Connecticut Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun has agreed to a four-year contract worth $13 million.
The deal comes as somewhat of a surprise given Calhoun’s health problems and thoughts of retirement.
However, Calhoun did say at the end of last year that he wasn’t going anywhere and was interested in a new deal.
If nothing else, the contract certainly helps Calhoun’s recruiting efforts so that kids don’t think he is leaving soon.
Connecticut Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun has received a four-year contract extension from the school.
Calhoun said he plans to coach several more years and that his health is no longer an issue.
There was a lot of speculation that Calhoun would step down after health issues and a disappointing end to the season.
The possibility of retirement even came up at his press conference following a loss in the Big East tournament.
Calhoun will have to be committed to the job because he loses four key players from this year’s team.
With the season on the line, the Connecticut Huskies were blown out by the St. John’s Red Storm in an opening round game of the Big East tournament.
Connecticut, which has been inconsistent through the year, needed a run through the conference tourney to have a chance at the Big Dance.
Following the loss, reports started to leak out that head coach Jim Calhoun was retiring after the season.
Calhoun said retirement has not entered his mind and that the reports have no factual basis.
The head coach has had his share of health problems, and had to leave the team earlier in the year for exhaustion.
A week ago, the Connecticut Huskies were the hottest bubble team in the nation, a team playing its way into the Dance.
A week and two losses later, the Huskies might have to win the Big East tournament to earn a bid.
Saturday’s loss at South Florida capped a disastrous week for the Huskies, who also lost to fellow bubble team Notre Dame. Three consecutive losses have crippled their chances at earning an at-large bid. Even more shocking, Connecticut now finds itself in the play-in round of the conference tournament.
The Huskies take on St. John’s to open the tournament on Tuesday. Being in the Big East, they will have ample opportunities to make an impression to the Selection Committee so long as it keeps winning. But the committee typically rewards teams playing their best basketball at the end of the season, and UConn obviously does not fit that category.
Oh how much changes in a week.
The Connecticut Huskies moved one step closer to the NCAA tournament with a 73-62 upset of the No. 7 West Virginia Mountaineers.
Head coach Jim Calhoun is certainly seeing a much different team than he did before he took his break from coaching.
The game was not particularly well officiated, and Calhoun made sure he was heard by picking up an early technical foul.
Not to be outdone, Bob Huggins picked up two technical fouls in the final minute, which allowed the Huskies to easily pull away.
Stanley Robinson finished with 15 points and 13 rebounds while Kemba Walker scored a game-high 21 points.
The Connecticut Huskies picked up their biggest win of the season with an 84-75 victory over the No. 3 Villanova Wildcats.
After an embarassing loss to Cincinnati in Jim Calhoun’s first game back on the sidelines, the Huskies responded with their strongest effort of the season.
It couldn’t have come at a better time, with the Huskies now in must-win mode to have any shot at a bid for the NCAA tournament.
Calhoun praised his team after the victory, saying that they looked like a typical Connecticut team with the way that they played.
He also said they were a good basketball team that is just struggling at times to fight through all of the youth in the lineup.
Connecticut Huskies head coach Jim Calhoun is returning to the sidelines after a seven-game absence due to undisclosed health issues.
The head coach will resume his old position with no restrictions whatsoever on his job duties, and George Blaney will go back to assistant coach.
Calhoun said that he is excited to return to work and is 100 percent healthy and dedicated to his job. He also thanked the coaches and players for their efforts in his absence.
The team was 3-4 in Calhoun’s absence, with their biggest win being an upset of then No. 1 Texas.
The Huskies also nearly managed to knock off the No. 5 Syracuse Orange on the road, but came up short in the final seconds.
Jim Calhoun couldn’t be coming back a day too soon, as the UConn Huskies stand on the precipice of going from Final Four to NIT in one year flat.
The Syracuse Orange didn’t do the Huskies any favors, as they handed UConn another crippling blow on its NCAA resume by beating them 72-67.
The Huskies, who are now 2-7 against the RPI Top 50, lack a landmark win (as Texas continues to slide), and beating the Orange on the road would have easily been the Huskies’ best win of the season.
Unfortunately, the Huskies couldn’t crack the ‘Cuse zone early, and when they did, it was too little, too late. Syracuse opened a double-digit lead on UConn, leading 50-34 early in the second half, before the Huskies started charging back.
UConn tied the game at 65, but the referees awarded Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim a timeout as guard Scoop Jardine drove to the hoop to shoot (he missed, and UConn rebounded). Instead of having the ball with 36 seconds left, Syracuse retained possession, and went on to win.
UConn coach Jim Calhoun will be prowling the sidelines this weekend just as usual, as he returns from a seven-game medical leave on Saturday against Cincinnati.
“I both felt that the time away was important for my personal and professional well-being and that I am ready to move ahead from this point at full speed,” Calhoun said.
Neither Calhoun nor UConn officials specified what kept Calhoun out, but Calhoun said it has nothing to do with his heart or his three bouts of cancer.
Calhoun returns to a UConn team very in danger of missing the NCAA tournament, as they are only 2-7 against the RPI Top 50 this season after losing to Syracuse last night.
The Huskies did upset then-No.1 Texas in Calhoun’s absence (although Kansas State had beat them earlier that week), but they finished 3-4 without their head coach.
When asked what the biggest difference was between Calhoun and assistant coach George Blaney, multiple players referred to Calhoun’s “yelling.”
The Connecticut Huskies got back on the winning track with a 64-57 victory over the DePaul Blue Demons.
The Huskies led by seven at halftime and would allow the Blue Demons to get no closer while holding serve on their home court.
With the women’s team having yet again another incredibly successful season, a lot of criticism is aimed at the men’s team and their disappointing campaign.
Certainly losing head coach Jim Calhoun has been a big hit, but the team can’t blame all of their struggles on his loss.
Connecticut had lost three straight games and is already very much in danger of missing the NCAA tournament.
