Macon recounts Temple's great roll in 1991

Mark Macon made a career out of having big games and even bigger wins at Temple. In his four basketball seasons, Macon led the Owls to three NCAA appearances, including twice in the Elite Eight.

Yet it was his final game, which ended in defeat, that Macon is often remembered for the most, when he distinguished himself against one of the NCAA's true heavyweights.

Macon, his former coach John Chaney and a number of teammates from Temple's 1991 squad returned Sunday for a 25th anniversary celebration. A group that went 24-10 and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament was honored during halftime of the Owls 77-65 win over South Florida.

Macon's final shot of his collegiate career just missed, a 25-foot attempt to tie the game at the buzzer, resulting in a 75-72 loss to North Carolina in the Eastern Regional final in East Rutherford, N.J. It was an abrupt conclusion to a brilliant career that included 2,609 career points, still a Temple record.

So there was no trip to the Final Four but plenty of great memories.

"I felt if we get to the Final Four, we win it because we weren't going to beat ourselves and you had to be that much better to beat us," said Macon, 46. "I think that North Carolina had a great day and guys who didn't normally make shots made them."

That Tar Heels team included Rick Fox, Hubert Davis, and George Lynch. Eric Montrose, another future NBA player, came off the bench.

Temple was an underdog for a reason, but the 6-foot-4 Macon kept the Owls in the game until the end, totaling 31 points and nine rebounds. Macon became the eighth overall selection in the 1991 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets.

During his senior year, Macon averaged 22 points. Mik Kilgore, the pride of West Philadelphia High, averaged 14 points, center Donald Hodge averaged 11.6, and former Camden sharpshooter Vic Carstarphen averaged 10.4. Kilgore and Carstarphen were on hand Sunday.

Macon was a true favorite of Chaney's and would absorb everything the coach said like a sponge.

"Every day, he would come and sit at my desk and sit in front of my desk and say, 'I am going to rob you of everything in your brain,' " Chaney said. ". . . When you looked at him, you looked at a prototypical player that everybody would want."

As a captain, he was an extension of his coach.

"I always made the captain of my team a guy who would squeal on the other guys," Chaney said, laughing. "In order to be captain, you had to be able to tell me that somebody stayed out late at night."

Temple beat Purdue, 80-63 in the first round of the tournament, with Kilgore scoring 25 points. Then the Owls dispatched Richmond, 77-64, behind Macon's 20 points. Macon added 26 points in a 72-63 overtime win over Oklahoma State in the Sweet 16.

Macon, who played parts of six seasons in the NBA, says these days he is "pre-retired." From 2009-12, he was the head coach at Binghamton, taking over a scandal-ridden program and going 23-70.

He said he would like to get back into coaching. For now, he is recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.

Macon says he always looks fondly on his time with the Owls. "I came to Temple to be great, I didn't come to Temple to be an average basketball player," he said. "I consider myself average, but I just worked hard."