A-10 colleagues praise incoming Owls coach

In 1990, Fran Dunphy tried his best to convince a bright-eyed guard out of Philadelphia's Archbishop Ryan High School to play for him at Penn.

In the end, however, Chris Mooney chose to go to Princeton, where he led the Tigers to two Ivy League titles.

Now, 16 years later, Mooney and Dunphy are set to meet again. This time, however, it won't be in Mooney's living room. He's the coach at Richmond, which is in the Atlantic 10 along with Dunphy's new home, Temple.

"I think it's a great hire," Mooney said. "He's one of the best coaches, most successful coaches in the country."

But Mooney is just one of many coaches in the conference that praised Temple's selection.

"I'm very disappointed in Temple's hire because I was hoping they'd screw up and hire a bad coach," Saint Louis coach Brad Soderberg said.

Soderberg added that he is not close friends with Dunphy but has always admired the precision with which his Penn teams have played.

At the 2002 Final Four, Soderberg, then an assistant for the Billikens, approached Dunphy.

"As soon as I become a head coach, I wanted to go over Xs and Os", he told the Penn coach.

Now, Soderberg will get a good look at the offense; he'll be playing against it at least once a year.

Of course, some Atlantic 10 coaches are a little more familiar with Dunphy's style of the play.

Two other Big 5 rivals, La Salle and Saint Joseph's, are also in the conference.

"My job is not going to get any easier with coach Dunphy at Temple," La Salle coach John Giannini said.

But the former Quakers coach will have to be more successful against Atlantic 10 opponents at Temple than he was at Penn if he wants to get the Owls back to the NCAA Tournament.

At Penn, Dunphy was 21-37 against current A-10 teams. The only school he has a winning record against is his alma mater, La Salle, going 13-4.

Against the rest of the league, he is a dismal 8-33.

He was even 3-13 against Temple, giving new credence to the phrase, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em."

Some coaches in the conference have some insider tips on winning in the Atlantic 10.

"One thing you don't really get a feel for is how good the league is from top to bottom," Fordham coach Dereck Whittenburg said. "People perceive our league one way, but you find it's a lot better than you ever thought. When you're in it, you'll find out that the teams are a whole lot better than you expected."

Others, however, had little to offer to Dunphy.

"He doesn't need my advice," Rhode Island coach Jim Baron said. "He plays against half our league every year in La Salle and St. Joe's and Temple, so he knows what it's like."

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