Welcome students today we come to class on a little bit of a
somber note. This afternoon a legend left the game of College Basketball, Completely
changing the landscape of the NCAA and the Big East. After losing Norte Dame to
the ACC earlier in the week Jim Calhoun the head coach of University of Connecticut
Huskies retired and ended a 26 year run
at the school….
Today
I am going to discuss one of my favorite Jim Calhoun moments and it was a
series of games. Games that woke me up again to exactly how good the UConn men
could be under this amazing talent evaluator and basketball coach. It was the
2010-11 season and the Huskies were
being lead into the Big East Tournament by a young future NBA PG Kemba Walker
and the Huskies began a amazing run through the Tournament. 5 straight wins…in
5 straight days at Madison Square Garden, starting with DePaul and finishing
with Louisville this team made lunch meat of its conference competition. They
marched directly into the NCAA Tournament and continued to win looking good
round after round 1st Bucknell then Cincinnati after that San Diego
State. One by one they fell and I watched an old coach let a young guard lead
his team to a title. In the Elite 8 it was Arizona they knocked off. After that
it was the vaunted Kentucky Wildcats which was a huge upset as far as im
concerned the Wildcats were favorites to win the title that year. And finally I
hate to say in one of the worst played national title games i had seen before
and have saw since. But at the end of the day the Huskies completed the run and
won Jim his 3rd National Title to put him in very unique company
(Adoulph Rupp, John Wooden, and Coach K)
as coaches who have won 3 or more National title in their career. And
now it looks like it will be his last hoora atop the NCAA hill. But despit all
the dark clouds he leaves behind. He will always be remembered by me as the man
who put UConn on the College Basketball map and kept them there for a good
portion of his career….
So
today we say goodbye to a legend and his legacy shall be remembered fondly. Jim
Calhoun even if they wont say it I will…. YOU ARE UCONN!!! Class is dismissed…
If you want to listen to the old podcast go to
the address below or listen on itunes…
If you want to listen to the West Coast Bias show on the
4ACES network…
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