John Chaney, legendary Temple basketball coach has passed away

Longtime legendary Temple basketball coach John Chaney has passed away at the age of 89.

The college basketball world is saddened to learn of the unfortunate passing of longtime Temple basketball head coach John Chaney. The Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach led the Temple Owls basketball program for 24 years before retiring in 2006. Chaney had just celebrated his 89th birthday a few days ago on Thursday, Jan. 21.

He finished his career with a 516-253 record for an extremely solid .671 win percentage over the course of almost 25 years. Chaney revitalized the Temple basketball program and gave it the prestige it holds today. He coached the Owls to 5 NCAA regional finals and 17 NCAA tournaments, getting to the Elite 8 four times. In the 1987 and 1988 seasons, Chaney and Temple were able to secure back-to-back 30-win seasons, and the Owls were ranked No. 1 in 1988. Before joining the Temple program, Chaney won a Division II national title at Cheyney University.

John Chaney was a basketball legend

He’s known in the basketball world as ‘The Father of the matchup zone’ and a coach who would always go to bat for his players. Many will never forget his fiery exchange with John Calipari in a press conference after a heated Temple-Massachusetts game.

His Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement speech is still notable to this day. You can watch it in its entirety below.

John Chaney knew how to get the most out of his players and will be forever celebrated as one of the best college basketball coaches to ever do it. The passion and zeal that he brought to the game and to life won’t soon be forgotten.

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