A few quotes on the UConn-Duke rivalry. (Or is it a rivalry?)

NATE JAMES (a sophomore on the 1999 Duke team that lost to UConn in the national championship game, and now a Blue Devil assistant):

"If you play that game 10 times, I truly believe we’ll win nine out of 10 times. Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen that way. You get one time to show up, and they did. I think for the rest of our lives -- Elton Brand, my good friend, Trajon Langdon -- we’ll forever regret not bring our best to the table that night.”

“Whenever you have one of the best teams ever assembled, you get the opportunity to do something truly special, and for that night, it didn’t happen for us,” James recalled. “Like all kids and players, you let any type of distraction into your group and you face a team that was together -- Coach Calhoun had his guys together and obviously had some outstanding players on that team as well, Rip Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin, (Jake) Voskuhl. He had a terrific game plan, and it all came together.”

(is it a rivalry?)

“We don’t really use that term. They’re a team we definitely respect and has had some outstanding teams, won national championships, defeated us before. It’s a program you have a high level of respect for, and you know you have to bring your ‘A’ game against.”

KEVIN FREEMAN (a junior on the 1999 UConn title team and now the Huskies' director of basketball administration):

(responding to Nate James' comments)

“All we had to do is win the one. So, I don’t know about the next 10 times. I don’t think you play anybody in college 10 times in four years. I’ll take my one.”

“It was a tough, gritty game. Sort of like on Thursday, we were an underdog, everybody picking to beat us. We had the confidence in our locker room to go out there and know we were gonna win the game and try to win the game.”

“I think it’s a great rivalry, in the sense that every time we play it’s been a great game. The early 90’s games, the game we beat them and also in the 2000’s -- it’s gonna be a great game, it’s gonna be fun for the fans, and it’s fun for us overall.”

“It was called the Duke Invitational that year (1999), because of that team. It was definitely sweet for us to play the No. 1 team. It was us and them, and it was a great game.”

“It’s funny to fast-forward now. Because we beat them, a lot of people don’t know how great that Duke team really was. They don’t get the credit. But they were a great team, and it does give you a lot of satisfaction beating that team.”

KEVIN OLLIE:

(on UConn's 90-86 win over Duke in a Great 8 game in 1994, in which Ollie poured in 24 points)

“It was a good game. We came out with fire and passion. I think that was the first time we beat Duke."

“We kind of had a chip on our shoulder. We wanted to get Duke. It’s always been a good rivalry. They’re a great program. I have the utmost respect for Coach K and what he’s done. I look at him and marvel at the success he’s had, the sustained success. That’s what you want in your program. I think he’s done a great job. And what he’s done with USA Basketball and with his teams over the years, it’s a noble job by him.”

“It’s always a rivalry. Our first national championship was over Duke. It’s always gonna be a rivalry between us. We have more historic rivalries with Syracuse and Georgetown, of course. But whenever UConn and Duke goes, you go back and relive the past, the Christian Laettner incident, all the different things that happened during our past when those two teams got together -- Christian Laettner’s shot. A lot of memorable things in NCAA basketball history that came between these two teams when they got on the court.”

“These programs have been built with toughness, hard work and character. I think they kind of mirror themselves in those aspects.”

RODNEY PURVIS (a Raleigh, N.C. native who played at NC State as a frosh):

“I’m 1-1 against Duke, so it’ll be good to get another win.”

“I liked Duke. I had the chance to talk to Coach K and things like that. I’m not really a fan of blue. I like navy blue better than that color blue, so ... it was great. He recruited me growing up. I definitely don’t like Carolina blue. He’s definitely a great guy, a great coach. There’s nothing bad I can say about him.”

 A new documentary on Jim Calhoun will premier at the Bushnell Theater on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Born to Lead: Jim Calhoun chronicles Calhoun's life, from childhood through his 26 seasons as UConn's head coach, and all its successes. Here's a preview clip of the documentary.

"It's surreal, in the sense of seeing your life being depicted," Calhoun said in a conference call Thursday morning. "It's something different. As (UConn soccer coach) Ray Reid said, 'Who plays you?' It's a documentary. They had to use me, because they couldn't use Sean Connery at the time. I think it's kind of fun."

Calhoun said there were some particularly poignant, surprising moments in the film, including one where Jake Voskuhl said he very nearly left the program. He said he had never really thought about having a documentary made on his life, but had been approached by film makers shortly after he had retired in September, 2012. After a while, he eventually caved in.

"I thought it would be good to talk about leadership, maybe be inspirational to some people," he said. "We have different parts of our lives -- we used to call  it a Polaroid, now we call it a selfie -- different snapshots of our lives. If you look at me as a stone-cutter from Quincy, Massachusetts at 18, or on the podium getting a national championship ring, or the Final Four or Hall of Fame, all those things are a positive picture."

*** Meanwhile, Calhoun also announced that he has signed a contract to do in-studio work for ESPN this college basketball season. It remains to be seen just how much work he'll do.

"I look forward to it. Seth Greenberg is a good friend, Rece Davis is a good friend. I'll be talking about something I love."

Khalid El-Amin and the 1999 UConn national championship team each were inducted into the Huskies of Honor at halftime Sunday. Richard Hamilton, who hasn't come back to UConn a whole lot over the last 15 years, was in the house, along with the other four starters on the title team (El-Amin, Kevin Freeman, Jake Voskuhl and Ricky Moore) as well as Souleymane Wane, Beau Archibald, coaches Karl Hobbs, Tom Moore and, of course, Jim Calhoun.

Here's what Hamilton had to say:

 “The biggest thing I remember from that game is coach’s attitude at the beginning of the game. Usually, he was always on pins and needles. That was the first game he came in and told us, just relax and play. I think that really, really was the big thing for us, beacuse we really believed we could win the game. We thought we were the best team in the country. We thought Duke was getting all the praise, but we didn’t mind that. It was something exciting for us. I think when Khalid had the ball, running, and they were playing that ‘One Shining Moment’ song, and he was running with the ball, with his hands up, I think that’s the memory that sticks in my head.”

(on seeing Duke players over the years)

“They can’t even look me in my face. That’s how I like it ... to beat them – especially now, playing in the NBA and they've got so many great players in the NBA – you played against them and competed. I’m always hard on them, like, ‘Hey, you never beat (us), regardless of all the praise y’all got, whether you got the Wooden Award or not. We got the ring at the end.'”

“We were undefeated until the game that I sat out. I got hurt, Jake got hurt, and it was good that we actually lost that game, because it kind of gave us motivation to come out and play even harder. We came out and lost on Senior Night – I think it was Miami, here in Gampel. Coach came in and said, ‘Don’t think you’re as good as you are.’ We really had to go out and finish the work and we did.”

(on possibly still hooking up with an NBA team)

“I just want to go to the right team. I want to be on a team that has an opportunity to win. I don’t just want to be out there, going through the motions or anyting like that. I want to be in a situation where I can get an opportunity to get another ring. That’s how you build your legacy.”

(on Calhoun and SMU's Larry Brown both in Gampel on Sunday)

“Isn’t that crazy? You’ve got my two favorite coaches of all time in the same building. Both guys that I got an opportunity to win a championship with. That’s crazy. It’s one of those magic moments, something that couldn’t be planned or anything like that. It’s exciting for me.”

(on why he decided to return to UConn after '98 season)

“You know what it was? I put all my eggs in coach’s basket. I had one foot on the university campus and one foot out the door, and I put all my trust into coach Calhoun. Everything he told me in his office … after that 3-4 hour conversation that day, came true. When you’re 20 years old, sometimes you think people are just talking to be talking. But everything he told me came true.”

(on this year's UConn team)

“I think that KO’s done an excellent job. It’s hard to follow coach Calhoun. That’s huge pressure. But I thought that he came in and really put his spin on things. The guys respond to him very well. You can look at his record for the last two years. One thing I can look at with UConn, we always have great guard play. The guards have been doing great, doing a tremendous job of leading the team.”

Jim Calhoun:

“Of all the things I've done in my coaching career, I’ll never forget walking into this building in 1999 – the trip over, I still describe as probably the most remarkable trip, I have no idea how many people were on 84, they stopped cars, they were on buildings. Coming up here on 195 was absolutely incredible. But still, walking into this building, after the disappointment of nine years before, and this time having the hardware in my hands, is still the highest moment of my coaching career.”

“I always thought we were better when we had to dig our way back. But I always thought we had more experience, we were tougher. (Duke) could’ve been, if they had stayed together one more year – or if they hadn’t met us – been one of the greatest teams ever.”

“If you ever look back at the teams we played, the teams we beat – pretty special. Without injuries, you could make a case for 36-0. Is it the greatest team? I don’t know. But it was the best ‘team’, in the sense that they all worked with each other. Both point guards could pass, shoot, well, not Khalid, but defend. We had great answers, with Edmund, Souley, Albert Mouring. That was just a terrific basketball team.”

“When we lost to Carolina in Carolina, they went to the Final Four, we didn’t, they stayed together and it was just one of those kind of things. We had, without knowing, our eyes on the prize in ’98 to get to ’99."

“The first one is special. It was special for UConn. I don’t know if, like anything else in life, you can’t duplicate that first time. So, that makes it special. Is it better? No. I love watching Kemba making four foul shots to win, getting 31 last night to beat the Grizzlies. Watching any kind of those great things, that’s all great stuff, too. But, you can’t duplicate walking up here and bringing back that trophy. That’s not gonna be replicated in my lifetime or anybody else’s lifetime.”

As Rod Sellers, Jerome Dyson and just about every other former UConn basketball player has learned, it pays to have Jim Calhoun on your side.

Sellers recently got a job, thanks in no small part from a phone call from Calhoun to Sellers' interviewer. "The guy came in and he was so happy," Sellers recalled. "He was saying, 'Man, I can tell all my friends I got a personal call from Jim Calhoun.'"

Dyson, of course, ran into some trouble during his four years at UConn, including a 30-day suspension for a positive drug (marijuana) test. But Calhoun stuck by his side.

"A lot of times, Coach could have easily looked the other way and forgot all about me," Dyson noted. "There were some incidents where he could have just given up on me, and he didn’t. I think the opportunity he’s given me was big for me."



Dyson and Sellers will be among the many UConn alumni at Saturday's Mohegan Sun/Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game. Kemba Walker, Ray Allen, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, Jeremy Lamb, Khalid El-Amin, Hasheem Thabeet and Jake Voskuhl are among the many other ex-Huskies expected to play and/or participate.

Here's the info:

What: The Mohegan Sun/Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game

Where: Mohegan Sun Arena

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

Why: To raise money for the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at the UConn Health Center

Who: Kemba Walker, Ray Allen, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, Jeremy Lamb, Khalid El-AMin, Ricky Moore, Jake Voskhul, Hasheem Thabeet, Kevin Ollie, Travis Knight, Rod Sellers and Scott Burrell are among those expected to play and/or participate.

How: Tickets are $12 to $25 and can be purchased by calling Ticketmaster at 800-345-7000, going to Ticketmaster.com or visiting the Mohegan Sun box office.

Many of the regulars -- Ray Allen, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, etc. -- are expected to be at the annual Mohegan Sun/Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game on Saturday, Aug. 4 at the Mohegan Sun Arena. But there will be some new blood there, as well.

Kemba Walker will make his first appearance in the game. Jeremy Lamb, a Houston Rockets lottery pick just a month ago, is also expected to play, along with Hasheem Thabeet, Jerome Dyson and Gavin Edwards.  (Andre Drummond doesn't appear too likely, since his new employer, the Detroit Pistons, apparently would like him to attend a big man's camp around the same time).

Other likely participants include Kevin Ollie, Khalid El-Amin, Ricky Moore, Rod Sellers, Jake Voskuhl and Travis Knight. Of the big names, Rip Hamilton and Ben Gordon don't seem too likely to appear. Neither do Josh Boone, Hilton Armstrong and Stanley Robinson.

Allen, who underwent surgery last month to remove bone spurs from his ankle, will dress, but will only play depending on how his ankle's feeling. (He is, however, expected to play in the event's two golf outings, on Aug. 5 at the Mohegan Sun Golf Course and the following day at the Golf Club of Avon).

The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Ticketts are $12 to $25 and are now on sale at the Mohegan Sun Arena box office. To purchase game tickets, call Ticketmaster at 800-345-700 or go to Ticketmaster.com or visit the Mohegan Sun box office.

Proceeds from the game and the entire Mohegan Sun/Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic will benefit the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at the UConn Health Center.

"I am excited to be able to once again bring so many of my former players back together for what should be a special reunion for them and for the fans of Connecticut," said Calhoun. "I am also pleased that proceeds from the game will go to fight American's No. 1 killer -- heart disease."

Since 1999, the Mohegan Sun/Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic has raised more than $6 million for cardiology research and care.

In an interview with WTIC-1080's Joe D'Ambrosio on Wednesday, former UConn center Jake Voskuhl said that he recently asked Jim Calhoun if he's returning to coach next season.

"I'm looking at different things, trying to determine that," Calhoun told him.

Voskuhl said he urged Calhoun to return.

So, apparently, it's still somewhat up in the air if Calhoun is on the sidelines next season.

In other news: Voskuhl told D'Ambrosio that he and his family are moving to Fairfield County next week.

UConn's chamionship banner unveiling on Friday will begin at 6:59 p.m. (after a new UConn basketball video montage is played on the big screen) and end just a few minutes later. It'll be a purposely brief, unpretentious event, but still very meaningful.

"It’s a big deal. A national championship is a big deal,” said Jim Calhoun, who’s won three of them. “I’ve always considered it a big deal. I think it will be very good to finish it off and start anew. It’s going to be a very good night."

After that banner is unveiled, it's all about the quest for another for the Huskies. Of course, this year's three freshmen weren't along for last year's remarkable ride. They want to start their own.

At UConn’s national championship dinner in Hartford a month ago, where last year’s players received their championship rings, Andre Drummond, Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels sat at a separate table while the rest of the team sat up on the dais.

“I was actually pretty angry watching them get their rings,” Drummond said, with a smile. “It just made me want to get a ring, put in blood, sweat and tears to make sure I get a ring ... Now, I’m a part of the UConn family. I wasn’t there for the national championship team, but I’m a part of the family, so it’s just as good.”

A few things to know about Columbia:

*** The Lions went 15-13 overall and 6-8 in the Ivy under first-year coach Kyle Smith. Four starters return from last year's team, led by a top-notch backcourt: senior Noruwa Agho averaged 16.8 ppg last year and junior Brian Barbour 13.3.

*** Senior Blaise Staab's full name is Blaise Voskuhl Staab. Yup, he's Jake Voskuhl's cousin. Staab, a 6-5 forward, didn't play at all last season due to injury. He averaged 1.7 ppg in limited time as a sophomore and missed all but four games as a freshman due to a bout with mono.

*** UConn and Columbia haven't played in nearly 30 years. Their last meeting was on Dec. 28, 1983 -- an 85-60 UConn victory in the Connecticut Mutual Classic. The Huskies hold a 6-2 all-time advantage in the series. Columbia's last victory: 72-71 on Dec. 7, 1976 in New York City.

*** Friday's bout is the first for Columbia against a defending champ since 1947, when the Lions beat Holy Cross.



In other news, SNY has announced that it will cover televise 14 UConn games this year, beginning with Monday's 7:30 p.m. bout with Wagner.

Following that game, SNY will debut SNY Spotlight: Jim Calhoun, a look at the coach's career.

Here's SNY's UConn TV schedule:


NOVEMBER
Mon 14 UConn-Wagner: Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn. 7:30
Thu 17 UConn-Maine: XL Center, Hartford, Conn. 7:00
Sun 20 UConn-Coppin State XL Center, Hartford, Conn. 1:00
DECEMBER
Sun 18 UConn-Holy Cross XL Center, Hartford, Conn. 1:00
Thu 22 UConn-Fairfield XL Center, Hartford, Conn. 7:00
Wed 28 UConn at USF St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Fla. 9:00
Sat 31 UConn-St. John’s XL Center, Hartford, Conn. Noon
JANUARY
Tue 3 UConn at Seton Hall Prudential Center, Newark, N.J. 7:00
Sat 7 UConn at Rutgers Rutgers Athletic Center, Piscataway, N.J. 8:00
Sun 29 UConn-Notre Dame XL Center, Hartford, Conn. Noon
FEBRUARY
Sat 4 UConn-Seton Hall XL Center, Hartford, Conn. Noon
Wed 15 UConn-DePaul Gampel Pavilion, Storrs, Conn. 7:00
Tue 28 UConn at Providence Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, R.I. 7:00