Temple University Athletics
Temple Basketball Honors Past, Prepares For Future with New Practice Facility
10.29.12 | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
Video | Gallery
PHILADELPHIA - In life, a large part of navigating future success is knowing from where you came.
It's about staying true to the roots that anchored you, the culture that nurtured you and the teachers that taught you.
Which is why, each day, as the Temple men's and women's basketball teams enter into their newly renovated home in the Pearson/McGonigle Hall complex, they'll pass by a series of trophy cases displaying the various accomplishments of the Owls that came before them.
The bridge between Temple basketball's past and present is carefully interwoven throughout the entire 30,000-square-foot facility -- even more than meets the eye.
For starters, the 58 million dollar renovation was built on top of the very same Pearson and McGonigle Halls that housed the talent and dedication of big-time names in Mark Macon, John Chaney and Harry Litwack.
A few stories below the expansive and spacious men's locker room, complete with state-of-the-art iPod connectivity, Wi-Fi access and flat screen televisions, remains the old, antiquated locker room of McGonigle Hall -- a dimly-lit room with lockers too small to contain more than one jersey and a pair of shoes.
It serves as a constant reminder that, regardless of the wealth and fortune of today's program, the success of a program lies solely within one's proclivity to recognize and appreciate his opportunity.
“It's not what you have, it's what you make of the things you are blessed with,” Temple men's basketball coach Fran Dunphy said, as he wound reporters in and out of the glittering trophy cases that lined the entryway.
“In previous years, I think Coach Chaney and Coach Litwack's teams have done a wonderful job of representing Temple. We're just lucky enough to have all of this at our disposal. It really brings us into a whole different level of where the rest of our competition is.”
But as Dunphy often attests, it is not luck that breeds success.
“We are facility-rich at this point, but that's not going to be what gets you over the hump,” he explained. “It's going to be the focus, the dedication, the hard work, the motivation, all of those things that are going to take shape, and we like to think we can provide as much opportunity as possible.”
The expansive facility offers plenty of opportunity within its maze-like frame:
To educate, inside the state-of-the-art film room -- a smartboard and video-equipped space that features stadium seating where players gather on a daily basis to study an opposing team's offensive and defensive schemes.
To learn, inside a series of breakout rooms designed for study hall sessions, equipped with cubicles and computers.
To relax and escape, inside the locker room lounge -- an area designed for players to congregate before and after practice complete with couches, an impressive flat-screen television with a gaming console and a refrigerator stocked with various beverages, fruit and sandwiches.
To improve, inside the weight room that features the latest strength-building technology and equipment, all meticulously arranged and organized by the team's strength and conditioning trainer Marc Proto, whose office nestled inside the room's entryway ensures he is always available.
To correct mistakes, at the main practice court, where a camera hanging overhead captures a bird's eye view of the team's every pass, shot, dribble and deke, broadcasting those moves to a panel of flatscreen televisions in a cabinet on the sidelines at center court. Coaches can then rewind, fast forward and pause a sequence of plays or shots, making virtually every movement a teachable moment.
And, most importantly, to reflect on the promise that awaits these student-athletes as well as the opportunities they've been given.
Both the men's and women's practice courts feature a panel of windows emphasizing a sweeping western view of the city of Philadelphia -- a view that overlooks a series of neighborhoods where opportunity is often hard to come by.
But rather than symbolizing the disconnect between the two communities, it's a gentle reminder that to whom much is given, much is expected.
That's why, when the men's basketball team moved their belongings into their new space a few weeks ago, Dunphy required each player to write a one-page reflection paper, asking each to postulate where he hopes to be when he turns 40.
It may have seemed a bizarre request from a basketball coach, but his reasoning was simple.
“While I want them enjoying all this today,” he said. “I also want them to think about what's going to happen tomorrow, and the many tomorrows that are provided to them.”
“This here doesn't ensure what you're going to do tomorrow. What this here does is give you a great opportunity," he continued, gesturing to the empty locker stalls behind him.
As the tour came to a close, freshman Devontae Watson sat in the entryway to the Donald and Nancy Resnick practice court, sprawled out in the midst of decades of glistening hardware and history, lacing his sneakers. Above his head, the ambient light splintered off the diamond-etched inscription on the 2000-2001 Atlantic-10 Coach of the Year award -- an award bearing John Chaney's name.
In that moment, it was two worlds, two decades, two stories -- one unwritten, the other unequalled -- perfectly and ubiquitously colliding.
by Kami Mattioli, Owlsports.com columnist
