By CHASE SENIOR
Philahoops Staff
Hall of Fame coaches, Harry Litwack and John Chaney were honored with the unveiling of two eight-foot statues in the main lobby of the Liacouras Center on Saturday afternoon.
Litwick was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1976 and spent 21 seasons as head coach and guided the Owls to a 373-191 record, leading the Cherry and White to 13 postseason berths (6 NCAA, 7 NIT) and two Final Four appearances in 1956 and 1958, which remain the only Final Four appearances in program history.
Pictured is the statue of Litwack and his family. Litwack created the Box-and-One defense (Photo: Chase Senior)
Litwack’s 1968-69 team won the NIT Championship at Madison Square Garden.
Chaney was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and posted a 516-253 record from 1982-2006. Chaney led Temple to 23 postseason berths, with 17 coming in the NCAA Tournament. 5 of those 17 NCAA Tournaments resulted in Elite Eight appearances.
Family’s from both parties were on hand and the main lobby of the Liacouras Center was packed with alumni, family members and former players.
Former players in attendance included Aaron McKie, Mark Macon, Kevin Lyde, Rick Brunson and John Baum.
Litwack’s two daughters spoke for a few minutes and shared memories of their father, who passed away in 1999.
Chaney spoke for approximately 30 minutes, speaking at length about his time at Temple and as always, spoke about what was on his mind, giving some words of inspiration to the audience and did not shying away from making the audience laugh.
Chaney provided words of encouragement for coach Fran Dunphy, saying: “There’s a difference
Chaney always provides some juicy quotes (Photo: Chase Senior)
between being a loser and losing. Theres a difference between a failure and failing.”
Chaney also shared some memories about Tom Gola, who passed away this week.
Brian Hanlon, founder of Hanlon Sculpture Studio in Toms River, N.J. created the statues.
Litwack and Chaney combined for 889 wins, a 66.6 winning percentage, 36 postseason berths, 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, 13 NIT trips, 7 Elite Eights, 2 Final Fours and 1 National Championship. (1969 NIT Title)
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