Big East roundup from a CT paper

[NYWarrior]

MU is not mentioned in here......but its interesting to see how hard Jim Calhoun continues to be on his team given their exceptional youth. 

"We have no youth," Calhoun said after Sunday's 84-72 defeat to Providence dropped the Huskies to 13-7 and 2-5 in Big East play. "We're 20 games into the basketball season. If you don't get back on defense after 20 games, a) you're not being told to get back; b) you're not practicing very well; or c) you've just lost your mind. Maybe all three happened at once, I don't know."

Harsh stuff from a Hall of Famer.  TC's motivational strategy is much different, obviously & takes the high road on this kind of thing.  Coachspeak drives me bananas, but given the youth  of the UConn squad -- maybe Calhoun should use more of it?

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070130/SPORTS02/701300354/1012/SPORTS10

[CTWarrior]

I am a fan of UConn when they're not playing Marquette and have been since Calhoun arrived.  You cannot imagine how far he's brought what was basically a dead program since he got here.  He's gotten more and more ornery over the years, though, and its starting to hurt his teams.  I think he ruined last year's team, which should have gone down in history as one of the best college teams since the UCLA dynasty, but instead played afraid to lose against George Mason.  This year's team plays scared, too.  Watch them, they're constantly worried about getting yanked or reamed.  He wasn't always like that.  I think he needs to mellow out a bit. 

[NYWarrior]

Calhoun does seem inflexible...he's going to the same well again, but that tactic might not work with his current squad.  I guess I'm surprised by that

[AlumKCof93]

I used to like Calhoun but in the past couple of years I've noticed how "ornery" he is.  I thought I just realized that because I saw him more often, I didn't realize he's just become that way. 

[77ncaachamps]

Calhoun's a great coach, but also an a$$ and a slave driver. With that said, most of his recruits come from backgrounds where a firm hand was probably never around...so it may help a little that he provides that accountability.

I don't like the delivery, IMHO. Crean is ALWAYS positive...and it seems to rub off on the guys. I especially enjoy hearing their interviews with national TV press...VERY professional.