collapse

* Stud of Colorado Game

Tyler Kolek

21 points, 5 rebounds,
11 assists, 1 steal,
40 minutes

2023-24 Season SoG Tally
Kolek11
Ighodaro6
Jones, K.6
Mitchell2
Jones, S.1
Joplin1

'22-23
'21-22 * '20-21 * '19-20
'18-19 * '17-18 * '16-17
'15-16 * '14-15 * '13-14
'12-13 * '11-12 * '10-11

* Big East Standings

Please Register - It's FREE!

The absolute only thing required for this FREE registration is a valid e-mail address.  We keep all your information confidential and will NEVER give or sell it to anyone else.
Login to get rid of this box (and ads) , or register NOW!

* Next up: NC State

Marquette
81
Marquette vs

NC State

Date/Time: Mar 29, 2024, 6:09 pm
TV: CBS
Schedule for 2023-24
Colorado
77

Author Topic: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win  (Read 4366 times)

Tugg Speedman

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 8836
Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« on: April 22, 2012, 12:16:20 AM »

Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win


http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7839835/connecticut-huskies-jim-calhoun-confident-amid-roscoe-smith-michael-bradley-transfer-reports

Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun told ESPN.com on Saturday he remains optimistic the Huskies will have a winning season in 2013 and be a team that will challenge for an upper-division finish in the Big East despite a number of defections and an NCAA postseason penalty next year.

The latest possible defection was reported on Saturday morning by CBSSports.com. The father of sophomore forward Roscoe Smith said his son would seek a transfer.

Calhoun said Smith is leaning toward leaving. But Calhoun said there is a chance redshirt center Michael Bradley could remain with the Huskies, despite a report that Bradley is leaving.

"Michael may be leaning toward staying at UConn while Roscoe is going the opposite way," Calhoun said. "If they both decide to leave, then we wish them both luck."

The Huskies already lost rising senior forward Alex Oriakhi as a direct result of the postseason penalty resulting from a poor Academic Progress Rate score. Oriakhi transferred to Missouri and can play next season without having to sit out the year.

Sophomore Jeremy Lamb and freshman Andre Drummond both declared for the NBA draft and probably would have done so, even without the penalty since they are considered lottery picks.

"We've had 25 years without a losing season and we want to keep it going to 26," Calhoun said.

Calhoun said the backcourt of returnees Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright and newcomer Omar Calhoun, who hasn't shown any sign that he won't honor his commitment, will be one of the top in the Big East.

"Scoring-wise, we'll be fine," Jim Calhoun said of the three guards. "We'll need help up front."

The Huskies do have face-up forward DeAndre Daniels coming back with forwards Tyler Olander, Enosch Wolf and Niels Giffey as well as Holy Cross transfer R.J. Evans. Calhoun said none of the other returnees have expressed a desire to leave. Calhoun said Evans and Daniels will be solid shooters for the Huskies as well as Omar Calhoun, Napier and Boatright.

The Huskies do have two more scholarships for this season available, a result of one part of the APR penalty being lifted.

Jim Calhoun said the Huskies would have nine scholarship players (assuming Bradley and Smith depart) and the potential to add two more, likely big men, in this spring signing period.

Calhoun said the staff is wrestling with whether to balance the classes and go heavier in the 2013 recruiting period.

"We have to decide if we'll load up now or wait until '13," Calhoun said. "We're looking to balance the classes."

UConn is still holding out hope that the NCAA will change the conditions of the APR and judge a four-year period that includes the most recent two years rather than not including the past year as it stands now. If that were to occur, UConn officials say it would be eligible for the postseason.

Calhoun, who turns 70 next month, has two seasons left on his contract.

Tugg Speedman

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 8836
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #1 on: April 22, 2012, 12:18:33 AM »
If he retired when they were cutting down the National Championship nets 13 months ago, today he'd be a living legend.

Tugg Speedman

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 8836
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #2 on: April 22, 2012, 12:22:09 AM »
NCAA defends Connecticut ban


http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7834136/ncaa-defends-connecticut-huskies-postseason-ban-stemming-apr

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- The NCAA defended its standard for academic performance Thursday that led to Connecticut's men's basketball team being banned from next year's postseason and has sparked concerns from members of Congress.

UConn faces a postseason ban because of several years of low scores on the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate. The school argues the penalty was applied retroactively and hurts current students, who had nothing to do with the low scores.

Six members of Connecticut's Congressional delegation wrote a letter Wednesday expressing similar concerns with how the rule was implemented.

"While we understand and support the goals of ensuring quality educational opportunities for student-athletes and the need for strong sanctions for failure to meet those goals, we have misgivings about the retroactive implementation of the penalty," the members of Congress wrote. "In particular, the NCAA appears to have imposed an overly harsh and unfair penalty by imposing APR sanctions retroactively for conduct and circumstances that had already occurred."

But Bob Williams, an NCAA spokesman, said colleges have known about the standard and penalties since 2006.

"Every other team at the University of Connecticut met the standard," Williams said. "Every other team in the entire Northeast did. So obviously the standard was well known and others met the standard. The real issue is the academic performance of the UConn men's basketball team."

The NCAA approved rules in October requiring a school have a two-year average score of 930 or a four-year average of 900 on the NCAA's annual Academic Progress Rate, which measures the academic performance of student-athletes, in order to qualify for the 2013 postseason tournament.

Williams said he understands the disappointment over the penalty.

"But the process is inherently fair," Williams said. "They've essentially had since 2006 to ensure that their academic performance was above 900."

Connecticut's men's basketball program scored 826 for the 2009-10 school year. UConn's score for 2010-11 was 978. That would not be high enough. It would give Connecticut a two-year score of 902 and a four-year score of below 890.

But if more recent scores were used, UConn could be part of the tournament in 2013.

nathanziarek

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 612
    • Late to the Party
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #3 on: April 22, 2012, 09:17:36 AM »
I'm sure this has been covered before, but it's a tough one for me.

I want MU to do well, and that's going to require the Big East be strong and relevant. Losing three top schools means the ones remaining need to maintain or enhance their basketball legacy. UConn is on a slippery slope here, and that'll hurt the whole Big East.

I think this rule by the NCAA is a good one. It at least gives the impression they still care about the student part of student athlete. Still, it seems like it punishes the kids that had nothing to do with it.

I couldn't find the exact rule anywhere. How explicitly is the "four year" and "two year" period defined? Does UConn have a valid argument that there is a "more recent" four year period?
Marquette Basketball on Reddit: http://reddit.com/r/mubb

Tugg Speedman

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 8836
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2012, 11:09:37 PM »
The unraveling of Uconn continues.

They have the potential to be Depaul bad next year.


http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7846769/roscoe-smith-michael-bradley-granted-release-connecticut-huskies

UConn allows 2 more to transfer


Connecticut has confirmed that basketball players Michael Bradley and Roscoe Smith have both been released from their scholarships, a move that will allow them to transfer.

The pair would become the fourth and fifth underclassmen to leave the program since the NCAA turned down a waiver request that would have allowed UConn to play in the 2013 NCAA tournament despite failing to meet academic qualifications.


Sophomore Jeremy Lamb and freshman center Andre Drummond announced earlier this month that they will enter this year's NBA draft, a move both were expected to make even if UConn had been eligible for the tournament.

Alex Oriakhi earlier announced he is transferring to Missouri for his senior season.

Coach Jim Calhoun told ESPN.com's Andy Katz on Saturday he remains optimistic the Huskies will have a winning season in 2013 and be a team that will challenge for an upper-division finish in the Big East despite the departures.

Smith, a 6-foot-8 forward, averaged 4.4 points and 3.4 rebounds in 33 games during his sophomore season, down from 5.4 points and five rebounds as a freshman, when he helped Connecticut to its third national title.

Bradley, a 6-10 redshirt freshman, was injured in the preseason and has never played a game for the Huskies. He was expected to compete for a starting job next season after the departure of Oriakhi and Drummond.

Bradley has expressed a desire to be closer to his home in Tennessee and his ailing grandmother, but Calhoun told Katz on Saturday that he was hopeful Bradley could still choose to stay.

If both Smith and Bradley leave, Connecticut would be left with just six returning scholarship players: guards Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright; swingmen DeAndre Daniels and Niels Giffey, and centers Tyler Olander and Enosch Wolf.

UConn has just one signed recruit, 6-foot-4 guard Omar Calhoun from New York. The school also has a verbal commitment from R.J. Evans, another 6-foot-4 guard, who plans to transfer from Holy Cross, where he averaged 11.5 points last season. Evans, who graduates this spring, has one more year of eligibility and could play immediately.

UConn is expected to try and sign at least two more players this spring.


The Huskies have not had a losing season since Calhoun's first as the school's head coach in 1986-87.

UConn faces a postseason ban because of several years of low scores on the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate.

In its waiver request, the school argued the penalty was applied retroactively and hurts current students, who had nothing to do with the low scores and have made significant improvements in recent years.

The NCAA's Committee on Academic Performance is meeting this week and may discuss changes to the APR that would allow it to use data from the two most recent academic years when determining a school's eligibility.

The governing body currently uses data from 2009-10 and 2010-11 in determining eligibility for the 2013 tournament.

UConn would qualify for next year's tournament under the proposed rule changes.

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2012, 11:14:03 PM by AnotherMU84 »

TJ

  • Registered User
  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 1764
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2012, 12:11:09 AM »
I couldn't find the exact rule anywhere. How explicitly is the "four year" and "two year" period defined? Does UConn have a valid argument that there is a "more recent" four year period?
UConn does not have a valid argument at all.  The NCAA is always applying penalties to teams for past violations.  Was the NCAA wrong to penalize Oklahoma and Indiana for things Sampson did, essentially punishing kids and coaches who had nothing to do with the violations?

Quite simply, the rule is applied consistently to every year on the same rolling data.  If the rule were to be applied the way Calhoun is asking for, then this story would have happened a year ago and UConn should have been ineligible for the postseason in 2012.  Granted they missed the tourney anyway in 2012, but obviously they would have had to deal with the transfers and other consequences last year & they wouldn't have played in NYC.

MU Fan in Connecticut

  • Registered User
  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 3436
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2012, 07:47:50 AM »
The New Haven Register ran this story earlier this week.

http://www.newhavenregister.com/articles/2012/04/23/sports/doc4f95f47698f89205288194.txt?viewmode=fullstory

UCONN MEN'S BASKETBALL: Sense of stability would help HuskiesPublished: Monday, April 23, 2012

David Borges, Register Staff
dborges@nhregister.com / Twitter: @DaveBorges

Kevin Ollie, left, would be Jim Calhoun's choice as a 'coach-in-waiting' should UConn decide to go that route.(AP file photo/Jessica Hill)

Alex Oriakhi is going to the University of Missouri, Jeremy Lamb and Andre Drummond to the NBA. Roscoe Smith is off to other pastures, as well, where he’ll presumably be allowed to play his preferred small forward position, rather than power forward.

And Michael Bradley may be moving closer to his Tennessee home, though there’s still a chance he stays at UConn.

Jim Calhoun? No definitive answer yet, and possibly none for a while. Heck, he didn’t officially announce he was returning to coach another season last year until September (not long after Drummond had committed to UConn).

But the longer Calhoun waits to decide whether he’ll return for another year, another couple of years, or simply retire, the more UConn gets burned on the recruiting trail. Just ask a prep school coach who has had several players recruited by the Huskies over the years.


“If you’re asking me as someone who would advise a kid, I’d have a hard time telling him he’s going to play for Jim Calhoun for four years,” the coach said. “And I don’t think, unless they have a much better year next year, that he’s going to have a guarantee that he’s going to be able to name a successor. Those are pretty big sticking points.”

Those around the program are looking — practically begging — for some sort of stability to be instituted with the program. Recruits know Calhoun, who turns 70 next month, won’t be around forever, but if UConn were to name a “coach-in-waiting,” so to speak, it could go a long way towards easing recruits’ minds.

“Any time you can show continuity, where the program is going to be, you allow a kid to make a four-year decision — regardless of whether he wants to be in college for four years,” said the prep coach.

While assistant coach Glen Miller has an impressive resume as head coach at both Brown and Penn, Kevin Ollie would almost certainly be the choice as the program’s coach-in-waiting. Although he had never before coached at any level before being hired as a UConn assistant two years ago, Ollie is a respected former UConn player and 13-year NBA veteran who has already made splashes on the recruiting trail.

While replacing Calhoun with a sexy name like VCU’s Shaka Smart might make more headlines, keeping things in the UConn family might be a more reasonable way to go in the long run “so that your program isn’t being set back four years, instead of just one,” said a source close to the UConn program.

Calhoun wants Ollie to be the man, but it’s unclear how school president Susan Herbst and new athletic director Warde Manuel feel about it. Manuel was said to be lukewarm to the coach-in-waiting idea at first, but has been able to spend some quality time with Ollie lately that could change his mind. Continued...


12See Full Story
Of course, Calhoun is still the Huskies’ head coach and still has two more years left on his contract, which he has said in the past he intends to honor. He was in Pittsburgh this past weekend watching 6-foot-11 recruit Bradley Hayes play in the Under Armour Hoop Group Jam Fest, and there’s no reason to believe, at this point, that he won’t be coaching UConn for at least another season.

UConn currently has eight players on scholarship for next season — Ryan Boatright, DeAndre Daniels, Niels Giffey, Shabazz Napier, Tyler Olander, Enosch Wolf, Holy Cross transfer R.J. Evans and incoming freshman Omar Calhoun of New York City.

Bradley has asked for and received a release from his scholarship and is looking into transferring to a school closer to his Chattanooga, Tenn., home, so that he can be closer to his ailing grandmother, who has cancer. He has visited Western Kentucky, and Belmont and UT-Chattanooga have also called to inquire about the 6-10 sophomore. However, UConn is making an effort to keep Bradley in Storrs by mapping out a schedule that would allow him to fly back to Tennessee every few weeks while maintaining his summer school and workout schedules.

The Huskies will still be penalized a scholarship next season due to NCAA violations in the recruitment of Nate Miles, meaning they have either three or four to dole out (depending on Bradley’s decision). The school is still in the mix with two prized big man recruits — Hayes and Chris Obepka of Long Island. But if the Huskies don’t land a big name this spring or summer, they’ll likely save some scholarships for the following season when they should be back to the full allotment of 13.

That should give the program the ability to attract some top recruits for 2013-14. Provided the Huskies can show the program has some stability moving forward, that is.

To receive breaking news first, simply text the word nhsports to 22700. *Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.

brewcity77

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 26360
  • Warning-This poster may trigger thin skinned users
    • Cracked Sidewalks
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2012, 09:04:34 AM »
I look at this thread title, and all I think is "win what?", a few non-conference games? Win games against DePaul and Providence? This team will likely be very, very bad next year. Would love to have them as a mirror opponent...it'd be a nice pair of wins, imo.
This space reserved for a 2024 National Championship celebration banner.

Canadian Dimes

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 1125
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2012, 09:10:40 AM »
they wont be that bad.  Napier and Boatwright in the back court is a good start, not a lot of bulk up front but I would not be surprised if Calhoun signs some good late signees or gets some 5th year transfer types

chapman

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 5746
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #9 on: April 25, 2012, 04:19:41 PM »
Quote
The school also has a verbal commitment from R.J. Evans, another 6-foot-4 guard, who plans to transfer from Holy Cross, where he averaged 11.5 points last season. Evans, who graduates this spring, has one more year of eligibility and could play immediately.

He is choosing to spend his one year of remaining eligibility at a school that is banned from postseason play?

warthog-driver

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 1571
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #10 on: April 25, 2012, 06:01:32 PM »
If he retired when they were cutting down the National Championship nets 13 months ago, today he'd be a living legend.

Leave it to Al!

MU Fan in Connecticut

  • Registered User
  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 3436
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2012, 07:02:39 PM »
He is choosing to spend his one year of remaining eligibility at a school that is banned from postseason play?

He's from Connecticut and he wanted to play for his home state school.

brewcity77

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 26360
  • Warning-This poster may trigger thin skinned users
    • Cracked Sidewalks
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #12 on: April 25, 2012, 08:22:09 PM »
they wont be that bad.  Napier and Boatwright in the back court is a good start, not a lot of bulk up front but I would not be surprised if Calhoun signs some good late signees or gets some 5th year transfer types

I don't know. I imagine few 5th years want to play somewhere they are guaranteed to not make the dance. And after those two, who's their best player? Olander? They also will likely have very little depth. I think they'll really struggle to win games in the Big East.
This space reserved for a 2024 National Championship celebration banner.

Tugg Speedman

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 8836
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #13 on: April 28, 2012, 03:15:13 PM »
they wont be that bad.  Napier and Boatwright in the back court is a good start, not a lot of bulk up front but I would not be surprised if Calhoun signs some good late signees or gets some 5th year transfer types

Uconn has seven scholarship players highlighted by Napier and Boatwright (assuming no other transfers).  How much better are they than Depaul's Melvin and Young?  I don't think much.  

If they don't get anymore transfers and some injuries (Which everyone gets), they are playing walk-ons (might be playing walk-ons anyway.)

Right now Uconn is a 3-15 BE team (Depaul's record this past season) pending transfers in that can play this fall.

warthog-driver

  • All American
  • *****
  • Posts: 1571
Re: Jim Calhoun: UConn can still win
« Reply #14 on: April 30, 2012, 05:05:12 PM »
They still have some studs...this won't be a DePaul

 

feedback