Tuesday Afternoon

Let's see, where do we start? Ahh, let's not. Let's congratulate Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson and Gavin Edwards on their good, four-year (with a couple of road bumps) careers at UConn and not talk about the past.

The future, Conan? Umm ... that could be troublesome.

For one, it may or may not involve Jim Calhoun. In a long, rambling way as only he can, Calhoun addressed a report Monday on SNY that he was contemplating retirement after this season.

"I was made aware of the story, and it has nothing to do with anything and was not based on any substantive fact … Like everything else, I'm in the business of trying to recruit players to UConn. I love the school, and I still love coaching. It couldn't be farther … when I saw or heard a couple of facts about me talking to certain people, who I haven't had a word with, it was unfortunate. I haven’t had a word with one for one year and the other for eight months about the situation. And yes, there is a contract offer out there. I haven't seen the final copy, but it's out there, yes."

Calhoun apparently was referring to UConn president Michael Hogan and athletic director Jeff Hathaway, and seemed to be addressing a rumor a few weeks ago that he is balking on retirement because he won't be allowed to select his successor.

***Calhoun also made what I think (and I could be wrong) a veiled reference at how next year's cupboard could be bare when he talked about the Johnnies.

"They certainly have a bright future ahead of them," he said of the Red Storm. "(With returning) juniors and seniors, they'll be one of the better teams in the Big East, certainly top five or six next year. Today the team I saw today from St. John's was terrific. The team I saw from Connecticut today was not very good at all."

***Then there was another veiled shot at Hathaway. When asked about accepting a potential NIT bid, Calhoun said: "I guess I have to talk to the athletic director, and I'll talk to him. Obviously, he makes the final judgment. He runs the athletic department. So, obviously, I have to confer with him."

***So, if asked (and to me, that's up in the air), will the Huskies accept an NIT bid?

"I have great respect for (the NIT)," Calhoun said. "I never thought about turning it down. I think it's a good time to sit down with myself and my staff and think about what we want to do going forward. Particularly after (Tuesday's game) … it's a good time to sit down and think about closing the curtain for this year or continuing on, if we have the opportunity."

Calhoun said his team won't practice for a couple of days, at least. "Then, I don't know if we will practice or not."

***Back to Dyson for one minute. When asked what's been wrong with the senior guard the last three games (16 points, 6-for-26 shooting, 16 turnovers, one second-half benching), Calhoun shrugged: "He hasn't played well. He's played very poorly. If I could explain it, I would try to do something about it. He's played very poorly."

George Blaney gave a more in-depth answer: "It's like a batter that gets in a slump, that can't get himself out of it. He tries everything, he goes hard, he goes soft, he does everything, but nothing works. In fact, you start to look worse. That's what slumps are."

***OK, I'm getting a bit tired of this. I have now covered the Big East tournament seven times -- four times covering Providence, three covering UConn. I have seen the respective teams I've covered win exactly once -- Providence in 2002 or 2003 (can't remember, too lazy to look it up). This despite both PC and UConn have been No. 1 seeds (PC in 2001, UConn in 2009).

I'm a real rabbit's foot, aren't I?