Am I the only one who feels like Calhoun doesn't get enough respect from the National Media?

[champs99and04]

I've wrote about this before on this and other boards, but I just don't think Calhoun gets his due from the media and opposing fans. He comes up in the conversation, sure, but he's always grouped in with guys who don't boast nearly the same resume. I mean, think about it, the guy took a job nobody really wanted, and instead of leaving for a sexier job after a brief period of sucess, he stuck with it and built UConn of all places, into a powerhouse. I don't think people understand how much harder of a task it is to build a program from nothing than it is to maintain a pedigree of success at a school who has already enjoyed a lot of it. Sure, other coaches have taken decent programs and made them great, but very few have taken a laughing stock and driven them to greatness.

On paper, Calhoun's resume can match up to pretty much anyones, other than maybe John Wooden's. Over 800 wins, 3 National Championships, a countless number of players in the NBA (many of whom had not been highly recruited), four final fours, and a truckload of sweet sixteens/elite eights. Really, it baffles me that respected college basketball writers can rank him behind guys like Roy Williams on the all-time coaching tree, when Calhoun has MORE WINS and MORE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, while Roy has spent nearly his enitre coachning career at two blue bloods, whom had established greatness long before his arrival. I understand Roy has more final fours (7) and more wins per season (Not sure on that), and I'm not trying to take away from the great career he has had, but to me this isn't even a debate. The same thing could be said for Izzo at MSU, a guy who has won a third as many National Titles at a school who had already experienced success on the national stage.

To me, this lack of respect mostly comes down to Calhoun's personality and his recruiting violations. I still belive the recruiting violations are just a small smear on what has been an unbelievable career. Calhoun though, is not nearly the media darling that guys like K, Roy, Izzo, and even Calipari are.

I think with last years impropable National Title run and countless examples of amazing coaching, it is time people begin to realize that undoubtedly, Calhoun and K are the two best coaches in the game, and it is not unthinkable to start debating as to who is the best. With K's overwhelming advantage in Final Fours and wins, it is hard not to put him #1, or at the very least 1A, but at the end of the day it is all about the trophys, and Calhoun is only one down, and it is starting to look like he might have another shot at a fourth this year or next year, that coming without a quarter of the McDonald's All-Americans that Roy and K have managed to get their hands on.

Calhoun is the perfect guy for this program, and hopefully whoever his successer ends up being can carry on the success and cement UConn's name in blueblood status. Maybe 40 or 50 years from now, Calhoun's extrordinary work will be more appreciated than it is now.

 

[mets1090]

The biggest reason he doesn't get his due so to speak is that he doesn't have a great personality for the national media and population to embrace.

 

[gibhunter]

Personality always matters in all walks of life. I think K is similar to Calhoun but hides it better. Calhoun usually just doesn't give a f...

 

[businesslawyer]

I've wrote about this before on this and other boards, but I just don't think Calhoun gets his due from the media and opposing fans. He comes up in the conversation, sure, but he's always grouped in with guys who don't boast nearly the same resume. I mean, think about it, the guy took a job nobody really wanted, and instead of leaving for a sexier job after a brief period of sucess, he stuck with it and built UConn of all places, into a powerhouse. I don't think people understand how much harder of a task it is to build a program from nothing than it is to maintain a pedigree of success at a school who has already enjoyed a lot of it. Sure, other coaches have taken decent programs and made them great, but very few have taken a laughing stock and driven them to greatness.

On paper, Calhoun's resume can match up to pretty much anyones, other than maybe John Wooden's. Over 800 wins, 3 National Championships, a countless number of players in the NBA (many of whom had not been highly recruited), four final fours, and a truckload of sweet sixteens/elite eights. Really, it baffles me that respected college basketball writers can rank him behind guys like Roy Williams on the all-time coaching tree, when Calhoun has MORE WINS and MORE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, while Roy has spent nearly his enitre coachning career at two blue bloods, whom had established greatness long before his arrival. I understand Roy has more final fours (7) and more wins per season (Not sure on that), and I'm not trying to take away from the great career he has had, but to me this isn't even a debate. The same thing could be said for Izzo at MSU, a guy who has won a third as many National Titles at a school who had already experienced success on the national stage.

To me, this lack of respect mostly comes down to Calhoun's personality and his recruiting violations. I still belive the recruiting violations are just a small smear on what has been an unbelievable career. Calhoun though, is not nearly the media darling that guys like K, Roy, Izzo, and even Calipari are.

I think with last years impropable National Title run and countless examples of amazing coaching, it is time people begin to realize that undoubtedly, Calhoun and K are the two best coaches in the game, and it is not unthinkable to start debating as to who is the best. With K's overwhelming advantage in Final Fours and wins, it is hard not to put him #1, or at the very least 1A, but at the end of the day it is all about the trophys, and Calhoun is only one down, and it is starting to look like he might have another shot at a fourth this year or next year, that coming without a quarter of the McDonald's All-Americans that Roy and K have managed to get their hands on.

Calhoun is the perfect guy for this program, and hopefully whoever his successer ends up being can carry on the success and cement UConn's name in blueblood status. Maybe 40 or 50 years from now, Calhoun's extrordinary work will be more appreciated than it is now.

Excellent post. Ask yourself the following question -- is it more likely that K would have had the same success at UConn that Calhoun did, or is it more likely that Calhoun would have had the same success at Duke that K did? If you ask that, and answer it fairly, you will see why I believe that Calhoun is the best coach of his generation. And that's not taking anything away from K.

 

[Danzz]

Excellent post. Ask yourself the following question -- is it more likely that K would have had the same success at UConn that Calhoun did, or is it more likely that Calhoun would have had the same success at Duke that K did? If you ask that, and answer it fairly, you will see why I believe that Calhoun is the best coach of his generation. And that's not taking anything away from K.

K would probably would have had success at Uconn. The Duke program was the doormat of the ACC when he took it over and he built or rebuilt their program. Both are great coaches.

 

[Walker11]

K would probably would have had success at Uconn. The Duke program was the doormat of the ACC when he took it over and he built or rebuilt their program. Both are great coaches.

Not saying Coach K wouldn't have had success here, but Duke was coming off three straight NCAA appearances when he took over, including a loss in the championship game. Plus, K was able to load up with near elite recruiting classes right out of the gate. The situations are not very similar.

 

[Palatine]

K. would have success anywhere where Dick Vitale and ESPN touted his program non-stop as the greatest in the land.

 

[August_West]

There will never be another like him, cherish these next few years.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Waquoit]

K would probably would have had success at Uconn. The Duke program was the doormat of the ACC when he took it over and he built or rebuilt their program. Both are great coaches.

Ah Danzz, you fell for the hype. You can do better. In 1978, Duke made it to the final game. Pasty Feinstein even wrote a book about that team. The next year they were the pre-season #1. The year after that the coach was a poor health and Duke had a down year. Then K took over the program, just one year removed from being the preseason #1. Hardly a rebuilding job for the ages.

 

[businesslawyer]

K would probably would have had success at Uconn. The Duke program was the doormat of the ACC when he took it over and he built or rebuilt their program. Both are great coaches.

Of course K would have had success here. K is one of the best coaches ever. But, of course, no one here said otherwise.

The Duke program that K inherited was light years, light years, ahead of the UConn program that Calhoun inherited. Calhoun took a program who had been to one, one, Elite 8 (and got anhilated by Duke). Duke was an inconsistent national power, a program that could win with a good coach but wasn't guaranteed winning with a bad one, but was a national player in a way that UConn simply wasn't.

If I haven't made it clear, without knocking K's greatness (because I am not), I think it is far, far easier to see Calhoun having done something comparable at Duke than it is seeing K, or anyone else, having accomplished what Calhoun did in Storrs, Connecticut.

 

[Excalibur]

I think K is similar to Calhoun but hides it better.

Truer words have never been spoken. Add to that the fact that any ESPN cuts away from K the second he gets in a player's face and it creates the perfect image.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

To the national media, Jim Calhoun is synonymous with The Grinch. To be fair, JC hasn't exactly treated them with the kind of kid gloves most coaches do. Calhoun sees the media as irrelevant, at least in terms of what he's trying to accomplish, and he treats them accordingly. A lot of media guys have bigger egos than the coaches they cover, so that kind of treatment isn't going to set well.

 

[Excalibur]

There are some people who can see and appreciate Calhoun's greatness. When I was discussing the prospect of a post-Calhoun Connecticut program with a couple of big SEC fans (father and son), I countered their suggestion that we would find someone good to take over the program with "There's a big difference between 'someone good' and the fifth or sixth best person to ever do his job". The father's response? "More like second or third". His ranking of all time college hoops coaches? 1) Wooden 2) Rupp 3) Calhoun -- and "if UConn makes another Final Four he goes into second place".

 

[Waquoit]

Calhoun took a program who had been to one, one, Elite 8 (and got anhilated by Duke).

Not only that, UConn had the record for most NCAA appearances without making it to the Final Four (now held by BYU).

 

[Waquoit]

Back to the OP, there is no doubt that JC does not get enough credit or recognition. Take that recent SI article where 4 writers built their dream team. The coaches chosen (K, Squid, Boy Genius) were all outcoached in the Final Four by JC. Also notice in the Big Dance last year that all of the big stars UConn faced (Leonard, Williams, Knight, Mack, Howard) had lousy games when playing the Huskies? That wasn't coincidence or Kemba. I think this board has a handle on why. It's because JC isn't warm and fuzzy and doesn't suck media cock. He's a tough guy and that's what it took to make this program a success.

 

[ctchamps]

Back to the OP, there is no doubt that JC does not get enough credit or recognition. Take that recent SI article where 4 writers built their dream team. The coaches chosen (K, Squid, Boy Genius) were all outcoached in the Final Four by JC. Also notice in the Big Dance last year that all of the big stars UConn faced (Leonard, Williams, Knight, Mack, Howard) had lousy games when playing the Huskies? That wasn't coincidence or Kemba. I think this board has a handle on why. It's because JC isn't warm and fuzzy and doesn't suck media rooster. He's a tough guy and that's what it took to make this program a success.

This thread pretty much sums things up. JC is not poster material for the media or for the camera. He struggles with his ability to communicate. When you can understand the words, you still need a translator to determine his sentences and paragraphs. He has a history of antagonism with the media, and he is prone to being demonstrative in a less than fashionable way. None of this makes him endearing to the population in general. But no one can argue his credentials as a coach. Under the hood he's the best engine out there. The chassis looks ugly, but he'll beat the sexier looking cars and that's more important to him than anything.

As a coach he is well respected.

 

[huskypantz]

Calhoun gets the utmost respect where it really counts - from his peers and from the refs. Coach K, Boeheim, Knight, Huggins and Roy Williams would all laud Calhoun. They respect the hell out of him. The guy can buy a call from your average ref with a scowl and a flash of a championship ring. People who know basketball classify him as an elite coach.

 

[TheChamps990411]

i heard a radio interview with coach k would considers jc a friend and as good as anybody in the business. jc doesnt want to win a popularity contest he`d rather win titles. if it were the other way around then he`d be john calipari.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Never has...sadly, never will

 

[alexrgct]

He's a tough, prickly Irish bastard that rubs some folks the wrong way. He's built a program that has a bit of an outlaw reputation for reasons not entirely clear to me (yes, there have been a couple of public trangressions, but we're not exactly talking the late 80s/early 90s UNLV teams here). He doesn't really give a crap what you think and is happy to let you know that if you're somehow unclear on that point.

Additionally, the very thing that makes Calhoun a great coach, namely bringing an historical afterthought to the forefront of the sport, is another thing that will breed contempt. UConn "shouldn't" be mentioned in the same breath as Kentucky, Kansas, UNC, etc., and yet, here comes this Yankee with his relative no-name, ne'er-do-well kids (perception not facts here), and they have forced their way to a place at the table. His best teams have been as hard-nosed and tough as he is. Not accessible enough? Not clean-cut enough? Not enough white stars? I dunno, but something really gets a lot of people's goat about JC/UConn.

At the end of the day, JC is respected by anyone with an opinion worth considering and is beloved in his native New England. I imagine that's good enough for him.

 

[Kitaman]

He is well respected by the media, but not necessarily in the media (praise). I would suspect his 'demonstrative/vocal' on-court personality is not PG rated and not appealing to many.

Bottom line though: Everyone knows his name.

 

[epark88]

For whatever reason, the folks in Bristol try a little too hard IMO to associate JC with Jerry Tarkanian.

Coach's accomplishments are so far beyond Tark's (and the unflattering stuff far enough behind) that comparing the two as much as ESPN does just seems silly...

 

[HistoryMajor]

Little doubt in my mind that JC is the greatest coach of his generation and right up there with the all time greats. Many on here are too young to recall that JC built TWO Husky programs up from a modest base - Northeastern and UCONN. As perhaps the only NU and UCONN grad on this board, I sincerely appreciated what JC did at both schools. Unfortunately Northeastern couldn't maintain the excellence after JC left. IMHO, JC is taking steps to insure there will be minimal impact when he finally decides to leave UCONN in a few years - or hopefully more than a few years.

 

[Buzzyboy]

K would probably would have had success at Uconn. The Duke program was the doormat of the ACC when he took it over and he built or rebuilt their program. Both are great coaches.

Duke was a doormat??????????? Bill Foster in the 3 seasons before K came to Duke had let them to a 27-7 record and runner up in the National title game, 22-8 and an NCAA berth and finally 24-9 and an Elite 8 birth. That's a DOORMAT??????????????? K's first 3 seasons were 17-13, 10-17 & finally 11-17 before he escaped losing his job and got them back. Sounds like he had some pretty decent material to work with and HE SCREWED IT UP! Calhoun had nothing but a nice regional school over their heads in a basketball juggernaut league.

 

[Waquoit]

Unfortunately Northeastern couldn't maintain the excellence after JC left. IMHO, JC is taking steps to insure there will be minimal impact when he finally decides to leave UCONN in a few years - or hopefully more than a few years.

They did for their 1st game after JC left. Didn't they beat Louisville?