Being from Connecticut and growing up a huge UConn basketball fan, I know how larger than life Jim Calhoun is. You don't even have to be from Connecticut, or a fan of UConn basketball to know who Jim Calhoun is. Jim Calhoun is one of the greatest coaches in the history of college basketball. His name is right up there with the names of John Wooden, Bobby Knight, and Coach K, and tomorrow he will announcing that his legendary tenure at the University of Connecticut is over. Yes, Jim Calhoun is going to announce is retirement, according to ESPN's Andy Katz. Kevin Ollie, who Calhoun handpicked, will be his successor. Speaking of success, I think it's only fair to look back at Calhoun's triumphant career.
Calhoun started at the high school ranks, just like most college coaches. His first coaching job was Lyme-Old Lyme High School, in Old Lyme, Connecticut. He coached the 1968-69 while teaching a sixth grade class in town over the summer. The team wasn't very good though, and ended up 1-17. His rise to prominence didn't take long, however, as a combined 38-1 record in two years and a state championship at Dedham High School in Massachusetts led one prominent university in Boston to tab him as their next head coach.
The university I am referring to is that of Northeastern University. Calhoun accepted the position of head coach in the fall of 1971. Much like with Dedham High, Calhoun did not waste any time making Northeastern a powerhouse. It took Calhoun less than ten years to transition the program from D-II to D-I. Northeastern became D-I in 1979, joining the America East Conference (then known as ECAC North). Their first year in Division I, Calhoun led the Huskies to a share of the conference standings with a 19-8 record. The following two years he led to the NCAA tournament with 24-6 and 23-7 records. Each year the team lost in the second round. Then after seemingly a transition year, Calhoun and the Huskies of Northeastern again made it to the NCAA tournament. This time for three straight seasons with records of 27-5, 22-9, and 26-5. The team again didn't go far though, losing in the first round each year. But his span of reaching the tournament in five of six years had Calhoun on another universities radar. This time the University of Connecticut wanted Calhoun to coach their basketball team. Calhoun accepted the upgrade in conference to the Big East. He left Northeastern in 1986 with a career record of 248-137, which still stands as the most wins by a Northeastern men's basketball coach.
It took a year for Calhoun to get used to the stiffer competition of the Big East as Connecticut finished with a 9-19 record for the 1986-87. Calhoun was not down for long though as he led the Huskies, ironically, to a 20-14 record and a NIT title the very next season. A decade later, after numerous trips to the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight, Calhoun and his Huskies finally won the national championship. Their record that year was 34-2, Calhoun's fourth 30-win season. A half decade later, Calhoun led UConn to another national championship, this time with a record of 33-6. The 2006-2007 season UConn had a 17-14 record and did not make any tournament. It was the first time Calhoun didn't make the NCAA or NIT tournament since his first year with the school, a span of 19 years. Calhoun orchestrated is seventh 30-win season during the 2008-2009 season. UConn made it to the Final Four for third time under Calhoun that year, but did not make it to the title game. It was the first time a Jim Calhoun team made it to the Final Four and did not come out as national champion. Two years later Calhoun led the Huskies to their most improbable title yet. Finishing 9th in the Big East with a 9-9 record, Connecticut ran the gauntlet during the Big East tournament. They had to win five games in five days to win the tournament, which they somehow did and it guaranteed them a spot in the NCAA tournament. The team never looked back from their amazing Big East tournament feat and marched all the way to the title game, defeating Butler to make Calhoun a three-time NCAA champion. Last year, what turns out to be his final season with the team, he coached only 23 regular season games and had 17-6 record due to injury and a suspension for violating NCAA rules. The team somehow made the tournament, but lost in the first round.
Winning was not the only reason why Jim Calhoun was great. His dedication to the program was another big reason why he was so great. Calhoun suffered a slew of health problems during his tenure at UConn, but returned to coaching after each one. In 2003, Calhoun was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He had surgery to remove his prostate on February 6. By the end of the month Calhoun was back on the bench coaching, just over two weeks removed from surgery. Cancer attacked Calhoun again in 2008. This time it was a major form of skin cancer known as squamous-cell carcinoma. He began treatment in May and fully recovered in time to coach the entire 2008-2009 season. In June of 2009, Calhoun fell while participating in a charity bike event and broke five ribs, but again returned to coach the upcoming season. In 2010, he left the team for nearly a month for a serious unspecified health concern, and this past February he also missed a month after having back surgery to correct spinal stenosis. This August he fell during a charity bike event for a second time and fractured his hip. Apparently this injury and his advanced age, he turned 70 in May, finally caused him to walk away from the bench after 40 years of coaching.
Calhoun was also not without his faults as recruiting violations resulted in a suspension this past season and the entire 1995-96 season to be vacated. During that season the Huskies went 30-3 and made it to the Sweet Sixteen. The Huskies also got in trouble academically after the team failed to reach a three-year academic score that resulted in them not being allowed to compete in the Big East or NCAA tournament this coming season. This caused multiple student-athletes to transfer without penalty, including forwards Roscoe Smith and Alex Oriakhi.. But having a black mark on five out of 40 years of coaching is nothing to condemn a man over. Calhoun was inducted into Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005, which was the same year the Connecticut Alumni Association gave him the "Honorary Alumni Award." He finishes his coaching career with a record of 618-233, which equates to a winning percentage of just over 70 percent. He also finishes right where he started, Connecticut. Fair well, Jim Calhoun, the world of college basketball thanks you for all that you've done.
References
http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/8371331/connecticut-huskies-jim-calhoun-announce-retirement-sources-say
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Calhoun
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_East_Conference
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010%E2%80%9311_Connecticut_Huskies_men%27s_basketball_team
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