Mike Francesa gives Calhoun high praise

[methodology]

Didn't see anything posted about this and forgot to post it last night.

Was listening to his show yesterday and a Cuse fan called up complaining about Boeheim and how he cant get it done in the tournament. Was saying they should look for another coach, cant win the big game, 2-3 zone is a farce, etc

Mike was basically telling the fan to be happy that they have Boeheim as they are guaranteed to win 25 games year in and year out. Said St John fans use to say the same about Carnaseca and now look at the program they haven't been to the tourney in 8 years and would do anything just to be a part of the tourney. Was saying Boheim is a great coach and that even the great coach in modern basketball, Coach K, has lost to double digit seeds.

The conversation then turned to who the greatest coaches of the modern era have been in college basketball. Mike said without a doubt Coach K is the best but Wooden and Knight are right behind him. He then said the only other guy he could put with those 3 was Jim Calhoun. Said he thinks very highly of JC and said he has an amazing basketball mind. Those 4 are in a class of their own, he basically said.

Was great to hear Mike give JC the recognition he deserves as most people and pundits have a negative view of JC because of his abrasive personality. It has somewhat overshadowed everything he accomplished on the sidelines and in the college game.

 

[Bryan Lord]

JC and Fran used to not like each other while Dog has JC on every week in March. Not sure how JC and MF are now but seems like they're better.

 

[methodology]

I have heard MF interview JC a few times over the past years so I would assume they are on somewhat good terms. I never really heard MF say anything bad about JC or UConn basketball. It seems he respects UConn and is one of the few that realizes the pull/support they have in NYC

 

[Waquoit]

JC and Fran used to not like each other while Dog has JC on every week in March. Not sure how JC and MF are now but seems like they're better.

Very old news. They hugged it out over a decade ago.

 

[Bryan Lord]

Very old news. They hugged it out over a decade ago.

Oh. Any idea what the issue was? It's pretty easy to imagine them not getting along. I like mike, he's in a position where he doesn't have to carry anyone's water. He doesn't kiss by and large.

 

[Lefty2one]

I can't remember Fatso saying anything negative about UConn in ages. That being said, I pretty much stopped listening to his show once he went solo.

 

[aceboon]

Oh. Any idea what the issue was? It's pretty easy to imagine them not getting along. I like mike, he's in a position where he doesn't have to carry anyone's water. He doesn't kiss by and large.

Francesa was all over Sellers after the Laettener incident and JC went after Francesa for it, but as Waquoit said they've been tight for awhile.

 

[aceboon]

I have heard MF interview JC a few times over the past years so I would assume they are on somewhat good terms. I never really heard MF say anything bad about JC or UConn basketball. It seems he respects UConn and is one of the few that realizes the pull/support they have in NYC

eh, never really nothing bad when JC was in charge but he swore up and down that UConn basketball was going to go away after JC's retirement, and really just before the tourney he was shooting all the UConn callers down by saying this team isn't any good and said our guards were avereage at best, and that is why they wouldn't be able to do anything in the tourney.

 

[Bryan Lord]

Id bet money MF watched us play less than three times before the tourney started so I don't take that to heart.

 

[aceboon]

Id bet money MF watched us play less than three times before the tourney started so I don't take that to heart.

oh no doubt, if anything it was probably the Louisville games and if those were the only UConn games someone were to watch I wouldn't expect them to think highly of this team either.

 

[TopDogs1999]

Did anyone else see the title to this thread and assume it was referring to Omar?

 

[August_West]

Very old news. They hugged it out over a decade ago.

Well over a decade ago, I think they got over it before the first NC even so thats at least 15 years.

Francesa in the 80's was VERY knowledgeable about college hoops. he worked for CBS as background guy and then a in studio guy for a year or two. Since the early 90's hes been clueless and watches almost no college basketball. Probably still thinks we are a pressing team.

 

[Rico444]

Well over a decade ago, I think they got over it before the first NC even so thats at least 15 years.

Francesa in the 80's was VERY knowledgeable about college hoops. he worked for CBS as background guy and then a in studio guy for a year or two. Since the early 90's hes been clueless and watches almost no college basketball. Probably still thinks we are a pressing team.

He made a comment today that our game with Iowa St. would be a shootout. Obviously has no clue what we're about.

 

[8893]

Well over a decade ago, I think they got over it before the first NC even so thats at least 15 years.

Francesa in the 80's was VERY knowledgeable about college hoops. he worked for CBS as background guy and then a in studio guy for a year or two. Since the early 90's hes been clueless and watches almost no college basketball. Probably still thinks we are a pressing team.

I've been listening to him since the beginning (although I don't any more) and I never found him that knowledgeable about college hoops. I thought college football was his thing when he first started. I have a vague recollection of him making some very solid bowl picks early on and he was heralded as some sort of savant. Then he got the show and he and the station kind of took off at the same time. Imus had a lot to do with that, too, just by the attention he brought.

 

[huskyjawz]

Id bet money MF watched us play less than three times before the tourney started so I don't take that to heart.

He doesn't watch any college basketball until the tourney, and then he talks like he knows what he's talking about.

He loves saying that the tournament swallowed the regular season, and no one watches, meaning himself.

 

[amory]

Did anyone else see the title to this thread and assume it was referring to Omar?

No.

 

[joey3$trike$]

Id bet money MF watched us play less than three times before the tourney started so I don't take that to heart.

He hasn't watched Uconn since 2011/Kemba

 

[dtrumpet]

I was a regular listener until last fall, his self importance and obnoxiousness just became too much. He made his mark as a college hoops "expert" when he picked Seton Hall to go to the Final Four in 1989 when no one else did. And he had a public wager with Imus on it at the time as well. He was also on the CBS tourney coverage until they started having more former players do it.

 

[businesslawyer]

He did know college hoops, as well as pigskin, when he first came to WFAN. He and Ed Coleman did a great weekend college basketball show in the beginning. But that was a long, long, long time ago.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

During last years big easy tourney and the whole big east destruction/
Conference re alignment Francesca said over and over what we already know..

" Uconn carried the conference for about 20 years." And in typical Francesca fashion be repeated it over and over and over. Which I loved.

But his point was that we carried the conference post the mod 80s glory days when cuse and g town were down and nobody else did anything in the tourney. He said we gave the conference a legit national power top 5 program and that it was huge for the BE. You can tell he thinks we got a very raw deal in this whole mess.

 

[FDNY99]

Mikey can be annoying at times...and I have to say I really haven't listened to him as much since Russo left the show (I listened to him and the Dog every day)...but as far as college sports go he always had his finger on the pulse of the BE back in the day. He was definitely more pro-UCONN after he and Calhoun made up...BUT ALWAYS gave UCONN props during their little feud when it was deserved. He was on record saying that our Fiesta Bowl trip would mark the beginning of the end for the BCS...BUT was also VERY vocal about the fact that the rules were the rules and we had earned our right to play in that game. The one thing Mike has been VERY vocal about is how we were left out in CR..yet schools like Rutgers, Pitt and Syracuse were not. He is definitely not a Rutgers fan...and has said time and time again how Rutgers will be ripping the B1G off.

 

[Bryan Lord]

Honestly him and dog don't watch nearly enough sports these days. They're both millionaires and have kids so I don't blame them. They have some of the greatest jobs in America and don't even need to put any work in nowadays. I'm sure both were sports junkies back in the day but mad dog especially is clueless. Ask dog who the starters were in the 88 world series and he could tell you all about them but he probably couldn't tell you who started last year. And that's baseball which is his best sport.

I don't really care though, I enjoy the format of both shows. I don't listen for insider information or to know if I should lay the points. Still think they should just get back together and work a stern like schedule (3 days a week). That would be the best case scenario.

 

[SirHypeAlot]

Francesa just had Hoiberg on for an interview and Francesa continued to pump up UConn owning NYC. LETS GO MIKE

 

[StoweD210]

Well over a decade ago, I think they got over it before the first NC even so thats at least 15 years.

Francesa in the 80's was VERY knowledgeable about college hoops. he worked for CBS as background guy and then a in studio guy for a year or two. Since the early 90's hes been clueless and watches almost no college basketball. Probably still thinks we are a pressing team.

Francesa will be the first guy to tell you he "used to be in that room" when the NCAA field was selected. Then, in case you didn't hear, he'd tell you again.

I was watching a tape of an old game several months ago and Francesa was on as a studio analyst. I'm so used to seeing the "camera friendly" hosts and analysts these days, seeing Francesa there was pretty jarring. There's no way he'd get that job now, no matter how much he knew.

 

[Dove]

I remember Mikey "Five Times" on camera when Tate was great late. I think Kenny Anderson later that night had a controversial three pointer that won a game at the buzzer, too.