THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
Six teams, six coaches, 75 players, The Big Five, the City Six, four conferences, The Big East, the Atlantic 10, the Colonial, the Ivy, the Palestra, Wachovia Center, Liacouras Center, Gola Arena, the Pavilion (aka Ski Lodge), the DAC and next season the renovated Fieldhouse (with a new name, Hagan Arena). That is Philly hoops. And this is your spot to check in to see what’s happening during the season.
In addition to the regular musings of Mike Kern, Bob Cooney and Dick Jerardi, you will be able to read the thoughts of the coaches each week. Fran Dunphy (Temple), Phil Martelli (Saint Joseph’s), John Giannini (La Salle), Glen Miller (Penn) and Bruiser Flint (Drexel) will be here to discuss recent games, upcoming games, players, tactics, whatever might be on their minds. Villanova’s Jay Wright, who has always been gracious with his time, was not able to make the commitment because of his busy schedule during the season.
The six teams will play approximately 200 games between now and the end of the all the tournaments. Thus, there will no shortage of action to preview, review and try to put into perspective.
Veteran players you already know like Dionte Christmas, Scottie Reynolds and Ahmad Nivins will try to cement their city legacies. New players that you don’t yet know will be finding their places.
And we will be here to chronicle the wins, the losses, the standings, the tournament prospects, the individual performances and anything else that might go down between now and that April Monday night at Ford Field in Detroit.
Philly is a hoops town and Phillyhoopsinsider.com provides complete coverage of the Big 5 and Drexel with news and commentary from the people inside the game and those who cover it. Look for regular contributions from the Daily News team of college hoops reporters and from many of Philly’s coaches.
FRAN DUNPHY, Temple
He begins his third season on North Broad with nearly 350 career victories after a long tenure at Penn. The Owls won the Atlantic 10 Tournament last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
BRUISER FLINT, Drexel
He begins his eighth season with the Dragons after returning to the city where he played collegiately at St. Joe’s. The Dragons have advanced to the postseason in four of the last six years and have won at least 17 games four times under Flint.
DR. JOHN GIANNINI, La Salle
He begins his fifth season at the school after successful tenures at the University of Maine and Rowan, where teams made two trips to the Division III Final Four. At LaSalle two seasons ago, he engineered an 18-win season and third-place finish in the Atlantic 10, the school’s best finish since joining the league for the 1995-96 season.
PHIL MARTELLI, Saint Joseph’s
He begins his 14th season on Hawk Hill, having won more than 250 games. He is a four-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and has taken the Hawks to the postseason in seven of the last eight years.
GLEN MILLER, Penn
He begins his third season at the school after moving within the Ivy League from Brown. In his first season, he led the Quakers to an Ivy League championship and their third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.
JAY WRIGHT, Villanova
He begins his eighth season at ‘Nova, having amassed 148 wins at the school. Villanova has made the NCAA Tournament for the last four seasons, including three trips to the Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight appearance. Wright came to Villanova following his tenure at Hofstra and has 270 career victories.
