They played here. Now, these three Big 5 coaches are working to ‘keep Philadelphia basketball on the map’

It’s Dec. 1, 1992, and St. Joseph’s is hosting Villanova in its season opener. Amy Mallon, playing in her first game as a Hawk, is causing all kinds of problems for the Wildcats.

With the game out of reach, Villanova coach Harry Perretta turned to freshman Denise Dillon on the bench.

“He’s like, ‘You guard Mallon,’ ” Dillon recalled. “I was like, ‘That’s a great idea, Har.’ ”

Mallon had a double-double in the Hawks’ rout of Villanova that sparked a perfect run in the Big 5 that season.

But looking back, that game had extra importance. It marked the first time Mallon and Dillon met. The two coached together at Drexel for 16 years, and now, with Dillon at Villanova and Mallon still with the Dragons, each is a head coach at a Big 5 program.

They’re not the only former Big 5 players coaching in the league, however. Cindy Griffin (née Anderson) is leading St. Joe’s after playing her college ball on Hawk Hill, meaning half of the Big 5 women’s teams are coached by past Big 5 players.

The three have different paths as players and coaches, but they’re joined by shared experience.

The trio didn’t overlap much, with Griffin playing from 1987 to 1992, Mallon just the 1992-93 season, and Dillon from 1992 to 1996.

The only regulation game they had in common was that St. Joe’s-Villanova matchup, but the connections run deeper.

After starting her career at Richmond, Mallon followed Stephanie Gaitley when she took the St. Joe’s head coaching job. In her redshirt season, which was required for transfers then, Mallon and Griffin played together, but only on the practice court.

Mallon later coached on Villanova’s staff during Dillon’s senior season.

According to Mallon and Dillon, Big 5 showdowns back then felt like conference games because of all the familiarity.

“I think they were always low-scoring,” Mallon said. “I feel that’s kind of like a piece of that because the teams knew each other so well, and it was so competitive that you just didn’t see high-scoring games.”

But Griffin had a different experience playing just a little earlier.

“It’s funny, we were the complete opposite,” said Griffin, whose Hawks won the Big 5 this season. “I think when I played, it was really more about offense and about scoring. And not that we didn’t value defense because I think everybody did. … Nonetheless, it was still a grind. It didn’t matter if you were 0-2 going into your third and fourth game or what have you, it was 0-0 before every game, and everybody knew they had to bring their best.”

Regardless of the era, each had accomplished Big 5 playing careers. Griffin is No. 4 all-time on the Hawks’ assists list, while Mallon was player of the year in her lone Big 5 season. Mallon (inducted 2002) and Dillon (inducted 2004) are Big 5 Hall of Famers, and, for all three of them, playing in the Big 5 resonated as a coach.

Among the three, there’s a shared sense of respect and passion for the Big 5, largely because they know what it’s like as a player.

At this point, Griffin has spent more of her life in the Big 5 than out of it. Now in her 23rd season as head coach, she’s coaching a team that’s 22-2 and tied for the best start in program history, and her nearly three decades of experience have directly affected how she does her job.

“You’re playing against really great coaches every time that you’re playing a Big 5 game,” she said. “I think that really helps you grow as a coach, and it helps you prepare your teams for conference [play] because you’re seeing a lot of different styles of play. Again, you’ve got great players that are playing in the Big 5. So with the talented coaches and players and the preparation and the familiarity, I think it elevates you as a coach.”

» READ MORE: Denise Dillon explains exactly why whining is prohibited in her Villanova program (from 2022)

Dillon’s Big 5 situation is a little different. She’d been a City 6 coach for over two decades, but during her time at Drexel, the Dragons weren’t a part of the Big 5. It felt like an “odd man out” situation.

But when she replaced Perretta at Villanova in 2020, she was officially back in the Big 5.

“The Big 5, it’s just the same as me going back to Villanova, a place where you have the utmost respect for and has given you every opportunity, put you in such a great position,” she said. “You work extremely hard to see it grow and be successful and to give back to what it has given me, and I feel the same within the Big 5. Just that wanting to win it, of course, that’s the competitiveness of it, but continue to elevate it and grow our game, and keep Philadelphia basketball on the map.”

As Mallon enters her fourth season at Drexel, she’s in new territory with the Dragons in their inaugural Big 5 season. But being a former Big 5 player and frequently coaching against local schools, Mallon is well aware of its significance.

“There’s just never an easy game when you’re playing, and that’s part of being a competitor,” Mallon said. “... When you create rivals like that, especially within this 15-mile radius with schools that are here, all schools that are just at a point where it’s just going to raise the level of everybody’s play.”

As the NCAA takes a drastic jump with name, image, and likeness and sees a massive uptick in the transfer portal, each school is affected differently.

For mid-majors like Drexel and St. Joe’s, players could see the schools as a springboard to get to a higher level, especially if there are NIL opportunities.

“The transfer portal really has hurt, I think, especially schools like us, we’re considered a mid-major,” Mallon said. “Because it’s a lot harder for us to replace some of the players that might get that NIL or collective or offers at another school and use that as a reason to go, so I think it is impacting programs. And I kind of felt like I felt it firsthand last year because it was the first opportunity for this to happen within our program.”

Griffin and St. Joe’s are still figuring everything out.

“We’re just trying to get more information, what’s legal, what’s not legal,” she said. “We want to protect ourselves. We want to protect student-athletes. We want to give them the best opportunity that they can. The [NIL] stuff can be taxing on a player because of the responsibilities that come with it. So we want to educate, and we want to inform, and we certainly want to support.”

» READ MORE: In the new money era of college sports, what’s the plan for St. Joseph’s, La Salle, and Drexel?

Villanova is a slightly different situation. Playing in the Big East, a Power 6 conference, the Wildcats are the type of program players often look to transfer to, not from.

But that still presents new situations for Dillon. Her program has to evaluate when it’s appropriate to bring in transfers and whether to focus on high school recruits or college players.

“Making sure that we’re looking out for the best of the program and for who we have there,” Dillon said. “... We’re always about the development of who we have and the commitment these players have to Villanova to continue to grow and get better.”

For them all, it’s a new age. And even though a lot has stayed the same in the Big 5, a lot has changed.

Just ask the trio.