Chaney discusses Temple's misery as Owls' skid continues

Associated Press He didn't envision anything like this. The 16th-ranked Owls, expected to be one of Chaney's most talented teams, have lost four straight for the first time since 1992-93. A 63-56 loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday night exposed some weaknesses that prompted Chaney to chide his players for hitting ''rock bottom.'' ''That's where we are right now, in the emergency room,'' Chaney said. ''And the 911 we're calling isn't doctors or cops. There is no help. It's another loss.'' It's only the third time in Chaney's 17 seasons that the Owls have lost this many in a row. They had a five-game losing streak in 1982-83, his first year on North Broad Street. Despite predictions that this Temple team would be one of Chaney's best, the coach is sticking with his gut feeling. ''We're not that good,'' he said. ''I didn't think that we'd develop ourselves as a team that understands how we play basketball around here. I really didn't. We've sort of lost our way.'' What's wrong with the Owls? They lost their best shooter, Lynn Greer, to a broken bone under his eye in a one-point loss to Penn State on December 1. But trouble was afoot long before that. Swarming defense has been a Temple trademark for nearly two decades. But a month into the season, the Owls still haven't grasped Chaney's beloved matchup zone. Their execution and understanding of it has been so slow that Chaney's switched to man-to-man defense for portions of nearly every game. ''You guys are talking about Chaney playing the zone,'' the coach said. ''Well, we're playing man-for-man. We've been doing your wishes. And guess what? We're getting [beat]. Maybe I've been falling prey to you guys. ''I'm going back to a little bit more matchup, and see if we can win a game from now on.'' Secondly, the Owls' schedule is as tough as ever. Chaney has never been shy about losing games early in the season. But this losing streak is stunning because the Owls were thought to have the most talent in Chaney's time in Philadelphia. Temple was ranked seventh in the preseason poll, and there was talk of Chaney making the Final Four for the first time. ''You guys in this area don't know too much about basketball around the country,'' Chaney continued. ''I'm bringing it to you. The teams I bring in here are great teams. You guys can't just live off of what you see in this area. I'm bringing you great teams. I schedule them every year.'' On Wednesday night, Wisconsin's sharpshooting guard tandem of Sean Mason and Ty Calderwood shot right over the Owls' zone, making eight of the Badgers' 13 three-pointers. Their stifling man-to-man defense thwarted guards Pepe Sanchez and Rasheed Brokenborough, forcing them into bad decisions and desperation jumpers as the shot clock wound down. Six-foot-10 forward Lamont Barnes, Temple's best offensive player, fouled out with three points and one rebound. Chaney said it was the guards' fault. ''We've lost our way,'' Chaney said. ''Our guards have, not the big guys. When a big guy picks up five fouls in a ballgame, and he's picking up fouls trying to help out on a guard's man, that is the dumbest thing I've ever seen in my life. We've never had that happen to us. ''I've never had guards in my life who seem to feed off the wrong thing,'' Chaney continued, his hoarse voice spilling out into the hallways. ''We've always had teams that fed off defense. We're going through this season with a false positive, and that is to suggest to ourselves that we can shoot a basketball.'' The Owls have four days of practice to get it right before trying to avoid their first five-game losing streak since Chaney's first season, when they finished 14-15 -- the only losing record on his 27-year resume. The Owls host Florida State on Monday night. ''We've got to try to teach them how to win,'' Chaney said. ''It means that we work a little harder, and try to keep them away from listening to other people about how good they are. ''I think we've reached that stage where we've hit rock bottom.''