Daly was one of the best

By John McMullen, NBA Editor

(Sports Network) - Two months ago Chuck Daly was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Today, the Hall of Fame coach is gone.

The "Good Guy" of the "Bad Boys" passed away at the age of 78 at his home in Jupiter. Fla. on Saturday morning.

Daly is best known for leading the Detroit Pistons to a pair of NBA Championships and guiding the original "Dream Team," perhaps the greatest collection of basketball talent ever assembled, to an Olympic Gold Medal in 1992.

Daly also excelled at the college level. In his six seasons (1971-77) as the head coach of the University of Pennsylvania, he compiled a 125-38 record and won four Ivy League titles. Daly led Penn to more NCAA berths and Big Five titles than any previous head coach in school history.

The headlines are always impressive when you talk about a Hall of Fame coach.

That said, Daly's real gift was his ability to get through to his players, no matter the stakes or level.

Whether it was high schoolers in Punxsutawney, Penn., Ivy Leaguers at Penn, Dream Teamers or the ultimate test for any coach, Dennis Rodman, Daly figured out how to get it done.

Not as easy as it looks -- just ask Rick Pitino, John Calipari or Tim Floyd.

"I think Chuck understood people as well as basketball," Pistons president of basketball operations and Hall of Fame guard Joe Dumars said. "It's a people business."

Dubbed by John Salley as "Daddy Rich," for his dapper wardrobe and impeccably coiffed hairstyle, Daly understood the NBA is about talent, while the game's lower levels were more about micro-managing.

"It's a players' league," the coach once said of the NBA. "They allow you to coach them or they don't, Once they stop allowing you to coach, you're on your way out."

Most observers say Daly's greatest coaching achievement was the '92 Olympics, managing the egos assembled in Barcelona.

Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Charles Barley headlined the greatest team of all-time and Daly used a different lineup in every contest during the games, stroking all of his superstars as the "Dream Team" steam- rolled the competition.

"Chuck did a good job of keeping us together," Bird said. "It wasn't about who scored the most points, it was about one thing: winning the gold medal."

It was a few weeks earlier, however, where Daly earned the respect of the "Dream Team" when he piloted a group of college kids to victory in a controlled scrimmage before the Olympics.

That's right, Chuck Daly beat the greatest team of all-time with a bunch of college kids.

In fact, as we look back on Daddy Rich's life, the only thing the classy coach couldn't beat was cancer.