Jesse Spector: Big guys and the Big 5

In the middle of October, talk of 290-pound athletes revolves around the gridiron, around offensive linemen who clear the way for big plays.

But on Sunday afternoon, a 290-pound mass of humanity was a delightful reminder that Philadelphia's top college sport is almost back in season.

The behemoth in question, Ron Rollerson, ambled around the Palestra on Sunday with his usual disturbing grace. Temple's senior forward should have much more thunderous footsteps, the ground shaking with every stride.

Rollerson and the rest of the Temple men's basketball team were part of the annual Philly Six Open Practice to benefit Coaches vs. Cancer. All of the Big 5 teams and Drexel played individually for 45 minutes, then signed autographs in the Palestra lobby.

The event featured shooting contests and a raffle for fans, as well as a warmth between teams and coaches that would never be found if the hoops powerhouses of North Carolina's Tobacco Road had such an open house of basketball.

Temple coach John Chaney remembered a similar atmosphere of friendly rivalry between Canisius, Niagara and St. Bonaventure in upstate New York.

"But I don't know of too many others," Chaney said.

One example of the Philly camaraderie on Sunday was Penn coach Fran Dunphy, standing at the corner of the court and looking more energetic than he ever did during last season's 12-17 hell ride.

Dunphy greeted the St. Joseph's Hawks as they came off the court, and had a kind word for each player he saw.

Dunphy somehow missed Marvin O'Connor, the Hawks star who scored 37 points against Stanford in last year's NCAA Regional Final. But O'Connor was there, displaying his tough, battle-hardened game face and his silky jump shot.

The Hawks, probably the city's best team, spent most of their time scrimmaging under the watchful eyes of coach Phil Martelli, a man whose Cityliners are not accustomed to being anything but underdogs.

The Hawks do, however, know about the Palestra, and what a difficult but magical place it can be to play.

"It's the best building in college basketball," Martelli said. "The tradition is so strong."

The Hawks will play Penn twice at the Palestra this year -- in a Big 5 tripleheader on Dec. 8 and again on Jan. 26.

"Is my team in it?" joked Chaney, whose Owls will play Villanova that night on 33rd Street. "I won't show up."

Assuming he does show up, Chaney will face off against the Wildcats' Jay Wright, one of three new coaches in the city. Billy Hahn took over at La Salle, while ex-Massachusetts coach Bruiser Flint has the reins at Drexel.

The new blood, however, does not mean that Philadelphia tradition will ride off into the sunset with former Villanova coach Steve Lappas and his Quaker State hairstyle.

"Two of the three either played here or coached here in the past, in Jay Wright and Bruiser Flint, and Billy Hahn recruited here," Dunphy said. "They're not really that new to the area. They all have a sense of the feeling and the passion, the pride in this area."

Penn's players may have some of the least sense of what college basketball means to Philadelphia -- the Quakers have seven freshmen this season.

They will probably catch on fairly quickly, like Andy Toole, a junior transfer from Elon. Toole looked very good in practice with the Red and Blue last year, but had to sit out of games because of the NCAA's transfer rules.

"Being in the Palestra, and have six schools come in, two in the top 25, it's incredible," said Toole, a native of Red Bank, N.J. "Any college basketball player would want to be a part of something like that."

Toole was a part of it on Sunday, and he will get to play 15 games at the Palestra this season. Penn's home opener is only 35 days away.

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