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COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Coaches Urge History & Pageantry of the Big 5 Must Be Upheld

By Rich Flanagan. Photos: Mike Nance, 12/02/22, 11:15AM EST

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Photos: Mike Nance

By: Rich Flanagan

PHILADELPHIABilly Lange can recall his earliest memories of the Palestra.

From watching Villanova-Georgetown in the 1980s to witnessing Kobe Bryant pour in 39 points to lead Lower Merion to the 1996 PIAA Class AAAA title over Chester, Lange, 50, has seen some of the greatest moments that the Cathedral of College Basketball has had to offer. He can even remember mopping the floors when former University of Pennsylvania head coach Craig Littlepage was manning the sideline.

For the St. Joseph’s head coach, that building represents Philadelphia basketball.


St. Joseph’s head coach Billy Lange - PSD Photo by Mike Nance

“To be a part of it, regardless of the outcome, is one of the honors and privileges of playing basketball in the city of Philadelphia,” Lange said.

More importantly, the Palestra has housed teams of the historic Big 5 since it was formed in 1955. It has been hosting college basketball games for nearly a century and will be celebrating its centennial in five years. For an arena that has hosted more college basketball games than any other arena in the world, the Big 5 has been its hallmark and stewards like Lange, who was an assistant under two-time national championship head coach Jay Wright and an assistant with the Philadelphia 76ers, recognize that it must endure.

“When I grew up, the Big 5 was the fifth professional sport here,” Lange said. “The fans were as passionate about the Big 5 as they were about the Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, and Phillies. I know that sounds crazy but it’s true.”

The Big 5 was once the pantheon of Philadelphia basketball and the Palestra is the sanctuary where the most avid fans came to watch whoever graced that hallowed hardwood. Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Paul Arizin played there while at Villanova in the late 1940s and his grandson, Chris is a walk-on for the Hawks, who pulled out an 85-80 overtime victory over Penn on Wednesday in the first Big 5 doubleheader since 2016. St. Joe’s rallied from a 17-point deficit in the first half to prevail in the nightcap of the seventh all-time doubleheader at the Palestra.


SJU sophomore guard, Lynn Greer III #5 drives to the basket against Penn senior Lucas Monroe #22 - PSD Photo by Mike Nance

Lynn Greer III, who scored 10 of his 16 points down the stretch to force the extra period, is no stranger to the Palestra having played there eight times in his career, including seven while starring at Roman Catholic. His father, a member of the Big 5 Hall of Fame, had his own moment that lives in Palestra lure as he hit a game-winning jumper from the baseline with 1.2 seconds left against St. Joe’s to lift Temple to a double-overtime win in March 2002.

Greer averaged 13.9 points per game in those seven appearances in high school, which included two Philadelphia Catholic League titles and one where he made the game-winning assist to Hakim Hart (Maryland) to beat Bonner-Prendergast in the closing seconds.

The Palestra is a connection to his father’s career, but it has also been a focal part of Greer’s own basketball journey.

“Every time coming here is a blessing,” Greer said. “Seeing how everything has stayed the same since the last time I was here brings back a lot of memories. When I walked in here, I got goosebumps. It’s that kind of place.”

Greer’s assist in the 2018 Philadelphia Catholic League championship is one memory that stirs in the minds of those who have seen such players excel across various levels of the game. Collin Gillespie captured his signature moment scoring 22 of his 24 points in the second half of the 2017 Philadelphia Catholic League title victory then left Archbishop Wood to become one of Villanova’s all-time greats. He scored 26 points in his final game at the Palestra then added 23 in his last Big 5 matchup against the Hawks in Dec. 2021.

Penn head coach Steve Donahue has a history with the Palestra that dates back almost 50 years. 

He was an assistant under former Lafayette head man Fran O’Hanlon at Bonner-Prendergast and witnessed Brian Daly, who played at St. Joe’s, score 30 points at the fabled arena to lead the Friars to the 1988 Philadelphia Catholic League crown.

Later, he was a longtime assistant under Fran Dunphy, now coaching his third Big 5 program at La Salle, with the Quakers before leaving for his first head coaching job at Cornell.

Donahue and the Quakers were coming off a win in the inaugural Cathedral Classic, a preseason tournament played at the Palestra, against Jameer Nelson Jr. and Delaware. Nelson scored 30 points, something his Naismith Award-winning father did against the Wildcats in Feb. 2003. Having been part of the Big 5’s proud history, Donahue wants events like the doubleheaders to become more of a regularity, as they once were.

“I’ve been coming here since 1974 and I love this place,” Donahue said. “It’s always good to see it come back and the best thing about this arena is that you can hear everyone’s voices. You can see the faces of everyone in the building. They’re literally part of the game. This is what the Big 5 should be: playing these types of games in this type of environment.”

SJU vs. Penn Game Highlights, as the Hawks defeat the Quakers 85-80 in OT -PSD Video by Rich Flanagan

Post Game Press conference with Penn head coach Steve Donahue - PSD Video by Rich Flanagan

Donahue is a pupil of Dunphy as is Temple head coach Aaron McKie, who took down his former mentor, 67-51 in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader. McKie - the 1993 Big 5 Player of the Year who played under legendary head coach John Chaney - is another Philadelphia basketball lifer. He starred at Simon Gratz alongside Rasheed Wallace and Levan Alston then teamed with fellow Big 5 HOFers Eddie Jones and Rick Brunson and eventually returned to the City of Brotherly Love where he won NBA Sixth Man of the Year with the 76ers. Temple is the fifth all-time winningest program in Division I history with 1,965 victories and McKie was instrumental to a wealth of those, many of which were in the Big 5 at the Palestra.


Temple R-sophomore guard Khalif Battle led all scorers with 22 points in 67-51 win vs. La Salle - PSD Photo by Mike Nance

McKie got his first win over Dunphy after the Owls ended the game on a 24-6 run over the final 8:55. Khalif Battle, who had suffered a fractured left foot against the Explorers a year ago, had 17 of his 22 points after halftime and Zach Hicks nailed two of his three three-pointers in that late run. McKie and Dunphy embraced at midcourt and “we both said at the end of the game that we’re glad this is over,” McKie said, referring to the immense respect the men have for one another.

While he was part of his fair share of Big 5 triumphs, McKie has seen the fabric of it change as most of the programs now tend to play games against each other away from the Palestra and in their own gyms. The crowd size for his Owls and Dunphy’s Explorers was underwhelming and things did not improve much for St. Joe’s-Penn. The four programs came into Wednesday with a combined record of 13-14 and Penn, picked to finish first in the Ivy League preseason poll, was the only team projected to finish in the top four of its conference.

Expectations change from year to year and with that comes changes to schedule structure. As McKie notes, change is occurring within the sport, but the hope is to keep Big 5 matchups, even doubleheaders, as an essential part of Philadelphia hoops.

“Since I’ve played, the landscape of college basketball has completely changed,” McKie said. “I think we have a unique brand here with our Big 5 and the City 6. It was just good to play here and be part of the doubleheader. I’m sure the more we do it, the more eyes that we’ll have on it.”

Few people have meant as much to the Big 5 as Dunphy, who is the all-time winningest coach in Big 5 history and the only coach to win a game with three Big 5 programs. He flourished as a player at La Salle and his success at Penn and Temple led to 17 NCAA Tournament appearances. His 1998-99 Quakers team of Michael Jordan (head coach at Lafayette), Matt Langel (head coach at Colgate) and Paul Romanczuk (head coach at Malvern Prep) won the Ivy League title then followed in his footsteps into the coaching ranks. His final team at Temple in 2018-19 was led by Shizz Alston Jr., Levan's son, and he was a First Team All-Big 5 selection.

Temple vs. La Salle Game Highlights by Rich Flanagan:

After his matchup with McKie and the Owls, Dunphy took his spot in the upper right-hand corner of the Palestra and watched St. Joe’s-Penn, a common practice for him in a building he has more familiarity with than perhaps anyone else. With a lighter crowd, he was able to take in the game and still appreciate the spectacle that is Big 5 basketball.

“It’s always special to be here, whether the corners are filled or not,” Dunphy said. “It’s a great atmosphere and there’s nothing quite like it. In competition, you look for that and you want your guys to look for that. You want your guys to understand how special this place is and how special playing in the city of Philadelphia is as a college basketball player.”

Post Game Press Conference with Temple's Damian Dunn, Zach Hicks & coach Aaron McKie - PSD Video by Rich Flanagan

In his post game press conference, La Salle head coach Fran Dunphy talks about coaching against McKie & his former team - by Rich Flanagan

From players like Arizin to Hal Lear, who scored 40 points at the Palestra against UConn in the 1956 NCAA Tournament, to Tom Ingelsby, who won a Philadelphia Catholic League title as a player at Cardinal O’Hara in 1968 then led Archbishop Carroll to one as head coach 27 years later, the Palestra and Big 5 have connected generations of Philadelphia basketball icons. Inglesby also led Villanova to the 1971 National Championship Game and scored 1,616 career points, adding another example of a player who found success at multiple stages of his career and the Palestra was the stage

Then there’s Jim Lynam and Herb Magee, teammates on the 1959 Philadelphia Catholic League championship team at West Catholic, and one of whom retired with the second-most wins in NCAA history. William “Speedy” Morris is in the same vein as Dunphy having coached at La Salle, both the men and women’s programs, while also claiming eight Philadelphia Catholic League titles on the floor of the Palestra: six with Roman Catholic and two with St. Joe’s Prep. As Dunphy is the winningest coach in Big 5 history, Morris is the winningest coach in Philadelphia high school basketball history with 1,035 wins.

Even LeBron James has played a game at the Palestra during a scrimmage in the midst of the NBA lockdown in 2011.

Currently, there’s Dunphy, McKie, Donahue and Lange, all with a connection to the Big 5 and Cathedral of College Basketball. There’s no guarantee all future Big 5 games will be played at the Palestra nor is it known if future Big 5 doubleheaders will be played at all. What must be guaranteed is the permanence of Big 5 basketball and Lange did not mince words when describing the pertinence of maintaining it in an ever-changing environment.

“The energy needs to be (there), ok things have changed because we have teams that play 18-20 games or in different games for their own budget, yet, how do we keep this relevant,” Lange said. “We have to figure out a way to do that. I don’t think we can keep going at the rate it’s going right now. We have to get really creative, and I think we can have a great partnership with Coaches Versus Cancer or something that makes it really special. This is too big time for these guys to miss out on, so we have to make sure we keep it going.”