Anyone catch Fran Dunphy’s comments from Temple media day on Monday? It seems the Owls coach is still none too pleased with the work ethic of junior forward Lavoy Allen, who recently was named first-team all-conference in the Atlantic 10.

“If Lavoy was a hard worker, we’d be in much better shape than we are,” Dunphy said, according to this story in The Inquirer and this report at Soft Pretzel Logic. “He just kind of gives you what he’s got.”

More after the jump.

As the SPL report makes plain, Dunphy didn’t shy away from speaking frankly about just about everyone on the roster.

Some highlights:

* On sophomore forward Andrew “Scootie” Randall, who played sparingly last year: “When Scootie throws the ball to the opposition, Scootie can’t play for me. It’s real simple.”

* On sophomore forward Micheal Eric: “Mike Eric has done well, but he still has a ways to go to get to be a complete basketball player.”

* On junior forward Craig Williams, who showed flashes of solid play last season, particularly from the arc, where he shot 40 percent: “Craig Williams is a talented guy, but he’s not in as good shape as he needs to be [and] he doesn’t work as hard as [sic] the game as he needs to.”

* On senior guard Ryan Brooks, the Owls’ second-best returning scorer (10.6 ppg) after Allen: “He hasn’t shot it particularly well right now — he’s going to have to get his shots more and work five times harder than he ever has to get to be as effective as he’s been over the last couple years.”

Dunphy did sprinkle some praise in and around all those remarks, and his honesty is refreshing. But don’t forget: While Temple was picked to finish in a tie for fifth in the Atlantic 10 this season, the Owls are the two-time defending A-10 tournament champs. They also showed a knack, in both of those seasons, to improve as the season wore on. They’re non-conference schedule includes Georgetown, No. 1 Kansas, Siena, Virginia Tech, St. John’s, Penn State, Villanova and Seton Hall. And Dionte Christmas, the A-10’s scoring champ the last three years, is gone.

Gonna be a very interesting season on North Broad Street, no?

Links: Dunphy wants Lavoy to work harder [The Inquirer]
Temple media day stuff [Soft Pretzel Logic]
Temple, Duquesne picked fifth in the A-10 [BIG FIVE POST]