For years, I worried about the day when Jim Calhoun would retire | The Boneyard

For years, I worried about the day when Jim Calhoun would retire

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Oops, is there a way to edit the heading? My fat fingers missed the layup.

I never in my wildest dreams thought we could ever find an adequate replacement when Coach Calhoun retired. A good coach, sure, I knew we would get one, but a good coach would not have been enough to replace one of the best coaches in NCAA history, and a coach who almost always produced a team that was better than the sum of its parts, and who made players the best they could be. Who could replace such a coach?

Yet, as I write this I am actually more optimistic than ever about the future of UConn basketball. Not only has Coach Ollie made the most seamless transition possible, but he brings positives that even Calhoun didn't have, including more than a decade of NBA experience; superstar players such as Durant and James singing his praises; and a basketball education taught by many of the games best professors. He also has a personality, and ability to relate to players that IMO is second to none. We are fortunate to have a soft-spoken coach that every major recruit has to at least consider, and a program that needs no introduction. The future of UConn basketball looks terrific.
 
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Right there with you. I am happy that the karma train finally stopped at UCONN. We really could not have asked for anything better and in many ways are in a stonger place then if we got someone like Shaka to come to UCONN.

Pretty amazing the UCONN family that has been assembled to pick up where the best college coach of all time left off.
 

Dogbreath2U

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Oops, is there a way to edit the heading? My fat fingers missed the layup.

I never in my wildest dreams thought we could ever find an adequate replacement when Coach Calhoun retired. A good coach, sure, I knew we would get one, but a good coach would not have been enough to replace one of the best coaches in NCAA history, and a coach who almost always produced a team that was better than the sum of its parts, and who made players the best they could be. Who could replace such a coach?

Yet, as I write this I am actually more optimistic than ever about the future of UConn basketball. Not only has Coach Ollie made the most seamless transition possible, but he brings positives that even Calhoun didn't have, including more than a decade of NBA experience; superstar players such as Durant and James singing his praises; and a basketball education taught by many of the games best professors. He also has a personality, and ability to relate to players that IMO is second to none. We are fortunate to have a soft-spoken coach that every major recruit has to at least consider, and a program that needs no introduction. The future of UConn basketball looks terrific.

What great fortune that Calhoun made sure the exactly right guy followed him.
 
C

Chief00

It would be interesting to know what if any role Jeff Calhoun played.
 

gtcam

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What great fortune that Calhoun made sure the exactly right guy followed him.
IF the AD moves on to Michigan, I say Calhoun is my vote as the replacement
 
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I constant chuckle at all those opposing fans who thought "just wait til Calhoun retires!" And how they must be feeling right now. If we didn't see this coming, imagine their reaction?
Best of all will be the Syracuse fans - in unison hoping and praying for our demise, if not by conference degradation then by coach retirement. Must be just horrorshow for them to see Ollie take over without the train losing speed. Particularly now, with their recent issues, they must be just soiling themselves wondering if they can replace Boeheim.
 
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Best of all will be the Syracuse fans - in unison hoping and praying for our demise, if not by conference degradation then by coach retirement. Must be just horrorshow for them to see Ollie take over without the train losing speed. Particularly now, with their recent issues, they must be just soiling themselves wondering if they can replace Boeheim.

When the NCAA comes down they will need to replace a running JB and they will be able to - with the coach of LeMoyne!:eek:
 
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I have said this a few times and typed it here ... Calhoun to Ollie is going to be the premier transition from a Legendary HOFer to a superlative replacement ever in College Basketball.

There's no precedent:

Wooden. Joe Lapchick. Al McGuire. Dean Smith. Adolph Rupp. Phog Allen. Lou Carnesecca. John Thompson. You might think Denny Crum to Rick Pitino; except that Crum was limping out ... 12-20 & 12-19 in 3 of his last years. Roy Williams to Bill Self doesn't feel the same.

I think this is Jim Calhoun winning in 2011 and one more solid year (though underachieving) and then Kevin Ollie picking up the baton and racing home for more trophies. That's the Legacy. Best ever.
 

ctchamps

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I constant chuckle at all those opposing fans who thought "just wait til Calhoun retires!" And how they must be feeling right now. If we didn't see this coming, imagine their reaction?
Speak for yourself!;)
 
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Oops, is there a way to edit the heading? My fat fingers missed the layup.

I never in my wildest dreams thought we could ever find an adequate replacement when Coach Calhoun retired. A good coach, sure, I knew we would get one, but a good coach would not have been enough to replace one of the best coaches in NCAA history, and a coach who almost always produced a team that was better than the sum of its parts, and who made players the best they could be. Who could replace such a coach?

Yet, as I write this I am actually more optimistic than ever about the future of UConn basketball. Not only has Coach Ollie made the most seamless transition possible, but he brings positives that even Calhoun didn't have, including more than a decade of NBA experience; superstar players such as Durant and James singing his praises; and a basketball education taught by many of the games best professors. He also has a personality, and ability to relate to players that IMO is second to none. We are fortunate to have a soft-spoken coach that every major recruit has to at least consider, and a program that needs no introduction. The future of UConn basketball looks terrific.
Great point. To extrapolate a bit, I think a lot of the skepticism and doubt surrounding Ollie was fueled by those years of angst. Worrying about who would replace Calhoun was a legit major fear, and to give up all that worrying time and thought for a relatively blind leap of faith on KO was too much for some people. It was visible, most of the early KO objections were clinging to pre-conceived notions of what it would take to replace Calhoun. But now there is no leap of faith required.
 
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Calhoun was a great hire, but if you ask him ,he knew UConn was a great opportunity. Being a New Englander he understood the state's passion for the team.
Also they were now playing on a huge stage. Jobs like UConn don't come around that often.
The gig worked out pretty well for him.
His most important contribution is his creation of the basketball culture built on the concept of family.
Like any father who worked at developing a family,a necessary component of family is the creation of worthy heirs.
 

intlzncster

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Right there with you. I am happy that the karma train finally stopped at UCONN. We really could not have asked for anything better and in many ways are in a stonger place then if we got someone like Shaka to come to UCONN.

Pretty amazing the UCONN family that has been assembled to pick up where the best college coach of all time left off.

Not amazing or surprising to JC though. The mad Irish puncher had this set up for a few years. His last great work.
 

intlzncster

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IF the AD moves on to Michigan, I say Calhoun is my vote as the replacement

While he'd be a dumpster fire in some respects, he just might be a big enough bull to get them into a P5 conference. Never bet against JC.
 

intlzncster

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Calhoun was a great hire, but if you ask him ,he knew UConn was a great opportunity. Being a New Englander he understood the state's passion for the team.
Also they were now playing on a huge stage. Jobs like UConn don't come around that often.
The gig worked out pretty well for him.
His most important contribution is his creation of the basketball culture built on the concept of family.
Like any father who worked at developing a family,a necessary component of family is the creation of worthy heirs.

I would say that it's 4 Final Fours and 3 NCs, but that's just personal preference.

It may have been a plum job, but there's no other coach in America who could have created what JC did. It's what you do with an opportunity that counts. Hell, this is a guy that made Northeastern relevant.
 

pj

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I always thought Ollie had the makings of an outstanding coach. 13 years in the NBA, with no special talent? He was maybe the 5th best player on his UConn teams. To be kept around so many NBA teams as a sort of coach in the locker room, you knew he had the makings of a coach and was great with players too. Also, to have developed his ability to contribute on the court to NBA level, you knew he had to have mastered every trick and skill a player could want to learn.

I worried about JC's successor for years, because nobody in his coaching tree seemed adequate. But once Ollie rounded out his NBA career and came in as assistant coach and was being groomed, I knew it would work. All it really needed was Ollie to buy in, that replacing JC was what he wanted for his career.

We only had one worthy successor to JC. But one is all you need.
 
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