nelsonmuntz
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Corollary to the other thread. I think Calhoun was a good, not great game coach by top coach standards. Calhoun is in the Hall of Fame because he developed players better than any coach that has ever lived, but he has had some moments as a game coach.
1) Maryland 2002 - Yes, UConn lost, but I think Calhoun squeezed every ounce out of this team, and almost took down the eventual national champion. Every move he made was right in this game. I thought sitting Butler was the right move, and he dialed Okafor back enough on that tub of lard Baxter to compensate for the refs treating Baxter like he was Karl Malone. Blake misses that 3 with 25 seconds left and I think a team who's second best player is Johnnie Selvie goes to the Final Four.
2) San Diego State 2011 - one of the best coached basketball games by both coaches I think I had seen until Michigan State/UConn 2014.
3) Duke 1999 and Kentucky 2014 - I put these in the same bucket. For all the accolades of the big/big double teams on Brand, UConn won the 1999 game the same way it won the 2014 game, by dominating the other team's guards defensively. Calhoun had a huge speed advantage on the perimeter, and he stepped on the other teams' throat with it. I put the Langdon travel in the same category at the Harrison untouched backcourt. The other team was so intimidated by UConn's speed that skilled players made mistakes they would never have made otherwise.
Others?
1) Maryland 2002 - Yes, UConn lost, but I think Calhoun squeezed every ounce out of this team, and almost took down the eventual national champion. Every move he made was right in this game. I thought sitting Butler was the right move, and he dialed Okafor back enough on that tub of lard Baxter to compensate for the refs treating Baxter like he was Karl Malone. Blake misses that 3 with 25 seconds left and I think a team who's second best player is Johnnie Selvie goes to the Final Four.
2) San Diego State 2011 - one of the best coached basketball games by both coaches I think I had seen until Michigan State/UConn 2014.
3) Duke 1999 and Kentucky 2014 - I put these in the same bucket. For all the accolades of the big/big double teams on Brand, UConn won the 1999 game the same way it won the 2014 game, by dominating the other team's guards defensively. Calhoun had a huge speed advantage on the perimeter, and he stepped on the other teams' throat with it. I put the Langdon travel in the same category at the Harrison untouched backcourt. The other team was so intimidated by UConn's speed that skilled players made mistakes they would never have made otherwise.
Others?
