Penn pedigrees put to test

When Temple’s spot in the NCAA Tournament was announced, coach Fran Dunphy wasn’t even in the room.

But once someone informed him that his squad had received a No. 5 seed, he instantly knew that the Owls would be playing Cornell in the first round.

“I knew it was gonna be that way,” the former Penn coach said. “That’s what the NCAA does; they look for storylines.”

And that storyline involves the relationship he shares with Big Red coach Steve Donahue, who served as an assistant under Dunphy at Penn from 1990 to 2000.

This afternoon in Jacksonville, Fla., Dunphy and Donahue will square off for the first time since Dunphy left the Quakers for Temple.

The coaches remain in close contact, speaking on the phone and text messaging each other regularly. The two spoke Sunday night about their impending matchup but have been busy preparing since.

“We do a great deal of talking about each other’s teams and helping each other after games,” Donahue said. “I just never thought we’d have to play them in the NCAA Tournament.”

Donahue insists, however, that his relationship with Dunphy has no bearing on the actual game because both sets of players “could care less.”

If past records are any indication, Temple should take home the victory. While still at Penn, Dunphy won all 12 games he coached against Donahue, winning the match ups by an average of over 15 points. Additionally, Dunphy is 22-1 against his former assistants, with the one loss at the hands of Lafayette head coach — and former Quakers assistant — Fran O’Hanlon.

But Dunphy was quick to dismiss that statistic, insisting that his victories against former assistants stem from having the better roster.

“I have no competitive advantage,” he said. “I certainly have not out-coached coach O’Hanlon or coach Donahue … Those guys are great coaches. I’ve learned a lot from them over the years.”

Ever since Donahue took the top post at Cornell in 2000, his former head coach has wished him the best in all of his contests — except, of course, the ones against Penn. But even before Seletion Sunday, Dunphy was hopeful that the Big Red could advance.

“I was looking forward to rooting for him in the first round,” he said.

The teams’ coaching connection goes deeper than the men at the helm, though. Donahue coached Temple assistants Matt Langel and Shawn Trice while with the Quakers, and Temple assistant coach Dave Duke was Donahue’s junior varsity coach at Cardinal O’Hara High School. Meanwhile, Cornell assistant Nat Graham played two seasons for Dunphy at Penn.

Yet one big question still remains for Quakers fans: with an Ivy League team facing off against a Big Five team led by a former Penn great, who should they root for?

“I have no idea,” Dunphy said. “I think they should just follow their hearts … and root for a great game.”

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