PENN HEAD COACHES IN THE PROS: Palestra has seen the best

Penn basketball coaches In college athletics, certain programs stand out as having a tradition of excellence that goes unrivaled. And, as far as tradition in coaching goes, certain schools are known as a breeding ground for Hall of Fame talent. In college football, Miami University of Ohio is known as the "cradle of coaches," producing such legends as Weeb Ewbank, Bo Schembechler, Ara Parseghian and the immortal Paul Brown. But, for college basketball, the institution which has produced some of the best basketball minds in the last 30 years comes from a even more unlikely source: The University of Pennsylvania. "Like any tradition, when you establish a degree of excellence, people who follow in the footsteps try to do at least as well if not better," said George Washington Athletic Director Steve Bilsky, who played at Penn under Dick Harter in the glory days of 1968-71. "Penn has been considered by many to be an outstanding training ground for college and professional coaches. A lot of credit deserves to go to people like Jack McCloskey and Dick Harter. I think that this fact is something that Quaker fans should be very proud of, that so many quality coaches have come through the ranks and done well for themselves and the University." Since 1956, six men who gave their blood, sweat and tears to the Red and the Blue are doing the same in the NBA. Consider the talent that once roamed the Palestra sidelines: Jack McCloskey, who coached the Quakers from 1956-66, was the architect of the back-to-back NBA champion Detroit Pistons in 1989-90, and now serves as the General Manager for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Dick Harter, who was Penn's leader from 1966-71, was the first head coach of the expansion Charlotte Hornets, and now resides at Madison Square Garden as Pat Riley's top assistant coach with the New York Knicks. Chuck Daly, perhaps the most well-known Quaker coach of all time, replaced Harter and stayed at Penn until 1977, when he became an assistant to Billy Cunningham with the Philadelphia 76ers. Since then, Daly led the Pistons to two world championships, coached the "Dream Team" in Barcelona and now serves as the head coach for the New Jersey Nets. He is considered by many to be one of the best basketball minds of his era. Bob Weinhauer, who coached on 33rd Street from 1977-82, led the Quakers to their spectacular Final Four run in 1979. Today he also is employed by the T-Wolves, serving as assistant coach. "One of my many fond memories of Penn was the way the student body and the administration both solidly embraced the basketball team and the athletic program in general," Weinhauer said. "That, and the whole academic commitment made the basketball experience at the University of Pennsylvania very unique." Penn assistant coaches have also had success, as Bob Stack (1977-79) now is an assistant with the Miami Heat, and Daly's assistant Rollie Massimino moved on to Villanova and eventually UNLV. Former Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps, currently a basketball broadcaster, served as an assistant to Harter from 1966-70. Not a bad tradition, don't you think? "It must have been the water from the Schuylkill River," McCloskey joked from his office in Minneapolis. "It's one of the finest traditions in college basketball." "Penn has had a lot of great people in the program," Daly said from the Nets practice site in North Bergen, N.J. "People like Rollie Massimino were my associates, and they really helped me develop my career and learn more about basketball." The Penn tradition, which is hard not to notice, leaves mighty big shoes to fill, especially for current head coach Fran Dunphy. "You have to respect and admire what this place is all about," Dunphy said. "For what these coaches accomplished, it really adds a great sense of history and tradition to the program. It's a great experience to follow these coaching legends." After replacing McCloskey, who led Penn to an overall 146-105 record, Harter guided Penn to an incredible 28-1 record in 1971 and amassed an 88-44 record over his five years at the helm. In that magical season, Penn finished third in the national rankings, which was the last 14-0 Ivy League season the Quakers enjoyed before Dunphy's team accomplished that feat a year ago. And despite the tough loss which ended the 1971 season, a 90-47 defeat at the hands of Villanova in the Final Eight of the NCAA Tournament , Harter has nothing but fond memories of Penn. "Those days at Penn were some of the best of my life," Harter said. "Besides having some great teams, we also were playing in the hey-day of the Big 5, which at the time, was one of the great leagues of basketball. There was a special intensity and excitement about the games, enhanced by the fact that the games were played in front of a sold-out Palestra. Every night, the games had the intensity of the Princeton game [last year]." Daly also had some tremendous seasons at Penn, but ironically, none was better than his first, in which the Quakers compiled a 25-3 record before bowing to North Carolina, again in the East Regional Final, 73-59. Penn finished that season No. 2 in the AP poll, the program's highest finish ever. "Those memories from Penn are some of the finest days that I ever had," Daly said. "It's a great school, and I really enjoyed the campus. There was a lot of pressure, especially within the Big 5, but I still enjoyed it. It was a very good situation." Daly, while obviously occupied with the Nets right now, still follows the Penn program. In fact, before last year's NCAA Tournament game against UMass, Daly wrote an inspirational letter to the Penn players. "[Daly] wrote a letter commending how much the team accomplished," Dunphy said. "He reminded the team that they we were representing the Ivy League and the University as a whole. He told the team to give it their best shot. It was really very nice." Daly isn't the only coach who still keeps in touch with the program. McCloskey and Harter, both Penn graduates, are members of the Penn basketball club, and contribute to the program. Both men, as well as Weinhauer, speak to Dunphy a couple times a year and try to catch as many Penn games on TV as possible. In fact, later this month when the Quakers host Yale and Brown, McCloskey will be in attendance at the Palestra, watching his alma mater. "There hasn't been a day which I haven't followed the Penn team," Harter said. "I'm a big Fran Dunphy fan, and I think the team is really playing good basketball right now." While these coaches are obviously very busy with their current positions, when they do meet up during the course of the NBA season, they often like to reminisce about their days at Penn. "I still get to see Jack [McCloskey] when the Knicks play the Timberwolves twice a year," Harter said. The fact that these coaches still stay in contact with the program is a testimony to how strong a tradition Penn has in the realm of college basketball. The coaches and the personalities that have showcased their talents within the hallowed walls of the Palestra have given Penn a certain mystique, a tradition in college basketball which is unlike any other. "We were very fortunate that strong nucleus was started way back when Jack McCloskey was coach," Weinhauer said. "It was also kind of fun that all of us have moved on to the NBA. We have all been extremely fortunate."