Here's what Jim Calhoun had to say about Scott Burrell being hired as the new head basketball coach at Southern Connecticut State:

"I think it's ideal, the fact that he was maybe the greatest athlete in the history of the New Haven-area school system."

"Like a lot of young guys, he probably needed to get a head job. I think at Southern Connecticut, his mom and dad graduated from there, so that makes it more special. I think he's ready. He and I talked a great deal about this over the years. There was a point where he wanted to get into coaching. Tommy (Moore) and I talked about hiring him, and he's moved on. He's done a good job there. I've watched him practice probably three or four practices a year at Quinnipiac, he does a great job at practice. I think he'll do a good job recruiting-wise, he's smart. A head coaching job is a head coaching job."

(did he see this day coming when Burrell played for him at UConn?)

"I never thought Scott Burrell would ever coach. Because then someone else would have to coach Scott Burrell. That was my joke to him. He was a typical 'boys of summer' -- he just wanted to play. He loved practices for the scrimmages. The drills, not so much. Watching him in the dugout when he wasn't pitching one day, he couldn't sit still ... Just a great kid, one of the best kids you're gonna find. He's kind of a throwback in many ways."

(does he have what it takes -- work ethic, etc. -- to be a head coach?)

"This isn't something that just came about. He started thinking about this four or five years ago ... Scott Burrell is ready for this job, he'll do a great job. We talked yesterday. We talked about this for the past few months, we've talked about a couple of things the past year or two."

"Taliek Brown is the next guy I'd love to see get into college coaching, because he's done a good job in high school ... He's trying to. We've talked a lot. He's been up to camp working. He's a great teacher. I always say the best (leaders) I ever had were 1. Kemba Walker and maybe 1a. or 2., would have to be Taliek. They played with great joy."

Calhoun also noted that he'll be back with ESPN this season and is talking about doing a lot more games -- and a lot of big-time games -- with Rece Davis and the gang.

It's official: UConn's game atNo. 25  SMU on Saturday, Feb. 14 will be an ESPN College GameDay presentation.

First-year College GameDay Covered by State Farm analysts Seth Greenberg and Jay Williams will join host Rece Davis onsite. Dave O'Brien and Doris Burke will call the game.

Dan Shulman, Jay Bilas and reporter Shannon Spake will have the call of No. 4 Duke at Syracuse at 6:15 p.m. on ESPN, and Bilas will contribute to the GameDay telecasts from the Carrier Dome.

GameDay’s first hour begins at 10 a.m. on ESPNU, continuing live at 11 a.m. on ESPN, plus an evening edition from Dallas leading into the primetime game on ESPN, following the Duke-Syracuse game.

While it was reported months ago that UConn-SMU would be a GameDay feature, ESPN has reserved the right to switch during the season per its flexible scheduling. But the network apparently was content with the defending national champ playing probably the best team in its conference, before a rowdy crowd on Saturday night.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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