By Chris Stevens, Editor
A challenging season for first-year Delcastle boys’ basketball coach Chris Laws became even more difficult last Friday with the passing of his mentor and college coach, Temple University legend John Chaney.
Laws, a walk-on who won Chaney over during his three years in North Philly, felt it was destiny for him.
“In the Bible [Mark 5:29], there’s the story of the lady who says ‘If I could just touch the hem of his garment, everything will be okay,’” Laws said Saturday afternoon following Delcastle’s game with Mount Pleasant. “Just to be in Coach’s presence, play in front of him, have a chance to meet him, I felt everything would be okay and that’s the way it’s been ever since.”
Laws was a standout player at Delcastle in the mid-90s and his desire to play for one of the Big Three of Black college coaches – Chaney, Georgetown’s John Thompson (who passed away in October) and Arkansas’ Nolan Richardson – drew him to walk on at Temple. Laws made the team and played with Temple notables such as former NBA players Marc Jackson, Pepe Sanchez and Lynn Greer Sr. between the ’95-96 and ’97-’98 seasons.
The way Laws earned his spot on the Owls’ men’s hoops team is what he’s trying to teach to a talented Delcastle squad who’s struggling with quarantine and water damage to the school, forcing them to play a road-only schedule this season.
“Everything is a life lesson and those lessons are hard, especially this season with COVID and trying to compete,” Laws explained. “Two things Coach would do is break a player down and rebuild him in the image of a man and he also taught us to never quit. Because of those lessons, we’ve been able to have some early success.”
Laws shared some John Chaney gems – equal parts hilarious, equal parts philosophical – that can best describe the type of man he was.
“He’d say all the time ‘A blind man has no business being in the circus,’, ‘Are you going to believe me or your lying eyes’ if a guy had a turnover…all kinds of jewels,” Laws chuckled. “He also said ‘when it comes to basketball, you must choose how you’re going to win and choose how you’re going to lose.’”
Laws could also lean on Coach Chaney for personal advice and support as well. When Laws lost his mother in 2015, Coach Chaney readily would lend an ear, and Laws added that Chaney kept in contact with all of his players right up until his final days.
Laws finished his thoughts on his mentor with a tribute to the respect and admiration John Chaney garnered in 89 years of life.
“There are only a handful of people who walk in the room and they open their mouth, everything is silent. From the time he speaks, everyone’s eyes are on him,” he says. “Two people come to mind – Coach Chaney and Barack Obama. It didn’t matter what celebrity, what status, when Coach opened his mouth, everybody listened. That’s a testament to the respect that was shown to a man of his stature.”
3 Responses
Wow!!!! Powerful! Be encouraged in the things that you know are fair and true. The knowledge and wisdom that you have been blessed with, was not meant for you to sit on, but to be passed on so that the next generation may have a greater understanding. Dig deep, reflect, and get it done! You were created for a time such as this… go forth in excellence Coach! #youwerebuiltforthis
This is a great article! What a blessing it must’ve been to have a Coach like this!
Chris Laws is living proof how a young Delcastle Vo Tech student and Player can achieve his dream and it has now come true. Coaching Chris at Delcastle, his never give up attitude took him to Temple and Now Head Coach at Delcastle coaching his son. I am Coach Chris Laws #1 Fan. Coach Lou DiMascio