SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
They usually went a few rounds, before the game, at halftime, and after the game.
Some times, the early rounds were mild, but after their men’s basketball game in 1994, it almost turned into a brawl before the television cameras, the media, and officials from the two schools. In one corner, John Cheney, head coach of Temple, in the other, John Calipari, head coach of Massachusetts.
UMass won a close tussle that went into a pair of overtimes. In the interview room, despite the win, Coach Cal was not in the best of moods. He spoke of the officiating, the fans at the Palestra in Philadelphia, and the way Cheney complained on every call. He said that Cheney was the home team, got his share of the calls, but never toned down, always looking toward the Massachusetts bench.
And then out sprung Cheney. He came into the room and was on fire. He looked up at Calipari and told him to “Cut the crap,” that he was a lot of bull, that he didn’t deserve to win this game, that UMass got away with much too much. He even threatened to kill Calipari, who looked down in surprise and told Cheney to calm down, the game is over and to stop walking into his interview. It was a heated exchange.
No one came between them and it went back and fourth until event security exited Cheney from the room while Calipari took a deep breath and then excused himself. Cheney later apologized and was suspended for a game. The teams played late again later in the season and the two shook hands and became friends.
On Friday, Chaney passed away eight days after his 89th birthday after a short, but unspecified illness.
“Coach Chaney and I,” Calipari said in response to the sad news, “fought every game we competed in as every knows, sometimes literally, but in the end he was my friend. Throughout my career, we would talk about basketball and life. I will miss those talks and I will my friend.”
Coach Cal is still coaching. In his years with Kentucky, he has been known with recruiting all-star high school players, with the majority of them coming out for the National Basketball Association college draft after their freshmen years. No doubt they favorited making big bucks rather then going to class. The Wildcats have been highly ranked and have won the national championship. But this season has been the program’s worse since the 1925-1926 season. Currently they stand at 6-10 and are unranked, with Calipari usually upset and shouting at his players, and his interviews were hot and heavy.
Chaney, in turn, owned a raspy, booming voice that stood at the top of his basketball sins. His voice was loudest when it came to picking unpopular fights, lashing out at NCAA policies he said discriminated against black athletes, and it could be profane when Cheney let his own sense of justice get the better of him with fiery confrontations that threatened to undermine his role as father figure to scores of his underprivileged players.
Temple was in the Broad Street section of Liberty City, an area that contained slums and and mostly blacks. But it mattered little to Cheney. A Philadelphian, he led the team to 17 NCAA tournament appearances over 24 seasons that included five NCAA regional finals. He pieced together 741 wins as an Owl coach. He was twice named national coach of the year and Temple won six Atlantic 10 Conference championships. Before that, he led Cheyney High in suburban Philly to the 1978 Division II national title.
When he retired in 2006, the scowl was gone, the dark-set eyes were concealed behind sunglasses, and the over-the-top personality became subdued.
“Excuse be,” he had said, “while I disappear.”
He became a de facto father to many of his Temple players, some of whom came from broken homes, violent upbringings and bad schools. He often said his biggest goal was simply to give poor kids a chance to get an education. He added that the SAT was culturally biased and he joined the late John Thompson — another giant in the black coaching community who died in August — in denouncing NCAA academic requirements that appeared to single out the youngster from a poor, disadvantaged background.
He was so upset during a game against George Washington in 1994, he grabbed GW head coach Gerry Gimelstod by the shoulders at halftime, and said some upsetting words. After he won the close game, he shook hands and high-fived Gimelstod.
Cheney’s deep dark eyes appeared fitting for a school whose mascot was an owl. He was intense on the sidelines. HIs loud booming voice could be heard across an arena, and his near-perfect designer clothes were in shambles after most games. After what he especially thought was a bad call, he would stare down referees. He once gazed at a referee for an entire timeout with a look he dubbed the “One-Eyed Jack.”
But he had plenty of good sides. He often wrapped his arms around other coaches, either from his team or the opposition, and told them they were like family to him. He was an imposing presence on the court and a court jester off of it, all while building the Owls perched in rugged North Philadelphia into one of the toughest teams in the land.
It was learned that earlier in the week while being hospitalized, he quantity watched a men’s college basketball game
Said present Temple head coach Aaron McKie, one of Chaney’s best players along with Eddie Jones: “He was like a father to me. He taught not just me, but all of his players more than just how to succeed in basketball. He taught us life lessons to make us better individuals off the court.”
Jones felt the same. “I owe so much to him ,” he said. “He made me the man I am today and may he deservingly rest in peace.”
