OT: - My brief, chance encounter with Calhoun when I was a kid. | The Boneyard

OT: My brief, chance encounter with Calhoun when I was a kid.

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Travelman6

Travelman6

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I've had a lot of memories from my childhood come flooding back over the past few weeks after having a long talk with a family member. Here is a pretty cool one:

I developed a love for the Chicago Bulls sometime around the start of their first 3-peat. A few years later that love spread to Uconn basketball and I want to say it was sometime around the start of the year when they eventually lost to Florida in OT, 69-60 when I was in 4th grade.

Any way, I played basketball in my free time a lot and sometimes I played with my older sisters friend who was maybe in his late 20s, just that cool older guy you always looked up to as a kid (kind of like that cool motorcycle riding teacher from Boy Meets world). He easily noticed how much I liked the Bulls and Huskies and made a promise to me that he would take me to where the Huskies play one day.

If my adult self could travel back in time, I would have told my younger self he was full of it. But, he ended up coming through in the end. I was probably 11 or 12 at the time. I had no idea how he pulled it off* but I remember the Husky logo and just how grand it all looked and felt once we got there. I was a great shooter when I was little but I struggled on this court! I finally started to hit my shots after a while. It was pretty cool, just the two of us.

This had to be 1995-1996 range because suddenly Howie Dickenman came onto the court and stopped on the opposite sideline. He was probably there for 2 or 3 minutes but I quickly focused my attention back on the game of horse we were playing. A few minutes later he said to my sister's friend "Hey, sorry guys, you gotta go because ..." (and I did not catch the other part). This next part is what I really remember but as he watched me drain my last 3 (I always had to end on a make) he said to me "Once you are old enough, come back and play for us." Just then I heard that unmistakable voice from afar say something to the effect of, and I believe in response to Howie "Get the kid a scholarship!" Now I guess coaches don't take up as much space in a kids head as MJ, Pippen, Rodman, Ray, Donny and Travis Knight, etc. so I did not realize at the time that it was Calhoun. But now, as an adult, it was unquestionably the typical Calhoun quick wit and fast talking Boston accent. I assume the guys were coming out to practice soon but who knows, maybe it was something totally different.

Back in the car my sister's friend asked if I enjoyed my time.
"Of course" I responded "but who was that guy who asked us to leave?"
"That was Howie Dickenman and Coach Calhoun!" He was so excited at this point, saying: "That is so cool, he thinks you are good!!"
That is how I remember, to this day, that is was indeed Howie and the legend who responded to him was Calhoun.

*I asked my sister about this memory recently. Apparently he played football for the Huskies back in the day and had some connections he made with other alum he had befriended while going to school there. He was able to use those connections to allow me to play on the basketball court for a bit. This was one of my favorite memories as a kid! Plus it was super cool because I was painfully shy back then so to experience something like that was a confidence booster. I think that is one of the reasons he took me under his wing, so to speak. Just an all around great guy. My sister randomly met him at a train station in Philadelphia maybe in the late 80s or early 90s and they quickly became very good friends, though I think she has lost touch with him over the years.

Has anyone ever met Jim Calhoun and/or any of the assistant coaches? What was it like? Please tell the story!
 
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Tons. I was with him three weeks ago up in Pittsfield. Great guy - his friends are a riot. Sounds weird to say, but you can kinda tell that in spite of his success in life that he's not the top of the totem pole in his group of friends. Just a weird dynamic to get used to if you've seen him as everyone else has.

Golfed with him twice, probably sat next to him at.... pfft 15 social functions at least. He knows who I am. Not friends or anything, but very friendly guy once he warms up.
 
I ran into him a few times when I was at UConn, but here's my best encounter:

I was in Tampa for the Big Dance and we had a game that night. I and some other cheerleaders (I was on the team) were waiting for the elevator in the hotel, and when the door opened, Coach was standing there. I said something along the lines of, "Ready for the big game tonight?" or something equally inane. I expected a boilerplate "Gotta work hard, 40 minutes of basketball, we'll see" type answer. Instead he began to break down the game plan to a level of detail that would have made Dickie V blush. It was hilarious.

P.S. We lost to San Diego that night as a 4 seed.

P.P.S. If I recall correctly, a relative of Jim Jones (of kool-aid fame) was on that San Diego team.
 
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The best I got is I ran into him in a deli on Rt1 in Guilford getting sandwiches I believe spring of 2014, he knew I recognized him nodded & said good morning I replied in kind and left it at that. All the things I wanted to say but didn't know if he wanted to be bothered with a doting fan so I left it alone. It made my day.
I have met and chatted with rock stars and a few other folks of note over the years and to this day still my biggest thrill.
 
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Met the coach at a banquet many years ago. At the time Swin Cash was a member of the freshman class. I told him I was originally from Pittsburgh and that he was getting one of the best players ever to come out of that area. He asked me if I know of any other players and I told him that Oakland Catholic was a powerhouse for high school woman's bb. Of course, he already knew all about them.
 
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Steelerone said:
Met the coach at a banquet many years ago. At the time Swin Cash was a member of the freshman class. I told him I was originally from Pittsburgh and that he was getting one of the best players ever to come out of that area. He asked me if I know of any other players and I told him that Oakland Catholic was a powerhouse for high school woman's bb. Of course, he already knew all about them.
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You talking about Calhoun or Auriemma?
 
Met him a couple of summers ago in Kingston Pizza on Old Post Road in Charlestown, RI. They have a small bakery attached to it (not sure if it is open year-round or just for beach season). Shook his hand and told him that he's brought me a lot joy in my life. He half-smiled.
 
Dream Jobbed 2.0 said:
Sorry to have to be the one to tell you but this guy was nailing your sister.

Great memory though.
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Oh ya, I am sure of it. Funny enough she got married maybe 3-4 years later to a guy who turned out to be a huge jerk and he was the one who warned her that he was in fact a huge doofus.
 
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Long story less long, I played in his charity golf tournament and one year, was asked to take him back to the casino. The lunch/early dinner had been served and he wanted to rest up before the nighttime auction. The guy running the tourney said "He may not talk. He may check messages on his phone or make calls, so don't be upset if he's not chatty".

We got in the car and he thanked me for driving him. I told him we had a close mutual friend and we talked like old pals for the next 20 minutes. I specifically remember asking him about Andrew Bynum and he said Bynum's parents wanted a guarantee he'd start immediately and he told them he wouldn't guarantee him a single minute on the court.
 
So many, where do I start? Here’s one I can make relevant to today.

Many years ago Chief and 5 others were playing 3 on 3 at Gampel. As I recall, the MBB team was playing Miami at night. Jim was there with the then University President Harry Hartley sitting and chatting in the stands. All of the sudden Jim ordered Harry down to referee our game. Harry was the President but a good sport and he did not mind doing Jim a favor by playing along and putting a smile on everyone face (hint /hint to someone in the news). At any rate, Harry made a few calls, people started complaining about his calls and Jim got a good laugh. Eventually, someone told Harry to get the blank out of our game and he did. The person was a university employee. Perhaps this was all boys club / locker room humor but it was harmless and a lot of fun. The story comes up to this day when we get together.
 
Chief00 said:
So many, where do I start? Here’s one I can make relevant to today.

Many years ago Chief and 5 others were playing 3 on 3 at Gampel. As I recall, the MBB team was playing Miami at night. Jim was there with the then University President Harry Hartley sitting and chatting in the stands. All of the sudden Jim ordered Harry down to referee our game. Harry was the President but a good sport and he did not mind doing Jim a favor by playing along and putting a smile on everyone face (hint /hint to someone in the news). At any rate, Harry made a few calls, people started complaining about his calls and Jim got a good laugh. Eventually, someone told Harry to get the blank out of our game and he did. The person was a university employee. Perhaps this was all boys club / locker room humor but it was harmless and a lot of fun. The story comes up to this day when we get together.
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Would have been a much better story if JC reffed the game than Hartley. Less believable, but the mental image is much better.
 
RichZ said:
Would have been a much better story if JC reffed the game than Hartley. Less believable, but the mental image is much better.
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I think, to Jim that was part of the humor in it - Harry refereeing and not knowing the rules like Jim would. It was all in fun and his idea of humor.
 
So we can narrow Chief’s graduation year to some point between ‘90-‘02. Somewhere in his 40s-early 50s assuming he was a student during the story.
 
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Dream Jobbed 2.0 said:
So we can narrow Chief’s graduation year to some point between ‘90-‘02. Somewhere in his 40s-early 50s assuming he was a student during the story.
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Umm...nope. Chief made no mention that he was a student at the time.

Chief could just have easily been 50ish at the time...playing with students as like-aged peers unable to provide enough competition!

So Chief May still be anywhere from 12-100 years old.
 
Chief00 said:
I think, to Jim that was part of the humor in it - Harry refereeing and not knowing the rules like Jim would. It was all in fun and his idea of humor.
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Yeah, but the idea of some guy in a pickup game arguing a call from JC is both hilarious and frightening.
 
I once ran into JC in the coffee isle at the grocery store. He knocked over a bunch of Keurig cups, stepped all over them creating a mess and had his wife clean it up.
 
RichZ said:
Yeah, but the idea of some guy in a pickup game arguing a call from JC is both hilarious and frightening.
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You have a point - but not sure the arguing would have happened - LOL
 
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