A momentous day for Dunphy

• TWEET
• SHARE
• SHARE

There was quite a crowd up at the Liacouras Center this afternoon to welcome Fran Dunphy as the new coach of Temple. Anybody who was anybody in Philadelphia basketball (and was not named Jay Wright) was there to say hello, or goodbye, depending on which side of the Schuylkill you're from.

There were plenty from the west -- former Penn players, coaches as well as longtime friends and supporters. One of them, Eric Osmundson, summed it up by saying the number of people there and the magnitude of those in attendance really showed how much Dunphy has touched so many lives.

That's an awfully good way to think about the 17 years Dunphy spent as the face of the Penn program. He's led by example, demonstrating everything that is right about collegiate athletics, and the sport of basketball is better because he is a part of it. Everyone at Penn is fortunate he was a part of the University's fabric for so long.

That's why today was a celebration. Dunphy stepped up to the podium with Hooter the Owl at his side and said "Man I love this." Not because he'll be making a little more money or be playing a few more games on national TV, but because he'll have a chance to make an even bigger positive impact on Philadelphia basketball. He said it seemed like half of Philadelphia was in the room. Not too much of a stretch given the hordes of people who could barely shove their way inside the reception room off the arena's main lobby.

Later, in an appearance on Comcast SportsNet, Penn radio man Vince Curran joked (correctly I might add) there were more people there than Dartmouth draws on a Saturday night.

I'm sure Dunphy's glad he doesn't have to make that trip to New Hampshire every year anymore. I've only made it three times, and that's more than enough for me.

Quick hits:

Word of the day: "daunting." Dunphy used that repeatedly to describe the new challenge in front of him. True, winning at Xavier will be a tad tougher than walloping Harvard every year.

Question of the day: "So, I guess this is the end of the 5 a.m. practices," something Temple's John Chaney was famous for. Answer: "We've done that before at Penn out of necessity," but Dunphy made it clear he preferred 3-6 "and that's p.m."

Best sign brought by a Temple student: "4/10/2006: The Dunphy Dynasty Begins Today."

Best dressed: Dunphy barely edges out (former) assistant Shawn Trice. You know it's an important occasion when he breaks out the pocket square.