by The Philadelphia Daily News

But don't think that just because Dunphy didn't recruit Dionte Christmas, Semaj Inge and Sergio Olmos to North Broad Street, he didn't experience the same emotions that he did for all those Senior Nights he went through during his 17 years at the University of Pennsylvania.

In fact, it could be said that these three seniors - the last class to be recruited by John Chaney - might be as special to Dunphy as any he personally brought to any school.

"They've been great," Dunphy said after his Owls beat Saint Joseph's, 68-59, last night at the Liacouras Center. "Dionte has obviously had a fabulous college basketball career here at Temple, and I was happy to be a small part of that.

"But really, they are just three good guys. I think that's the biggest thing I will take from their careers - just good people who care about their teammates, their families and their school."

A coaching change at any school can be a huge transition, but it is magnified when the guy leaving is a figure like Chaney.

And while it is an ideal thought to believe that college athletes make their decisions based on the school, it's more likely that they decide based on the relationship established with the coach who recruited them.

"It was a big transition," Christmas said of Chaney retiring after the 2005-06 season and Dunphy replacing him. "These are two different coaches with two different coaching styles.

"Personally, I did think I did a good job of adjusting to that."

There is no way of knowing what kind of careers Christmas, Olmos and Inge might have had in 4 years with Chaney, but all three have flourished in their 3 years with Dunphy.

Christmas is obvious.

After averaging just 3.5 points as freshman, the graduate of Philadelphia Lutheran Christian Academy has become a prolific scorer, averaging close to 20 points the last three seasons.

Depending on what happens down the stretch, Christmas could become the first player to lead the Atlantic 10 in scoring for three straight seasons. He currently trails Saint Joseph's senior Ahmad Nivins by two total points in this season's race.

"Coach Dunphy is a defensive guy just like coach Chaney, but his offense was more open to anybody," said Christmas, who is fourth on Temple's all-time scoring list and could finish as high as second depending on how many games Temple manages to play the rest of the season. "These last 3 years, coach Dunph has taught me so much on and off the court. He's been like a second father to me."

Inge and Olmos didn't make the spectacular leap like Christmas, but both have had solid careers.

Last season as juniors, they helped Temple to its first Atlantic 10 championship and NCAA Tournament bid since 2001.

Again, you can't know for sure what might have happened, but the Dunphy era at Temple might have gotten off to a slower start had those kids, especially Christmas, decided to transfer after the coaching change.

It is important for a new coach to have some kind of stability when taking over a program, and that was what Dunphy had in the players who decided to stick with him.

A player like Christmas is the kind who can attract other players to a program.

"It's critical, to be honest with you," said Dunphy, adding that he didn't have to work hard to convince Christmas to stay. "Again, as good as he has been on the court, he's been spectacular off the court.

"In everything that you are supposed to do as a college athlete, he has done that. He's just a good human being. I don't know what else you could ask for from a college basketball player."

It's not an overly talented class like the one that featured NBA first-round picks Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie.

It's not as successful as the one with Howard Evans, Tim Perry and Ramon Rivas that set a school record for a class with 114 wins.

But since Harry Litwack took over in 1952-53, Temple has only had three other coaches (Don Casey, Chaney and Dunphy).

That's not a lot of turnover.

As Dunphy's career at Temple goes on, the significance of this senior class providing stability during the formative years might grow in importance.

"To tell you the truth, I thank coach Dunphy," Inge said. "I tip my hat to him because he came in and none of us was recruited by him. I've heard of new coaches coming in and getting rid of the guys that are there already to bring in their own guys. I want to thank coach Dunph for sticking with us, trusting us and allowing us to prove that we had the ability to win games for him." *

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