There was really only one place for us to start. If the two of us are going to spend the next few years trying to tell the story of John Chaney through the people who knew him best, then beginning with family seems pretty obvious. So, for our first full episode, we sat down with John Chaney Jr. and his wife, Maria, to talk about Coach Chaney not just as the basketball coach so many of us remember, but as a father, father-in-law, grandfather, husband, friend, cook, card player and, yes, occasionally, the guy who could make life a little difficult if you didn’t get home on time. The conversation went in a lot of directions. John Jr. talked about growing up with a father who was demanding but always there for him, watching him play sports, pushing education, and teaching lessons that went well beyond basketball. We heard stories about family barbecues, the famous cooking, pinochle games that sometimes lasted until morning, the ties Coach would give away after losses, and the parade of basketball people who seemed to wander through the Chaney household. Maria talked about meeting John Jr. without having the slightest idea who John Chaney was, then becoming part of the family and developing a relationship with her father-in-law that was clearly very much her own. Of course, we talked plenty of basketball too: favorite Temple memories, that unforgettable win at North Carolina, painful tournament losses, and Coach Chaney’s relationships with other coaching giants. But some of our favorite moments had almost nothing to do with wins and losses. They were the stories about food, family, his retirement, the things he loved, and eventually the very emotional memories John and Maria shared about the final days of his life. That, more than anything, is why we wanted to begin here. We all know pieces of the public John Chaney. This project is about collecting the other pieces too, the ones that live in stories and memories and sometimes in something as simple as a pot of cabbage or a box of crabs. John Jr. and Maria gave us a wonderful place to start, and we hope you enjoy the conversation as much as we did. Get full access to The Chaney Pod at www.thechaneypod.com/subscribe
