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I miss Dennis Seddon.
Some people may question why. And that's understandable.
The former Roman Catholic boys' basketball coach and I have never conversed casually.
Heck, before last year, he didn't know me at all.
But, it's not about me or my ego.
It's about the players he came in contact with. They are the ones Seddon cared about.
One of his goals was making sure they went on to college.
Forget about winning 10 Catholic League titles, more than any other coach. His most enjoyable moments came when Cahillites rushed into his office, clutching acceptance letters.
"To the best of my knowledge, I can only think of one [academically qualified] player that we had that didn't go on to college or junior college," Seddon said. "You use the game to get an education, because that's what it's all about."
And for that, I already miss the coach who retired Oct. 3 after 22 seasons.
Roman Catholic assistant Chris McNesby is the best and likely candidate to replace his mentor.
Groomed for the job, the former Roman player should keep the Cahillites' storied tradition intact.
But McNesby isn't foolish. He realizes there are big shoes to fill.
Seddon is just the sixth coach among three city leagues - Public, Catholic and Inter-Ac - with at least 500 wins. With a career record of 516-128 in 22 seasons, he had a winning percentage of .801.
Four of his former athletes - Marc Jackson, the late Eddie Griffin, Rasual Butler and Lari Ketner - advanced to the NBA. Several others played professionally overseas.
Thirty-two have gone into coaching.
"He will go into Roman's Hall of Fame on the first ballot in April," former Roman Catholic athletic director Dave Falcione said, "and that says a lot. He does a great job."
Not just in terms of wins and losses.
During his tenure, several current and former players would frequent Seddon's office to just say hello or thank him for his off-the-court guidance.
"He taught me a lot," said Maalik Wayns, Roman's senior point guard. "You could talk to him about anything."
That's not surprising.
Not only has he always been there for his basketball players, Seddon is a father figure to the children he came in contact with as a 30-year employee of the Philadelphia Department of Recreation.
But his mentoring doesn't come without sacrifice.
Devoting much of his time to recreation centers and hoops, Seddon has never been married. Nor does he have any children - make that biological children.
"I have hundreds, hundreds of kids with basketball and the playground," Seddon said. "Don't forget the playground."
How can we?
Seddon always tells us that he's a recreation-center guy who just happened to be a basketball coach.
Seddon proved it by retiring from high school coaching nine days ago. Practice time conflicted with the afternoon work hours that came with being appointed to the supervisory position of Cione Playground in May.
The Port Richmond community's gain is the high school basketball community's huge loss.
And for that, I already miss him.
at http:/go.philly.com/askkeith.
He can also be reached
at 610-313-8029
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