Jim Calhoun to have back surgery, miss at least 2 more games
Feb 22, 2012, 2:12 PM EDT
Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun won’t be back on the sideline in the next week. But the rest of the season remains a possibility.
Calhoun, 69, will have back surgery Monday for his spinal stenosis, the school announced Wednesday. That rules him out for Saturday’s home game against Syracuse and Tuesday’s trip to Providence as he prepares and then recovers from surgery.
His return will be evaluated on a daily basis after that.
“I’m glad we have finally determined the best course of treatment to deal with the problem,” Calhoun said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to having the procedure done, hopefully recovering as quickly as possible, and putting it all in the past.”
The Huskies – coming off perhaps their biggest win of the season – are 17-10 overall and 7-8 in the Big East. They’re flirting with the NCAA tournament bubble, but can help themselves with wins at Providence in their regular-season finale vs. Pitt on March. 3.
Calhoun could conceivably be back on the sideline when the Big East Tournament begins on March 6, but given that he’s been on medical leave since Feb. 3, the odds of him returning seem slim.
And that extends beyond just this season.
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Niagara’s Joe Mihalich adds two fellow Philadelphians to roster
May 31, 2012, 11:14 PM EDT
With a team that had just one senior and three juniors, Niagara was expected to have a tough time navigating the 2011-12 season. But while the Purple Eagles did go 14-19 overall and 8-10 in the MAAC there were positives, most notably MAAC Rookie of the Year Juan’Ya Green (17.7 ppg, 4.5 apg), classmates Antoine…
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Coastal Carolina to host next three Big South tournaments
May 31, 2012, 10:25 PM EDT
Coastal Carolina, which will open a new arena this coming season, received some good news from the Big South on Thursday as the league awarded the school the right to host the next three men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The Student Recreation and Convocation Center is due to open in the fall, and the building…
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Louisville to host Richard Pitino’s FIU squad on December 19th
May 31, 2012, 9:30 PM EDT
Rick Pitino has had many opportunities throughout his coaching career to coach against former assistants and/or former players, most recently beating Billy Donovan in the West regional final in March. But on December 19th he’ll coach against his son for the first time, as Richard’s FIU squad will visit the KFC Yum! Center. To say…
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Louisville is coming off of a season where they won the Big East tournament and made a run all the way to the Final Four. They are heading into a season where they will be a consensus top three team when the official preseason polls are released. In other words, there probably aren’t three programs…
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Time to say farewell to the much-maligned Mtn. Sports Network
May 31, 2012, 6:30 PM EDT
There was no shortage of opinions when it came to The Mtn. Sports Network, which came about due to the Mountain West’s quest for greater exposure for its member schools. While many (myself included) joked about things such as the lack of high-definition broadcasts, The Mtn. was something that few conferences had considered doing in…
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UCLA to host Indiana State in November to open newly renovated Pauley Pavilion
May 31, 2012, 3:41 PM EDT
UCLA will debut its revamped roster and newly renovated stadium with a season opener on Nov. 9 against Indiana State, the Associated Press is reporting. The Bruins’ historic Pauley Pavilion has undergone $136 million renovations in recent months, including new locker rooms, concession stands, and video boards. The decision to play Indiana State is a…
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Penn assistant Mike Martin to be named head coach at Brown
May 31, 2012, 2:18 PM EDT
Nearly three months after firing head coach Jesse Agel, Brown has hired Penn assistant Mike Martin to fill the vacancy, the school announced Thursday afternoon. A press conference is scheduled for Friday. Martin is a 2004 graduate of Brown, having started for four seasons at the school as part of the winningest class in the…
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Coach K viewing Andre Dawkins ‘more as a redshirt situation’, No decision until fall
May 31, 2012, 12:24 PM EDT
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The last few months have brought a good deal of speculation about the future of Duke guard Andre Dawkins, ranging anywhere from rumors that he was to be kicked off the team to the notion that he would redshirt. On Wednesday, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told the Associated Press that “Andre’s situation, right now we’re…
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Top-100 prospect Jalen James reportedly decommits from Illinois
May 31, 2012, 11:05 AM EDT
Jalen James, a 2013 guard and native of Chicago. Ill., has decommitted from Illinois, Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com is reporting. The 6-3, 175-pound guard had been committed to the Fighting Illini for over a year, even following the firing of coach Bruce Weber, but now felt it was time to part ways. “Jalen James will…
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Charlotte has picked up a late addition to its 2012 recruiting class, adding graduate transfer JT Thompson from Virginia Tech, the school has announced. Thompson has sat out the past two seasons with injuries, having worked back from major surgery on both knees. He last played in 2009-10, when he averaged 7.3 points and 4.6…
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AP
Florida coach Billy Donovan is no stranger to transfers. He’s had six players transfer since 2008, some of them talented (Jai Lucas, Allan Chaney), some of them not (Eloy Vargas). Maybe that’s why his comments during the SEC spring meetings sound like a guy who’s been there before. But they also sound reasonable. Always nice…
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Various shoe and apparel companies have made sponsoring grassroots events and basketball teams at the high school level a priority over the years. In recent years, Nike has established itself as the premier sponsor, with adidas and to a lesser extent, Reebok, also involved in the game. Now, Under Armour seems to be making a…
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The last time Anthony Davis played in New Orleans, he won Most Outstanding Player after leading Kentucky to its eighth national title. So maybe he won’t mind going back. The New Orleans Hornets won the NBA draft lottery Wednesday night, claiming the No. 1 overall pick in 2012. They’ll almost certainly draft Davis, the national…
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Conference realignment is a nightmare for a lot of people, and while it will wreak havoc on writers trying to remember who plays in what league, the college hoops scribes certainly don’t have the worst of it. I feel bad for league schedule makers. With conferences continually becoming bloated, increasingly less recognizable amalgams of programs…
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Last Friday, I wrote a column over at SI.com about the Georgetown Hoyas and how John Thompson III is continuing the school’s tradition of producing big men, only his bigs are of a much different ilk than those of his father. Big John is known for churning out all-star centers that thrive on their size,…
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Marquette fires Illinois-bound volley on Chicago recruiting trail
May 30, 2012, 5:21 PM EDT
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It’s no secret that numerous Big Ten and Big East college basketball programs make recruiting Chicago for talent a heavy priority. In the sometimes no holds barred, highest-bidder environment of college coaches though, Marquette’s reported snagging of assistant coach Isaac Chew, after he had been on the job at Illinois for a month, is particularly…
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If you thought the saga of the “Lost Rivalry” ended last month when Kentucky officially declined Indiana’s invitation to play games on campus, you were wrong. According to Dustin Dopirak of the Bloomington Herald Times, who obtained letters sent between Indiana athletic director Fred Glass and Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart, Indiana reopened negotiations with…
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Cal State Fullerton coach Bob Burton reportedly stepping down
May 30, 2012, 3:49 PM EDT
Bob Burton, Cal State-Fullerton’s head basketball coach for the past decade, is stepping down, according to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com. His replacement on an interim basis will likely be associate head coach Andy Newman. In ten seasons with the Titans, Burton amassed a record of 155-122, including guiding the school to one of just two…
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John Calipari and Bobby Knight have what you could call a contemptuous relationship. The latest round of hostility began last April, when Knight said during a speaking engagement in Wabash, IN, that “Kentucky, year before last, started five players in the NCAA tournament games that had not been to class that semester. That’s that one…
