The Penn athletic department said goodbye to another men's basketball coach this week when assistant Matt Langel followed his former boss, Fran Dunphy, to Temple.
Langel departs after serving on the Quakers' staff for two years. He is the first of Dunphy's former assistants to depart from Penn.
"It's a storied program, a nationally known program," Langel said. "It's a terrific opportunity for me to remain in the business."
Langel, a 2000 Wharton graduate, won two Ivy League titles during his college years and was a first-team All-Ivy selection after his senior campaign. After graduation, he played professionally in France, Switzerland, and Holland, among other places.
Langel said that taking the job with Dunphy seemed like the only viable option, both for him and for newly minted Penn coach Glen Miller.
"I met with coach Miller when he accepted the job, but like in most instances, a new coach brings in his people."
And despite the dramatic shift in personnel, recruiting, and location, Langel said that the transition from the Ivy League to the Atlantic 10 doesn't worry him.
"The places are going to change, and the people are going to change, but the challenges are going to remain the same," he said.
"He was loyal, hardworking, and had all of those qualifications of someone you'd like to hang around with for the rest of your life," Dunphy added.
"And after having him coach with me for two years, I've gotten to know him on a totally different level as well."
Owls assistants Bill Ellerbee and Mark Macon have not yet moved.
Dunphy's staff, however, will definetely see more changes before all is said and done.
Dunphy suggested that he may tap additional members of the Penn basketball community to join him across the Schuylkill.
"You want to surround yourself with good, hardworking people who are understanding of your philosophy, and obviously the guys that were with me at Penn have an understanding of that."
He also said that those decisions would come "in the next week or two."
Still waiting...
While Dunphy filled the vacancy at Temple and Owls assistant Dan Liebovitz became head coach at Hartford, one job that has yet to be filled is the one created by the loss of Glen Miller as head coach at Brown.
But Brown athletic director Michael Goldberger will not have the option of bringing in Miller's former top assistant to do the job. That is because Andy Partee, who was on Miller's staff for eight years, left earlier this month to take over at Division-III Colorado College.
Penn assistant coach Dave Duke, Dunphy's former top assistant, is among those who have applied for the coaching vacancy at Brown.
Big 5 Roundup
One other Philadelphia school will welcome a new face on the bench next season.
Doug Overton, who led La Salle to three NCAA Tournament appearances from 1989-91, was hired as an assistant to St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli last week.
The move comes after Monte Ross, who worked for Martelli for 10 years, left for the head job at Delaware.
Prior to joining the coaching ranks, Overton had an 11-year NBA career and also worked on the NBA's business side, recently serving as director of player development for the 76ers.
The Hawks recieved some good news on another front, too. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last week that 6-foot-4 combo guard Tasheed Carr will transfer to St. Joe's after spending two years at Iowa State.
