Blame the refs? Nah, that's a loser's lament. There were a few bad calls, and no doubt the foul troubles of Amida Brimah (and Phil Nolan, and Kentan Facey) hurt UConn in its 66-56 loss to Duke on Thursday. It also led to a massive free throw discrepancy: Duke was 25-for-34 from the stripe, UConn a mere 7-for-13.

Kenyan Facey played a terrific game. Perhaps the best of his career.

Kevin Ollie wasn't about to blame the refs:



Amida Brimah wasn't, either. Well, sorta.

“I’m not gonna use that as an excuse, but it definitely took me out of my game," he said. "But what can you say? It happened.”

“I was good. I thought they made some bad calls, and that affected my game.”

“I’m not gonna blame this game on the refs, but the refs made a couple of bad calls.”

(on Jahlil Okafor)

“He’s a good player, but I thought we did what we had to do against him.”

Asked if he was impressed by Okafor's ability to make one-handed, over-the-top passes against double teams, Brimah replied: “Everybody can do that when you get double-teamed.”

Meanwhile, here's a little Coach K postgame:

The battle of big men Thursday night may disappoint. As great as Amida Brimah was on Sunday against Coppin State, it's hard to imagine he'll turn in anywhere near the same performance against Duke.

Fact is, Jahlil Okafor is so much more polished than Brimah right now. It's not hard to imagine Brimah being overanxious and picking up a couple of early fouls, and quickly turning the much-anticipated battle of red-hot big men into something different on Thursday night.

But then again, maybe not. Maybe the Coppin State game was Brimah's coming-out party, and he continues his dominant ways against the Blue Devils. It'll be fun to find out.

Anyway, here's what Mike Krzyzewski had to say to the media this week about the big UConn-Duke matchup:





Insightful, eh? Oh yeah, Coach K didn't do media this week. Wonderful. Well, here's what some of his coaching staff and players had to say:



Here's more of how UConn looks at Duke, and how Duke is looking at UConn:

NATE JAMES (Duke assistant coach)

(on Jahlil Okafor)

“He’s gifted, man. I wish I could take credit for the ability he has, but a lot of that is just from the good Lord above. The kid wants to get better, comes to practice and has the desire to learn the game. As a result, he’s been rewarded for his efforts.”

(on Amida Brimah)

“Brimah definitely has elite size and length. That’s gonna be a test for Jah to go up and say, ‘I’m ready for the challenge, I’m gonna play my game.’ One thing about the Brimah kid, I think his defense is definitely ahead of his offense. Watching the film and seeing how he gets those baskets, a big part of it is the guard play."

:Whenever you have dynamic guards, and UConn is notorious for having terrific guard play ... I don’t think it’s an issue where we have to worry about them consistently throwing the ball down in the post and letting Brimah go against Jah one-on-one. I think it’s gonna be a total team effort, and I think it starts with the guards, making sure they keep Boatright and the other guys out of the lane.”

KEVIN OLLIE:

(on memories of the UConn-Duke rivalry)



(on Duke's ability to run)

“I think it varies with them. They run off a lot of turnovers, they’re incredibly athletic, and when you get live turnovers taht we had against Coppin State, they’re gonna convert them. Which Coppin State did, too. We’ve got to limit the mistakes with the basketball, make sure we eliminate our turnovers. Of course they’re gonna try to pound it in there, but I saw Jahlil get a steal (Monday) night and go coast-to-coast, so they’re nto gonna take their foot off the accelarator. Jahlil is a big guy, but he can run the floor very, very well. I think they’re gonna pound it in, and then they’re gonna run when the opportunities present themselves.”

(on importance of boosting NCAA tourney stock with a win over Duke)

“That’s what we’re gonna have to do. It just gets you ready, hopefully, for March and April, when you’re on neutral sites and you have to play a formidable foe. Hopefully, we understand that. It’s about ‘now’ for us. We can’t look past anybody. We’ve got to get wins.”

“You need signature wins for the NCAA to build your resume. This is a great chance for us, a great opportunity. I just want our guys to seize it. That’s what we’ve been talking about the last couple of days in practice.”

(on Okafor)

“He can run the court, he’s got soft hands, he catches everything, outstanding rebounder. Just skilled. Can go over both shoulders, pivot in the post with both pivots. I mean, I could go on and on. He seems like a great teammate, a great person. He’s just the complete package. He’s a force to be reckoned with on a college game, and when he gets to the pros, he’s gonna be a force to be reckoned with, too. Because he seems like he loves the game and likes to get better. He’s someone we’re gonna have to pay great attention to. It can’t just be Amida guarding him, it’s got to be everybody on the court guarding him.”

RODNEY PURVIS:

(on Okafor)

“He’s really good. He’s young, really light on his feet. He’s just a really tough cover, so we’re gonna do our best to guard him. I feel like Amida has everything it takes to shut him down.”

“Playing against a team like Duke, they’re undefeated right now, we’re kind of getting back on the road. It’ll definitely be a great game.”

(on whether Brimah is primed for the challenge of battling Okafor)

“Oh yeah, definitely. I don’t know what kid wouldn’t be. I guess he’s projected as the No. 1 draft pick for the upcoming draft. This is a great game to boost your stock.”

RYAN BOATRIGHT:

“We’ve got to take it as another game that’s on our schedule. No matter who’s out there, we need to go out and compete.”

“Definitely, it would help us with our resume and our confidence. These big out-of-conference games, we’ve got to go out and take care of business.”

“It’s Duke. They’re on TV all the time. I’ve seen a few games they’ve played."

“We’re two tournament teams that are colliding early in the season. It’s a great test for both of us.”

(on being the underdogs on Thursday)

“We’re pretty used to that. Nobody gave us a chance last year. Nobody ever gives us a chance. As long as I’ve been here, we’ve always been big underdogs going into big games. It’s nothing new.”

(on whether Brimah is embracing the challenge of Okafor)

“He’s not scared of anybody. He’s extremely competive. He’s tired of hearing all this hoorah about Jahlil, he’s excited to get a shot at him. I tell him just be confident, go out there and play your game, and the game will take care of itself.”

AMIDA BRIMAH:

“I’ve got to be aggressive when I come out, and I can’t let them punch first. I’ve got to punch first.”

“We’ve just got to stay composed and take care of the ball.”

“I’ve got to do my work early and run the floor.”

“Definitely. That’s an opportunity for our team. That’s gonna be a great win for us. We need that.”

“I’m always confident, but that (40-point game) helped me boost my confidence up.”

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.”

The release of UConn's 2014-15 schedule means -- never mind football -- college basketball is just around the corner. Sort of.

The Huskies can actually start practicing on Oct. 3, per NCAA rules, though they likely will start after that. Teams can get in 30 practices in the 42 days prior to their first game (in UConn's case, on Friday, Nov. 14 against Bryant).

Anyway, here's a breakdown of UConn's 2014-15 schedule, with a look at some of the Huskies' opponents:

Tuesday, Nov. 4, vs. Southern Connecticut State University (exhibition): Huskies play Owls in an exhibition for second straight season. Won 93-65 last season at Gampel.

Sunday, Nov. 9 vs. Assumption College (exhibition): Greyhounds, Huskies have never met in an official game.

Friday, Nov. 14 vs. Bryant: Just second time programs have met. UConn demolished Bulldogs 88-58 in 2008 in Hartford.

Thursday, Nov. 20 at Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 12:30 p.m.: Huskies open up against College of Charleston. Will UConn be going against current assistant Karl Hobbs, who is reportedly a candidate for the (amazingly) still vacant head coaching job?

Friday, Nov. 21 at Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan, Puerto Rico: UConn will face either Texas A&M or Dayton. Flyers beat Ohio State, Syracuse and Stanford last year en route to Elite Eight, where they finally fell to Florida.

Sunday, Nov. 23 at Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan, Puerto Rico: Huskies could face Boston College for second time in as many seasons after not playing former Big East rivals for nearly 10 years. Steve Alford's New Mexico, which beat UConn in Paradise Jam finals in 2012, and George Mason (need we remind you) are other possible foes.

Sunday, Nov. 30 vs. Texas: Longhorns return all five starters and should be a preseason Top 15 pick – until Rick Barnes finds a way to mess it all up.

Friday, Dec. 5 vs. Yale: Huskies tamed Bulldogs 80-62 last year in the teams’ first meeting in 10 years.

UConn holds a 44-22 all-time advantage. Yale won't have Stratford's Brandon Sherrod, who'll be singing somewhere across the globe with the Whiffenpoofs.

Sunday, Dec. 14 vs. Coppin State: UConn is 5-0 all-time against Eagles, who will also play at Michigan this season.

Thursday, Dec. 18 vs. Duke at IZOD Center, East Rutherford, N.J., 8 p.m.: Despite losing Jabari Parker and Rodney Hood to the NBA draft, Blue Devils will be a preseason Top 5, maybe even No. 1. Duke boasts the top-rated recruiting class in the land, led by 6-foot-10 center Jahlil Okafor. This should be a fun one, as great rivalry is renewed. Two of Huskies’ biggest wins in program history (the 1999 national championship game and the 2004 Final Four) came against Duke. The Blue Devils, of course, handed UConn a crushing, overtime loss in the 1990 Elite Eight, ending the Huskies’ “Dream Season” on a Christian Laettner buzzer-beater. Duke holds the overall series edge, 5-4, including the most recent meeting, a 68-59 win on Nov. 27, 2009 in the NIT Season Tip-Off championships at Madison Square Garden.

Monday, Dec. 22 vs. Columbia: UConn is 7-2 all-time against the Lions, most recently with a 70-57 win on Nov. 11, 2011 at Gampel.

Sunday, Dec. 28 vs. Central Connecticut: Huskies face former longtime UConn assistant Howie Dickenman’s crew for first time in nine years. UConn has never lost in 12 meeting with these Blue Devils.

Wednesday, Dec. 31 vs. Temple: For first time in three years, UConn isn’t on the road for New Year’s Eve. Huskies open up AAC play against Owls, who finished ninth in the 10-team league a year ago at 4-14.

Saturday, Jan. 3 at Florida, O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida, 2 p.m.: Gators went 36-3 last season – 36-1 against teams not named UConn. The Huskies edged Florida on Dec. 2 at Gampel, 65-64, on Shabazz Napier’s 15-foot jumper at the buzzer. Gator coach Billy Donovan called the play “luck,” and Florida had the chance to avenge the loss in the Final Four. But the Huskies’ clamped down defensively, frustrating SEC player of the year Scottie Wilbekin all night, and needed no “luck” to score a 63-53 win. This game finishes the teams’ home-and-home series.

Tuesday, Jan. 6 at South Florida, Sun Dome, Tampa, 7 p.m.: Huskies stay in the Sunshine State for an AAC bout with USF and its new head coach Orlando Antigua, the former John Calipari assistant at Kentucky. Antigua should help Bulls on recruiting trail, but that won't do them much good this season.

Saturday, Jan. 10 vs. Cincinnati, 11 a.m.: Sean Kilpatrick (the guy who was peeved he lost out to Napier for AAC player of the year honors) and Justin Jackson are both gone, but Bearcats should play their usual tough defense and be solid once again.

Tuesday, Jan. 13 at Tulsa, Reynolds Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma: Huskies’ first-ever trip to Tulsa would’ve been more fun if Danny Manning were still head coach. But he bolted for Wake Forest, and instead former Missouri, Miami head man Frank Haith is at the helm. This could be a tough game for Huskies.

Saturday, Jan. 17 at Stanford, Maples Pavilion, Palo Alto, Calif.: Cardinal handed UConn its first loss of the season last year, 53-51 on Dec. 18 in Hartford, and wound up advancing to the Sweet 16.

Thursday, Jan. 22 vs. Central Florida, 7 p.m.: Knights have lost virtually everyone from last year’s team that went 4-14 in AAC, including all-league pick Isaiah Sykes. Could be a long season in Orlando. Incidentally, this will be only time the teams play this season.

Sunday, Jan. 25 vs. South Florida, noon: Anthony Collins, a preseason all-AAC pick who missed almost all of last year due to injury, should be back at the point for Bulls. Corey Allen, Jr. and Chris Perry are also decent returnees.

Thursday, Jan. 29 at Cincinnati, Fifth Third Arena, Cincinnati, 8 p.m.: Are the Bearcats UConn’s biggest rival in the AAC?

Sunday, Feb. 1 at Houston, Hofheinz Pavilion, Houston, 3 p.m.: Huskies return to site of their awful New Year’s Eve loss last season. Kelvin Sampson has taken over as head coach, but Ta’Shawn Thomas  (Oklahoma) and Danuel House (Texas A&M) have both transferred, leaving cupboard bare. Had those two stayed, Cougars may have been an NCAA tourney team. Now, they'll rely primarily on a bunch of JUCO's.

Wednesday, Feb. 4 vs. East Carolina, 7 p.m.: First meeting as league rivals between Huskies and Pirates. UConn actually holds a 3-1 all-time series lead, but haven’t played each other since 1978.

Saturday, Feb. 7 at Tulane, Devlin Fieldhouse, New Orleans, 6 p.m.: Green Wave will play most home games at 3,500-seat on-campus arena, but it’s possible this one could be switched to downtown arena where New Orleans Pelicans play.

Thursday, Feb. 12  vs. Tulsa, 7 p.m.: Don’t sleep on Tulsa, which went on a late-season surge and won the Conference USA tournament last season. Golden Hurricane is led by James Woodard, a do-everything guard who could warrant preseason all-AAC honors.

Saturday, Feb. 14 at SMU, Moody Coliseum, Dallas, 9 p.m.: An ESPN College GameDay presentation, should be a rowdy night. Mustangs could’ve been preseason top 15 if No. 1 national recruit Emmanuel Mudiay hadn’t bolted to play professionally in China, but they still might be the AAC favorites. After all, SMU did beat UConn both times they met last season.

Thursday, Feb. 19 at Memphis, FedExForum, Memphis, 9 p.m.: Huskies went a perfect 3-0 last year against Tigers, including twice at FedExForum – the latter game a 72-53 dismantling in an AAC tournament bout.

Sunday, Feb. 22 vs. Tulane, 4 p.m.: Green Wave return 90 percent of its offense from team that went .500 overall (17-17) and in C-USA (8-8).

Wednesday, Feb. 25 at East Carolina, Williams Arena, Greenville, North Carolina, 7 p.m.:  Four of five top scorers are back from team that went 17-17 overall.  However, top scorer Akeem Richmond is gone.

Sunday, March 1 vs. SMU, 2 p.m.: A CBS-televised affair, could be marquee game of AAC schedule. Despite no Mudiay, Mustangs have all-AAC standouts Nic Moore and Markus Kennedy back, along with talented Keith Frazier and Xavier transfer Justin Martin.

Thursday, March 5 vs. Memphis, 9 p.m.: Tigers lost Joe Jackson and other top guards to graduation, but may have league’s best frontcourt, led by all-AAC pick Shaq Goodwin and AAC rookie of the year Austin Nichols.

Saturday, March 7 at Temple, Liacouras Center, Philadelphia: Owls lost top scorer Dalton Pepper to graduation, top rebounder Anthony Lee to transfer (Ohio State). Could be another tough one for coach Fran Dunphy, who'll rely on whole slew of newcomers.

UConn and Duke will square off at the IZOD Center in New Jersey on Thursday, Dec. 18 at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday.

Here's the press release sent out by UConn:

The Duke Blue Devils will face the National Champion UConn Huskies December 18th at IZOD Center (Meadowlands Sports Complex) in East Rutherford, N.J. Game time is 8:00 pm (ET).

UConn and Duke have met just nine times on the basketball court with Duke leading the series 5-4, but the Huskies have won four of the last five. One of their most memorable games took place at the Meadowlands in the 1990 NCAA East Regional Final with Duke winning 79-78 in overtime. UConn defeated Duke, 77-74, to capture the 1999 National Championship and the Huskies nipped the Blue Devils, 79-78, in the 2004 National Semifinals on their way to their second national crown. UConn and Duke last met in the 2009 NIT Tip-Off Championship Game at Madison Square Garden which Duke won, 68-59. The Blue Devils are 20-1 all-time (10-0 in NCAA Tournament games) at the Meadowlands, while UConn is 12-8 at the venue, 1-1 in the 1990 NCAA East Regional and 11-7 vs. former Big East rival Seton Hall.

Tickets will go on sale Friday, June 20 at 10:00 am (ET) through Ticketmaster and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com<http://www.ticketmaster.com> or by phone at 800-745-3000. Tickets will be available at the IZOD Center Box Office beginning Monday, June 23 at 11:00 am. For more information, visit izodcenter.com<http://www.izodcenter.com>.

"We are excited to have the opportunity to play Connecticut at the IZOD Center next season," said Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. "We have a strong fan base in the New York / New Jersey area and I am sure Connecticut will have great fan support as well. It is always special to play in front of terrific crowds and it should be an outstanding game between two talented teams. Connecticut is obviously coming off a championship season and has excellent personnel returning. Coach Ollie has done a terrific job running the program and we look forward to the challenge."

Duke, coming off a 26-9 campaign last season, returns three players with extensive starting experience and seven letterwinners overall. Senior Quinn Cook and junior Rasheed Sulaimon provide a veteran presence in the backcourt, while Amile Jefferson is coming off a solid sophomore season in 2013-14. Cook and Sulaimon combined to average 21.5 points and 6.8 assists per game a year ago, while shooting 38.6 percent (108-of-280) from three-point range and 79.1 percent (163-of-206) from the charity stripe. Jefferson shot a team-best 64.4 percent (94-of-146) from the field and averaged 6.5 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Junior Marshall Plumlee (1.3 points / 2.2 rebounds per game) along with sophomores Matt Jones and Semi Ojeleye are prepared to take on larger roles this season after gaining valuable experience a year ago.

Duke's veteran group will be complimented in 2014-15 by the top ranked recruiting class in the country. Grayson Allen, Tyus Jones, Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow were each named to the McDonald's All-America team with all four players ranking among the top 35 recruits in the country by the Recruiting Services Consensus Index. Allen is a talented guard out of Florida that showcased his athleticism by winning the Powerade Jam Fest Dunk Contest. Jones, the top-rated point guard in the class, was a three-time Minnesota State Player of the Year and closed out his career with 2,909 points, 1,131 assists and 369 steals. Okafor, the No. 1 player overall by most recruiting outlets, was named the National High School Player of the Year after averaging 24.1 points and 11.3 rebounds while leading Whitney Young, to a 28-5 record and a 4A state title in Illinois. Winslow is a two-time Gatorade State Player of the Year out of Texas and one of the most versatile two-way players in the country. He averaged 27.5 points, 13.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.8 steals per game as a senior at Saint John's [Houston]. Jones, Okafor and Winslow also have extensive USA Basketball experience with each player winning a pair of gold medals as well as participating in the 2014 Nike Hoop Summit.

The UConn men's basketball team won the national championship in 2014 - its fourth since 1999. The Huskies began the tournament as a No. 7 seed and along their NCAA run beat a who's who of programs including Florida and Kentucky in the Final Four. The Huskies became the first no. 7 seed in the history of the NCAA tournament to win the national championship.

The 2014-15 Huskies will be led by senior guard Ryan Boatright, who was named to the NCAA All-Final Four team and averaged 12.1 points per game last year to go along with 3.4 assists. Junior Phil Nolan started 19 games last year - including all six in the NCAA tournament - returns at center. Junior guard Terrence Samuel, a Brooklyn product, scored 11 points in UConn's NCAA third round win vs. Villanova and showed great improvement as the season went on. Sophomore center Amida Brimah led UConn with 92 blocks and was named to the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie team.

The Huskies will be bolstered by the addition of former McDonald's All-American guard and North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year Rodney Purvis, eligible after sitting out last season following his transfer from North Carolina State. Purvis averaged 8.3 points and 2.4 rebounds for the Wolfpack in 35 games in 2012-13 and was an ACC Rookie of the Week selection. Also joining the Huskies will be freshman forward Daniel Hamilton, who averaged 20.5 points, 9 rebounds and 5.2 assists as he led St. John Bosco High to the California Division II state championship; Junior College First Team All-American Sam Cassell Jr., who averaged 18.7 points and 3.7 assists for Chipola College (Florida); and Rakim Lubin, the Georgia 3A Player of the Year, who averaged 20.2 points and 12.1 rebounds at Buford High School.

"We are very much looking forward to playing against Duke at the IZOD Center this December," said UConn head coach Kevin Ollie. "Our series against Duke includes some of the most exciting and most meaningful games in UConn basketball history and we have the utmost respect for Coach Krzyzewski and his program. Plus, it will be wonderful to return to the IZOD Center, where UConn has a long history. It not only gives our fans in the New York-New Jersey area a chance to watch us play, but is close enough to allow our great fans from Connecticut to come and support us."

Kevin Ollie will make $1.25 million this year, per his current contract. His base salary is $400,000, and he earns an extra $850,000 through public relations, consulting and media payments.

That’s about middle of the pack as far as college coaches go. It’s nowhere near Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, who’ll make more than $9.68 million this year. It’s also the lowest among this year’s Final Four coaches: Kentucky’s John Calipari will make over $5.5 million this year, Florida’s Billy Donvan will make $3.9 million and Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan will make $2.28 million.

Still, Ollie will make more than established coaches like Creighton’s Greg McDermott ($945,725), Gonzaga’s Mark Few ($1.18 million) and St. Joe’s Phil Martelli ($902,651). He’ll make less than Cincinnati’s Mick Cronin ($1.5 million) but more than Providence’s Ed Cooley ($783,518).

And consider this: it’s about the same as Steve Masiello was due to make on a five-year contract with USF before it was learned that Masiello lied on his resume. With that in mind, it’s fair to say that Ollie is actually underpaid.

And it seems like AD Warde Manuel intends to do something about it, telling several outlets he intends to sit down with Ollie after the season and likely re-work the current deal. Of course, Ollie has made himself a little extra money over the past few weeks with UConn’s NCAA tourney run.

Per his contract, Ollie receives one-month’s base salary ($33,333) for reaching the tournament, another month’s salary for reaching the Sweet Sixteen and another for advancing to the Final Four. If UConn wins the whole thing, Ollie gets two months’ salary.

He also gets a $10,000 bonus if the team earns an APR of 930 or more (sources say the team will have a perfect 1,000 APR for the 2012-13 season), and possibly $10,000 more if the team reaches a certain GPA standard. So that means Ollie has already made an extra $110,000 this year, and is two wins away from $66,666 more.

Elsewhere:

*** We've got a bunch of UConn special section stories on our website right now. Do check them out.

*** Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua accepted the job as South Florida's new head coach earlier in the week. He met with the media throng on Thursday, and was asked how unfortunate it is for him that USF is in the American Athletic Conference, not the Big East.

"I don't know, because the American Conference is pretty good. I don't know if you noticed but there's a team in the Final Four that plays in that conference. I think it's a great conference. It's not the old Big East, but that conference is no longer together. I just think you've got very competitive teams in the conference, and I'm excited about the challenge to see how we compete in it."

*** Here's the transcript, from ASAP Sports, of some of the questions Ollie, Donovan and Niels Giffey were asked at Thursday's press conference:

Q.  Kevin, did that win over Florida do anything special for your team?  Was that a turning point of any kind? 
COACH OLLIE:  No, we were playing good basketball before that win.  But we have so much respect for the program of Florida and how hard we have to play to get a victory like that.  It really helped going forward playing against a different scheme and playing against a pressure that they apply each and every play.  It really allowed our team to understand what level we have to play and compete to ultimately get to a Final Four. 
They have been on a great roll since that time in Storrs and we respect their program immensely.  For us now, it hasn't done anything.  Coming out with the victory, that's four months ago.  They had a different team.  We're a different team.  They had some players hurt at the time, now they're back in the rotation with Kasey Hill and Chris Walker now. 
So we're going to have to play at a level five.  We're going to have to play with the energy and passion and we're going to have to play together to hopefully continue to play on until Monday. 

Q.  For both coaches, the depth perception out there on the court a little bit different than it is normally in college basketball in the Arena because of its size and configuration.  Did both you guys feel that your players are adjusting to that depth perception problem that that court might give you? 
COACH OLLIE:  Yeah, same.  I really appreciate the NCAA giving us this opportunity.  Back in 2011 down in Houston, we didn't have a 90‑minute practice.  It was the open practice that we're going to have tomorrow and then the shoot‑around.  So this really allows our players to see the ball going in.  We always want to see that.  Just seeing them get used to and relaxed and shooting in a venue like this is a great opportunity for us. 

Q.  Kevin, would you share with us what it's been like to have your mother, with all she's been through, along for the ride with you and now here at the Final Four. 
COACH OLLIE:  Yeah, it was wonderful.  Yesterday she got cleared to fly and that was great news.  I have her back in Connecticut with me, she's been going through chemo with me at home.  And my wife has done a beautiful job taking care of her and being there when I was able to continue to do my job.  Just to see her get cleared, and she can come back home.  She lives in Plano here, and to come back home before her next surgery has just been a wonderful thing. 
It's going to be great to see her.  She wanted to come down to Madison Square Garden, but I was, like, No, save up your energy for the Final Four.
So it's great to have her come down and she's going to come down with my wife today. 

Q.  For both coaches, all four teams have terrific back courts.  Is that a reflection on the old saying that it's a guards' game and is that what it takes to get to this level? 
COACH OLLIE:  That's the word I believe in.  Filling your roles and having your identity and understanding when you get to this point, don't go off script.  Don't try to be something that you haven't been the whole season.  You definitely want to take advantage of different things and different matchups, but at the end of the day, you want to play hard and you want to play for each other. 
Shabazz will be the first person to tell you that he can't do it without his teammates.  He can't do it without Phillip Nolan setting a screen for him to come off a screen and roll and get a wide open look, wide open shot.  He can't get an outlet to start a fast‑break if Amida don't block a shot or get a crucial rebound like he did in the St. Joe's game where we were down by three and he got an and‑one. 
So we rely on the team.  It's not an individual.  But Shabazz is a great player, a great leader, and that's the one thing I see, he's an extension of me.  I asked him to do a lot.  Not only be a facilitator, but score out of necessity when we get down to the thick of the thing, the thick of a moment when he needs to make a play.  He does a great job of that.
But it's all about a team and he'll be the first one to say that.  He's a humble kid.  Ryan Boatright is a humble kid and they know how much they're able to do their job because of the other guys playing their role and doing it at a great place. 

Q.  Billy, what's it like to coach against a shot maker like Shabazz Napier when you know that you can maybe play the greatest defense in the world and he can just negate that sometimes.  Then for Kevin, what's it like to coach a guy like that? 
COACH DONOVAN:  Well, he's obviously a terrific player.  But I think that the other thing, too, you got to realize, and Kevin touched on this, there's two things:  One, they do a good job of their team filling roles.  He's really smart, he knows when to go, when to pass.  I think he understands the length and time of a game.  He's played a lot of minutes over his career.  He's been in big events and big venues. 
But I also think that Kevin really puts him in some very, very unique situations that he can do the things that he does.  Because he can beat you with drives, he can beat you with shots, he can beat you from behind the line, and he can also beat you passing the ball.  I think with the way UCONN runs their offense and the situations Kevin's put them in, it makes it even that much more difficult dealing with him.  Because you can run and just go trap him, but he's going to go find one of those guys, and you're going to leave someone open for a three.  You can try to cover the three and someone's going to be rolling to the basket.
So I think Kevin has done a great job with his team putting all those guys in position to really be successful and play at the level he's been able to play at. 

Q.  Kevin, Ryan was saying the other day that couple weeks ago you guys watched the Florida game again.  I was wondering when that was, what was your reason for showing it and what do you think that your team got out of it going on to this run? 
COACH OLLIE:  I really thought that they got at what level of intensity we got to play at.  It's been written, we showed it after the Louisville game, and they thought I was going to come in and show that tape. 
But I have so much respect for Florida and what they did throughout this whole year and being on this streak and the consistency.  That's what I love.  They play one way and one way, that's it.  They don't play another way.  They play hard, they play together, they are unselfish.  I just wanted our guys to see how we were rotating, how we were playing, how we were challenging them and that they can have that same experience again and play that same type of way. 
Florida's No. 1.  We competed at a high level against them.  Don't think that losing to Louisville that we all are going to stay here.  We're going to move on.  We're going to get better from it.  I think that through struggle, you get progression.  And that was a struggle for us. 
But if you don't stay there and you keep believing in yourself, that this might happen.  Guys believed that and we had the team I wanted to put it in.  It wasn't no big thing.  We just showed a couple plays and we got to work and we got back on the practice court and we let everything happen that was going to happen.  But we were going to build off of it. 
I think everybody was looking at the 33‑point loss as a problem.  We were looking at it as a possibility for us to get better as a team.  I think that's the kind of mindset that we have to overcome different distractions that we have been having, not the Louisville game, for two years now.  Being band, not being able to go to the post‑season last year.  They always had the next play mentality.  I think it's great for a team to always have that mindset that can you get better from any distraction and it's not going to stop you from your destiny as a team. 

Q.  Kevin, twice you've mentioned how in this game Saturday your guys are going to have to perform at level five.  I wondered if you would define level five. 
COACH OLLIE:  It's just a championship mentality.  It's playing together, playing unselfish, playing as five and not just one.  Because sometimes you get to this stage and you want to play as one and you want to go off and be an individual.  But that's not going to work. 
The whole of our team is better than the sums of its parts.  We know that.  The only way that we can get here and perform at the best possible way is for everybody to be focused in on us.  And that's our ultimate goal each and every day is, us.  How can we improve as a team.  Hopefully we can do that Saturday night. 

Q.  A question about DeAndre Daniels for both of you guys.  Billy, what have you seen from him in the past couple games that he really seems to have stepped it up and become an offensive force for them more so than earlier?  Kevin, was there a light that kind of went on with him recently?  He's really stepped it up in the past couple games. 
COACH DONOVAN:  I think that Kevin would probably answer more than I can.  I would say this:  We recruited DeAndre some coming out of high school.  I was always impressed with his length, his offensive ability.  It looked like earlier on, and Kevin can probably talk to more to it, just struggled to find his way.  I think he's probably come to grips with who he is as a player and how he needs to play and how Kevin wants him to play to impact his team. 
But to me, he's really become extremely versatile.  He posts up, he shoots threes, he's putting it on the floor, he can start the break, he passes, he rebounds, he's playing really hard for their team.  I think watching UCONN now and getting prepared for them in December, there's no question he's really continued to progress and grow. 

Q.  For both coaches, with all the talk happening in college football about a possible union that may be developing, I'm wondering as far as basketball is concerned, if you feel like players deserve more benefits than they're already getting. 
COACH DONOVAN:  I think the players do deserve more things.  There are certain things that I think are outdated and don't make sense in a lot of ways.  What those things are, should they be paid?  I don't know what it is.  But there needs to be more done for the student‑athletes, in my opinion. 
They make an incredible investment.  They obviously are generating a lot of dollars on college campuses, and I don't know what the solution is.  I do know that there needs to be a better way to take care of them in a way that maybe would not jeopardize or violate them being considered professionals.  I think there's ways that we can do that. 
The idea that a kid can't get a free hamburger somewhere, it doesn't make any sense to me.  What's the big deal?  How is that hurting anybody.  I get, Well, then it leads to this and this and this.  I get some of those thoughts.  But there's some common sense things I think that we can do to insure that from a normal student activity life they can have money in their pocket and be able to do things. 
COACH OLLIE:  For me, pretty much the same thing.  Just think the game has changed.  This venue has changed.  I remember when I was playing in college when we went to the tournament, we wasn't playing in venues like this.  Everything has changed and evolved and in some way, somehow, the student‑athlete, that dynamic has to evolve and change. 
Like I don't know which way is going to lead, but some way, somehow we're going to all make a sacrifice and get in a room and see how we can make a change for the student‑athlete.  Just like Billy said, not flying the parents up to see a game.  And they allow their kids to come to the University of Connecticut all the way from LosAngeles, California, which I came.  Some things like that has to change.  Hopefully we can do that.  Hopefully we can keep the integrity of the NCAA and the student‑athletes, but everything in life is always evolving.  I think we have to get to a point where it's evolving. 
I love to see the student‑athletes when they graduate have some kind of medical benefits or something out there to give them a leeway until they're able to get a secure job with health benefits.  Just something like that or along those lines I would like to see that happen. 

Q.  Niels, you're one of the few guys you, Shabazz, Tyler, that have actually been to a Final Four.  Does the atmosphere and all that goes into it, does that sort of equalize things?  Is everybody sort of as star struck, whether a senior, freshmen, sophomore, is it kind of hard to manage all that? 
NIELS GIFFEY:  It's kind of tough to manage these first days, just getting in here, taking care of the media.  You have to stay focused on what you got to done the court.  That's the most important thing, I think.  You can't be too impressed with everything that's going on, the gym, the different crowd that's going to be out there and all the attention that's focused on you. 
So just stay with your group as much as you can, stay with your teammates.  That's really what I'm trying to tell my younger guys that haven't been here before, just try to have fun, enjoy this moment as much as you can. 

Q.  For Niels and Scottie, there's so much attention paid on making it to the NBA.  How do you guys value just having a really great college career? 
NIELS GIFFEY:  I think it's interesting to see the different people, like Shabazz stayed for four years and he made that conscious decision to get his degree and wait for the next step for another year.  I think it's just a great opportunity to grow as a person and a player on a different level where it's not all about business, where it's not about money.  It's about family and getting together as a group. 
I think I had my personal experiences with the national team over the summer, and I talked to the guys and they told me all the time of stories, so I was really happy with all of the decisions that I made to play for four years and not go overseas. 
So it's just a great opportunity to build something at a university where you can always go back to.  You will always have that family and that basis.  I think that's why people should consider taking four years, getting their degree, and really making an impact on your university. 

Q.  For Scottie, what makes Shabazz so different and difficult to guard compared to some other point guards that you've guarded this season? 
SCOTTIE WILBEKIN:  I think that's his ability to pull up from anywhere and the quickness that he pulls up and with the efficiency that he makes difficult shots.  That's what makes him hard to guard.  He also has the ability to get in the lane with his quickness and his first step.  So just the different weapons that he has on offense is what makes it hard for him to be guarded. 

Q.  Scottie, wanted to ask you about Napier.  Can you relive the experience of that game.  I know you got hurt, too, and you lost and you watched him hit a winning shot.  How much does it means to you to get another crack at that defensive assignment? 
SCOTTIE WILBEKIN:  Well, I always like guarding guys that are challenging to guard.  But as far as getting another crack at playing them, it's really not about that at all.  I would be happy to play anybody in the Final Four, because I'm just happy to be here with an opportunity to advance. 
So they're a great team, they have obviously played great up until this point, so it's going to be a tough game for both of us.  Hopefully we'll come out with a lot of high energy and ready to play. 

Jim Calhoun's Charity Golf Classic was held Monday at The Golf Club of Avon, and it brought out plenty of sports celebrities.



Roy Williams, Billy Packer, Kevin Ollie, Scott Burrell, Sterling Sharpe, Mark Schlereth, Glen Miller, Karl Hobbs, Tom Moore, Travis Knight and Patrick Sellers were among those playing. Caught up with Williams for a few moments before he teed off, and here's what he had to say.

"We do go back a long ways. Jimmy and his staff from Northeastern came to visit with Coach (Dean) Smith when I was an assistant at North Carolina about 100 years ago, it seems like. I got to know him then, then followed his career. We've been great friends when I was at Kansas and at North Carolina. We did a tour of duty for USA Basketball in Argentina one time. I just wanted to come up here and honor him and help him do what he wants to do."

(on if Calhoun appears happy in retirement)

"You never know with Jimmy. I thought it would take a forklift to get him off that bench. I think it's great. He had health concerns, but right now he appears to be great. He still talks a different language. I can't understand most things he says, he can't understand most things that I say, so we're OK."

(on the job Ollie did this past season)

"I recruited Kevin when coaching at Kansas. Kevin really did a nice job. He's gonna be fine."

(on how Calhoun built a program from nothing to national prominence at UConn)

"I can't speak to it. I've been very fortunate. I've coached at Kansas and at North Carolina. When I got to Kansas, we were on probation, when I got to North Carolina, they had had some problems, lost 37 games the two previous years. But ... Jimmy came to Connecticut, people knew where the state was but they didn't know if they played basketball or not. The job he's done at Connecticut -- and he did well at Northeastern, too -- to put this program where it went, to win three national championships ... I can't even fathom what he did."

(on scheduling UConn in the future)

"I've played everybody. We played UConn my first two years at North Carolina, we played UConn while I was at Kansas. I'll schedule anybody and everybody."

*** Ollie remembers being recruited by Williams. He cancelled that a recruiting visit to Kansas back in the early 1990's, however, and took trips to UConn and Arizona instead. Kansas wound up with another pretty good point guard out of L.A.: Jacque Vaughn.

“He’s always been a great friend of mine," Ollie said of Williams. "When I got my first assistant coaching job, he was right there on the recruiting trails, helping me out. He’s always had a special place in my heart. Great coach, and I can learn a lot from him.”

*** Calhoun just had knee replacement surgery six weeks ago. He wanted to play the tournament, but wound up deciding to only hit shots from 150 yards and in, not wanting to put any extra torque on his new right knee. (Calhoun's no longer bow-legged with his right leg; his left still is).

Calhoun noted that it's the respect he gets from opposing coaches that he treasures as much as anything (he also dropped hints that John Thompson, Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski may have some sort of contributions to the Sept. 22 event at Gampel Pavilion that will honor Calhoun).

“I never try to get love from a lot of other coaches, I try to get respect," Calhoun said. "If you can get friendship, that’s great. I have a lot of respect for Roy Williams. I think he’d probably want that from me. You don’t go into this to make friends. You make friends with your players -- eventually -- but you go in to get respect from people that you respect. That’s the most important thing.”

Greetings from the XL Center, in advance of tonight's UConn-UNH game. Here's my gameday from today's Register on the game.

The Huskies are looking to go a perfect 3-0 vs. America East foes this season. And while UConn has already had some tougher-than-expected battles with teams from low-majors (Quinnipiac, Stony Brook) and could still have a couple more this season, this isn't likely to be one of them. The Wildcats have lost to Bryant (which did beat Boston College) and NJIT (which did nearly beat Providence) already this season.

Elsewhere, we've read a few places that Jim Boeheim wasn't a proponent of UConn joining the ACC, and we've heard from a pretty good source that this is true. Also hearing that Boeheim has, at least in the past, related these feelings to a certain Coach K, with whom he's good buddies as an assistant on Team USA, and that the Duke coach likely wasn't on UConn's side in joining the conference, either.

So this is a little of what UConn is up against.

Although I was at the UConn-Rutgers game Saturday night, I didn't see Jim Calhoun's interaction with DeAndre Daniels during a late-game timeout. Too busy tweeting and writing a game story.

I hadn't even heard of the alleged incident until a few days later, and didn't see the video until this evening. After watching it, there is no doubt in my mind that Calhoun hit Daniels. There is also no doubt in my mind that it is not a fireable offense, in the vein of Bob Knight or Woody Hayes. Or, you could argue, past incidents by Calhoun, as detailed in this column by the Courant's Jeff Jacobs that needed to be written.

Two or three years ago, I saw Calhoun hit Stanley Robinson in the abdomen with both (open) hands, out near the middle of the floor after callling a timeout. Really whacked him hard. A collective gasp could be heard from the first 10 or so rows behind UConn's bench. Nothing was made of it by any writer -- myself included. Maybe I should have, maybe not. Just Jim being Jim, y'know?

But there's no room for that. I don't even believe there's room for Calhoun's in-your-face screaming at Ryan Boatright the other night. We laugh about it, tweet about it, and the players usually seem to be able to brush it off pretty quickly. But there's no need to embarass an 18-year-old kid like that before 15,000 people and on national TV. Why? Because he made you look bad, Jim?

Calhoun is a tremendous coach, even a bit underrated (you rarely hear his name mentioned in the same breath as Coach K, Adolph Rupp, Bob Knight and Dean Smith, even though he's got more national titles than Smith and as many as Knight). Perhaps no one in the history of the sport has done a better job at building a program from nothing than Calhoun.

But there's no room for making physical contact with kids, no matter how innocuous it may seem.

I’m not a big Bob Huggins fan. I’ve seen him behave far too boorishly with the media over the years. Tries to be too much of a bully, if you ask me.

But there’s no denying he’s an excellent basketball coach, as evidenced by his 703 career wins. Which raises the question: Why doesn’t Huggy Bear get more respect as a coach?

I don’t recall much of any fanfare surrounding Huggins’ 700th win, achieved a few days before practice. Only 19 other coaches have won more games than him, and only three of them active – Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun. Huggins recently passed Denny Crum for 20th on the all-time list, but I remember Crum being a much bigger name in the coaching world than Huggins ever has been.

Then again, Crum won two national championships. Huggins has zero, with two trips to the Final Four and none to the national championship game.

Maybe I just answered my own question.

But here’s something else to consider: At age 58, Huggins would seem to have plenty of more years left as a coach. A lot could happen between now and then, of course, but if Huggins gets in 10 more years and averages 20 per year, we could be talking 900 wins – something only two coaches (Coach K and Bob Knight) have achieved to this point.

*** Bit of a different vantage point for me tonight, and from here on out, for games at the XL Center. Press seating has been scattered all about, with my seat moving from just a bit past midcourt across from the visitors’ bench to near the far corner, across from UConn’s bench. Not a bad vantage point. Certainly better than along the baseline, where we have to sit at Syracuse, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Pitt, DePaul, etc. Hard to get a good feel for the game from those seats.

There is no reason for you to care about where the media is sitting, of course, except for this: the reason for the move is that there are now high-priced, courtside seats for the well-heeled where much of press row used to be. More money into the program can only be good for UConn and its fans (if not so much for the media covering the game).

*** Celtics GM Danny Ainge is among the 11 NBA scouts/GM’s, etc. expected at tonight’s game.

When (if?) UConn and Syracuse square off tomorrow night, Jim Calhoun and Jim Boeheim will set a record for the most combined wins between two head coaches with 1,687. The prior mark of 1,665 was set in 2006 by Bob Knight and Eddie Sutton. Last season, Calhoun and Mike Krzyzewski totaled 1,647 in a game at Madison Square Garden.

A little more on tomorrow night's scheduled game:

Syracuse will look to avoid its first five-game losing streak in Boeheim’s 35 years at the helm. The 17th-ranked Orange, undefeated and ranked third in the nation just two short weeks ago, aren’t as fluid offensively and seem a bit slow in their traditional 2-3 zone, according to Calhoun. They’ve fallen to 18-4 overall and 5-4 in the Big East on this recent skid, which includes a baffling 22-point home loss to lowly Seton Hall.

But Calhoun also realizes that the Huskies will be facing a desperate team this evening – always a tough draw in the Big East.

“In this league, it always seems that desperate teams, especially ones as talented as Syracuse, come up with great efforts,” he noted.

*** The Huskies (17-3, 5-3) are also limping into the game a bit, on the heels of Saturday’s frustrating, double-overtime home loss to Louisville.

“It’s two teams coming off a loss, desperate for a win,” junior guard Kemba Walker pointed out. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to be an intense game.”

Walker is hoping to break out of a shooting slump that’s seen him hit just 32 percent (24-for-74) of his shots over the past four games. Finding holes in the Orange zone – particularly around the free throw line extended – could be one way to get his shooting touch back.

“I’ve just got to get to my comfort zone, my mid-range shot, just get back to that,” Walker said. “That’ll give me a little better rhythm for my (3-point shot). I’ve got to use screens better, I just can’t force up shots.”

Walker is 3-for-20 from 3-point land in his last three games.

*** Calhoun knows that Walker can snap out of his slump at any time. Similarly, he knows Syracuse can do the same.

“I think Syracuse is still one of the best teams in this league,” he said. “It’s possible for anybody to get on a role – and anybody, unfortunately, to get on a slide.”