Lavoy Allen

The group of six players coming to town today to work out for the Sixers in advance of the NBA draft has changed. Dayton's Chris Wright is no longer among the six, and has been replaced by Arkansas' Delvon Johnson, a power forward who stands 6-7, 220. Johnson averaged 9.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.9 blocks last season for the Razorbacks. He is considered more of a defensive force than an offensive player. Johnson played two seasons for the Hogs. He began at Western Illionis and then spent 1 year in junior college before transferring.

JOSH HARRIS acquired Twinkies and Hinkie in the same calendar year. Either move could make the billionaire investor look like a Ding Dong. Harris' group of investment sharks, Apollo Global Management, in March bought a piece of Hostess out of bankruptcy. Harris' group of hoops hobbyists, the Philadelphia 76ers, last week hired 35-year-old Stanford MBA graduate Sam Hinkie to be the team's president of basketball operations and general manager. Twinkies have a timeless allure.

Temple has received letters of intent from the three high school seniors who had orally committed to play basketball for the Owls, the university announced yesterday. The signees are Lavoy Allen, a 6-foot-9 forward who averaged 12 points and 9 rebounds last season at Pennsbury High; 6-10 forward Michael Eric, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, who averaged 16 points, 15 rebounds and 8 blocks for the Church Farm School; and 6-2 guard Martavis Kee, who averaged 23.5 points at St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. All three had opportunities to play in the Big East, but indicated that the opportunity for playing time at Temple was a major factor.

Five Philadelphia players will be part of the Portsmouth Invitational, a pre-draft camp for NBA hopefuls that begins Wednesday in Portsmouth, Va., and runs through Saturday. Eight teams of eight players each will compete in games each day. Here are the local players who are slated to play and their senior season averages: Lavoy Allen (Temple / Pennsbury H.S.) 6-foot-9 forward: 11.6 points, 8.6 rebounds,1.8 blocks Brad Wanamaker (Pittsburgh / Roman Catholic)

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.

Temple center Micheal Eric suffered a season-ending fracture of his right kneecap during Tuesday's practice. The 6-foot-11 junior donned a Temple shirt and blue jeans before the start of Thursday's Atlantic Ten matchup against Richmond as his teammates warmed up. "I had a collision on a regular rebounding situation," the Lagos, Nigeria, native said Thursday of the injury. "I was trying to get a rebound. I think I banged knees with Khalif Wyatt or Lavoy Allen, one of them. It happened so fast.

Temple coach Fran Dunphy said Friday that Lavoy Allen is neither injured nor ill and that the 6-foot-9 forward simply decided not to attend the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament for personal reasons. "There's really no story behind this other than, as Lavoy said, he didn't go because of personal reasons," Dunphy said. "He will go to a number of individual camps, so he'll have a chance to show his talents in front of NBA people. I'm not sure how that will be determined. " Dunphy said Allen has yet to sign with an agent.

Temple coach Fran Dunphy has a lot of admiration for what Lavoy Allen did as an Owl. Apparently, so does the Herb Good Basketball Club. On Monday, the club named Allen the Big Five's outstanding player of the year. The 6-foot-9 senior power forward will receive the Robert V. Geasey Trophy at the Big Five banquet April 25 at the Liacouras Center. The Pennsbury High graduate averaged 11.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks this season. At one point, Allen posted seven straight double-doubles en route to finishing with 13. One of his most memorable performances came in the Owls' 57-41 victory at George Washington.

One day after his Temple Owls clinched a share of the Atlantic Ten's regular-season title, Fran Dunphy was named coach of the year yesterday in voting by the conference's 14 head basketball coaches. Temple (26-5, 14-2 league) will be the top seed in the A-10 tournament, which begins tomorrow. Temple has a bye until the quarterfinal round Friday in Atlantic City. Owls junior Lavoy Allen was named to the all-Atlantic Ten first team. Senior Ryan Brooks was a second-team pick, and sophomore Juan Fernandez earned honorable mention.

Coach Doug Collins confirmed after 76ers practice Thursday that the starting lineup for Wednesday's season opener likely will have Lavoy Allen at center and Thaddeus Young at power forward. Allen and Young, key reserves last season, scrimmaged with a group that included Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner, and Jason Richardson. At the beginning of training camp, Collins had planned to start Andrew Bynum at center and Spencer Hawes at power forward. However, because of knee pain, it is unlikely Bynum will appear in Wednesday's starting lineup.