We had the special opportunity to make some questions to coach Fran Dunphy, Temple Owls, and now, we present the interview to our readers with a particular pleasure.
First, could you tell us what kind of difficulties you expected in this season in a new Conference?
Coach Fran dunphy, Temple Owls (Credits photo Andrew Kobb)
“Our conference is filled with some really talented teams, great coaches, some outstanding players with great experience so we’re in for a tremendous challenge. Not that we aren’t challenged every year, but this is an extraordinary year in the league that we are playing in”.
Could you tell us something about what you (like coaching staff) told to the team on your first speech (like some points you, like coaching staff, want guys to work more for this new season for example)?
“Basically the message is always the same – we’re going to be as tough as we can be in the scoring area on defense and we’re going to be as efficient and careful with our decision making as we possibly can on the offensive end. When you run good offense, it bleeds to defense. When you run poor offense, it leads to poor defense. So those are the lessons that we live by each and every day”.
Considering Atlantic 10 games, last year (like previous two) the team was last in the Conference in defense for 3P% that opponents had. This is an aspect we noted on your game. Do you think that aspect it’s an area where the team should improve in the near future for increase defense or there are other aspects do you plane to work more before that?
“Three-point shooting is one aspect of the defense that we have to be good at all the time. If you’re last in your conference for three point shooting you’re probably in pretty poor standings, although we’ve been poorer in past years and have done a better job recently doing better in the league play on three-point shooting. We also kind of protect ourselves against the best three point shooter on the other team, we try to make sure that that guy doesn’t get any clean looks”.
In August, you and the team had a trip to our country. Could you tell us something about this experience for you (like which place you liked more or a memory of the trip you love more)?
“Well I think we loved every aspect of it [trip to Italy] but I think in particular we made trips to two smaller towns, 40-50 thousand people towns, Mantova and Foligno and they were just delightful. I think the people were great to us, not that the people in Rome and Florence were not, but we enjoyed our stay in those smaller cities of Italy – very welcoming and very comforting”.
Could you tell us something about comments that the players told to you about this trip and which kind of experience is in your opinion for them that kind of visit overseas?
“I think again they were surprised with the smaller cities that they went to, again how comfortable we felt in those cities. I think that they appreciated the history and the tradition and the culture of Rome, for example, but really understood the down-home sense of going into the smaller cities”.
Note: a Special Thanks to Mr.Larry Dougherty, Senior Associate AD/Communications at Temple, for his kind support in this interview, and to coach Dunphy for the time he dedicate us.
