Yahoo!'s Tim Brando has an interview up with Temple coach Fran Dunphy. Dunph has been making the media rounds recently in an effort to get the word out about his team and their tip-off against UPENN on Nov. 14.
As Brando and Dunphy both remarked, it's great just to be talking basketball in light of fatiguing mess that has become college football. That sentiment would nonetheless prove unable to distract the two from discussing Temple's place in the landscape moving forward.
Frankly, for all the tight-lipped responses that have accompanied any suggestion of a transfer, it's refreshing to hear Dunphy speak so candidly about what great candidate Temple is for any number of conferences and how football has hijacked the whole of college athletics. Yes, Temple does take pride in both the MAC and A10, but as Dunphy put it, "When those BCS conferences come calling, you have to listen."
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The coach also reveals last year's A10 Sixth Man of the Year Khalif Wyatt is currently projected to fill the vacant starting spot left by the injured Scootie Randall. Dunphy believes Scootie is working hard to recover from his knee injury, but sounds rather anxious to get him back, both for his leadership and his defense.
Indeed, for a coach who places such a priority on the defensive end, Dunphy sounds a bit concerned about his team's play on their own side of the timeline. That said, the Owls are without their best defender from the last four years in Lavoy Allen, their best current defender in Randall, and their starting point guard in Juan Fernandez, who has been away from the team while participating in the Pan-Am games.
Click the link below to hear the full interview. 13 more days until Big 5 tip-off. Get hype.
>>Fran Dunphy—Can't Allow Conference Realignment to Distract College Basketball [Yahoo!]