John Chaney (basketball, born 1932)

John Chaney (January 21, 1932 – January 29, 2021) was an American college basketball coach, best known for his success at Temple University from 1982 through 2006. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Early life and playing career

Chaney was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but grew up in Philadelphia. He began his career after graduating from Bethune–Cookman College and spending some time in the Eastern Professional Basketball League, first with the Sunbury Mercuries from 1955 to 1963 and Williamsport Billies from 1963 to 1966.<ref name="Philly HOF"/>

Coaching career

Chaney first became a basketball coach in 1963 at William L. Sayre Junior High School (now high school) at 58th and Walnut Street in Philadelphia. His teams had a 59–9 win–loss record in three seasons.<ref name="cares so much">Template:Cite web</ref> Inheriting a one-win team in 1966 at Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Chaney compiled a 63–23 record in six seasons.<ref name="Philly HOF">Template:Cite web</ref>

Chaney's first collegiate position was at Cheyney State College, where he coached the Cheyney Wolves in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division II. At Cheyney, Chaney had a 232–56 record. Cheyney won the 1978 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament.<ref name="Temple">Template:Cite web</ref>

After a decade at Cheyney, Chaney moved on to Temple University in 1982, where he coached the Temple Owls in NCAA Division I.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Chaney built a reputation as a tough coach who always demanded excellence on and off the court. He was well known for his early-morning practices, match-up zone defense, tough non-conference scheduling, and winning basketball teams.<ref name="cares so much" /> He won the Henry Iba Award, given annually to the best college basketball coach by the United States Basketball Writers Association, in 1987 and 1988.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On February 13, 1994, Chaney threatened to kill then-University of Massachusetts Amherst coach John Calipari at a post-game news conference, where Calipari was speaking at a podium. Chaney entered the conference mid-speech, calling him an "Italian son-of-a-bitch," accusing Calipari of manipulating the referees. When Calipari attempted to respond to the accusations, Chaney yelled, "Shut up...!", and proceeded to charge the stage, before being stopped by security. While being held back, Chaney shouted, "When I see you, I'm gonna kick your ass!" As security restrained Chaney, he repeatedly yelled, "I'll kill you!" and angrily admitted telling his players to "knock your fucking kids in the mouth."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Chaney received a one-game suspension for the incident.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The two coaches later reconciled. Chaney praised Calipari's coaching ability and defended him over the Derrick Rose controversy at the University of Memphis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On December 20, 2004, during a win over Princeton, Chaney became the fifth active coach and 19th all-time to appear on the sidelines for 1,000 games, joining Lou Henson (New Mexico State, Illinois), Bob Knight (Army, Indiana, Texas Tech), Eddie Sutton (Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, San Francisco), and Hugh Durham (Florida State, Georgia, Jacksonville).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2005, Chaney ordered backup forward Nehemiah Ingram into the game to commit hard fouls against Big 5 rival Saint Joseph's in response to what he thought were several missed calls by the referees. After the game Chaney admitted to "sending a message" and stated "I'm going to send in what we used to do years ago, send in the goons."<ref name="philly">Template:Cite news</ref> John Bryant of Saint Joseph's suffered a fractured arm as a result of an intentional foul.<ref name="philly" /> Following the incident, he suspended himself for one game, and upon hearing the severity of the injury, the university suspended him for the final three games of the regular season.<ref name="philly" /> Chaney self-extended the suspension to that year's Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball tournament.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On March 13, 2006, Chaney announced his retirement from coaching at a press conference, effective after Temple's play in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fran Dunphy was named Chaney's successor following the season. Chaney was later inducted into the Big 5 Hall of Fame, which recognizes the best in Philadelphia's college basketball history. Chaney won a total of 741 career games. He took Temple to the NCAA tournament 17 times. His 1987–88 Owls team entered the NCAA tournament ranked #1 in the country, and he reached the Elite Eight on five occasions. In 2001, Chaney was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.<ref name="obit" />

Personal life

Chaney and his wife Jeanne had a daughter, Pamela, and two sons, Darryl and John Jr.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Chaney died on January 29, 2021, at the age of 89.<ref name="obit">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Coaching tree

Assistant coaches under Chaney who became NCAA or NBA head coaches

• Dan Leibovitz - Hartford (2006–2010)
• Mark Macon - Binghamton (2009–2012)

See also

• List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins

Further reading

• Template:Cite book
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• "Temple Coach Chaney Announcing Retirement Today", Washington Post, March 13, 2006.
• A Century of Greatness, Denise Dennis. Publisher The Urban League of Philadelphia-P.181, at Sayre rec. of 59&9

External links

• Template:Basketballhof