WILL CHRISTMAS COME EARLY?
As senior Dionte Christmas goes, so goes Fran Dunphy and the Temple Owls
By Chris Wilder
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Christmas gets it done on offense ...
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To be blunt, Temple—more than any other team in the Charleston Classic—is in an interesting position, to say the least. While they continue to establish themselves as the Atlantic 10 powerhouse they once were under long-time head coach John Chaney, the program is still finding its way with head coach Fran Dunphy. Entering his third season after coming over from the Ivy League’s University of Pennsylvania, Dunphy knows that if the Owls are going to do anything this year, it’s going to take a strong season from their scoring leader and senior Dionte Christmas.
“We’ll do pretty good,” admits Dunphy, whose Owls finished 21-13 last season after losing to Michigan State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. “We have a couple of red shirt freshman and our seniors are looking pretty good. But now I have a lot more responsibility than when I first got here and we had guys like Mardy Collins.”
The 6-foot-5 Christmas—who finished the regular season averaging 20.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and shooting 44.6 percent—is looking to become the first player ever to lead the Atlantic 10 in scoring three seasons in a row. “I can’t really think about that,” says Dionte. “I just kind of have to do what needs to be done for us to win games.”
That would be a tough feat when you think about all of the great players—from Eddie Jones and Aaron McKie to Marcus Camby and Lamar Odom—that have come through the Atlantic 10. Temple wants to have a winning season in the Atlantic 10 but to prepare for that they need to have a good showing here in Charleston. Last year in the inaugural O’Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off, the Owls lost to this year’s host, College of Charleston, after leading by 25 at halftime. Christmas remembers, and is ready: “I think this will be a good challenge for us at the beginning of the season to see where we stand and help determine how we’ll finish our season.”
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...and on defense
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With the Puerto Rico Tip-Off not completely erased from his memory, Christmas fully expects his team to have a better showing in the Charleston Classic. “We definitely have a chance to win this tournament,” Dionte predicts. “Our team is looking good and I think the coaches are doing their job.”
This is a turning point for Christmas, the senior NBA prospect. Draft Express has him ranked as the 38th college senior but … Dionte isn’t really looking that far ahead. “I try not to think about the next level. I’m just concentrating on my senior year … Right now, I think I could play at the next level but, I have a lot of things I need to work on.”
Maybe he was trying to be humble and fully expects to succeed in the NBA. But he had to be pressed to talk about things he needs to improve on in order to move up to the League. “I have to work on how to read defenses,” he says. “There will be a lot of defenses thrown at me this year. I have to work on my ball handling and my strength. I can do all those things now, but I want to be good. I want to be good at those things.”
Don’t worry, Dionte. This could be your season.
FRAN DUNPHY ON CHRISTMAS--AND THE OWLS>>
ESPN’S ANDY KATZ LIKES CHRISTMAS’ GAME>>
Veteran sports writer Chris Wilder is the editor of www.insideathletics.com, a sports magazine/social network.
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