The Owls will be losing their best player in Senior Meyer ‘Mike’ Bloom and his sidekick in crime under the boards in big Don Shields so Chaney will have to replace these two studs to have a chance to keep their run atop the A-10 going!  On top of that the A-10 expanded to 12 teams including inviting a third member of the prestigious Big 5 from Philly plus two pretty solid programs from Ohio and a NYC team to replace Rutgers who was leaving for the greener (perhaps not greener but bigger for sure) pastures of the Big East.  The A-10 also loses West Virginia so those legendary back court matchups between Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley and the Owls dynamic duo of Guy Rodgers and Hal Lear will be no more.

The Mountaineers are not even on the Owls schedule this year, which is a shame, so the tradeoff with teams is actually pretty equitable though the venom that the one single game (the A-10 did not want to turn this into a Big 5 league so they kept the new team from LaSalle on a rotating schedule) with the Explorers presumably at the Palestra will be sure to be filled with some off and on the court shenanigans and perhaps even fisticuffs.  Are the Owls up to task to remain on top of this so vastly underrated conference (mid-major my ass) and for that matter the Big 5 especially since their hated rivals are now in the same league?  We shall soon find out! 

With Meyer and Shields gone the Owls will rely on one of the best perimeter groups of players in the country to press their opponents up against it all year long.  Chaney uses his vaunted full court press to create easy baskets off turnovers and great penetration from his guards and wings on the offensive end to create offense.   The Owls go into the season with one of the most ballyhooed backcourts in the country and definitely the best pair of lefties playing together. 

The aforementioned Seniors Guy ‘Mr’ Rodgers and Hal ‘King’ Lear complement each other perfectly and have had three great seasons together.  The only chink in their armor is the lack of size of Lear (5’11) in guarding the super athletic two guards that are now dotting the collegiate landscape as West and Hundley proved in their matchups from the past. Sophomores Terence Stansbury, Nate Blackwell and Howard Evans are next in line for minutes as this team is deep.  Stansbury can flat fly and will push Lear for time as the season progresses and Blackwell can play both guard spots and is almost as athletic as Stansbury.  Evans is a pure point that the master Rodgers is grooming to take his job but not this year and he will caddy for one more year until this team is his.  Unless of course one of the super recruits that is chomping at the bit jumps in front of him in this competitive hierarchy Chaney has developed.  

First year studs Lynn Greer and Pepe Sanchez are scheduled for the JV but they bring much to the table though in vastly different areas as Greer is an offensive juggernaut (and a lefty as well) and Sanchez is a defensive stopper and would rather pass than score.  As for the wings Freshmen Mark Macon leads a group of underclassmen ready to roll if anything happens to Lear and company but of course Chaney will work these guys in (when they get their shot from the JV) as he is always building this program for the future. 

Fellow Freshmen Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie are as good of defenders on the wings as there is on the East Coast but might have trouble getting on the court with all this talent recruiting guru Fran Dunphy has accumulated but he does like to rotate to keep the pressure and intensity needed to maul teams into submission which is of course Chaney’s calling card. 

The awesome backcourt for the Philadelphia five is led by the erstwhile Rodgers.  Rodgers is an athletic point guard who can score and dish but does so much more dishing to help his team win.  The smooth lefty is one of the best passing point guards in the country.  His defense is outstanding and his hustle to the ball is brilliant.  Rodgers has become a legend in his hometown of Philly with many a young kid emulating his behind the back dribble and drive to the hoop.  His finger rolls and underhanded scoop shots that almost always go in are always on the way to the hoop as this heady six footer is forever pushing the ball forward.  He loves alley ooping to the big men down low (and it should be more of that this year with all the 7 footers on the roster) as the Owls will have a plethora of big men rotating in. Another lefty and one of Chaney’s boys was Freshman Lynn Greer.  Greer is very similar to Rodgers in his ability to drive and dish and should be his heir apparent.  On the other hand (or is it the same) Greer is a very good three point shooter who is as reliable and consistent as they come and the Owls should not miss a beat once he takes over the Quarterback role from Rodgers. 

The Owls know going into this year it would be hard to replace the incomparable Bloom up front but the guys coming in are not exactly chopped liver.  Senior Forward John Baum was the backup to Meyer last year (and he got big minutes) and can be the force in the key this team needs to open things up for the great guards. Baum is a fine rebounder with a workmanlike mentality that overcomes his deficit in height (6’5).  Baum may not be Bob Lanier down low but in the A-10 everybody needs bigger and better post players, well besides those Bonnies with the Size 19 Sneakers dominating the paint.  Speaking of big shoes to fill Senior Jim Williams will be taking over the post from Shields who might not have got the national recognition of Meyer but he was just as important to the Owls success.  Williams is not huge (6’7 220) but he is tough and physical but will have to fight off a bunch of fellow seniors with Jay Norman, Russ Gordon and Cliff Brookins battling for time.  None of these guys are big (to say the least as Gordon is the tallest at 6’4) but they all are gamers and can play so even with the seven footers Chaney has brought in for the future this year it will be seniors leading the way as Chaney will almost always goes with experience first but like any coach he will ultimately choose talent over anything else so if any of these freshmen step up there are plenty of minutes to be had down in the paint. 

Sophomores Tim Perry and Granger Hall are most definitely in the mix for minutes.  Hall is a solid low post option that excelled on JV last year and Perry got his feet wet for the varsity as this kid can block a shot and defend all day.  If you combined the two Chaney would have a heck of a player but for now he will split them in two for minutes as he tries to find someone to replace the two legends who just left Philly for the big time of pro basketball.  Replace is probably the wrong word but the Owls do need someone(s) to fill that large void! 

The man the Owls go to when they need to break a zone or hit a tough shot is Bill Mlkvy.  No, I did not misspell that name.  Mlkvy or the “Owl without a Vowel’ as he is known to the Philadelphia faithful  has become legendary for his ability to score in large quantities.  He lead the team in scoring last year and is the only bonafide inside scorer the team has with Bloom and Shields gone.  Oh and Mlkvy is a heck of a rebounder for a six four guy.  Mlkvy started most of the year at small forward and yes he is by far the most popular Owl but Chaney wanted better athleticism on the wings and no matter how much he is loved Chaney is and will always be defense first so Mlkvy better watch his p’s and q’s (perhaps he could add those into his name) if he wants to keep starting.  I would love to be at the Licouras Center the day Chaney decides to not start Mlkvy for one of his fresh-faced defensive minded studs he has brought in.  The Apollo of Temple might turn into a sacrificial temple of the Gods especially if that chosen one does not play well!

Junior Ollie Johnson was the swing forward on the team last year and played well but did not get a bunch of minutes.  Johnson and the aforementioned Jones and McKie should be the key to the Owls bench success on the wings and Philly has always been known to have great wings. Of course this team will have plenty of depth for Chaney to choose from but do they have enough talent to finally make a run in the national tournament if (and almost forsuredly when) they get there?  Only time will tell but I would not bet against the intense Chaney who has put together a solid schedule including a visit down south to take on his alma mater in Daytona Beach Florida.  That’s right Chaney was once one heck of a player who supposedly scored over 3000 points for HBCU Bethune-Cookman and it is quite a coup him returning home.  That of course is almost a sure win but with the likes of Big 5 teams Penn and Nova (LaSalle is joining the A-10 this year which means even more fun in Philly for the fans) plus the 6th Philly team in Drexel.  Huge games with Cincinnati, Duke, St. John’s, Pitt and P State dot the schedule and how these Owls do against this stiff competition will define their season.  All of these games pale in comparison to the biggest event on the City of Brotherly Love’s January calendar as hometown hero Wilt Chamberlain is coming home.  That’s right Wilt the Stilt is leading Kansas into the Spectrum to play the Owls in a game for the ages.  The outcome of this game might not determine whether or not the Owls season is a success but I will tell you this there will be about a ‘hundred’ (cue Dr. Evil) Philadelphians saying they were there in 20 years as this is the game of a lifetime in Pennsylvania.  Heck, they might even want to play it in Hershey!