One of college basketball's best calls it quits.

Temple University basketball coach John Chaney announced his retirement yesterday. Chaney is 74 years old and will coach the Owls through this year's NIT and that will be it. Chaney was one of the few true characters left in the college game, and although some incidents of the last few years (touched on in the article I have linked) may tarnish his image a bit, I would prefer to talk about all the great things he did. Chaney is a name who is probably only recognized by hard core college hoops fans and that's a bit of a shame because nobody stood up for players the way this guy did. While other high profile coaches argued about how to generate more revenue from advertisers for their team Chaney was always more interested in how to turn his players into men they could be proud of. He held mandatory practices at 6am every morning so his players could develop the work ethic required to compete in the working world. Often those practices were not even practices, just Chaney talking to his players about his own upbringing in the racially segregated south, and the responsibilities of family, getting an education, and taking responsibility for your own life. He often recruited troubled players other programs were not interested in. His graduation rates were not among the best in the country, but 90% of those who graduated under him would never had a shot at a university degree without him. And those who didn't graduate were still more likely to lead a good life after leaving Chaney then before he go to them. He was a true original who genuinely cared about his players and always put their interests first. The NCAA should offer to employ him in some small capacity just to keep him active in the game.