Yeah, apparently a few things. As we know, Alex Oriakhi is Missouri-bound, Jeremy Lamb (who's agent is Cheshire's own Jeff Schwartz) and Andre Drummond are headed to the NBA, Roscoe Smith is searching for greener pastures and Michael Bradley might be, as well. Am I forgetting anything?
UConn is in quite a situation right now, but a lot could be remedied if/when we find out what Jim Calhoun's plans are. Will he stay through the end of his contract, or even longer? Stay just another season? Or will he retire now? It's important for the program to know, because it's getting burned on the recruiting trail right now.
A little stability within the program (coach-in-waiting, anyone?) could help out a lot.
But don't take my word for it. Here's a quote from one prep school coach, who's had players recruited by UConn in the past, from the above linked article:
"If you’re
asking me as someone who would advise a kid, I’d have a hard time telling him
he’s gonna play for Jim Calhoun for four years. And I don’t think, unless they have a much better
year next year, that he’s going to have a guarantee he’s going to be able to name a
successor. Those are pretty big sticking points."The coach added that a coach-in-waiting would help UConn because "any time you can show continuity, where the program is gonna be, that allows a kid to make a four-year decision, regardless of whether he wants to be in college for four years."
This coach also had some interesting things to say about this past year's UConn team -- namely, that the general knock around basketball was that the Huskies "didn't get along well ... at all" -- particularly the guards. At least one recruit has said he witnessed this discord first-hand while at a UConn practice.
Interesting stuff, though probably something most assumed all along.
Why does Calhoun have to announce he is coming back every year? Why cant people just assume he'll be back for the remainder of his contract until he announces otherwise?
ReplyDeleteAlso im sure the problem had to do with napier and boatright or napier and lamb. Lamb's body language this year was awful.
True, he doesn't have to announce it, but let's be honest, there is speculation about his status after every season, for good reason: health, age, and now the NCAA tourney ban for next year. People around the program whose jobs could hinge on whether or not Calhoun returns still don't know.
ReplyDeleteAs for the problem, one of those two combinations is correct. I'll leave it at that.