Former NBA coach Daly has ties to both teams

Chuck Daly won two NBA Championships with the Detroit Pistons, an Olympic gold medal as a coach of the original "Dream Team" in 1992 and is enshrined in the basketball hall of fame.

But before all of that success, Daly was the coach at Penn from 1971-1977. And before that, Daly roamed the bench as the head man at Boston College from 1969-1971.

So Daly just may have a slight interest in tomorrow's first round NCAA Tournament matchup between Penn and BC.

"At Penn there are a lot of fond memories," Daly said during a phone interview from his Florida home. "I would have to say my time at Penn might have been the most fun I ever had in coaching. I used to love the Big 5. ... I miss it."

Daly still follows both of his old teams, but he is rarely able to see the two programs since neither one, especially the Quakers, is consistently on national television.

Despite his partiality to Penn, Daly had to give the edge in tomorrow's contest to the Eagles.

"I'd have to think that Penn is an underdog," he said. "The Ivy League has restrictions that other teams don't."

Daly also cited the better competition in the Big East compared to the Ivy League as a reason he was leaning toward the Eagles.

"Having said that ... Fran Dunphy is an outstanding coach," Daly added. "I thought they improved all year and they got better and better."

Although the Quakers rarely travel far from home, Daly did not feel they would at a disadvantage to the road savvy Eagles. He noted that college teams don't tend to be affected by travel unless it involves changing time zones.

Playing at the relatively small 13,100-seat Wolstein Center also diminishes any advantage BC may have gained from Penn playing in front of a larger than normal crowd.

While Daly was at Penn he coached the Quakers to four straight Ivy League titles from 1972-75. He also recruited many of the players that were on the 1979 team, which went to the Final Four.

"It was an outstanding group," he said. "We knew that they were going to be good."

And in order for the Quakers to take down the Eagles tomorrow Penn might need the kind of performance that 1979 team put together .

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