Behind Enemy Lines with Fran Dunphy

The Daily Pennsylvanian went behind enemy lines with former longtime Penn and current Temple coach Fran Dunphy to break down the Quakers' season opener against the Owls at the Palestra Saturday.

Daily Pennsylvanian: How big of a deal is it to start this season off at the Palestra again?

Fran Dunphy: We did it a couple of years ago as well. Any time we have a chance to play at the Palestra we're excited by it. It's a great place. I obviously lived there for a number of years, I value it and its place in Philadelphia basketball lore. But it's the start of another season against a really good team, a program I have great respect for. I have unbelievable apprehension, but I'm excited to get the season started.

DP: What was your takeaway from the Penn-Temple matchup last season? They gave you a scare for a lot of the game.

FD: I watched a lot of that film last night and I understood and remembered that they were up nine in the second half. Then we just sort of figured out a way to win the game. I don't know that we played better than Penn. I don't know that we've played better than Penn any one of the last four years Jerome has been coaching. We've found a way to win, somehow, some way. They haven't been experienced as they are now so I'm concerned. I hope we are ready to go because I'm sure they will be.

DP: What has it been like having so much upheaval on your roster?

FD: Good question. I think we're still an unknown product. We're going to have to have games like this on Saturday to let us know where we are. We still need to be much more solid defensively than we've been in the two challenges we've had in terms of the scrimmage.

DP: Do you feel like the offensive distribution is going to have to be more spread out because you have so many unknown quantities at this point?

FD: For sure. That's exactly how we've talked about it. Hopefully in some games we'll have five guys in double figures. In order to spread it around, we're going to have to be a really good basketball team in every aspect of the game.

DP: To go back to Saturday's matchup, did anything else stand out to you while you watched the tape on Penn last night, anything else that scares you at this point about Penn?

FD: I thought their balance and depth are what struck me. They're balanced inside and out, and I think they've got a number of bodies that they're going to throw at us on Saturday. That's the big concern. They run a really good offense. We have a tough time guarding them, as evidenced by their high shooting percentage [against us] last year.