Here's what Kevin Ollie and Jim Calhoun had to say about Ray Allen's announcement that he's retiring from the NBA:

OLLIE:

“I believe we are all well-aware of the tremendous impact that Ray has had, not only on the UConn basketball program, but on the game of basketball at its highest level. His skills on the court were obvious, but the daily work ethic he maintained in order to retain those skills for so long was truly inspiring.

“On a personal level for me, Ray has been a great teammate both at UConn and in the NBA and he continues to be an even better friend.

“I know he now enjoys being able to spend time with his wonderful family and with his second family at UConn as well. I wish him nothing but the best.”

CALHOUN:

“We have had many great players through the years, but Ray is probably the No. 1 name brand we’ve had. We, at UConn, can all be proud of what he accomplished here and the greatness that he achieved when he went on to the NBA.

“He is obviously a very special player and he’s also a very special person on and off the court.”

Kevin Ollie's golf tournament has now raised more than $1 million over the past 15 years to support people with disabilities in sports. Here's the press release:

Former UConn players (l. to r.) Donny Marshall, Kevin Ollie and Ray Allen.

The 2016 Kevin Ollie Charity Golf Classic presented by Walmart and PMR/Prime Materials Recovery, Inc. broke records and smiles on and off the course.

This is the 15th year of Kevin Ollie's involvement in the Tournament and with the $170,000 raised this year the Tournament has now donated more than $1 million to help support people with disabilities through sports.  For the first time, Foxwoods Resort Casino and Lake of Isles in North Stonington hosted the event.

"Our goal is help give every child a shot," Coach Ollie said.

But the event was not about playing golf—because every child deserves a shot.  For thirty years, Tournament proceeds have underwritten many programs and athletic events for athletes with disabilities on the world stage and weekend warriors, including Paralympic Gold Medalist Paul Nitz, Ivan Lendl’s Wheelchair Tennis Camp, Connecticut Sled Hockey, and The Miracle Field in West Hartford. Ollie is now building Kevin's Kourts, inclusive basketball courts throughout Connecticut.  Coach Ollie announced that he anticipates breaking ground this Fall in Waterbury on the second "Kevin's Kourt", with a previously announced grant from the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA).

Coach Ollie was joined by NBA star Ray Allen, Southern Connecticut State University Men's Basketball Head Basketball Coach Scott Burrell, TV Basketball Analyst Donny Marshall, NFL Legend Sterling Sharpe and UConn team mates and other former players.

Earlier in the weekend Coach Kevin Ollie and his UConn Coaching Staff hosted a clinic for 80 area Tribal youth at the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Community Center.

“It’s an honor to partner with the Kevin Ollie Charity Classic.  I’ve witnessed firsthand how inspiring and influential Kevin’s organization is in working with disabled youth,” says Rodney Butler, Chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation.  “These programs not only provide access to sports that help build confidence, but also helps kids establish valuable problem-solving and teamwork skills that they’ll use the rest of their lives.”

The Kevin Ollie Charity Classic also announced its annual 2016 Schamback Award Winner, Paige McCullouch-Casciano, a recreational therapist at Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Hospital who co-founded an adaptive rowing program in Hartford; and 2016 George McLaughlin Award Winner, 17 year old David Gelfand. Although born with Proximal Focal Femoral Defiency, missing the bones between his  hip and foot on his left side, David captains the Weston High School swim team.

As you likely already know, the Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game will be held on Friday, Aug. 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena. As an added twist this year, women's players will also join the fun in some co-ed competition.

Here's the press release:

Hall of Fame Coach Jim Calhoun is hosting an NBA sanctioned alumni all-star basketball game this summer – the Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game presented by Cigna – as part of the Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic.

Many of Coach Calhoun's greatest players will return for the eighth Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Basketball Game. NEW THIS YEAR, many of Connecticut's top women players also will join us for some coed competition. It will be a special night in Connecticut basketball history when stars from our national championship teams take the floor and compete against each other. 

Ray Allen, Kemba Walker, Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton, Caron Butler, Andre Drummond, Donyell Marshall, Khalid El-Amin, and Rudy Gay among others, have played in past charity games at Mohegan Sun. On the women's side, we have 2016 event commitments from Connecticut stars Nykesha Sales and Svetlana Abrosimova among others.

The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, Aug. 12. Proceeds from the game and the entire Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic will benefit The Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health.

“I'm excited about bringing many of the top men's and women's players from the Connecticut Basketball family together for this game for the first time this year. It should be a tremendous evening as we all reconnect with these stars and I know they look forward to gathering together and playing in front of their longtime fans. As important, I'm so pleased that proceeds from the game will go to fight America’s number #1 killer – heart disease,” said Calhoun.

Since 1999, the Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic has raised more than $8 million for cardiology research and life-saving care at The Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health.

Tickets are $12 to $25 and go on sale Friday, June 10th at 10:00AM. To purchase game tickets, call Ticketmaster at 800.345.7000, go to Ticketmaster.com, or visit the Mohegan Sun box office.

Alterique Gilbert suffered a separated left shoulder in Friday's Jordan Brand Classic national game, but it doesn't appear to be too serious.

Early in the game, Gilbert fell to the floor in pain after trying to swipe away a steal, gripping his left shoulder, and had to be taken off the court in a wheelchair at the Jordan Brand Classic national game.

Gilbert was taken to a local hospital, where X-Rays revealed a shoulder dislocation — something he’s suffered before.

“They say he’s fine,” offered Sharman White, Gilbert’s coach at Miller Grove High and also for on Friday night for the East Team. “It may take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to make sure it heals properly. He’s in good spirits.”

Gilbert suffered the dislocation when he tried to swipe the ball away from 6-foot-9 center Marques Bolden.

“(Bolden) had a good grip on it, so when he hit it, I think the vibration of it probably just knocked it out of place,” said White.

The coach added that the same thing happened to Gilbert a couple of years ago, “so he kind of knew exactly what had happened.”

Gilbert, a 6-1 point guard, is the centerpiece to a highly-touted UConn recruiting class.

“Y’all gonna really enjoy him up there," said White. "Phenomenal player, phenomenal kid. He affects winning, that’s what he does. He’s been a winner all his life, even before he got to Miller Grove. It’s almost sad that I’m not gonna be able to coach him again. I hated for this to happen, because this is our last ride together right here.”

“You’re gonna get an electrifying guard that can really affect winning in every single way.”

White said that Gilbert is like a hybrid of Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright.

"He can score like those guys, he can defend, but he can also run a team like I’ve seen Shabazz do. Whatever’s needed — he needs to score, manage, distribute, he can do that. You’ve got a great one.”

The coach added that Gilbert spoke with Ray Allen for about a half-hour earlier this week, and Allen was very impressed with the young man.

With the seconds winding down in UConn's 81-48 rout of Central Connecticut on Sunday afternoon, the 13,315 at XL Center started booing.

At first, it seemed the crowd was upset that former walk-on-turned-scholarship player Pat Lenehan wasn't going to get a shot off. Perhaps that was part of it, but the bulk of the booing more likely had to do with the fact that the Huskies weren't going to get to the 82-point mark.

Any time UConn scores 82 points in a game, you see, anyone with a ticket stub to the game can get a free order of wings at Buffalo Wild Wings. So, the 13,315 wound up a point short of free wings.

“I’ve never got booed like that, at the end of the game," Kevin Ollie noted. "I didn’t even know about the Buffalo Wild Wings. I’m like, ‘Man, they love Pat this much?’ So, next time, I’ll recognize that. That was on me.”

That's kind of the lead story off an otherwise routine blowout of Howie Dickenman's Blue Devils. Actually, there were others: Kentan Facey's first career triple-double, Omar Calhoun's season-high 11 points (including his first 3-pointer since Jan. 21 against Temple last season), five players in double figures and a 37-5 run between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second that turned it into a rout.

Here's some video, notes and quotes off the game:



*** Ray Allen spoke to the CCSU team in the locker room after the game. Allen, of course, played under Dickenman when Dickenman was Jim Calhoun's assistant at UConn.

"He spoke to the players for about 10 minutes, gave some very good comments and observations," said Dickenman. "Ray has always been one of my favorites, but then he’s everybody’s favorite. Our players applauded him and we thanked him for coming in.”

“You could hear a pin drop when Ray spoke.”

Dickenman shared this story of Allen, during a Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic game at Mohegan Sun Arena a few years back, when Dickenman was "coaching" Allen's team.

“We’re getting hammered about halfway through the first half. I’m gonna ‘talk to the team,’ OK? And Ray interrupts me. The nerve of him to interrupt the coach. And all he said was, ‘I’m sick and tired of this, we have to go out and fight. We’re not here to lay down.’ It was a very brief but motivational talk, and we went out and played much better. He’s such a competitor that he would take time to say that in the huddle. When Ray speaks, everyone listens.”

*** UConn is now 19-0 against former Calhoun assistants, including 3-0 against Dickenman at CCSU. The Huskies have never lost to the Blue Devils in 13 games.

*** Omar Calhoun:

"I'm starting to get my rhythm back. I'm starting to get healthy. I'm able to be more explosive at the rim, do more off the dribble .. It was definitely tough going through that and then another injury. It's good to have something going positive so I can go forward and keep growing from it ... It was definitely tough, but I'm a strong individual. I talked to Coach all the time and he said just work through it. He has my back. So as I keep working and getting healthier and healthier, it will be better every day."

*** Ryan Boatright apparently thought the boos at the end of the game were about Lenehan, as well, and didn't know about the Buffalo Wild Wings.

“I keep telling Pat, man, just shoot the ball! He’s such a good person and a good teammate. When K.O. says don’t jack the ball, he’s not gonna jack it. But when you get in with a minute left, you only have two possessions, probably -- just shoot the ball. It’s your senior year, he’s gonna put you in the next game, you know what I mean? But Pat is Pat, he’s not gonna take ill-advised shots.”

Rick Barnes spoke with the Connecticut media on a conference call Friday morning, in advance of Sunday's UConn-Texas battle at Gampel.

Here's some of what Barnes had to say:

(on how things have changed for the Longhorns with the loss of freshman point guard Isaiah Taylor, who broke his wrist last week and is out for a while)

“Not so much, with Javon (Felix) and DeMarcus Holland, they’be been here, they all do it a little bit different. We’ve tried to put a system in to help us when we have injuries, so it’s not built so much around one person. Isaiah's speed, his ability to get to the basket and create is a little different than how Javon does it. He moves the ball more than Isaiah ... The other night, DeMarcus did wonderful job running the system, staying in system. In terms of what we try to do, we haven’t changed that much."
(on what he thinks of UConn)

“You look at our team, we’re a big team, but we can play small if we have to. We’ve done a little bit of all of it. Look at our size, look at their guard play, perimeter play, we're gonna have to defend ball screens in halfcourt. We're gonna have to be able to guard the basketball. Ballscreen defense is very, very important. Handling their quickness, speed will be a major thing for us."

(on scheduling a tough non-conference slate each year)

"Dave Gavitt taught me a lot, and I'm very fortunate to have had him in my life. We played in the Big East tournament one year and he jumped on the bus and was riding back with us. I think at the time he was working with the (NCAA selection) committee. We're on the bus coming back, we had won a game in the Garden and were feeling pretty good. We were right on that bubble. Dave said to me, 'What are you prepared to tell your team if you don't get in the tournament.' I said, 'Are you telling me something I don't know or should know?' The next day, we didn't make the tournament."

"If you ever don't make it based on your non-league schedule, you have no one to blame but yourself. Since that day, we've tried to do that. There have been years I know we could've won more games. But playing against Connecticut, against Michigan State, North Carolina through the years, those games have helped us in more ways than you can imagine."

(his thoughts on Kevin Ollie)

"What I remember about him as a player: I was watching them on TV, they were in a tough game, and all I know is they inbounded the ball with eight, nine seconds on the clock and he took it the length of the floor, penetrated, drew the defense and kicked it out to Ray Allen, I think. Maybe it was Donny Marshall. I'm telling you, the very next game, we have a two-point lead, same situation I watched him just win a game. I said to Franklin Western, 'I know he's gonna push it,' and they did exactly what they did against the other tam. Franklin tried to stop him, he kicked it out and won the game."

(It should be noted that Barnes appears to have gotten the second half of the story wrong. Ollie made the last-second shot to beat PC in that game. I believe it was his only field goal of the game)

"Like all of Jim's teams back then, they fight, they compete. He was as a player the way he is as a coach. His personality, he's gonna compete and take care of business."

(on Daniel Hamilton, whose older brother, Jordan, played for Barnes at Texas)

"He's different, more athletic than Jordan. Just like Jordan, he's a competitor. He's gonna play. It'll be fun watching him grow. Kevin will do a great job with him. They're different players, Daniel and Jordan.

"I do remember on a home visit to Jordan, (Daniel) was on the top of the bunk bed, sleeping. Everybody told me he's gonna be a good one."

Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) will air the broadcast premiere of the new documentary Born to Lead: Jim Calhoun on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 8 p.m. This film provides a unique look at the life and career of Jim Calhoun, whose powerhouse coaching legacy includes 26 years spent as head coach of the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team. Encore presentations of the film will air throughout the month on CPTV and CPTV Sports, CPTV’s 24/7 local sports channel.

Calhoun has come to be thought of as one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history, having led his UConn players to three NCAA titles in 12 years and making the UConn men’s basketball program one of the most accomplished in the country in the process. Calhoun’s leadership style, motivational tactics and run-ins with the media are the stuff of legend, as is the tough-love commitment he showed to his players. This new film explores his larger-than-life persona, but also provides insight into a softer side of the former coach not often seen by fans, and explores his past with archival materials never before shared with the public.

Born to Lead: Jim Calhoun features 70 percent original material, including interviews with more than 30 members of Calhoun’s “inner circle” — from Kevin Ollie, who succeeded Calhoun upon his retirement in 2012, to Ray Allen and Ben Gordon, former UConn players who went on to achieve professional basketball success.

The film also includes footage of Calhoun being honored at the 2005 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony; a tour of Madison Square Garden with Calhoun, who reflects on the greatest shots in Big East history from the spots on the court where they took place; and much more!

Produced and directed by six-time Emmy Award winner Chris Martens and co-produced by screenwriter, producer and award-winning writer L.C. Cragg, Born to Lead: Jim Calhoun tells a story of underdog determination, human compassion and one very unique three-time NCAA champion.

Nobody got hurt, thank God, and it appears to have been a youthful mistake by a bunch of Florida teens. So we can make light -- a little -- of this story about six Florida teens who walked into Ray Allen's home the other night, apparently thinking Allen had moved and the house was abandoned. Only Allen hadn't moved, and his wife and kids were in the home when they heard the kids entering and talking in the house. Allen wasn't home at the time.

Again, it appears to be a youthful indiscretion, no harm, no foul. Could have been a lot worse, of course.

You've seen Ray Allen play basketball. Heck, you could have seen him Friday night at the Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game at Mohegan Sun Arena.

You may have seen Allen play golf, too. President Obama did over the weekend at Martha's Vineyard. Allen was back at it again as Calhoun's charity weekend concluded on Monday with a golf outing at The Golf Club of Avon.

Here's Allen at the long drive contest:



And here's our story on Allen from Monday's event, where he talks about his round with the President, as well as his future plans regarding basketball.

*** Meanwhile, here's a look at UConn's non-conference schedule. (Times and sites haven't fully been determined yet):

NOVEMBER

Tues 4 SOUTHERN CONN. STATE UNIVERSITY (exhibition)
Sun 9 ASSUMPTION COLLEGE (exhibition)
Fri 14 BRYANT
Thu-Sun, 20-23 Puerto Rico Tip-Off San Juan, P.R.
Thu 20 vs. College of Charleston ESPNU Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, P.R. 2:30 pm
Fri 21 vs. Dayton/Texas A&M ESPNU Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, P.R.
Sun 23 vs. TBD ESPN Networks Coliseo Roberto Clemente, San Juan, P.R.
Sun 30 TEXAS ESPN2  noon

DECEMBER

Fri 5 YALE
Sun 14 COPPIN STATE
Thu 18 vs. Duke ESPN IZOD Center, E. Rutherford, N.J. 8 pm
Mon 22 COLUMBIA
Sun 28 CENTRAL CONNECTICUT

JANUARY

Sat 3 at Florida TBA O’Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Sat 17 at Stanford TBA Maples Pavilion, Palo Alto, Calif.

MARCH

Thu-Sun 12-15 American Athletic Championship ESPN Network XL Center, Hartford, Conn.

*** Finally, we can confirm to you (we have sources) that UConn will be picked to finish second in the American Athletic Conference this season by Lindy's magazine. SMU will be tabbed for first place.

It's very debatable, but not entirely unfair. SMU may have lost out on Emmanuel Mudiay, but the Mustangs have Nic Moore, Markus Kennedy and Keith Frazier among their talented returnees, along with Xavier transfer Justin Martin. And, of course, SMU did beat UConn twice last season.

Of course, the Mustangs didn't even get an invite to the NCAA tournament (they wound up advancing to the NIT finals). UConn won the national championship. So there's that.

Ray Allen, Kemba Walker, Andre Drummond, Ben Gordon and Rudy Gay are among the former UConn greats expected to participate in the seventh Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game on Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Other likely participants: Richard Hamilton, Caron Butler, DeAndre Daniels, Khalid El-Amin, Donyell Marshall, Donny Marshall, Charlie Villanueva, Scott Burrell, Taliek Brown, A.J. Price, Jerome Dyson, Stanley Robinson, John Gwynn, Lyman DePriest and Rod Sellers. Shabazz Napier is a "hopeful" at this point, we're told.

Howie Dickenman will coach one team and Tom Moore will coach the other. Kevin Ollie won't play, but instead will help assist Dickenman's team. Jim Calhoun, of course, will be there, as well (provided he doesn't take any bike rides earlier in the day). Typically, he floats around to both benches during the game.

Players on all four of UConn's national championship teams will be represented. Also in the house will be the four national championship trophies, on display up on the concourse.

The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Ticket are $12 to $25 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster at 800-345-7000, at Ticketmaster.com, or at the Mohegan Sun box office. All proceeds will benefit the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health. Since 1999, the game has raised more than $6.5 million for cardiology research and life-saving care.

Ray Allen, Kemba Walker, Rip Hamilton, Rudy Gay and Shabazz Napier are among the former UConn stars expected to play at this year's Jim Calhoun Charity Classic game on Aug. 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Also expected to be in attendance are: Ben Gordon, DeAndre Daniels, Jeremy Lamb, Donyell Marshall, Donny Marshall, Charlie Villanueva, A.J. Price, Jeff Adrien, Taliek Brown and Scott Burrell.

The annual Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game will be held on Friday, Aug. 8 at Mohegan Sun Arena. Many of the stars from UConn's national championship teams are expected to attend, including Ray Allen, Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier. The only marquee name that might not be able to play as of now is Emeka Okafor, who is dealing with a neck injury.

Here's the press release:

NCAA Champion and Hall of Fame Coach Jim Calhoun is hosting an NBA sanctioned alumni all-star basketball game this summer – the Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game presented by Milestone Wines – as part of the Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic.

Many of Coach Calhoun's greatest players will return for the seventh Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Basketball Game. It will be a special night in Connecticut basketball history when stars from four national championship teams take the floor and compete against each other. Ray Allen, Kemba Walker, Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton, Caron Butler, Kevin Ollie, Donyell Marshall, Khalid El-Amin, Doron Sheffer, and Rudy Gay among others, have played in past charity games at Mohegan Sun.

The game will be played at 7:30PM at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, August 8, 2014. Proceeds from the game and the entire Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic will benefit The Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health.

“Once again, I'm excited about bringing the Connecticut Basketball family back together for this game. It is a great way for me to reconnect with many of my former players, and I know they look forward to gathering together and playing in front of their longtime fans. As important, I'm so pleased that proceeds from the game will go to fight America’s number #1 killer – heart disease,” said Basketball Hall of Famer and Three-Time National Champion Collegiate Coach Jim Calhoun.

Since 1999, the Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic has raised more than $6.5 million for cardiology research and life-saving care at The Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health.

The charity game’s title sponsor is Mohegan Sun and it is presented by Milestone Wines in association with XFINITY.

Tickets are $12 to $25 and go on sale Friday, June 13th at 10:00AM. To purchase game tickets, call Ticketmaster at800.345.7000, go to Ticketmaster.com, or visit the Mohegan Sun Box Office.

For more information about the 2014 Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Basketball Game presented by Milestone Wines and the Mohegan Sun / Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic, please call the event’s organizers, Gold, Orluk & Partners, at 860.674.1500 or visit the event website at www.calhounallstargame.com.

Spoke briefly with Sam Cassell, Jr., who committed to UConn today, while he was in between classes down at Chipola College. He said his visit to UConn the weekend of Sept. 21 (attending the Michigan game, etc.) was what made him want to be a Husky.

“When I went on my visit, I just felt at home," he said. "It felt like the place for me.”

Seeing so many ex-players return that weekend for Jim Calhoun's tribute dinner (Rudy Gay, Ray Allen, Kemba Walker, etc.) opened his eyes, too.

“That was great, to see a lot of players come back.”

UConn sees Cassell, Jr. as a point guard, but he's an excellent scorer off the ball, as well.

"I think I can fit in great," he said. "I know if I want to make money playing basketball, I've got to be a point guard. Coach Ollie said I'll be in a lot of point guard situations, but whatever guard gets (the ball), go. Up-and-down, fast-paced."

 

Cassell, Jr.'s dad, of course, made a lot of money playing basketball, spending 16 seasons in the NBA and winning three titles (two with Houston and one, in 2008, with the Celtics in his final year).

Cassell was a teammate of Ollie's for a year-and-a-half with Milwaukee, and dad had good words for his son regarding the UConn coach.

"He definitely spoke highly of him," Cassell, Jr. noted. "They played together, so he knows him. Me having a good relationship with my dad, Coach Ollie having a good relationship with my dad, that's big."

Cassell, Jr. said that "everything is good" with his academics down at Chipola. In fact, the reason he didn't play basketball last season at the junior college was to concentrate on his grades.

Tyler Olander pleaded guilty to operating without a license Monday morning at Rockville Superior Court, but the more serious charge of driving under the influence of alcohol was dropped.

Olander was arrested on Sept. 7 on Route 195 in Mansfield, just north of North Eagleville Road, after a police officer witnessed Olander's vehicle making "several jerky steering maneuvers within the lane of travel," according to state attorney Cynthia Baer.

Olander failed a field sobriety test, according to a police report, but subsequently took two breath tests and was under the legal limit of .08 both times.

"The science was on our side," said Olander's attorney, Rob Britt. "We're happy the state reviewed the science in the matter, because we believed it was on our side."

Olander does not have a driver's license, however, so he paid a $75 fine for operating without a license on Monday. He had been indefinitely suspended from the UConn men's basketball team after the incident, and now hopes he'll be able to rejoin the team.

"That's my goal, and God willing, I'll be back," he said. "I hope people don't see these past incidents as a reflection of who I am. I hope they see me as a good kid that just made some mistakes, as everybody does."

Olander was at a special tribute to Jim Calhoun at Gampel Pavilion on Sunday night, seated at a dinner table with his fellow teammates.

Speaking of the Calhoun tribute, it really was a nice ceremony. Every ex-player who went up to talk about Calhoun (Ray Allen, Rudy Gay, Ben Gordon, Richard Hamilton, Kemba Walker, Kevin Ollie, Glen Miller, Kevin Freeman, Donny Marshall, A.J. Price ... everyone) spoke eloquently. Really, everyone was better than I expected.

Baseball coach Jim Penders delivered a terrific speech (as a last-minute replacement). Only complaint for me was that, as well as everyone spoke, they were all too long! How long? Festivities ran about two hours past schedule. Or put it this way: Calhoun's speech at the end of the night was one of the shortest.

As great a night as it was, and as much as a testament it was to the truly remarkable bond that unites just about all UConn basketball players and coaches, past and present, it's impossible to ignore the very public rift in the UConn hoops family currently going on in the Tate George case.

Meanwhile, here's a Connecticut magazine feature piece on Kevin Ollie.

Some notes and quotes from a special tribute to Jim Calhoun held at Gampel Pavilion Sunday night:

*** Among those who attended were Ray Allen, Ben Gordon, Kemba Walker, Rudy Gay, Donyell Marshall, Donny Marshall, Andre Drummond, Hasheem Thabeet, Jeremy Lamb, Scott Burrell, Jeff Adrien, A.J. Price, Stanley Robinson, Kevin Ollie, Andre LaFleur, Patrick Sellers, Glen Miller, Karl Hobbs, Tom Moore, Steve Pikiell and Eric Hayward. I’m sure I missed a few – more than a few. Gov. Dannel Malloy was there, too. As were the members of this year's UConn team (including Tyler Olander), Warde Manuel, George Blaney, Dee Rowe … you get the point. A tremendous outpouring of support for Calhoun.

*** There will be busts of Calhoun and Geno Auriemma inside the new practice facility.

*** It was also announced on Sunday that Stadium Road on campus will now forever be known as Jim Calhoun Way.

*** Some of what Calhoun had to say before the program:

“It’s an incredibly emotional thing for me, personally. Telling A.J. ‘Congratulations on the birth of your daughter.’ Jeff just got his contract. A long, long time ago, I said I wanted to get into coaching to hopefully affect some people’s lives. They’ve affected mine, I know for sure. I knew it would be an emotional day, but when I see them, it just does something to me, certainly.”

“It’s an incredible bond that never gets broken. As long as they’re fair with you and you’re fair with them, and they had my back, and I had their back … people always say, ‘Coach, you’re too tough on those guys.’ It’s because I love them. I suffer when A.J. didn’t do well, Scottie, Ray, whoever it may be. I jumped out of my chair this year when Ray hit the big 3-pointer for the Miami Heat. Those things don’t change.”

(on the state of the UConn program)

“I think it’s in very good shape. I never had any questions with the guy I wanted to be the coach. I think he’s done an incredible job, and he’ll continue to do an incredible job. The kind of support we had … I was thinking last night, how special the game was – not necessarily the game, per se, but the atmosphere. We used to have basketball games like that at the Civic Center, 16,000. We need to have that, and we will have that.”

*** Ray Allen a great story that defined how the bond among UConn players is built.

“One of the things that I always think about is Eric Hayward. He comes to mind a lot when I talk about our bond that we share. We used to start practice every year in the field house. The trash can was over in the corner, and it was over in the corner for one person. They said, at some point, Eric Hayward’s gonna throw up in the trash can. I was like, ‘Somebody throws up during practice?’”

“Over the course of that year, we’d run suicides we had to be at the line in 28 seconds. Early in the year, Eric never made it. Every time he didn’t make it, we’d have to run again. Coach didn’t care, he didn’t have any sympathy for us. It got to the point where we started running over to Eric, watching him and making sure we did what we had to do to get him over that line in 28 seconds. That was a moment where I saw true growth and I understood what Coach was doing. As much as, at that moment, we didn’t particularly like Coach, it created that bond and got us together. In order for us to grow into a team and be a unit, we had to help Eric get to the point where he could beat this suicide in 28 seconds. Once we got him over that line, it was like we had a sense of accomplishment.”

*** Of course, there’s been a rift in that UConn bond recently in the case of Tate George, who’s on trial for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme that bilked clients out of millions. Among them, apparently, is Charlie Villanueva.

Asked about George, Calhoun simply stated: “I haven’t talked to Tate in five years.”

Burrell on the situation:

“It’s very sad to see it happen. You don’t know if he’s innocent, guilty until the trial … It’s sad to be in that situation. The last time I saw him, he said it wasn’t true. He sent an email to a lot of us saying it wasn’t true. So, we’ll see what happens.”

*** Sticks says he’s heading to Canada in a few weeks to play professionally for the Moncton Miracles of the National Basketball League of Canada.

Here’s Sticks talking about Calhoun as a “father figure”:

As you prepare to get on your New Year's Eve buzz, remember that there will be no Buzz to UConn's Big East opener tonight at Marquette (8 p.m., ESPNU).

Marquette coach Buzz Williams will be serving a school-imposed, one-game suspension for a recruiting violation the program self-reported over the summer, per the Journal-Sentinel's Michael Hunt. Williams wound up firing an assistant for the violation.

Williams, who can't have contact with his team either Monday or Tuesday, did have this to say about UConn: "I think they're extremely fast. Like, really, really, really fast. They pressure you defensively, put pressure on you offensively because of their speed ... We'll have our hands full, but we can't make it into a track meet because we'll lose. We have to handle their speed. We have to make them guard us inside."

No word yet on who'll coach the Golden Eagles. It's possible former DePaul head man Jerry Wainwright could take the reins.

*** Tuesday's game will be a homecoming for UConn freshman Phil Nolan, a Milwaukee native. It's a sort of homecoming, as well, for Kevin Ollie, who spent much of the 2002-03 season playing for the Bucks.

In fact, as I explain in this feature story I did on Nolan back in June, it was the friendship that Ollie had with Trevor Trimble, stepfather of one of Nolan's good basketball buddies, that helped lead Nolan to UConn.

Nolan told me over the summer that Marquette offered him a scholarship back after his sophomore year in high school, but ultimately the school was "a little too close to home."


But, he added: "There weren't a lot of people from the inner-city who were Marquette fans. It wasn't like Marquette was like UConn is."

*** Although Ollie only spent about half a season with the Bucks before being traded (with Ray Allen) to Seattle, he made plenty of friends in his relatively short time here (not surprisingly). That was evident when the bellman at the team's hotel, the Phister, greeted him with a hug as the team arrived.

In fact, Ollie said he lived at the hotel for about a month-and-a-half -- wisely choosing not to setttle down and buy a home in the area. Eleven different teams in 13 seasons will do that to you.

*** Ryan Boatright is a native of Chicago, which is about 90 minutes down the road from Milwaukee. He'll have plenty of friends and family at the game, too.

"When we travel," he said, "we travel in packs."

*** Tomorrow will be UConn's first true road game -- obviously the first ever for freshmen like Omar Calhoun and Nolan.


Added Ollie: “It’s all about growing. You grow in life. This is going to be another growing step for us. I want to see how they respond, of course, I want to see how I respond, our coaching staff response. It’s just going to be a good test … in one of the most hostile environments that we have in the Big East.”

*** Ollie likes the improvement he's been seeing lately from Nolan.

“I’m seeing the consistency now. He’s working, not only the two hours I have him in practice, but he’s grabbing Coach Miller and myself and asking the different nuances of the game and how can I get better. He’s willing to ask for feedback, and I think that’s a great thing for a young player. Instead of just getting in a shell and saying, ‘I’m not playing,’ he’s not doing that. He’s saying, ‘What do I need to do to get on the court, Coach?’ I keep telling him to rebound. That’s what he’s going to continue to do. I’ve seen him start to hit people first in the minutes that he’s got.”

Greetings from Gampel, where things really start to kick into gear now for the UConn men's basketball team.

Over the next 2 1/2 weeks, the Huskies will play seven games (two of them exhibitions) on two different continents, two countries and a U.S. territory.

The Huskies play American International College Thursday at 7 p.m. in an exhibition at Gampel, the first time someone not named Jim Calhoun is at the helm since March 5, 1986. Then, they play UMass-Lowell on Sumday at 1 in Hartford. On Tuesday, the Huskies bus down to New York City and fly to Frankfurt, Germany, for their showdown with Michigan State in the Armed Forces Classic on Friday. On Saturday at 1 p.m. local time, UConn flies out of Germany for a nine-hour flight back to NYC.

On Tuesday, Nov. 13, UConn hosts Vermont in its first regular-season game at Gampel. The following day, the Huskies jet down to the U.S. Virgin Islands for three games in four days.

Phew! Get tired just writing that.

It's a lot of basketball for this bunch, and don't be surprised if they're dragging by those final couple of games in the Paradise Jam. But it certainly kicks Kevin Ollie's coaching careeer into high gear from the start.

One interesting caveat to the Paradise Jam: there is talk of a certain Jim Calhoun joining Joe D'Ambrosio as color man for the games. Calhoun will be going to both Germany and the Virgin Isles, and since Joe D's longtime radio partner Wayne Norman will be back in the States for UConn football, he may need some help with the radio broadcast.

Calhoun certainly would be an interesting and entertaining choice, but don't hold me to it: it's all very, very preliminary.

*** Elsewhere, Enosch Wolf is participating in non-contact drills only today and won't play in tomorrow night's exhibition. However, he is expected to practice fully on Saturday and play in Sunday's exhibition.

And, here's Dan Shaughnessy's take on Kevin Garnett's cold shoulder to Ray Allen last night in Miami.

Although Jim Calhoun wasn't able to attend the event due to a broken hip suffered in a bike accident earlier in the day, there was still plenty of fun and action at Saturday night's charity all-star game. Here's some video evidence:

Kemba Walker, Ray Allen introduced to the crowd; MVP Walker drains a 3-pointer; Big Ed Nelson blows a dunk; Rudy Gay finds Edmund Saunders for a nice reverse layup:



Hasheem Thabeet and Rudy Gay mess around prior to the game; Kemba talks about how special UConn will always be to him; Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton shoot the breeze:

A reminder that the Mohegan Sun/Jim Calhoun Charity All-Star Game will be held Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Mohegan Sun Arena. Many of the top UConn stars of the past (Kemba Walker, Ray Allen, Rudy Gay, Jeremy Lamb, Hasheem Thabeet, etc.) are expected to be there.

Here's a little feature I did on Jerome Dyson, who's now a Phoenix Sun. He'll be at the game, too.



And remember, you can get autographs from most of the players once the game is over.

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.