Ollie on Calhoun

[UConnSwag11]

@CoachKO_UConn: Coach Calhoun is a crazy man because he believed we could do things that we thought were impossible at that time!! He was a crazy motivator!

 

[mbt0512]

@CoachKO_UConn: Coach Calhoun is a crazy man because he believed we could do things that we thought were impossible at that time!! He was a crazy motivator!

And he's a legend because he achieved those things and sustained the greatness for a quarter-century.

 

[ZenConn]

And he's a legend because he achieved those things and sustained the greatness for a quarter-century.

And without having to pick his nose on camera.

 

[Calhoun's Court]

In 1986 at his press conference he said we can win here at Connecticut. He said it again on sports talk with Arnold Dean that night.

I thought great just stay out of the 8/9 game in the BE tourney. And that would be a win.

Little did I know I was in for the run of my life.

I'm biased but I think what JC did at UCONN is the best coaching /building jobs in ALL of sports not just CBB.

 

[Pudge]

Harvey Araton of the New York Times told me that Jim Calhoun was the most disliked coach in CBB.

I don't care. Araton is also the schmuck that keep pulling out that OUR Graduation rate for both Calhoun/Ollie is still 8%, (and says he gets that from an internal source) Simply numerically proven false on the face of it. We graduated 7 in the last 2 years. I am hoping that a lot of the kids that left for foreign professional employment & the NBA come back and finish; like Kevin Freeman. I think this is all a Game ... particularly after we fail to see the shock articles on what kind of education athletes got at UNC.

Calhoun must be judged. Recently, I thumbed through a UConn Soccer piece on where all these alums are working today. I think that Calhoun drove lots of these kids ... was the singular dominant teacher in their lives. You need to look beyond a 22 yo getting a piece of paper. How did they perform in life. More about the Teachers and Social Work and the Charity. Making Calhoun out to be Dave Bliss is just spurious. Calhoun did not schmooze at the Saratoga races & the Foursomes sponsored by certain big sneaker poobahs. He was likely to sneer at you if he lost. But ... I think I remember his extraordinary good grace in praising others good play & summarizing hoop as steps in life's process.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Harvey Araton of the New York Times told me that Jim Calhoun was the most disliked coach in CBB.

I don't care. Araton is also the schmuck that keep pulling out that OUR Graduation rate for both Calhoun/Ollie is still 8%, (and says he gets that from an internal source) Simply numerically proven false on the face of it. We graduated 7 in the last 2 years. I am hoping that a lot of the kids that left for foreign professional employment & the NBA come back and finish; like Kevin Freeman. I think this is all a Game ... particularly after we fail to see the shock articles on what kind of education athletes got at UNC.

Calhoun must be judged. Recently, I thumbed through a UConn Soccer piece on where all these alums are working today. I think that Calhoun drove lots of these kids ... was the singular dominant teacher in their lives. You need to look beyond a 22 yo getting a piece of paper. How did they perform in life. More about the Teachers and Social Work and the Charity. Making Calhoun out to be Dave Bliss is just spurious. Calhoun did not schmooze at the Saratoga races & the Foursomes sponsored by certain big sneaker poobahs. He was likely to sneer at you if he lost. But ... I think I remember his extraordinary good grace in praising others good play & summarizing hoop as steps in life's process.

most disliked to who? Reporters and journalists or among his coaching peers? sounds like its more of the former. Doubt Calhoun cares what a bunch of writers think about him, nor is he going to lose sleep over them.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

This past Sunday at the Ridgefield Playhouse JC said something that I interpreted as the most important thing that can be taken away from his time here. He stated (I'll paraphrase) that it is important to him that what we have here (UConn basketball) continues and that he will do whatever he can to help maintain our position.

This (the program, which is entirely JC) is family to him. It is one of his offspring and what he will be able to derive from this for the remainder of his days is so far beyond what a mercenary like Calipari (or his mentor Larry Brown) could ever draw from whatever accomplishments they may end up with on their collective resume's. For JC this was the best job in the world and for UConn he was the best possible candidate, a better candidate than we ever could have hoped for.

Similar to what Calhoun's Court posted, my hope after we finally pulled the plug on Perno was to build a program that more often than not (60%-65% of the time) would see the postseason with as many NCAA tournaments as NIT appearances when we did make it. To know going into the BET that we had a shot at getting out of the first round (in which we would face a middle of the pack team, similar to us) and on a very rare occasion make a run at the title (and maybe win one each decade). What JC did here is beyond remarkable and I will always be indebted to the man for the amount of joy he brought me.

 

[Pudge]

most disliked to who? Reporters and journalists or among his coaching peers? sounds like its more of the former. Doubt Calhoun cares what a bunch of writers think about him, nor is he going to lose sleep over them.

Yes. It was both Reporters (and Harvey Araton is the grumpy collector of this poll amongst the ink-stained); but, it was also the Coaching peers that was stated. JC gets along with who he gets along with. He has some solid relationships he built up. But ... and I am going to date myself, but Calhoun was not from the same Garfinkel sneaker in the woods days that Pitino and Calipari and many others came from. Earlier, Calhoun's generation went and grinded through HSs. (then Calhoun amazingly jumped right to Northeastern - which simply doesn't happen today). The Higher End camps arrived in the last 1970s/early 1980s. They started recruiting top kids from all regions. And, the young guys who wanted to be coaches met and bonded there.

 

[Uconn93]

Harvey Araton of the New York Times told me that Jim Calhoun was the most disliked coach in CBB.

Who cares? I love that JC did it his way. It's not a popularity contest. How many lives did he change? How many rings did he win? How many Ws did he have? How much more valuable did he make my UConn diploma in doing it all? The fact that he accomplished so many amazing things while fighting off the haters is a major accomplishment all by itself.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Yes. It was both Reporters (and Harvey Araton is the grumpy collector of this poll amongst the ink-stained); but, it was also the Coaching peers that was stated. JC gets along with who he gets along with. He has some solid relationships he built up. But ... and I am going to date myself, but Calhoun was not from the same Garfinkel sneaker in the woods days that Pitino and Calipari and many others came from. Earlier, Calhoun's generation went and grinded through HSs. (then Calhoun amazingly jumped right to Northeastern - which simply doesn't happen today). The Higher End camps arrived in the last 1970s/early 1980s. They started recruiting top kids from all regions. And, the young guys who wanted to be coaches met and bonded there.

seems like most of his peers respect him in the coaching world or at least the ones that matter, if Calipari and Pitino have nothing nice to say, i'm sure calhoun could careless, i dont really see either of them with high integrity

 

[UC313]

"We kicked some and broke some hearts". Let em all hate Jimmy, I don't care, he's our coach. I still get chills remembering standing in Gampel Pavillion in 1999 and hearing that. Jimmy didn't care what anyone thought and still doesn't. A master manipulator and motivator in his very own, south boston, way. The day his statue goes up outside of Gampel, ill be there with my son to show him what hard work, dedication, and drive will get you.

Crazy like a fox.