Philadelphia teams come together for Coaches vs. Cancer

On Saturday, the Palestra played host to the first annual "Philly Six" Open Practice Session for men's basketball. Sponsored by Coaches vs. Cancer -- an organization established in 1994 in memory of former North Carolina State coach Jim Valvano -- this day-long event featured each of Philadelphia's six Division I basketball squads practicing for 45 minutes and signing autographs for another 15 following their workout. Donations were accepted at the door and proceeds went to fund research by the American Cancer Society. The Coaches vs. Cancer Association has sponsored a Golf Classic in early October, a March Madness Tip-off Breakfast and several other in-season events during the past few years, each time raising additional money for their cause. "I think today was great and I think the idea behind the occasion was great," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said. "I hope we raised some significant dollars and I hope we raised a tremendous amount of awareness as to what Coaches vs. Cancer is about. "Hopefully we're making a dent in our research and we can truly be a meaningful group in terms of raising money for fighting cancer." In the midst of Penn's annual student camp-out line for season tickets, this event was both an exciting diversion and a solemn reminder of pressing problems. "I think this means a lot to all of us," La Salle coach Speedy Morris said. "We've all been affected by this. My dad died of lung cancer when I was 12 -- he was 42 years old. It's such a dreaded disease and we've come a long way with it, and people are living a lot longer. Our goal is to knock it out in our lifetime. "Things like this really help, and it's an opportunity for us to get together and do some things for other people too, so I think it's a splendid idea." Temple opened the event at noon before a crowd of several hundred, using a variety of three-on-three matchups, drills and and shooting displays to demonstrate the skills that have made the Owls into a preseason top 10 program. Returning All-Atlantic 10 selections Lamont Barnes, Pepe Sanchez and Mark Karcher each drew a large following, as was evidenced by the number of area children waiting patiently for their autographs off the court. After signing autographs with his players for a slew of young fans after directing his strong and deep squad, Owls coach John Chaney was quite pleased with the day's events. "I think it's a great thing that we have, with the kids being involved," Chaney said. "They may not be able to contribute much money now, but if they carry the tradition on later, there will be more money and more research done in the area of cancer." The Owls were followed onto the Palestra hardwood by fellow Atlantic 10 teams St. Joseph's and La Salle at 1 and 2 p.m., Big East heavyweight Villanova at 3 p.m. and 33rd Street resident Drexel from the America East conference at 4 p.m. La Salle, in particular, put on an impressive display of dunking, both from its big men and its smaller star forwards Rasual Butler and Victor Thomas. The Penn squad concluded the day's open practice at 5 p.m. with a series of fast break drills, five-on-five scrimmages and half-court buzzer-beating shots. Save for junior forward Josh Sanger (knee injury) and freshman point guard David Klatsky (family event), every member of the 1999-2000 Quakers played for -- and to -- the excited crowd. The event was also a celebration of sorts of the rebirth of the Big 5 -- all the Philadelphia Division I programs save Drexel -- which will return to the full round-robin format that ruled the city until 1991. Beginning in a few weeks, the Owls, Hawks, Explorers, Wildcats and Quakers will face off against each of the other four Big 5 squads during the winter to crown a City Series champion.

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