Jacobs Weighs In

[intlzncster]

I don't believe Jacobs is saying JC is "orchestrating" this. It's much more innocuous. He's suggesting that JC enjoys the attention, enjoys chatting with reporters, and that his off-hand comments have fostered the flurry. Like you, I really don't care if he wants to leave the door open (and apparently neither does KO or his players). But no one can fairly expect his comments, in today's media/Internet environment that micro-scrutinizes everything, not to become a story. I'm simply saying it's unfair to shoot the messengers.

Two points there:

1. People are complaining about the lack of follow up from national media though (journalism). The local reporters did this, and got a definitive "no" from JC.

Calhoun, who is in Buffalo, told The Courant by phone, "I have not talked to any other school and I'm not planning to talk to any other school. I never say never, but I'm not trying to get a job."

Gavin Keefe‏@GavinKeefe
Just talked to Jim Calhoun. He said he isn't looking to get back into coaching. "I haven't talked to anybody about a job." #UConn

It's almost as if national reporters get a quote they like, that fits a narrative they want to write about, and stop digging in order to publish. Other journalists piggy back on original story without doing any homework. And then "journalists" like Wojo use it to take shots at JC and things run from there.

2. If people are looking for JC, of all people, to get the exact wording right, to the point of a lawyer-sufficient accuracy), they are barking up the wrong tree. The guy talks like a pretzel. Has forever.

 

[CL82]

I don't believe Jacobs is saying JC is "orchestrating" this. It's much more innocuous. He's suggesting that JC enjoys the attention, enjoys chatting with reporters, and that his off-hand comments have fostered the flurry. Like you, I really don't care if he wants to leave the door open (and apparently neither does KO or his players). But no one can fairly expect his comments, in today's media/Internet environment that micro-scrutinizes everything, not to become a story. I'm simply saying it's unfair to shoot the messengers.

Well JJ pretty much did say that. I have no problem whatsoever with Calhoun saying, I'd never say never about a coaching position, but I'm not spoken to anyone on this. That's fine. Of course, I'd also have no problem if he said. "Out of all the institutions in basketball this is the one that I would never work for. Quite simply, personal integrity and honor mean to much to me" If that happened the whiners on the board would come out and complain that 'he's throwing gas on the fire now we'll never get into the ACC. '

I can't believe that people on this board have taken the bait on this non-issue.

 

[minidarren]

Irony: a technique of indicating an intention or attitude opposite to that which is actually or ostensibly stated.

Yes

 

[CTBasketball]

It seems ESPN and BC are trying to sabotage our NCAA run...

Only logical explanation.

 

[8893]

Two points there:

1. People are complaining about the lack of follow up from national media though (journalism). The local reporters did this, and got a definitive "no" from JC.

Calhoun, who is in Buffalo, told The Courant by phone, "I have not talked to any other school and I'm not planning to talk to any other school. I never say never, but I'm not trying to get a job."

Gavin Keefe‏@GavinKeefe
Just talked to Jim Calhoun. He said he isn't looking to get back into coaching. "I haven't talked to anybody about a job." #UConn

It's almost as if national reporters get a quote they like, that fits a narrative they want to write about, and stop digging in order to publish. Other journalists piggy back on original story without doing any homework. And then "journalists" like Wojo use it to take shots at JC and things run from there.

2. If people are looking for JC, of all people, to get the exact wording right, to the point of a lawyer-sufficient accuracy), they are barking up the wrong tree. The guy talks like a pretzel. Has forever.

+1. The thing that drives me even crazier is that the ESPN story itself was updated to include JC's own denials, but the headline remained that he was seriously considering the job. They even dropped the "sources" qualifier to make it look like it was fact, when their own article contained a direct quote from the man himself that put the lie to the headline.

Of course, the article ends with his parting shots at BC when they lied and stabbed the Big East in the back like cowards. That's exactly why JC has no good answer to the question. ESPN manufactured the story and was going to run with it no matter what.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

I guess my problem is that facts and context matter to me.

You have context and facts? What are they? Lets hear this.

 

[uconnfan68]

As a UCONN fan, I will always be indebted to Coach Calhoun, but I have to agree with Jacobs on this one. This is UCONN and Coach Ollie's time in the sun. It is wrong for coach Calhoun to be in the news with the BC job. If it's not true, then he should deny it in no uncertain terms, which he has not. This tells me the stories are true. Which is terrible, especially, after how BC left the Big East and how they screwed UConn's entry into the ACC. Coach ...if you want to coach again, do it anywhere but BC!!!

If you watched the original interview, you'd know JC had nothing to do with any subsequent speculation. It's just sloppy journalism.

 

[Waquoit]

I find it hard to believe that this entire thing was invented out of thin air without any help from JC.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Listen, if people have a problem with Calhoun not outright squashing it that's fine. That's not me ... guy loves basketball and seems to respond honestly when he says never say never. He's allowed to do that.

But what Jacobs is suggesting is that Calhoun is orchestrating this simply as a reason to put attention on himself. It's a joke and it's transparent on his behalf ... it's his typical agenda to a 'T'. And remarkably, or perhaps not, it's ironic coming from Jeff.

Bingo.

Jacobs is accusing JC of being an attention whore solely because Jacobs is an attention whore. His MO for far too long when it came to Calhoun was to attempt to point out character flaws, primarily to illicit a response as then JJ can claim to be compelling and controversial and equate that with quality journalism.

The reality is that most of the press is small minded enough to post things (such as what we saw when WM was looking for a new football coach, throwing out the names of many retreads) of little imagination because they have limited intellectual capacity. Someone said to himself "JC can still coach, he's from Boston and BC needs a head coach!" and believes he just solved the riddle of the sphinx. Then throws out speculation, ESPN spins it to embarrass UConn, a writer or two who hates UConn and/or JC adds the BC disinterest angle to further embarrass the school and our hall of fame former head coach. Now too many of our fans are freaking out.

This has not received much of a response from JC because it does not warrant a response. BC will become too good a job for JC once they have accomplished substantially more in college hoops than he has. Then and only then will a man of JC's significance have any interest in a school like BC. The day that happens pigs will fill the skies with their flight, hell will have frozen over and Kentucky will drop its men's basketball program to demonstrate the academic integrity if their school.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Why is everyone so sensitive here? Im not specifically calling you out Jimmy, but dang there have been quite a few of these posts recently about people calling other people names. I could really care less what some Gooby on an internet message board calls me.

If you know anything about me from the football board I'm one of the least emotional guys about name calling. But I tend to get annoyed with people who mistake their opinions for "context and facts". 8893 has context and facts. I can't wait to hear them.

People also get bent if you dare to knock anything related to Calhoun.

 

[Cheddie]

Two points there:

1. People are complaining about the lack of follow up from national media though (journalism). The local reporters did this, and got a definitive "no" from JC.

Calhoun, who is in Buffalo, told The Courant by phone, "I have not talked to any other school and I'm not planning to talk to any other school. I never say never, but I'm not trying to get a job."

Gavin Keefe‏@GavinKeefe
Just talked to Jim Calhoun. He said he isn't looking to get back into coaching. "I haven't talked to anybody about a job." #UConn

It's almost as if national reporters get a quote they like, that fits a narrative they want to write about, and stop digging in order to publish. Other journalists piggy back on original story without doing any homework. And then "journalists" like Wojo use it to take shots at JC and things run from there.

2. If people are looking for JC, of all people, to get the exact wording right, to the point of a lawyer-sufficient accuracy), they are barking up the wrong tree. The guy talks like a pretzel. Has forever.

Two points in response:

1. Can't assume people actually "report" news today. Much of what swirls around is "aggregated" news - someone else's story re-reported. Much easier to jump around from hot topic to hot topic than do follow-up. Again, that's why a story can blow up so quickly - everyone jumps on the bandwagon without any investigation of their own.

2. Read Duffy's story this morning: Calhoun: "You could say, 'Well, say you're never going to coach again.' I'm not going to say that." Agree about JC talking in circles, but that simply is not a "definitive" statement, nor actually are the quotes you mentioned. A definitive answer: "I am not going to coach at BC."

 

[8893]

The fact is that the man himself flatly denied it when asked. The context is that he said he's not ruling out coaching again... because he's not ruling out coaching again. Period. He said he'd talk to anyone about basketball. He also hasn't expressly denied Harvard or Marquette. Are there stories there, too? There is just as much basis, at least from what has been reported.

If people don't realize how stupid it would be to exclude BC from consideration when you've already said you'd talk to anyone, you don't understand much about the context of the way ESPN framed the story. Read it with an eye towards finding the facts. Then look how they ended with JC's statements against BC several years ago. This story was written as soon as there was an opening at BC. The only difference is that, if JC expressly denied BC, the headline would have read "Calhoun Wants to Return to Coaching, But Still Bitter About BC." I think ESPN would have preferred that headline, given the role it played in the demise of the Big East.

 

[mauconnfan]

I guess my problem is that facts and context matter to me.

God forbid Geno to entertain another job if and when he retires………. maybe Tennessee?

 

[intlzncster]

Two points in response:

1. Can't assume people actually "report" news today. Much of what swirls around is "aggregated" news - someone else's story re-reported. Much easier to jump around from hot topic to hot topic than do follow-up. Again, that's why a story can blow up so quickly - everyone jumps on the bandwagon without any investigation of their own.

2. Read Duffy's story this morning: Calhoun: "You could say, 'Well, say you're never going to coach again.' I'm not going to say that." Agree about JC talking in circles, but that simply is not a "definitive" statement, nor actually are the quotes you mentioned. A definitive answer: "I am not going to coach at BC."

Here's my break down from the Courant quote:

"I have not talked to any other school" (which includes BC)
"I'm not planning to talk to any other school" (which includes BC)
"I never say never, but I'm not trying to get a job." (which includes BC)

Sounds like he is nipping ALL speculation in the bud. IMO

My thing is this is simply a media driven (non) story. Which would happen no matter what the guy said.

 

[intlzncster]

And for what it's worth....I think this whole thing is having ZERO impact on the team. As in none.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

If people think he has flatly denied this you all are kidding yourselves. He has denied this in the same way that Clinton denied he ever had sexual relations with that woman. I like JC. I'm the last person who would go on a personal jihad against him. But he does not walk on water in my eyes.

Whether or not this has effected the team, I sure hope not.

 

[CL82]

I find it hard to believe that this entire thing was invented out of thin air without any help from JC.

It wasn't created out of thin air. It was based on the fact that JC said 'he would say never' regarding coaching again. A reasonable response. It's a manufactured event. Applying that vague statement to BC sure seems to be a deliberate attempt at misinformation.

 

[CL82]

If people think he has flatly denied this you all are kidding yourselves. He has denied this in the same way that Clinton denied he ever had s e xual relations with that woman. I like JC. I'm the last person who would go on a personal jihad against him. But he does not walk on water in my eyes.

Whether or not this has effected the team, I sure hope not.

Jimmy, you are wrong. Read the quoted language in this thread.

 

[NEforceUConn]

Typical Jacobs stuff. He seemed to enjoy the "fact" that it was BC who wasn't interested in Calhoun and not the other way around. He basically calls Calhoun an attention whore who took the spotlight off the UConn team. I don't think there is any evidence to support this. Jimmy is an all time great HOF coach. Jacobs is a mediocre writer at a dinosaur newspaper. He deserves a punch in the throat along with Mick Cronin.

For your punch I would suggest aiming 3 feet below the throat, although its been suggested on the BY that there may be nothing there.

 

[intlzncster]

If people think he has flatly denied this you all are kidding yourselves. He has denied this in the same way that Clinton denied he ever had s e xual relations with that woman. I like JC. I'm the last person who would go on a personal jihad against him. But he does not walk on water in my eyes.

Where the Clinton analogy fails a bit is that Clinton is a very good speaker and a politician. He can and will talk you in circles. Calhoun, when he's riffing, just talks in circles in inadvertently. JC as a politician would essentially be Mayor "Mumbles" Menino.

From huskymedic in another thread:

FWIW:

DaveBorges3:04pm via Twitter for iPad
Source close to Calhoun: "Theres no story here." Zero conversations with BC. If perfect job opened, might think about it. Not where he's at.

http://borgesblognhr.blogspot.com/2014/03/jim-calhoun-to-boston-college-nothing.html

 

[8893]

BTW, here is how it was reported in the NYT:

TALK OF A CALHOUN RETURN Connecticut Coach Kevin Ollie said Jim Calhoun, 71, had “earned the right” to return to coaching if that was what he intended to do. “If that’s what he wants to do, I’m going to be supporting him,” Ollie said. “I know he’s got passion for the game.”

Several reports Friday morning indicated that Calhoun had interest in returning to the sideline two years after he retired from UConn. At the time, Calhoun had some health concerns, having defeated cancer. He also fractured his hip after a bicycle accident the previous summer.

He has remained a visible part of the Huskies’ program; he handpicked Ollie as his successor and is mentoring him. But his new role has not been easy. Huskies forward Niels Giffey said he could sense some eagerness from Calhoun about a possible return.

“You can just feel his desire to be involved in basketball because he loves this game and he’s such a great basketball mind,” Giffey said. “He’s such a great resource for us, just having him in the office in Connecticut and always having him there on the sidelines.”

Calhoun told The Hartford Courant that he was not trying to get a job but that he “wouldn’t rule out talking to anybody about basketball.”

 

[whaler11]

Calhoun to BC would be the best news UConn got in a long time.

It's insane because obviously they would never hire him, and he is too old to take over a total rebuild.

If the guy wants to coach he has that right, I really can't see any way the talk impacts this year's team

 

[BostonHusky3]

Lets keep in mind Jeff Jacobs doubted Kevin Ollie as a replacement for JC. JJ just wants to make some noise and say controversial things to get his name out there. Sort of like a poor man's Dan Shaughnessy. I don't like it, but I guess thats what columnists are supposed to do.

 

[tykurez]

Lets keep in mind Jeff Jacobs doubted Kevin Ollie as a replacement for JC. JJ just wants to make some noise and say controversial things to get his name out there. Sort of like a poor man's Dan Shaughnessy. I don't like it, but I guess thats what columnists are supposed to do.

I guess you have to applaud the man for doing his job. I mean look how much we're talking about him.

Still doesn't change the fact that it's deplorable. He even managed to insert himself into the narrative of his own column. Guy is a gem.

 

[CL82]

Lets keep in mind Jeff Jacobs doubted Kevin Ollie as a replacement for JC. JJ just wants to make some noise and say controversial things to get his name out there. Sort of like a poor man's Dan Shaughnessy. I don't like it, but I guess thats what columnists are supposed to do.

Nah, he violated one of the fundamental aspects of journalism reporting rumor as fact. Either he is inept or he deliberately misstated this rumor as a fact. He is what he is. Look for him to write another column complimentary to program as a pseudo penance. He is nothing, if not predictable.