A few items from around the Big East via the league’s weekly conference call with its coaches:
– UConn coach Jim Calhoun remains on medical leave. He’s missed five games so far.
Acting head coach/associate head coach George Blaney said Thursday he still doesn’t know when Calhoun will return.
“It’s day-to-day. We’re wating for he and the doctors to decide what is the right time for him to come back,” Blaney said.
“I do talk to him,” Blaney added. “He seems good, he feels good, he’s feeling better. But we don’t have a timetable yet for when he’s coming back.”
It’s not likely to be Saturday against DePaul.
“I’m assuming I’m coaching Saturday,” Blaney said.
The Huskies have lost three in a row and six of their last eight (they’re 2-3 in Calhoun’s absence).
“It’s not that we’re doing a whole lot of different things than we had been doing,” Blaney said. “I do think we miss coach Calhoun greatly. I think the players miss him greatly. They’re used to playing for him.”
– Interim DePaul head coach Tracy Webster, whose team visits Storrs Saturday, on UConn:
“A very big basketball team with two really good guards that create problems for us and for a lot of teams,” Webster said. “We have to do a really good job of trying to control the tempo. They’re really good at running the basketball.”
DePaul, which recently fired head coach Jerry Wainwright and only recently snapped a Big East-record losing streak, is by no means a pushover Blaney says.
“DePaul is playing really, really good basketball lately,” Blaney said. “They’re very athletic, very strong _ physically strong. I’m looking for a very hard game on Saturday. It certainly is a game that both teams need to win.”
– A 96-team NCAA Tournament? At least one league coach thinks it’s a good idea.
“I love it. I just think it’s time as come,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said, pointing out that more and more teams have joined Division I (347 total now) while the tournament has stayed the same size since 1985.
The NCAA is reportedly considering opting out of its television contract with CBS and shopping it around, presumably to the ESPN family of networks.
“What’s best for TV is probably going to happen, and we have to understand that,” Wright said.
Another Big East coach says he’s in favor of expansion, though he’s not sure on the number 96.
“I have not given enough thought to that to answer that question,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. “I would like to see the tournament expanded.”
– Before this season South Florida had never won back-to-back Big East games. Now the Bulls have suddenly won four straight.
A 72-64 win over seventh-ranked Georgetown Wednesday night in D.C. has put an exclamation point on the streak.
“Our team is really just starting to believe,” USF coach Stan Heath said Thursday morning, “believe that we can win games.”
Guard Dominique Jones is averaging a staggering 35 points during win streak.
“Dominque Jones just continues to play at such a high, high level,” Heath said. “He’s the straw that stirs the drink for our basketball team.”
South Florida (15-7, 5-5) is even starting to talk about the NCAA Tournament a little bit.
“I believe the kids have to have a carrot in front of them,” Heath said. “It’s something we subtly talk about.”
- Neill
Neill,
The Calhoun Mystery of indefinite leave of absence is really mind-boggling. No one is probing enough to find out what is REALLY going on here. Is Coach not happy with the Administration ? Is Coach really in medical distress ? Is Coach contemplating retirement ?
What really is going on here ?
I wish someone in the Media Hurd that is Uconn Basketball would get the fans the answer. Thank you.
Full
Comment by Full Disclosure — February 4th, 2010 @ 2:16 pm
Um, actually it’s the Horde, but that’s not too important.
How do you know no one is probing?
What is really going on? Couldn’t it be that he’s just facing some tough medical decisions because of accumulated stress?
We’ll have answers soon but unfortunately the best person to get answers from (Jim Calhoun himself) isn’t talking.
Comment by Neill Ostrout — February 4th, 2010 @ 2:24 pm
Neill- How long have you covered Calhoun ? If you know anything about this man, he is far too competitive to be sitting out watching this season go up in flames regardless of a Dr’s recomendation etc. There is NO DOUBT in this person’s mind that there is SO MUCH MORE to this story. Has Connecticut imposed a suspension and didn’t want to embarass the Coach by making it a suspension ? or has Calhoun decided to not come back quick b/c he wants the people to see he is still valuable ? the “HORDE” has done a LOUSY JUST AN ABYSMAL JOB with this story….Go get on the Athletic Director and his people and find out what is going on ……
Comment by Full Disclosure — February 4th, 2010 @ 3:48 pm
Thanks for the responses (and for the other more tasteless comments along the same lines I didn’t publish).
I hate not knowing the full story. If you know anything about journalists and reporters, you’d know that I share your frustration with the lack of knowledge.
But it doesn’t come from a lack of trying on my part (or I’m guessing, my colleagues).
I know Calhoun pretty well. He’s the most competitive man I may have met, but I think the team’s record/performance isn’t going to change his stance. He’s apparently decided to listen to his doctor and take some time off. That means time off if UConn is 8-0 without him or 0-8.
Is there more to the story? I’m sure there is.
Is it some kind of contract dispute, as has been thrown around the internet? I seriously, seriously doubt it but I suppose anything’s possible.
Has he been suspended and we haven’t been told? No, I can’t see that.
It’s no fun for me either but it seems we’ll have to wait a little longer.
Comment by Neill Ostrout — February 4th, 2010 @ 7:39 pm
OK Neill…..There are some in Uconn Circles who keep some stuff out of the public for reasons beneficial to the program….
I just hope at the end of the day …we know “the rest of the story”
Comment by Full Disclosure — February 5th, 2010 @ 9:42 am
We all should be more concerned about the abysmal graduation rate for UCON BASKETBALL PLAYERS THAN WHETHER SOME OVER PAID COACH IS MAD ABOUT HIS CONTRACT
Comment by ralf lasagna — February 11th, 2010 @ 4:26 pm
We should also be concerned about spelling and unsubstantiated rumors but I digress.
Comment by Neill Ostrout — February 11th, 2010 @ 4:32 pm