Fran Dunphy

Penn's basketball team will open its season at Southern California Nov. 27, then play at Ohio State two nights later. Though much of the non-Ivy League portion of the schedule remains incomplete, the Quakers are set to play in the University of Washington tournament Dec. 28 and 29, along with Georgia and Pacific. Home games unofficially are slated with Lehigh (Jan. 3) and Lafayette (Jan. 17), as well as an away game at Holy Cross (Jan. 24). A non-official Big 5 game at Temple most likely will be played sometime in January, depending on available dates.

If Penn basketball coach Fran Dunphy didn't have any bad luck, he wouldn't have any at all. Already this season, the Quakers have lost the services of - in order - senior forward Mike Milobsky (broken foot), sophomore forward Andy Baratta (stress fracture) and sophomore swingman Will McAllister (academics). And now, there is some additional bad news: Freshman guard Jerome Allen injured his right wrist during Monday's 88-74 loss at Tulane. Allen is scheduled to undergo a bone scan tomorrow.

With Temple officials expected to seek permission to talk to Penn basketball coach Fran Dunphy about the possibility of coaching the Owls, Dunphy was asked last night if he had interest in the job. "I haven't given it a lot of thought, to be honest," Dunphy said. He pointed out that Penn had finished its season less than 48 hours earlier. The 15th-seeded Quakers led No. 2 seed Texas early in the second half Friday before falling, 60-52, in Dallas. Dunphy is a leading candidate to succeed John Chaney, who retired last week.

Temple's basketball team will probably start next season in the Top 25. But the Owls, who must replace Sixers' second-round draft pick Lavoy Allen yet also return every other starter from a squad that won an NCAA Tournament game, figure to be challenged in the nonconference portion of their schedule. Fran Dunphy's guys will travel to Texas on Dec. 17, and host the 2010 national champion Duke on Jan. 4 at the Wells Fargo Center. The Owls will get Villanova on Dec. 10 at the Liacouras Center, where they've won 22 in a row to tie the school record for longest home winning streak.

For the second straight year, Temple basketball coach Fran Dunphy has been named the recipient of the Harry Litwack Award given to the Eastern College Coach of the Year. The award will be presented at the Philadelphia Big 5 banquet April 25 in the Fox-Gittis Room at the Liacouras Center. Dunphy, who has won the award three times in his 5 years at Temple, coached the Owls to a 26-8 record and a fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The Owls defeated Penn State for the program's first NCAA win in a decade before falling in double overtime to second-seeded and fifth-ranked San Diego State.

Temple basketball coach Fran Dunphy announced yesterday that 6-foot-10 forward Jimmy McDonnell of Jackson, N.J., has signed a letter of intent to play for the 2010-11 Owls. "We are excited to have Jimmy become a member of the Temple basketball team," Dunphy said in a statement. "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. " A spot on the team's roster opened when 6-8 forward Carmel Bouchman decided to remain in his native Tel Aviv, Israel, rather than return to Temple for his sophomore year.

Temple received an oral commitment yesterday from a prime recruiting target in Lavoy Allen, a 6-foot-9 post player from Pennsbury High School. Allen is expected to sign a letter of intent in the fall basketball recruiting period, which begins today. According to sources, Allen chose Temple over Rutgers, St. Joseph's and La Salle. The senior joins two other players who have committed to play for first-year coach Fran Dunphy: Martavis Kee, a 6-3 shooting guard from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Michael Eric, a 6-9 center from the Church Farm School.

Penn basketball assistant Fran O'Hanlon had interviews for the vacant head coaching jobs at Boston University and Virginia Military Institute last weekend in Charlotte, N.C. O'Hanlon, who just completed his fifth season as one of Fran Dunphy's assistants, met with the athletic directors of both schools. "I should know something in the next couple of days," O'Hanlon said last night. O'Hanlon, a 1970 Villanova graduate and co-captain of the Wildcat team as a senior, was the coach at Monsignor Bonner High School for three seasons before going to Penn.

When four-year junior varsity player Jeff Bilsky suited up with Penn on senior night at the Palestra last weekend, he became a third-generation Quaker. Bilsky's father is Penn athletic director Steve Bilsky, who is a Big Five Hall of Famer. And his maternal grandfather, Henry Kozloff, was a soccer, basketball and baseball player at Penn. Steve Bilsky graduated from Penn in 1971. Henry Kozloff was in the Class of '35. "How many times have there been three generations playing for the same team in the same gym?"

Temple is the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Regional for the NCAA tournament. The 21st-ranked Owls (24-6) will play in a second-round game in Nashville, Tenn. on Friday. They will play the winner of the first-round game between California and South Florida, the winner emerging as a 12th seed. This is Temple's fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. Last season, the Owls posted their first victory in four tourney appearances by defeating Penn State, 66-64, in a second-round West Regional game.