John Chaney (January 21, 1932 – January 29, 2021) was an American college
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
coach, best known for his success at
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
from 1982 through 2006. He was inducted into the
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
in 2001 and the
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...
in 2006.
Early life and playing career
Chaney was born in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
, but grew up in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. 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.
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.
Inheriting a one-win team in 1966 at
Simon Gratz High School in Philadelphia, Chaney compiled a 63–23 record in six seasons.
Chaney's first collegiate position was at
Cheyney State College, where he coached the
Cheyney Wolves in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
's (NCAA)
Division II. At Cheyney, Chaney had a 232–56 record. Cheyney won the
1978 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament.
After a decade at Cheyney, Chaney moved on to
Temple University
Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
in 1982, where he coached the
Temple Owls
The Temple Owls are the college athletics, athletic teams that represent Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The current athletic director is Arthur Johnson (athletic director), Arthur Johnson.
The owl has been the symbol and masco ...
in
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
. 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.
He won the
Henry Iba Award
The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the ...
, given annually to the best college basketball coach by the
United States Basketball Writers Association, in 1987 and 1988.
On February 13, 1994, Chaney threatened to kill then-
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...
coach
John Calipari
John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...
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." Chaney received a one-game suspension for the incident. The two coaches later reconciled. Chaney praised Calipari's coaching ability and defended him over the
Derrick Rose controversy at the
University of Memphis
The University of Memphis (Memphis) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students.
The university maintains the Herff Col ...
.
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
New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a Public university system, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
),
Bob Knight
Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retire ...
(
Army
An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...
,
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
,
Texas Tech),
Eddie Sutton
Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball, Oklahoma State) and was a h ...
(
Creighton,
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
,
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
,
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
), and
Hugh Durham (
Florida State
Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
,
Jacksonville
Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
).
In 2005, Chaney ordered backup forward Nehemiah Ingram into the game to commit hard fouls against Big 5 rival
Saint Joseph
According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus.
Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...
'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."
John Bryant of Saint Joseph's suffered a fractured arm as a result of an intentional foul.
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.
Chaney self-extended the suspension to that year's
Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball tournament.
On March 13, 2006, Chaney announced his retirement from coaching at a
press conference
A press conference, also called news conference or press briefing, is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalism, journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicia ...
, effective after Temple's play in the
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
(NIT).
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
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...
.
Personal life
Chaney and his wife Jeanne had a daughter, Pamela, and two sons, Darryl and John Jr. Chaney died on January 29, 2021, at the age of 89.
Head coaching record
Coaching tree
Assistant coaches under Chaney who became NCAA or NBA head coaches
*
Dan Leibovitz -
Hartford
Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
(2006–2010)
*
Mark Macon -
Binghamton (2009–2012)
See also
*
List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins
References
Further reading
*
*
"Temple Coach Chaney Announcing Retirement Today" ''
Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', 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
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaney, John
1932 births
2021 deaths
20th-century African-American sportsmen
20th-century American sportsmen
21st-century African-American sportsmen
21st-century American sportsmen
African-American basketball coaches
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Antioch College alumni
Basketball coaches from Florida
Basketball players from Jacksonville, Florida
Bethune–Cookman Wildcats men's basketball players
Cheyney Wolves men's basketball coaches
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Harlem Globetrotters players
High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
Temple Owls men's basketball coaches
Williamsport Billies (basketball) players
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees