James C. Calhoun (born May 10, 1942 in Braintree, Massachusetts) is the coach of the University of Connecticut's men's basketball team. He has made it to the final four three times in 1999, 2004, and 2009. He won two national championships, the 1999 and 2004 NCAA titles, the 1988 NIT championship, and 6 Big East tournament championships in 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, and 2004. In 2005, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. On Feb. 25, 2009, Jim Calhoun won his 800th game when Connecticut beat Marquette, 93–82.

Biography

Calhoun was born and raised in Braintree, Mass., where he was a standout on the basketball, football, and baseball teams at Braintree High School. After his father died of a heart attack when Calhoun was 15, he was left to take care of his large family, including five siblings.

Early career and education

Although he received a basketball scholarship to Lowell State (now UMass Lowell), he only attended the school for three months, after which he returned home to help support his mother and siblings. He worked as a granite cutter, headstone engraver, scrapyard worker, game-show host, shampoo factory worker, and gravedigger.

After a 20-month leave from higher education, Calhoun returned to college, this time at American International College in , where he was given another basketball scholarship. He was the leading scorer on the team his junior and senior seasons, and captained the team in his final year, during which AIC advanced to the Division II playoffs. At the time he graduated, he was ranked as the fourth all-time scorer at AIC. Calhoun graduated in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in sociology.

Health problems

On February 3, 2003, after the worst home loss of his career, a 34-point loss to Boston College, Calhoun announced that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He took an immediate leave of absence from the team and underwent surgery three days later to have his prostate removed. He was released from the hospital on February 9 and within days was once again involved in the day-to-day operation of the program. On February 22 Jim Calhoun returned to the sidelines for the team's match-up with St. John's at Gampel Pavilion, only 16 days after the surgery.

On May 30, 2008, UConn announced that Calhoun was undergoing treatment for squamous cell carcinoma. He said he plans to continue coaching.

On June 13, 2009, Calhoun fell during a charity bike event and broke five ribs. He finished the final sixteen miles of the event before going to the hospital.

Personal life

Calhoun and his wife, Pat, live in and have two sons and six grandchildren. They have been married since 1967. They have also purchased a home on Long Island Sound in .

The couple, both of whom lost parents to heart disease, is known for their philanthropy, including the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn and the annual Jim Calhoun Holiday Food Drive which has raised nearly $1 million supporting food assistance agencies that serve to help families in need throughout the State of Connecticut. In 1998, a $125,000 gift from Jim Calhoun and his wife Pat established the Jim and Pat Calhoun Cardiology Research Fund at UConn Health Center. The Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic Golf Tournament was launched in 1999 and has since raised millions in support of the endowment fund. In 2003 & 2004, Coach Calhoun served as celebrity host of the black tie gala "Hoops For Hope", by Coaches vs. Cancer, a program established in 1993 by the American Cancer Society; the events raised over $400,000 for the ACS. 2007 is the first year of The Big Y Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge Ride statewide event to benefit The Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center; the ride raised over $225,000.

For many years, Calhoun has been the Honorary Chairman of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, which has generated over $4.5 million to fund diabetes research. Coach Calhoun has also served as an Honorary Chairperson/Director for other charitable programs including the Ronald McDonald House Kids Classic Golf Tournament, the Ray of Hope Foundation Golf Tournament, the Connecticut Children's Medical Center and Children's Miracle Network, and the "Character Counts" program in the state of Connecticut.

Recognition

• 1998 – The Franciscan Sisters dedicate an outdoor basketball area, "Calhoun's Court" at the Franciscan Life Center in Meriden, CT
• 2004 – Calhoun is the first recipient of an award by the Swim Across The Sound Prostate Cancer Institute
• 2005 – "Honorary Alumni Award" from the University of Connecticut Alumni Association

Coaching career

High school

Jim Calhoun began his coaching career at Lyme-Old Lyme High School in Old Lyme, Connecticut in 1965 after accepting a sixth grade teaching position in that town over the summer. After finishing 1–17 that season, Calhoun returned to Massachusetts after deciding not to complete the necessary certification paperwork to renew his teaching contract (he was certified in Mass. and working in Conn. only on a temporary certificate). After one season at Westport (Mass.) High, he accepted a position at Dedham High School and began building a very strong program. He completed a 20–1 season in 1971.

He went on in 1972 to bring his Dedham High School team a perfect season, going 18–0, and they won the Massachusetts High school Bay State Championship

Northeastern

Calhoun was quickly recruited by Northeastern University in Boston to serve as their new head coach. He took the position in October 1971, and quickly built Northeastern into the dominant power in the ECAC North Atlantic Conference. He also transitioned the team from Division II to Division I.

The team advanced to the Division I tournament 4 times under Calhoun. During his final three seasons, Northeastern achieved automatic bids to the NCAA tournament and had a 72–19 record. He received six regional Coach of the Year accolades at Northeastern and remains the institution's all-time winningest coach (245–138).

Former Boston Celtics captain Reggie Lewis, who played for Calhoun at Northeastern, was a first-round pick in the 1987 NBA Draft.

Connecticut

On May 14, 1986, Calhoun was named the head coach at the University of Connecticut. After completing his first season just 9–19, Calhoun led the Huskies to a 18–14 record in 1988 and a bid to National Invitation Tournament, where they defeated Ohio State to win the NIT championship. In 1990, Calhoun was named the consensus National Coach of the Year after leading the Huskies to their first Big East championship, the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, and a 29–6 record in only his fourth year at the helm.

Calhoun won his first NCAA national championship in 1999, as he led UConn to its first-ever Final Four and national championship over favored Duke in St. Petersburg, Florida. Future NBA standout Richard "Rip" Hamilton led the team to a 77–74 victory.

Calhoun led the Huskies to another national championship in 2004, at the conclusion of a season that saw UConn start and complete the year as the number one team in the nation. Moreover, the Lady Huskies won the women's national championship the next night, marking the first time the same program won both titles in the same year. UConn standouts Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon were selected #2 and #3 in the NBA Draft, respectively. Calhoun now holds a 35–12 record with UConn in NCAA tournament play including 4–1 in the Final Four. They lost in the first round for the first time on March 21, 2008 in overtime to San Diego.

During the Jim Calhoun era, the UConn Huskies have done well in the Big East Conference with an impressive 220–112 record (.665 winning percentage). The Huskies have won or shared conference titles in 1990, 1994–1996, 1998–1999, 2002, and 2005–2006. UConn has also won six Big East Men's Basketball Tournament championships in 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, and 2004.

On March 2, 2005 he achieved his 700th win at Gampel Pavilion over Georgetown. His friend and Big East rival coach Jim Boeheim also won his 700th game during the previous week. Later in 2005, Coach Calhoun was honored by induction into the Dr. James Naismith National Basketball Hall of Fame, fittingly, along with Jim Boeheim. On February 25, 2009, he achieved his 800th win at the Bradley Center over Marquette.

Calhoun was the first coach in NCAA history to have won at least 240 games at two different Division I schools. Eddie Sutton later achieved this same feat.

Calhoun has coached 23 UConn players who have moved on to professional ranks.

Controversy

On February 21, 2009, he got into a heated exchange with Ken Krayeske, a freelance journalist and activist after a win over South Florida, in regards to his salary in the tough economic times. He said he would "not [give] a dime back" to the state of Connecticut. He told Krayeske to "shut up" and said that his team brought the university $12 million a year. The reporter had been given a pass despite the fact he did not regularly cover the team. Many commentators felt that it was unfair to ask these types of questions after a game and the subject should be restricted to his team and the game, while others pointed out how Calhoun had given a lot of money and time to various charities, including efforts to address autism. However, some felt that Calhoun's chastising of the journalist was over the top. In a Quinnipiac University poll taken after the incident Calhoun attained a remarkable level of public support from Connecticut residents. 68% had a favorable opinion of Calhoun and 61% favored him retaining his full salary. 51% approved of the way Calhoun answered Krayeske's question and 80% opposed efforts by some state lawmakers to discipline Calhoun.

On March 25, 2009, Yahoo Sports reported that Calhoun and the UConn men's basketball program had allegedly committed several major NCAA recruiting violations from 2006–2008 regarding the recruitment of Nate Miles, who never played basketball for the school and was expelled for other reasons. In addition, the NCAA has told Calhoun not to comment on the state of the investigation while it is in progress.

Former players

25 of coach Calhoun's former players moved on to professional careers in the National Basketball Association, the Continental Basketball Association, as well as other national and international leagues:(with draft team from earliest to most recent)

1. 1987: Reggie Lewis – Boston Celtics captain
2. 1989: Clifford Robinson – Portland Trail Blazers
3. 1990: Tate George – New Jersey Nets
4. 1992: Chris Smith – Minnesota Timberwolves
5. 1993: Scott Burrell – Charlotte Hornets
6. 1994: Donyell Marshall – Minnesota Timberwolves
7. 1995: Kevin Ollie – Connecticut Pride, CBA; Dallas Mavericks
8. 1995: Donny Marshall – Cleveland Cavaliers
9. 1996: Ray Allen – Milwaukee Bucks, Seattle Supersonics, Boston Celtics
10. 1996: Travis Knight – Chicago Bulls
11. 1996: Doron Sheffer – Los Angeles Clippers, Maccabi Tel Aviv
12. 1999: Richard Hamilton – Washington Wizards
13. 2000: Khalid El-Amin – Chicago Bulls
14. 2000: Jake Voskuhl – Chicago Bulls
15. 2002: Caron Butler – Miami Heat
16. 2004: Emeka Okafor – Charlotte Bobcats
17. 2004: Ben Gordon – Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons
18. 2005: Charlie Villanueva – Toronto Raptors,Milwaukee Bucks,Detroit Pistons
19. 2006: Hilton Armstrong – New Orleans Hornets
20. 2006: Josh Boone – New Jersey Nets
21. 2006: Denham Brown – Seattle SuperSonics
22. 2006: Rudy Gay – Houston Rockets
23. 2006: Marcus Williams – New Jersey Nets
24. 2008: A. J. Price - Indiana Pacers
25. 2008: Hasheem Thabeet - Memphis Grizzlies

Head coaching record

See also

• NCAA Men's Division I Final Four appearances by coaches

Notes

1. http://www.uconnhuskies.com/sports/MBasketball/Coaching/Calhounbio.html
2. .
3. CNNSI.com, March 23, 1999 "Calhoun riding an emotional wave to St. Pete"
4. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=3924716
5. http://necn.com/Boston/Sports/2009/02/22/Krayeske-defends-questioning/1235362405.html
6. http://cornellsun.com/section/sports/content/2009/03/03/rumble-uconn-jungle
7. [1]
8. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/mccarthy/2009-03-01-mccarthy_N.htm
9. http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1296.xml?ReleaseID=1273
10. ESPN.com, April 4, 2009 "Calhoun contemplating future"

References

• Calhoun, Jim. Dare To Dream: Connecticut Basketball's Remarkable March to the National Championship ISBN 0-7679-0475-3
• Calhoun, Jim. A passion to lead: seven leadership secrets for success in business, sports, and life ISBN 0-3123-6271-4

External links

• UConn men's basketball – official website
• Jim Calhoun Basketball Camp – annual summer basketball camp for youth
• Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center
• Excerpt from Dare to Dream from the Library of Congress