1999-2000 Season Outlook
Four starters and four other key players return from last season's 24-11 (13-3 Atlantic 10) team that won the Atlantic 10 East Division, came within a three-pointer of winning the Atlantic 10 Championship game and then advanced to the NCAA's Elite Eight. Head Coach John Chaney speaks about the 1999-2000 Temple Owls and what they will have to do to be successful in the upcoming season.
What do you think are the team's strengths this season?
The strength of this team will be its overall experience through what they accomplished last year ... developing into a final eight team and gaining exposure by playing against some of the better teams in the nation. The greatest thing that will happen for this team is that they will come back more experienced. This will be especially useful to the ones who are leaders on this team. Mark Karcher, Lamont Barnes and Pepe Sanchez now come back as major leaders.
How about any weaknesses?
The weaknesses will come with trying to live up to the expectations of others, rather than growing as a body and as a team. What happens to teams that are successful, is that they begin to feed off of other people's expectations. This represents a big problem for young people in terms of weaknesses.
What goals have you set for the Owls?
I would hope that the youngsters we have would carry on the great tradition we have developed at Temple for so many years. The greatest accomplishment for any team at Temple is to make it to the NCAAs. There is nothing more important for this University or this team.
After the team's success last season, what are your expectations and are they different than the goals?
I do not think any team or any youngster should try to live up to the expectations of outsiders, fans, newspaper clippings, or radio or television sportscasters. I do not think that any team should live up to those expectations. When you do that, you find yourself always coming short of your own goals, living in the image of someone else. When you start playing sports, you have your individual goals which should be realistic. Then you have your team goals which should also be realistic. When you try to aspire to do things based on someone else's expectations, you will always fall short.
Are there any highlights from last season that really stick out?
I think that to single out any one particular highlight, it would be without question the Final Eight appearance. Accomplishing the Atlantic 10 [regular season] championship and participating in the [A-10 Tournament] championship game are also highlights. When you end up in postseason play it is a highlight and should be looked at as highlights of the year. The Final Eight and the Conference championship are the highlights we accomplished without citing any of the injury disappointments we had to overcome.
Talk about your four seniors ... Pepe, Lamont, Keaton and Quincy.
I am hoping that panic does not set in with these players, knowing that it is their last year. They need to keep their feet on the ground. I certainly would expect to see some growth in them ... growth which is sensible, with common sense behind it. Each player has to come back in September with some improvement from where he was at the end of last year. You can never remain the same from one year to the next, so you are always trying to improve. Especially if you have players who have been together for two or three years like Pepe Sanchez, Quincy Wadley, Keaton Sanders and Lamont Barnes. It is very critical for those players because if they have goals placed in front of them that they cannot obtain, it can be a big problem for us knowing this is their last year. I know they are in a hurry to reach success, but they need to have common sense behind an approach to their growth. Growing realistically is what I am expecting from them.
What do your returning players need to do for the team to be successful?
Pepe Sanchez: He needs to be a better point guard. He needs to be someone who will improve his outside shooting, making good decisions for everyone as a leader and someone who plays basketball with a great deal of control.
Lamont Barnes: It is critical for him in his last year to be able to be a little more fluid and a lot more flexible in terms of giving himself a little better range. Making good decisions about stages of the game ... what kind of shot should I shoot, when should I be shooting the outside shot, when should I be driving to the basket and how am I going to do that. Those are the questions he must answer. That and becoming a lot more consistent in his approach to defense.
Quincy Wadley: I think without question he is one of our very talented players. He played injured last year and needs to give us a feeling that he has recovered from that injury with his finger. He showed a lot of courage with the way that he played with an injury. I expect him to come back and become a lot more defensive minded while making good decisions.
Lynn Greer: I think Lynn is fully recovered. He is going to come back and give us added depth and added confidence as far as the offensive guards are concerned. He has the ability to be a point or a two, and we certainly are looking forward to him to give us an outside threat once again as a southpaw. He was someone who was sorely missed last year.
Keaton Sanders: He needs to turn the volume up on his ability to play defense and handle the ball better. His ability to rebound for us and give us the extra dimension as a small forward are the things that Keaton can do well. Now, if he does them extremely well, he will able to stretch out his offense as a small forward anywhere from 15 to 20 feet on a consistent basis.
Mark Karcher: I think that Mark is going to have to improve his ability to handle a basketball and his ability to play 20 feet and in. Much of his success was driving to the basket. I want him to be more of a three and a two. I want him to be able to handle the ball in pressure situations against a full court press, to dribble in traffic and be a better defensive player.
Kevin Lyde: He has lot to accomplish this year. It was a very frustrating for him last year with almost every game finding himself sitting on the bench because of being hit on his injured arm. The pain that he went through, both mentally and physically, was something that I am hoping will not happen again. He will be starting off this year almost as a freshman because the beginning for him will be now, not last year in terms of being a great center and a great power player. I am hoping he will develop the ability to play around the basket with a great deal of effectiveness in shooting the ball and making determinations. But doing it in a slow and deliberate manner to control the outcome around the basket.
Ron Rollerson: Very much the same as Kevin. He has tremendous offensive ability, but I think he is lacking is his defense. He needs to be able to maneuver a little bit quicker and be able to play against smaller players. There are very few players he will be playing against that are as big and strong as he is. He must learn how to play against quicker players. His ability to shoot the ball I don't question, but I do question him on the defensive end. He has to be flexible enough to play against smaller centers.
What do you expect from your three newcomers ... Rouldra Thomas, Alex Wesby, Greg Jefferson and Ron Blackshear? Greg and Rouldra will need to develop the ability to be flexible. The game has moved more towards flexible players, players who can play on the perimeter from 15 feet and in, be able to knock down that 15 foot shot. They need to be able to put the ball on the floor and dribble drive. And also be able to make good decisions in passing. That is something I am almost positive that Rouldra and Greg will have to work on.
Alex has a skill which we are going to need. He is a tremendous rebounder. He is also a good player in terms of his feet and good balance. He is able to shoot the ball from the outside and can handle the ball fairly well. But what I am hoping that he learns and develops for us is the ability to make good judgment with passes.
While Ronald is a fine shooter, he will need to develop some skills such as ball handling and interacting with his teammates. His shooting ability is very special but he will have to learn a lot about defense and other team skills in the area of passing.
What does it mean to you that Temple is the sixth winningest program in NCAA basketball history?
This program has a great tradition of winning. It has been fostered long before I got here by individuals like Harry Litwack and Don Casey. Names that are associated with that tradition. Many people do not know that Temple is the sixth winningest program, especially people in this city (Philadelphia). They do not realize that Temple ranks up there with the Kentuckys, Dukes, and Carolinas. And that is something that should be said with an exclamation point!
