With Dunphy era over, Jackson readies for his Penn homecoming

As third-year Howard coach Gil Jackson goes up against his former team this weekend, even he may be surprised at how soon his return to the Palestra has come.

The 16-year Penn assistant coach, who came to the program with Fran Dunphy in 1989, won nine Ivy championships and left for the Bison's head job after the 2004-05 season.

But while some coaches might want to meet their former colleagues on the court - and Jackson either coached or coached with that entire Penn staff - he felt the exact opposite way.

"I'm not planning on playing them - if I don't have to, there's no reason for me to," Jackson said of his mindset. "The first person that [would call] me after [a] tough loss was Fran [calling] me to see if I was okay. So why compete against those guys if you don't have to?"

He feels the same way about going up against his former co-assistants Fran O'Hanlon and Steve Donahue, who coach Lafayette and Cornell, respectively.

"Mostly it would be tougher when you've spent [16] years with someone and you've coached together in tough situations," Jackson said. "I don't plan on playing Temple, [and] I don't plan on playing Lafayette, or Cornell.

"If you don't have to play them, don't play them.

"We have control of our schedule. If we met in a tournament or met in the NCAAs, then you'd have to compete against them. But to go out and schedule them, that's not something that I'd probably do."

But two years ago Dunphy and that entire staff (Jackson coached with Dunphy, Dave Duke and Matt Langel and coached Shawn Trice and Matt Langel as players) left for Temple.

Now there is nothing stopping Jackson from coming back to 33rd Street and facing the Quakers. So on Saturday he will.

"The historical era at Penn when I was there is over," Jackson said. "They have a new era, and they are doing well - they started off the new era with a conference championship."

Jackson does still have some connections at Penn. He keeps in touch with athletic trainer Phil Samko, he knows current Penn assistant and former player Perry Bromwell and for one season coached Penn seniors Joe Gill, Mike Kach and Brian Grandieri.

"He definitely was a guy that kept the locker room light, he always had a joke," Grandieri said. "It'll be a bit different to see him on the other sideline, but it will be good to see him."

Jackson isn't sure what will be going through his mind when he steps onto the Palestra court Saturday night. But now that he can play the "new-era" Quakers squad, it turns the experience from a potentially painful one to possibly enjoyable.

He went to the Big Dance nine times with the Quakers, and it was getting there that made him want to stay for so long.

"Coach Dunphy gave us responsibilities, and we all did it without worrying about who's getting credit for what," Jackson said. "I think that's what made my [16] years at Penn enjoyable. We didn't get caught up in 'who recruited this player' or 'who designed this offense and defense.' It was truly a group effort with coach Dunphy as the leader."

Now, Jackson can avoid the angst and the drama of competing against a friend. He can get to enjoy going back to his former school.

"It will be good to see him back in Philly. I know how much he loves Philly," Grandieri said.

"It'll be different, I'm kind of excited though," Jackson said. "I'm just hoping that the team plays well when we come back to Philly. The Palestra is just a special place to play, and I know the Red and Blue Crew will be fired up. It's college basketball at its finest."

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