Published: July 02, 2009 12:13 am      

New SFU assistant basketball coach played under three Philly legends

LORETTO — THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT

Former Temple point guard Chris Clark has joined the Saint Francis men’s basketball coaching staff, head coach Don Friday announced on Wednesday.

Clark is believed to be the only person to ever play under three legendary Philadelphia coaches – John Chaney, Fran Dunphy and Speedy Morris. Clark already has begun his coaching duties, and will be heavily involved in the development of the Red Flash guards.

“We are extremely excited to announce Chris Clark joining our family here at Saint Francis,” Friday said.

“Chris will be taking the position of assistant coach Abe Badmus, who left our program to pursue other career goals. I can’t say enough about the impact Abe has left on our players as a coach and as a great human being. We will miss Abe here in Red Flash country.”

“I am really looking forward to Chris Clark working here in our program,” Friday said. “Chris has been blessed to be around some great basketball minds as a player. He comes from a lineage of coach Speedy Morris at St. Joseph’s Prep, retired Hall of Fame coach John Chaney at Temple, and now current head coach Fran Dunphy at Temple.

“The thing that came to the forefront as we got to know Chris more and more was that we are getting a tremendous person, and a young man who is extremely hungry to be in the coaching profession. In my conversations with coach Dunphy, he pointed to Chris’ leadership and actions as being important to the resurgence of the Temple basketball program. As we try to grow our program, I know that Chris’ previous experience will be important in our rebuilding process.”

Clark, who played under Saint Joseph’s Preparatory High School in Philadelphia, recently earned his bachelor’s from Temple’s School of Tourism and Hospitality Management. He helped Saint Joseph’s Prep win three Southern Division Titles and two Catholic League championships, serving as team captain for two years.

He then played under Hall of Famer John Chaney during the 2004-05 season, and concluded his college basketball career as a team captain on the Owls’ 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship squad under coach Dunphy. He was named the Big 5’s Most Improved Player that season in helping Temple advance to the NCAA Tournament. Clark averaged 7.5 ppg, and had 59 assists and 24 steals as a senior. He was second on the team with 57 three-pointers, and led the team with 41.6 percent accuracy on 137 three-point attempts.