Calhoun 'Really Happy' About Choice of Warde Manuel

Got a hold of Jim Calhoun this afternoon, shortly before he was due to head out for another doctor's appointment for his back. Calhoun hasn't had a chance to meet new UConn athletic director Warde Manuel, but he likes the hire.

"I’ve heard great things about him," Calhoun said. "If Susan Herbst has chosen him, along with the trustees, he’s got all of the qualifications going forward. I’m really happy about the choice, given the fact that he’s a former student-athlete, he’s been involved in a number of things. I’ve talked to (Buffalo men's basketball coach) Reggie Witherspoon about him, and he loved him."

Calhoun said the most impressive thing about Manuel's resume is that he was a former player who has also had great success as an athletics administrator.

"If you’re good enough and tough enough to be recruited by Bo Schembechler, you’re probably some kind of guy that understands college athletics, not only from a philosophical standpoint but from an athletic standpoint," Calhoun said.

Asked about how he's doing physically, Calhoun said: “My status is the same. They haven’t given me a lot of pain-killers, they don’t want to disguise with a temporary fix something they know is there with MRI’s and CAT scans … It’s frustrating, obviously, but the bottom line is, we’re going to take care of it.”

It appears highly unlikely Calhoun will coach Wednesday's game against DePaul. And for what it's worth, George Blaney is slated to handle the Big East coaches' teleconference call on Thursday.