Dionte Christmas

CHICAGO - Sitting in the interview room at the NBA draft combine Thursday, Temple graduate Dionte Christmas recalled his path toward possibly becoming a professional basketball player. "Coming into Temple, I definitely had thoughts about going to the NBA," said Christmas, 22, who averaged 3.5 points in 11.3 minutes per game as a freshman in coach John Chaney's final season with the Owls. "It got kind of rough for me, not playing as much as I thought I should have," he said.

No streamers and balloons came down from the rafters of the Liacouras Center last night, but the Temple Owls reached the .500 plateau for the first time this season. With 25th-ranked Villanova showing up on Sunday, the Owls realize they will have to lift their game several more notches - but Towson was visiting last night, and Temple controlled things most of the way for a 69-46 victory. As soon as the game was over and Temple had improved to 4-4, Owls guard Mark Tyndale said he planned to watch 'Nova, which was about to tip off against Louisiana State.

When Temple gets Dionte Christmas and his teammates playing on both ends of the court at the same high level, magical results can occur, such as the Owls' upset of then-No. 8 Tennessee one week ago. But when Christmas struggles for a half, and the rest of the Owls struggle in another half, then the outcome is not good for Temple, such as in yesterday's 71-59 loss to Kansas before a packed house of 16,300 at Allen Fieldhouse. Coming off a 35-point performance against Tennessee, Christmas managed just three points in the first half yesterday.

The off-season wasn't really an off-season for Temple guard Ryan Brooks, a 6-foot-4 senior from Lower Merion High School whom the Owls are counting on to score and lead. He was working out regularly with Jerome Allen, the former NBA player and current Penn assistant coach who suited up for the Quakers under Fran Dunphy, now the Temple coach. "I put a lot of hard work in at the gym, working on every aspect of my game," said Brooks, who was Temple's third-leading scorer last winter with 10.6 points per game.

On a recent afternoon, Dionte Christmas walked into the Belfield Recreation Center, the native son coming home. The Temple guard was dressed in "T"-emblazoned warm-ups, but he would be just as recognizable in street clothes. It was Belfield, after all, that helped turn Christmas into a player who is Division I-tough and perhaps confident enough to play someday in the NBA. The cozy gym tucked on an Olney side street - a full-court heave from La Salle University - was the practice playground for Christmas and his Lutheran Christian Academy teammates.

Temple swept the Big Five weekly men's and women's basketball awards after both Owls squads upset nationally ranked opponents in Atlantic Ten Conference games. Dionte Christmas, a junior guard-forward, was named men's player of the week after scoring 23 points in Temple's 78-59 upset of No. 20 Xavier at the Liacouras Center. He also had 20 points in the Owls' win at St. Louis. Freshman guard Lindsay Kimmel was named women's player of the week after setting career highs with five three-pointers and 15 points in Temple's 68-66 upset of visiting George Washington.

SCOOTING FROM THE LIP A few years ago, Temple basketball coach Fran Dunphy made a promise to Dionte Christmas. Now, he's going to keep his word. Since his former standout player has earned his degree, Dunph is going to shave his trademark mustache, the one he's been sporting for 40 years. The honors will take place late tomorrow morning on campus, with Christmas by his side for the historic moment. No word yet on whether - as was the case when New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath got rid of his Fu Manchu mustache some four decades ago - it will be made into a commercial.

The 76ers have officially invited former Temple University star Dionte Christmas to their training camp, which will open Sept. 29 at St. Joseph's University. Christmas, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, went undrafted in the 2009 NBA draft after averaging 19.5 points a game for the Owls during the 2008-09 season. Christmas played with the Sixers/New Jersey Nets combined team in the Orlando Pro Summer League from July 6 to 10. He then played with the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 Las Vegas Summer League.

Dionte Christmas graduated from Temple yesterday. In an attempt to find work, the shooting guard will participate in the 2009 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago later this month. He will be joined by three players with local connections - Memphis freshman Tyreke Evans of Chester, who played at American Christian, and North Carolina's Wayne Ellington and Duke's Gerald Henderson, juniors who played together at Episcopal Academy. Villanova's Scottie Reynolds did not make the list. Christmas has already worked out for Toronto and Washington this week and has Houston, Oklahoma City, Detroit, San Antonio, Milwaukee and Chicago on tap before the combine, which will be held in Chicago May 27-28.

Temple's Fran Dunphy has been selected the Eastern College Coach of the Year by the Herb Good Basketball Club. Dunphy, who led his team to the Atlantic 10 Tournament championship and an NCAA berth, will receive the Harry Litwack Award at the club's 63rd annual banquet Monday. Guard Andre Miller was named the winner of the Eddie Gottlieb Award to the Outstanding 76er. The winners of other awards announced yesterday: Dave Zinkoff Award (Big 5 Rookie of the Year): Tyler Bernardini, Penn.

NASHVILLE - A basketball never sounds more hollow than when it stops bouncing, and it was that sudden silence that found the Temple Owls after their opening game of the NCAA tournament late Friday night. Across the street from the Country Music Hall of Fame, the 58-44 loss to the University of South Florida told a sad story of heartbreak and betrayal. The rim was a liar, the ball was cheating and the stat sheet was drunk. Maybe someone would even get shot, but if it was by either of these teams, it would probably be a miss.

THE BIG EAST is looking for teams, and Temple looks to be one of the possibilities. So naturally, first-year Owls' coach Steve Addazio was asked if he had any thoughts on the topic. "I don't," he said yesterday. "I get so locked in here. I'm worried about, like, next week. And every once in a while I'm worried about what dinner I'm having here. That's about where I'm at. I mean, I'm not trying to evade the question. There's just so much going on. I was mentally and physically exhausted just getting ready for [Saturday's 42-0 win at Ball State]

GONE. Temple basketball coach Fran Dunphy had sported his trademark mustache for 40 years, going back to his days in the Army. But yesterday at the Liacouras Center, he shaved it off, in front of an amused crowd and a row of cameras capturing the moment, for the best of reasons. A couple of years ago, he made a promise. Now it was time to keep his word because, this summer, former Owls standout Dionte Christmas took an online elective class that gave him the final three credits necessary to earn his degree in African-American studies.

Holding a disposable razor, about to clear the hairy space between his mouth and nose for the first time in four decades, Temple basketball coach Fran Dunphy explained Thursday how it got to this: "Sometimes, you talk too much. My M.O. is not to say too much. " But every time Dunphy saw former Owls player Dionte Christmas in recent years, the coach got on him for not graduating despite needing only one more course. Dunphy finally told Christmas he'd shave his mustache if he got it done.

SCOOTING FROM THE LIP A few years ago, Temple basketball coach Fran Dunphy made a promise to Dionte Christmas. Now, he's going to keep his word. Since his former standout player has earned his degree, Dunph is going to shave his trademark mustache, the one he's been sporting for 40 years. The honors will take place late tomorrow morning on campus, with Christmas by his side for the historic moment. No word yet on whether - as was the case when New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath got rid of his Fu Manchu mustache some four decades ago - it will be made into a commercial.

A day after the Temple basketball team experienced the twin thrills of winning its third consecutive Atlantic Ten tournament title, and finding out its destination in the NCAA tournament, the Owls were back at the Liacouras Center yesterday for a film session and practice. On Sunday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, Temple handed Richmond a 56-52 defeat in the tourney championship game. With the win, the No. 17 Owls picked up the A-10's automatic bid to the field of 65. Now, fifth-seeded Temple (29-5)

ATLANTIC CITY - Around the Temple basketball team, especially at tournament time, even after all of these years, a dog-eared copy of the Chaney-English Dictionary still earns its place in the briefcase. Yesterday, thumbing through it, the correct saying leaped off of the page. For future reference, it is the entry immediately preceding "Speed kills," "The company you keep," and, "You've got the known and you've got the unknown, and the unknown just kicked our ass. " There it is: It was Temple's greatest danger yesterday - and that really is not to disrespect St. Bonaventure, a .500-ish team that played a decent overall game at Boardwalk Hall in the Atlantic 10 Tournament quarterfinals.

SENIOR TEMPLE GUARD Ryan Brooks is the top scorer on the nation's 16th-ranked team. Which makes him one of the best there is in the Big 5 and the Atlantic 10. Not bad for someone who came out of Lower Merion High as somewhat of an afterthought, despite the fact that he had played for the state runner-up as a junior and a state champion his final season. Or even for a guy who was mostly a role player in his first two seasons on North Broad Street. "I definitely think I was underrecruited," recalled Brooks, who is averaging 16.1 points per game, 5.5 more than last season, entering tonight's first-place scrum between the Owls (15-3, 3-0)

Temple opened its basketball season yesterday against a Delaware squad the Owls had met only once since 1981-82. No doubt Temple enjoyed the reunion much more than the Blue Hens. The Owls clamped down defensively from the beginning and had no trouble registering a 76-56 nonleague victory in front of 3,080 spectators at the Bob Carpenter Center. The Owls, playing for the first time in four years without departed shooter Dionte Christmas, were led in scoring by guard Ryan Brooks, who had 23 points.

Coach: Fran Dunphy (55-43 in three seasons at school, 361-205 in 20 seasons overall) Last season: 22-12 Postseason: Lost in first round of the NCAA Tournament to Arizona State, 66-57. Last league title: 2008 Last NCAA berth: 2008 PROJECTED STARTERS C Lavoy Allen, Jr. 10.9 pts. 9.0 reb. F Michael Eric, So. 2.7 2.1 G Ryan Brooks, Sr. 10.6 3.8 G Luis Guzman, Sr. 2.1 2.1 G Juan Fernandez, So. 5.5 1.9 KEY RESERVES F Craig Williams, Jr. 5.3 3.0 F Scootie Randall, So. 1.2 0.5 G Ramone Moore, So. 4.5 2.3 F Carmel Bouchman, Fr. 8.0 7.7 G Khalif Wyatt, Fr. 20.0 4.0 F Rahlir Jefferson, Fr. 17.6 10.0 Note: Bouchman's statistics are for Israel in 18-under Euro championship, Wyatt's and Jefferson's are high school.