Mark Tyndale only played for John Chaney for two seasons, the coach’s final two at Temple before he retired in 2006.
But even in that short time, Chaney left an indelible mark on the North Philly native.
“I’ll run through a brick wall for that guy, a steel wall,” Tyndale said.
Tyndale, the last member of the Simon Gratz-to-Temple pipeline, started 61 out of a possible 62 games as a freshman and sophomore. After playing his final two years under Chaney’s successor, Fran Dunphy, Tyndale would graduate as the program’s seventh all-time leading scorer (now eighth, since passed by Dionte Christmas) with 1,729 points. He also finished second in career free throws made, 12th in rebounds and seventh in steals.
After a decade-long professional career that included stops in Australia, Germany, Ukraine, Sweden and Israel, as well as several stints in the NBA Developmental League, Tyndale retired from playing in order to join the staff of the Toronto Raptors as an assistant video coordinator and player development coach. The Raptors' head coach, Nick Nurse, coached Tyndale in the Developmental League in 2009-10.
Here are excerpts from Owlscoop.com’s exclusive interview with Tyndale
Tyndale on the relationship he developed with Chaney:
“Once he recruited me, he told my parents, 'He’s mine now. For the next four years, I’m his father.' He was every bit of that for the two years I played for him. He was always there whenever I needed him. After he retired, I would always just pick up the phone and call him and check on him whenever. He used to watch me in the Danny Rumph Tournament in the summertime, call me and check on me every once in a while, see what country or NBA Development League [team], wherever I was at. I was working out with the Milwaukee Bucks, in training camp with them trying to make the team. He was right there for me, trying to support me, and do anything he could to help me succeed, way after my career with him was over.”
Tyndale on how he was able to earn Chaney’s trust as a freshman:
“It was easy. When he’s not yelling at you, that’s a problem. When he’s yelling at you, he loves you and he cares. I never took it personal. I always looked him in his eye when he talked. I just tried to not make the same mistake twice and tried to learn from anything that he was teaching me. I was always open - mouth closed, ears open.”
Tyndale on a time he was forced to miss practice and Chaney wasn’t pleased:
“My grandmom, when she was alive, I went over to her house on our off day. I don’t eat pork, and she made something that had pork in it. It turned my stomach upside down, and I had to miss the practice the next day. At 6 am in the morning, he wanted to call my grandmom and ask her why she put pork in her food. She was out running errands and stuff early in the morning on her way to the supermarket and all the stuff she tried to do before everything else opened up. It just so happens she missed the call and he was going to “cuss my grandmom out.”
Tyndale on how he’s taken Chaney’s principles and applied them to his own career:
“Always stand on what you believe in. Always telling the truth to guys even when they don’t want to hear it. They tend to respect that much more, and that’s helped me in my everyday coaching experience. That’s helped me try to take everything coach Nick Nurse is teaching me, so I can relate it to the young guys, and try to implement that in our gameplan. Just being truthful, guys want to be coached, and guys want to know the truth, even when they don’t want to hear the truth. And that’s something Coach Chaney always spoke was the truth, whether you like it or not.”
Tyndale on Chaney’s legacy:
“He gave guys that had no hope, hope. Guys that came from nothing, hope. He let guys live out their dream and get an education while doing it. You can’t do nothing without an education, and that’s a fact. That’s what he trusts more than anything, education. And he always educated people in terms of how to deal with people and never give up on your dreams, opportunities. Hope is what he gave to people, and that’s all you can ask for."
