How do you go from not having a basketball program to becoming a national powerhouse over night? You hire the legendary Jim Calhoun as your first ever basketball coach. *Homer Alert* I’m a huge fan of UConn basketball. I even applied to college there (got denied, twice). I didn’t get in, but that never dulled my love for the Huskies and Coach Calhoun.
To say this was a big score for the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, would be the understatement of the century. Before this, they had to rely on tricking kids into thinking they were getting recruited by St. Joseph’s University.
In all actuality, this is probably a charity move by Jim Calhoun. There can’t be crazy money in a DIII coaching job. This guy could come out of retirement tomorrow and coach at any struggling DI school, if he wanted to. I’m sure this will be a brief stint to help a young program get off the ground. That being said, if you’re a guy who isn’t quite ready for prime time and has the chance to get coached up by Calhoun for a few seasons, you should head on over to the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford.
From the sounds of the statement by University of St. Joseph’s, we think it’s safe to say Calhoun will be coaching DII men’s basketball.
Courant.com: “Former UConn men’s basketball coach Jim Calhoun, a Hall of Famer, may be coming out of retirement.
He would not say where, but multiple sources said he has had serious discussions with the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford about its new men’s basketball program and has been offered the job.
“I’ve got a couple of other things in the works, one involving basketball, which I’m intrigued by,” Calhoun said. “It’s coaching.”
Calhoun, 75, retired as UConn men’s basketball coach in 2012, after 26 seasons and three national championships. Since, he has been an assistant/adviser at UConn and an analyst for ESPN. He has flirted with the idea of a comeback, but nothing had come of it.
But this appears to be serious. St. Joseph is starting a Division III men’s basketball program, to begin play in 2018, and posted an opening for a head coach in late June. Calhoun would only say that the school was local, but sources confirmed it is St. Joseph. A decision could come within a week.
“We will let coach’s comments stand on their own,” said Rhona Free, president of St. Joseph, in a statement released by a school spokesperson. “While we certainly can’t think of a better person to inaugurate the University of St. Joseph’s first-ever men’s basketball team, right now we have nothing to announce.”