Fran Dunphy

Temple freshman forward Micheal Eric has been declared ineligible for the season under NCAA initial eligibility rules, the school said. The 6-9 Eric is originally from Lagos, Nigeria, but moved to New Castle, Del., two summers ago and attended the Church Farm School in Exton. He averaged 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocked shots last season. "This is unfortunate as Micheal is an upstanding young man with a strong academic background," coach Fran Dunphy said in a statement. "His ineligibility determination by the NCAA Clearinghouse was related more to his status as an international student than his academic standing.

Jimmy McDonnell, a 6-10 forward out of Jackson Memorial High in New Jersey, has signed a men's basketball scholarship letter to attend Temple and will be eligible for the 2010-11 season. "We are excited to have Jimmy become a member of the Temple Basketball team," said coach Fran Dunphy. "He is a developing player who has his best days ahead of him, and we are looking forward to having the opportunity to coach him. " McDonnell averaged 13.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game in helping his team to a 16-8 record during his senior season.

Penn basketball coach Fran Dunphy is believed to be close to switching Big Five schools and accepting a lucrative long-term contract to coach his alma mater, the La Salle Explorers. La Salle would be making a much larger commitment to basketball, seeking to reverse the tide of recent negative publicity, if Dunphy accepts the school's offer. The school apparently offered a six- or seven-year deal in the range of $350,000 to $400,000 a year, with an additional increase in the school's recruiting budget.

Penn basketball star Ibby Jaaber received a phone call Sunday night from coach Fran Dunphy. It was to let Jaaber know what he already suspected. Dunphy was leaving the Quakers after 17 years to take over the team at Temple. The official announcement was made on Monday. "I kind of figured for a while that he was gone," said Jaaber, who was the 2006 Ivy League player of the year. "I sat down with him on Saturday, and he said he still didn't know. We talked about my future, his future and Penn's future.

Jaime Kilburn scored a career-high 26 points last night as Brown beat Penn, 92-88, in overtime. After Friday's loss at Yale, it marked the first time the Quakers were swept in the opening weekend of Ivy League play since Fran Dunphy became the coach in the 1989-90 season. Penn has won the last two Ivy League titles. The Quakers (7-8, 0-2) led by 75-71 after Jeff Schiffner scored a pair of free throws with 15 seconds left in regulation, but Brown scored two tough baskets in the final seconds to send the game into overtime.

Glen Miller, who had a 93-99 record in seven seasons at Brown, will be named head basketball coach at Penn today, a source close to the situation said yesterday. Miller will replace Fran Dunphy, who accepted a similar position at Temple on April 10. Miller, 42, was among four finalists for the job. The others were Cornell coach Steve Donahue, a former Penn assistant coach; Lehigh coach Billy Taylor; and Penn assistant coach Dave Duke. Miller, who played for Connecticut's Jim Calhoun when the Hall of Fame coach was at Northeastern, reached 70 career wins faster than any of his predecessors at Brown.

Penn completed a weekend sweep of on the road last night with an 81-68 win over Harvard at Lavietes Pavilion to stay unbeaten atop the Ivy League, a game ahead of Princeton. The Tigers (7-12, 5-1) edged Dartmouth, 52-49, in Hanover, N.H., to stay in contention with the Quakers (14-6, 6-0). Princeton's Scott Greenman scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half, including four free throws in the final 11.1 seconds. Penn and Princeton will meet for the first time this season on Tuesday night at the Palestra.

Multiple listing service Seven things to know about The Great Book of Philadelphia Sports Lists, by Glen Macnow and Big Daddy Graham, which is out Nov. 1 ($14.95, Running Press): 1. Contains less filler than you expect. There's more than 270 pages and some serious research in here. 2. Awesome idea collecting lists from local, non-media people - including John Chaney, the late Eric Gregg, Bill Bergey, and J. Russell Peltz. 3. Ed Snider's "Greatest and Worst Flyers Games Ever" already needs an update.

Steve Donahue has paid his coaching dues. After 10 years next to Fran Dunphy on the Penn bench, Donahue's days as an assistant coach could be drawing to a close. He's ready to be a head coach. In fact, he's been ready. Late next week, Cornell will choose its next coach. Donahue has been interviewed twice. Three more candidates will be interviewed next week. "I feel real comfortable with it," Donahue said yesterday. "I think I'm right there. " Donahue was a strong candidate at William & Mary and Albany this summer before those schools made other choices.

Lafayette's basketball program, whose team finished 2-25 this season, hopes to steal a little magic from the NCAA-tournament-bound Penn Quakers. The Leopards yesterday named Penn assistant Fran O'Hanlon as their new head coach. O'Hanlon was in demand. He interviewed last week for the coaching job at Florida International, and was a finalist there. He said yesterday that Lafayette, which is in Easton, Pa., and is a member of the Patriot League, seemed like the better choice. O'Hanlon was Penn coach Fran Dunphy's top assistant during Dunphy's six- year run with the Quakers.