฉ manager and former โฆ
@Yankees
โฉ All-Star Don Mattingly is here at โฆ
@TempleUniv
โฉ to support our โฆ
@MzCSmith
โฉ Center for Sports Media and answer questions from our โฆ
@TUKleincollege
โฉ students. Very thankful to have him here today.
If you're keeping score at home, three of the five players who left Temple via the transfer portal prior to last season (Damian Dunn, Jamille Reynolds and now Battle) are now back in the portal.
The Sixth Man of any great Thanksgiving meal. If things get crazy with the collision of flavors, you pop one of these to reset the offense/your palate. And theyโre essential for leftover sliders.
More than 50 students have turned out for tonightโs open house at
@TheTempleNews
, a tribute to the tradition and all of the hard work and recruitment efforts of the current staff!
Temple coach Rod Carey on Bradley: โShaun was one of those leaders that I donโt know Iโll ever have again in my coaching career. He led and people listened, and it was a joy to watch. I know that will translate into the NFL for him. Really excited about his future.โ
Some obviously significant recruiting news for Temple. Mathis, who's transferring to North Broad Street from Georgia and filling a position of need at QB, was rated by
@Rivals
as a 4-star recruit out of Michigan's Oak Park High School and 125th overall in the 2019 class.
Forget Ben Simmons. If the Nets want to lock down James Harden in the playoffs, they should bring Ryan Brooks out of retirement and sign him in mid-April.
Reporters (esp newer ones), please stop recording most* of your interviews. Using a recorder is time-consuming and leads to an overreliance on quotes in your writing. (*Exceptions include potentially adversarial interviews and those to run as Q&As.)
#journalismtipoftheday
New
@Eagles
defensive coordinator Sean Desaiโs bio from the 2006
@Temple_FB
media guide, when Al Golden first brought him in as a graduate extern for academics.
.
@MzCSmith
and
@marczumoff
are incredible people and have already brought so many great ideas to
@TUKleincollege
. I'm incredibly excited and grateful to be part of this and most excited for our students who will now have the opportunity to learn from them!
@jake_piazza
Your question was more than fine, Jake. Self-righteous responses arenโt something new for him. Keep showing up and donโt let it get to you.
The
@American_FB
will have a record 20 players at this year's NFL Scouting Combine, and
@Temple_FB
will send a league-leading four players to Indianapolis in center Matt Hennessy, linebackers Shaun Bradley and Chapelle Russell and cornerback Harrison Hand.
The Palestra has so many wonderful tributes displayed around its concourse. One of the last ones I looked at before I left last night was the one of Kobe in his Lower Merion High School uniform. I just canโt believe this. My heart goes out to his family.
Wow. Dezonie missed both free throws, Davis had a chance at a layup, but he dished it to Bremen Lorient. He wasn't ready for it, fumbled the ball and Miller corralled it for Temple as time expired. The Owls win 74-73. They'll play UAB tomorrow for the AAC title.
Final score in triple overtime from the Liacouras Center: Temple 106, La Salle 99. The Owls will play St. Joe's Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center for the inaugural Big 5 Classic championship. Quante Berry's 13 points were huge as this game went well past regulation.
I had a nightmare that Jalen Hurts might not be the long-term answer at QB. He threw two INTs and a pick-6 in Dallas and then compared the whole thing to a BM in the postgame presser. At least I woke up laughing. What timeโs kickoff?
Jon Crispin, tonight's ESPNU color commentator, starred at South Jersey's Pitman High School. Temple held him to 6 points on 2 of 10 shooting in the Owls' 84-72 Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament win over Penn State in 2001.
I've gotten this question regarding Matt Rhule: why didn't Giants keep him on staff after 2012 if they really liked him?
Simple answer, imo: Finding a Tom Coughlin successor was the furthest thing from their mind one year removed from SB46.
But Rhule definitely made impression.
Even when Al Golden's first Temple team in 2006 was overmatched because of a lack of talent before Al and his staff turned things around with recruiting, the team played hard. It's been a long time since I've seen football like this.
That's an impressive 70-61 win for Temple at USC. Josh Pierre-Louis carried the Owls early and finished with a team-high 15 and Dre Perry attacked the zone well and added 10 off the bench. The Owls outrebounded a much bigger USC team, 42-38, got 8 steals and forced 13 turnovers.
In a move that's been in the works for quite a while,
@TUMBBHoops
@Coach_Afish
has named former Temple star Lynn Greer as his chief of staff, the program announced just a few minutes ago.
@JonRothstein
Who hurt you about Temple? Youโve been railing on football for over a year as if you have an agenda. Attendance hasnโt been great but itโs winter break and thereโs a surge w COVID in the city. What gives here?
Three weeks after he retired, he invited me back to his office as he was packing up. He gave me this small gold owl statue. "Hey, you want this?" he asked. "You can sell it on eBay!" He cackled and I cracked up. I wouldn't dare sell that thing. I still have it.
Ray was a
@TUKleincollege
senior at this time last year and now he has his own show in a top-five media market at
@975TheFanatic
. Congratulations, buddy! We're very proud of you.
Fun news: Iโll have my own weekend slot on
@975TheFanatic
. Until football comes back, Iโll have you 3-6pm on Sundays.
Perfectly nestled in that time where we all can celebrate a ton of Sunday afternoon victories for the Phillies.
When reporters get to the site of the Super Bowl each year to pick up their credentials, I'd love for the envelope to be accompanied by this message:
You are not the story.
Great to go back home and see the past, present and future that makes
@TempleUniv
special. Honored to join the Gallery of Success Class of 2024 and represent
@TUKleincollege
. Thank you to
@dlboardman
, Karen Gallagher,
@jdicarlo
and Ray Didinger. Temple Made. Always
Former
@Temple_FB
tight end Colin Thompson has been a frequent contributor to our
@OwlScoop_com
podcast, The Scoop. Can't help but be happy for him after he worked his way back into the NFL. And his first NFL catch goes for a touchdown.
David Martin-Robinson caught nine passes for 113 yards during the preseason and has for now made the Titans' 53-man roster as an undrafted rookie free agent. On a personal level, he's one of the kindest and most thoughtful athletes I've covered. Very happy for him.
In 2006, Temple Review (now Temple Magazine) asked me to write a story about John Chaney's retirement. I've never had more fun writing anything else. Those of you who were there that day remember how he nailed his speech and quoted Sinatra: "Excuse me while I disappear."
Temple offers legacy recruit Quincy Wadley, whose father, also named Quincy Wadley, played on the last Owls team to advance to the Elite Eight in 2001. Now his son is one of the better players in his class nationally.
Thanks so much to
@PhillyInquirer
reporter
@matt_breen
for visiting our
@TUKleincollege
Advanced Sports Reporting class. The guy knows how to craft a story โ and provide guidance about WrestleMania pitches!
If Iโm starting a team made up of characters from Christmas specials, give me Yukon Cornelius with my first pick. Heโs a leader, loves Christmas, competes. Heโs also a little crazy and heโd win every press conference.
.
@TUcoachMcKie
on the postgame celebration after beating No. 1 Houston: "It's fun. I know those guys think I'm the bad guy all the time because I'm constantly on them, but I said I'm not gonna let up, and this is the result. We pay attention to the details the last couple days...
How many point guards got this in the bag
@BenSimmons25
๐๐ผ Details - Making live reads playing off the screen , High crossover into a power dunk finish ๐ค
#jushoop
The best sports book on the market finally arrived! Congrats,
@ToddZolecki
! I know how much hard work and fair and thorough reporting went into this. Youโre a great friend and a terrific example of what our young reporters should strive to be.
Temple is off to a good start under Adam Fisher, who probably feels like he's coached twice as many games after late-game closeouts at Navy and tonight in a great atmosphere at the DAC. Still plenty for the Owls to work on, but they've fought through some early adversity.
Ray is everything anyone could hope for in a professional. He's talented, hard-working, reliable and an incredible person to be around. And he's been a mentor to
@TUKleincollege
and
@tusportsmedia
students. He's destined for some big things in his career!
Congratulations to
@WHIPRADIO
for winning Best Website and Best Contest or Promotional Event in this yearโs national Intercollegiate Broadcasting System awards!
Temple escaped tonight with a 79-76 overtime win over USF at the Liacouras Center. I have no idea what the officials were thinking on that last play. Damian Dunn was clearly fouled, but he was ruled out of bounds. USF could have tied it, but Tyler Harris missed a 3.
A big thank you to the
@PhillyInquirer
โs
@matt_breen
for spending time with my
@TUKleincollege
Advanced Sports Reporting class last night. One of the best writers and reporters in the business. He gave our students a lot of great advice and was very gracious with his time.
This is Bear. He's looking forward to reading your mailbag questions for this week's
@OwlScoop_com
podcast, The Scoop. We're taking questions until noon tomorrow and happy to talk football, hoops, recruiting or anything else you'd like to put on the agenda! ๐พ๐ ๐
Cam Wallace is the highest-rated recruit to commit to Temple since Shizz Alston Jr. (
@InternatlShizz
.)
@Rivals
currently has Wallace rated 116th in its class of 2025 150 rankings.
Temple tipped off its 2025 recruiting class in a big way by landing 4-star, top-125 Westtown School guard Cam Wallace, who announced his verbal commitment to the Owls Monday. Wallace told OwlScoop editor
@jdicarlo
that making Temple a factor again in March is one of his goals.
@JonRothstein
@KevinNegandhi
If you're going to keep banging this drum, John, at least be accurate. You honestly think they would have had a chance to temporarily get back into the Big East if it wasn't for football? No one is arguing football's been bad for the last 2 seasons, but get your stuff straight.
The
@Eagles
just took
@Temple_FB
linebacker Shaun Bradley (
@Sdot_Bradley5
) in the 6th round of the NFL Draft with the 196th overall selection. He's the third Temple player selected. The South Jersey native and Rancocas Valley High School grad gets to stay home.
Sanchez won the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year award in 1999-2000 as a senior averaging just 5.6 ppg. Goes to show you just how much he affected games. He averaged 8.0 assists and 3.4 steals per game that season. Looks like he still has that ridiculous court vision.
Remember Temple (and Sixer) legend Pepe Sanchez?
After an eight-year hiatus, he's back playing with Bahia Basket in the Argentinian League.
At just 44.