Video: Coach John Chaney, the Dream Spreader
Chaney mixed intelligence and intensity with humor and humility. He was feared by some, liked by most, respected by all.
John Chaney was named Philadelphia public school player of the year during his senior season at Benjamin Franklin High School.
And yet, neither Villanova, Temple, La Salle, Penn nor St. Joseph’s offered him a scholarship.
“During that time, the only thing an athlete, especially Black athletes, wanted to do was to play and have fun all of your life,” Chaney said. “The five schools we have, they were part-time scholarships. There were no full scholarships. Part-time scholarship wasn’t good enough for me. I wanted to get away from my home.”
So he instead attended historically-Black Bethune-Cookman College in Florida, ultimately playing in the Eastern Professional Basketball League for 10 years once his college career was over.
Chaney died on Friday. He was 89.
His college selection process in 1951 epitomized his mentality. Whether it was his 6 a.m. practices, his signature match-up zone defense or his heavy emphasis on limiting turnovers, he was forward thinking and unconventional in many ways, deliberate and methodical in others.
He coached at Temple for 24 years, winning 741 games in his career while leading the Owls to six Atlantic 10 championships. He was a brilliant tactician and motivator — and a ruthless competitor who never shied away from a little conflict.
Chaney mixed intelligence and intensity with humor and humility. He was feared by some, liked by most, respected by all.
Toward the end of his Naismith Hall-of-Fame induction speech in 2001, Chaney poignantly held up a picture of a child laying in a bed in an otherwise empty room.
Above the image were words from the famed poet William Yeats.
“I, being poor, have only my dreams. I have spread my dreams under your feet. Tread softly because you might just tread on my dreams.”
Chaney truly made a career of spreading dreams for hundreds of young people over the years.
May he rest in peace.
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