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Message: [QUOTE="LStudfellow, post: 2287598, member: 5436"] Actually Matrim, I believe the real test for most people on the Boneyard would have been the fallout after the 1996 loss to Mississippi State, which led to the next year (1996/1997) which was arguably Calhoun's worst between 1990 and his retirement (last in the Big East 6 division and a rather unsightly 18-15 record which was 14-14 before a nice run to 3rd place in the NIT). Yes, that was the freshman year of Rip, KFree and Jake V, the nucleus to our eventual 1st Title - but no one knew that then. As longer term fans might recall (even those who now point to the 1990 to 2014 25 years of UConn basketball as if every year was filled with great results and NCAA tournament bids) there were actually quite a few people who thought Calhoun had gotten us as far as he was going to get us and needed to be replaced. The losses in consecutive years to Florida, UCLA and Miss St. in the NCAA tournament were disheartening and frustrating... particularly the Florida and Miss St. losses - games we were supposed to win and were supposed to be stepping stones to our first Final 4. I remember that time well, as I had quite a few debates/arguments with people about whether JC could ever break us through the Final 4 glass ceiling. And I always tried to remind those people what it was like during the wasteland of the Perno years... I believed in Calhoun then, and we all know how that turned out. I guarantee you that some of the anti-Ollie guys on here now were also anti-Calhoun during that 20-month trough from March of 1996 through the summer of 1997... they just probably would never admit it now. They had plenty of ammunition against him, and they most certainly used it as part of the rather loud "get rid of Calhoun" crowd at that time. That is one of the main reasons I stick by Ollie now. I do not lose perspective of the truth of where we were, and how we got here. He has definitely taken a significant step back in both coaching and being able to close on top recruits over the last 12 to 18 months. Those things combined with the injuries and often disjointed play (also largely on him), helped lead to last year's debacle. But with his love and loyalty for our school, his passion for doing right by his players and Coach Calhoun's legacy, and the fact he has shown the ability to successfully navigate the NCAA tournament I like yourself and many others on here hope he figures it out and brings us back to a level of consistency where we are challenging and winning conference championships combined with multiple opportunities for significant runs in March. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

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