Calhoun's Leave of Absence?

[ort5210]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/12808977

Just came across this, what does this mean for us, how much better does that game look?

[copious1218]

I just found that on ESPN.com.  I'm not sure what effect it will have on the MU/UCONN game and I don't want to get my hopes up by expecting a win.  However, I'm amazed that this man has not yet retired after all the health scares he has had.  Not to mention, he just recently agreed to a five-year extension.

[Hards Alumni]

I just found that on ESPN.com.  I'm not sure what effect it will have on the MU/UCONN game and I don't want to get my hopes up by expecting a win.  However, I'm amazed that this man has not yet retired after all the health scares he has had.  Not to mention, he just recently agreed to a five-year extension.

UCONN is down this year.

[copious1218]

UCONN is down this year.

Is that referencing the portion of my comment: "I don't want to get my hopes up expecting a win"?

If so, are you expecting a win?  I'm certainly not counting it as a loss, but Big East road victories are tough to come by, and I would rather expect to lose and be excited by a win, than expect to win and be disappointed by a loss.

[Golden Avalanche]

The only time we should expect a road win this season is tomorrow night.

UConn is disappointing relative to its talent level but with Calhoun down it may just be enough for them to re-adjust that chip on their shoulder and play harder.

[Lennys Tap]

The only time we should expect a road win this season is tomorrow night.

UConn is disappointing relative to its talent level but with Calhoun down it may just be enough for them to re-adjust that chip on their shoulder and play harder.

Agree. It's rare when a road win can be "expected" in the Big East. Also, it seems to me that UCONN has done pretty well in the past under Blaney when Calhoun has been on leave.

[The Lens]

Whatever disease Calhoun has, I bet one of the symtoms is an acute fear of the NIT.

Nice timing Jimmy.

I have never seen a coach quit mid-game, as much as Calhoun does.  If he senses his team is giving lackluster effort, he just shuts it down on the bench. 

[Pakuni]

This has got to be devastating news for the Connecticut economy. Calhoun is a one-man stimulus package. Just ask him.

[77ncaachamps]

Found this interesting and possibly telling of Calhoun's leave (from ESPN):

With the news Tuesday afternoon that Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun will take a medical leave of absence, here's a brief timeline of Calhoun's health troubles from the past two years:

Jan. 8, 2008: Calhoun leaves game with dehydration. UConn beat St. John's 81-65. Calhoun later explained he was emotionally drained from his brother-in-law's funeral and run down by other minor ailments.

Jan. 12, 2008: Calhoun doesn't coach a game at Georgetown due to illness. UConn lost 72-69. Calhoun was at the game and watched it from the locker room. Returning home from D.C. that night, Calhoun was admitted to the UConn Health Center's John Dempsey Hospital for precautionary reasons.

April 24, 2008: Calhoun goes to UConn Health Center with an enlarging mass in his right upper neck near the jaw line. A needle biopsy reveals squamous cell cancer, which was likely related to Calhoun's prior skin cancer. (Calhoun was successfully treated for prostate cancer in 2003 and skin cancer in 2007.)

May 6, 2008: Calhoun undergoes surgery at the UConn Health Center to remove cancerous mass on his neck, along with 37 lymph nodes that were found to be cancer-free and part of a salivary gland.

June 24, 2008: Calhoun begins six weeks of radiation to minimize the chance of cancer recurrence.

Jan. 3, 2009: At halftime of a game against Rutgers, Calhoun leaves with an illness. UConn won 80-49.

March 19, 2009: Calhoun misses first-round NCAA tournament game against Chattanooga. He spends Thursday night in the hospital due to dehydration. UConn won 103-47 and Calhoun is released on March 20.

June 13, 2009: While taking part in a charity bike ride, Calhoun's bicycle hits a pot hole and the coach tumbles over the handle bars and breaks five ribs. He got back up and completed the race, but fainted due to hydration upon crossing the finish line. Calhoun spent the night at the UConn Health Center.

Jan. 19, 2010: Calhoun takes a medical leave of absence, effective immediately. According to UConn, Calhoun's leave is not related to his heart nor his previous bouts with cancer.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/2108/calhouns-troubling-last-two-years

[NavinRJohnson]

I don't know how anything but a loss can be anticipated in that game.

[Hards Alumni]

Seems like Calhoun just needs to drink more water...

All joking aside, I don't see UCONN as the big threat that they normally are.  Their "impressive" wins this year are at home against ND and Seton Hall.

True, their losses are all to top 10 teams (save a game at @MICH and a game @CINCI), but they just haven't impressed me at all this year.  They are extremely beatable. 

And before everyone goes bonkers, yes, I realize they have the #1 SOS, but just having that proves nothing.  If you didn't beat any of those top teams, why should you get respect simply for playing them?

Will we beat them for sure? I would never make that call.

[Ahoya06]

I'm very much looking forward to this game. I think winning is a real possibility.

That said, best wishes to Coach Calhoun. Health issues are never a good thing, no matter how I feel about someone as a coach.

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

Last night, the local TV news was reporting it was "stress" related and not related to any of his previous medical conditions.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

My sources tell me that he banged a woman on a table after hours at an Italian restaurant, got her pregnant, offered to pay for an abortion, arranged for one of his assistants to marry her to keep her quiet and now she's come forward and tried to get some money from him in exchange for her silence.

But please...his family is suffering listening to all these lies. 

[CTWarrior]

I'm very much looking forward to this game. I think winning is a real possibility.

That said, best wishes to Coach Calhoun. Health issues are never a good thing, no matter how I feel about someone as a coach.

Horrible match-up for us. 

UConn's biggest issue is that they have no half court offense (they don't even try running anything vaguely reminiscent of a play), except for Dyson and Walker trying to penetrate 1 on 1 and "create".  But that is the very thing we have trouble defending with Acker and Cubillan.  In the frontcourt, they are big and agile and deep, another thing we have trouble dealing with.

I've watched them plenty and they have big holes.  They can't shoot, but they can rebound and play defense.  I'm not sure they're better than us, but I think they beat us without too much trouble in CT.

Calhoun has been an absolute gift from heaven for UConn, but at this stage of his career, it seems as if he's finished his job when the LOI's are signed.  They must spend 90% of their practices working on blocking shots.

[only a warrior]

Jimmy is in sex rehab with Tiger.....