Tyreek Duren could have gone to Temple. He had a scholarship offer.
Instead, four years later, he was reminding reporters on Thursday that he still hasn't beaten Temple.
The senior guard will get his last chance when his La Salle Explorers (10-6, 3-0 A-10, 1-1 Big 5) take on a Temple team (5-10, 0-5 American, 2-0 Big 5) struggling through a rare losing season this Saturday at the Palestra (noon/ESPN 2).
Duren's coach, Dr. John Giannini, is just as aware of his program's struggles against its North Philadelphia rival. The Owls have won the last eight straight in the series and the Explorers haven't come out on top since a win at Liacouras Center on Feb. 26, 2008. To give you an idea of just how far back we're talking, Rodney Green, Kimmani Barrett and Dionte Christmas were your leading scorers.
"It's not something we like to brag about," Giannini said, referring to the losing streak. "It's not something we like to talk about externally, but internally, trust me, we do talk about it. So it's a great challenge for our seniors in our last game against them.
"It's a point of pride. You don't want to want to end your career going winless against a rival and great opponent like that."
But Saturday's matchup is one of two teams going in opposite directions. La Salle has won its last four and is gearing up for what it hopes will be a return trip to the NCAA tournament. Temple, on the other hand, has lost its last five in a row and -- barring a miraculous turnaround -- appears set to miss the tournament for the first time in the last seven years.
"They've simply had bad injuries at bad times and had to play great teams in the midst of all that," Giannini said, still wary of a challenge. "They led Memphis in the second half. They led Cincinnati in the second half. They're just a couple guys short."
Already without Daniel Dingle, who's recovering from arthroscopic surgery to fix his torn meniscus, Temple might also be without junior guard Will Cummings.
Cummings left Temple's game against USF last Thursday night with concussion-like symptoms. He was cleared to play against Memphis just two days later, but he did not travel with the Owls to Cincinnati on Tuesday and remains questionable to take the floor again on Saturday as Temple continues to be careful with him.
Cummings said he was encouraged when he woke up Thursday morning without a headache. Coach Fran Dunphy said his staff will continue to monitor Cummings' status, and he'll be "wait and see" for Saturday. If he can't play, the Owls with have just eight healthy players available.
You can forgive La Salle's Tyrone Garland if he's not exactly sympathetic.
"[If Cummings doesn't play] that'd be a good advantage for us," Garland said. "I have no mercy for them. … We haven't beaten them in about five years. So we really want this one for the university. Whatever it takes. If they don't have all their players, we have all ours, so we're just going to come to play."
Added into the mix is the excitement of College GameDay. The ESPN program will be broadcasting from the Palestra on Saturday as part of the network's week-long "My Home Court" series, aimed at showcasing special venues around the country.
Dunphy, who spent 17 seasons as the head coach at Penn, has the honor of being the winningest coach in the building's history, with a 171-55 all-time record.
Asked if he was pleased to see the Palestra getting national attention, Dunphy responded: "Oh sure. It's part of the fabric of Philadelphia basketball, and that's why ESPN asked us to play this game there. It wouldn't be College Gameday if it was at the Liacouras Center or the Gola Arena."
To Dunphy's point, his counterpart up on Olney Ave. thinks all the Big 5 schools should be making arrangements like this more often.
"I hate to politicize," Giannini said, "but I think all the Big 5 games should be at the Palestra. It's neutral court, so no one's at a disadvantage, it keeps alive an incredible tradition, and frankly the atmosphere is far better than anything you're gonna get on a home court. When the house is split, there's a reaction every single play and it makes it really unique.
"I would move any home-and-home series to the Palestra on a consistent basis."
So, yes, the environment and fanfare will be special Saturday. But once the ball goes up, Temple is going to have to figure out a way to end its five-game losing streak. Without Cummings on Tuesday, freshman guard Josh Brown ended up playing 40 minutes. He and someone else will be charged with having to guard Duren and Garland, who lead La Salle with 13.8 points apiece per game.
And those are just the issues on the perimeter. Inside, the Owls are giving up the ninth-most offensive rebounds of the 351 Division I teams in the country, 12.1 per game. Given Temple's struggles with opposing big men this year, Saturday could be a big day for with La Salle's Jerrell Wright (6.3 RPG) and Steve Zack (9.4 RPG)
If those two match the kind of success other forwards have had against Temple this year, La Salle will be looking at its fifth straight win and Temple will be looking at its longest losing streak in over a decade.
"I think our guys have great respect for Temple," Giannini said. "Our players have beaten everybody in the A-10 the last couple years, they've beaten everybody in the Big 5 the last couple years, except Temple.
"It's a hurdle we haven't been able to cross."