COLUMN: Big 5 was big ugly

Commentary Eric Goldstein Bass hit the free throw to complete the four-point play and cut the Temple lead to just two. On the Hawks' next possession, St. Joe's knocked down another trey. Two possessions, a seven-point swing. You could just imagine Chaney loosening his tie, pulling the knot down towards his navel and mopping the sweat off his brow as he shouted at Futch for the boneheaded play. Maybe Chaney was, but if so, he was doing it sitting with suspended center Marc Jackson and screaming through the television set. Jackson had been suspended by the Atlantic 10 commissioner for viciously elbowing Duke center Greg Newton in a game last Thursday. According to Temple President Peter Liacouras, Jackson was so distraught that Chaney thought he would be better off spending the afternoon with his player than coaching in the Big 5/Atlantic 10 matchup. Chaney's decision to stay with Jackson was uncharacteristic of the lifetime Philadelphian. More so than any figure in Philadelphia sports, Chaney has been an ardent supporter of Big 5 tradition and the need for local talent to stay home. Unlike most collegiate coaches, who engage in so-called recruiting wars with rivals, Chaney relishes bringing talent to the Big 5, not just to Temple. After a recent win over La Salle game, Chaney stormed into the press room and announced he was going to "get a baseball bat for that Joe Bryant" if Bryant, an assistant coach for the Explorers, did not get his son -- high school blue chipper Kobe Bryant -- to commit to La Salle. Given his love for Big 5 hoops, it was a surprise that Chaney had stayed home. But once Temple's William Cunningham and St. Joe's Will Johnson tipped off, it was not Chaney that was missed, but ghosts of recent Big 5 past. Despite the down-to-the-wire action of the Temple-St. Joe's game and the overtime excitement of the Penn-La Salle contest, both ends of the doubleheader were characterized by sloppy, stupid play. The 11,000-plus fans that were scattered throughout CoreStates Spectrum had to be wishing they were watching last year's versions of Temple, St. Joe's, Penn and La Salle instead of the watered-down 1996 version. Given the talent that left the Big 5 in the past year, it is no wonder John Chaney is so desperate to keep Kobe Bryant in Philly. A year ago, a Temple-St. Joe's game would feature the Owls' Rick Brunson and the Hawks' Bernard Blunt and Carlin Warley. Penn-La Salle would spotlight the Quakers' backcourt of Jerome Allen and Matt Maloney and Kareem Townes and Paul Burke from the Explorers. Instead, fans were forced to endure 39 painful minutes of action for the one entertaining minute of action at the end of each game. After Futch's potentially game-socsting foul, it was Bass's part-time backcourt mate, Terrell Myers who made the unclutch play with a one-point lead and just 1:03 remaining in the game. Myers threw away a pass, which was stolen by Temple guard Levan Alston, who layed it in to retake the lead. In the backside of the twinbill, La Salle forward Romaine Haywood missed three of four free throws in the last three minutes of overtime action, contributing to the Explorers' overtime woes. In the five-minute period, La Salle only scored four points. But it was Penn's earlier collapse that allowed the game to go to overtime. The Quakers missed 11 straight field goal attempts from the end of the second half until the 45-second mark of overtime. Clinging to a two-point lead with 1:11 remaining in regulation, the Quakers were called for a 10-second violation. Tied at 62, Quakers swingman Ira Bowman ran the clock down to five seconds before driving into the lane. But the La Salle defense collapsed on Bowman, and Explorers guard Shawn Smith stripped the ball loose. In the end, it left fans of all four teams wondering just what has happened to the Big 5. Given the current talent level of the four full-time Big 5 members, perhaps we should all get a baseball bat and make sure Joe Bryant keeps Kobe close to home.