We don't need to spend much time talking about how this week and those that immediately follow constitute one of the best times of the year for sports fans. It's pretty much all you're hearing right now, so I'll save it.
But one of the most interesting aspects of Tournament time isn't just how we rally around our own schools, but also how we all seem to get behind teams we otherwise wouldn't give a damn about. Sure, if your school is dancing, the Tournament takes on added value, and a lot of Philadelphia area residents can easily pledge allegiance to any local team that's still alive. However, this isn't so easy for others, myself included. In any case, just about anyone who gets into March Madness can name a few of their favorite teams throughout the years, something our friend the Reverend did just prior to tip-off time on Thursday. You can read about his favorite past teams here. He and I have one in particular in common: the Temple team from my sophomore year, '99-'00.
As I mentioned yesterday, my friends and I had second-row season tickets in the student section for two of John Chaney's best years at TU ('98-'99, '99-'00). We knew some of the players fairly well and were acquaintances of several more of them because my freshman dorm room (555 Hardwick Hall) was right next door to the "official" starters Quincy Wadley and Mark Karcher (Karcher was rarely there). The many notables on the roster included Q and Karch, Pepe Sanchez—who ran that shit, big men Kevin Lyde, Lamont Barnes, and Ron "Cheesesteak" Rollerson, and of course the silky smooth Lynn Greer. Filling the rest of the team out were Alex Wesby, Ronald Blackshear, Greg Jefferson, Keaton Sanders, Rouldra Thomas, and crowd favorite Mamadou Cellou Barry. By all accounts that I've ever heard, this highly successful NCAA team was composed of nice guys, none of whom acted above the people around them despite their enormous status on campus at a basketball school. In March of 1999, 6-seed Temple won three games, against Kent, Cincinnati, and an upstart 10-seed in Purdue, respectively. They met 1-seed Duke in the Elite Eight, where they got smoked. The Elite Eight was like the Great Wall of China to Chaney...
In March of 2000, they were good enough to earn a 2 seed in the tournament. As the Rev put it:
Temple had a fabulous year, earning a No. 2 in the NCAA tournament, and with the way Temple played D and took care of the basketball, they were a threat to make it to the Final Four and beyond. Certainly, Duke, No. 1 in Temple's bracket, had their eyes on the Owls, and for good reason. Pepe ran the team brilliantly, and his senior leadership, along with fellow seniors Barnes and Wadley, provided Temple with stability. Mark Karcher was having a breakout year and had visions of the NBA. Kevin Lyde showed promise as a young big man, and Lynn Greer could hit a shot from anywhere on the floor at any time. Add in the tremendous defense of Sanchez, Wadley and Barnes, along with that hounding zone, and Temple was creating a lot of buzz.They took care of business rather easily in the first round … but it was the only win Temple had in the tournament. Somehow, some way, the Owls lost in the second round to 10 seed Seton Hall by 2 points. It was the most damaging loss I can ever remember for a team I root for in college basketball. I mean, it was just devastating. There was no doubt in my mind that Temple could have beaten Duke, or anybody else for that matter, that season. Yet they couldn't even get to the second weekend.
Considering the emotional investment my friends and I had in them, it's actually kind of surprising I can still enjoy this time of year as much as I do. The current news on that Temple team is few and far between these days, and the links I included above are a WATN of sorts. Interestingly, at least three of the players (Karcher, Sanchez, and Rollerson) have been part of the Sixers organization at some point in their careers, with Pepe even earning some PT during his two stints with the team.
Clearly, I have my reasons for remembering this NCAA team fondly.
Which past teams and players did you love, and why?
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/03/wh...
