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George Blaney announces retirement after 43 years of coaching

Kevin Ollie, George Blaney, Glen Miller, Kevin Freeman

Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie, center, sites with coaching staff Kevin Freeman, left, George Blaney, second from left, and Glen Miller, right, during the second half of a men’s NCAA basketball game against American International College in Storrs, Conn., Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Connecticut won 78-63. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

AP

George Blaney spent the last 12 years as a member of the coaching staff at UConn, and during that time the longtime coach was a valuable figure for both Jim Calhoun and Kevin Ollie. With his years of experience, Blaney was a trusted voice for both and there were also times when he had to take over as head coach due to Calhoun’s health issues.

Thursday it was announced that Blaney, currently a special assistant/advisor to Ollie, will be retiring. In addition to his years as an assistant, Blaney has 30 years of head coaching experience with stops at Stonehill, Dartmouth, Holy Cross and Seton Hall. Blaney posted a record of 460-383 as a head coach, with 22 of those years being spent at his alma mater (Holy Cross).

“I always said I would know when it would be the right time to go,” Blaney said in a statement released by the school. “I have thoroughly enjoyed my years at UConn, but I think for me, this is the right time.

“Coaching with Jim has been so special for me. We have always been such great friends and that just made for a wonderful working relationship. His passion for the game, for the kids, and for UConn is what made him such a special coach.”

Blaney was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003, and his tenure at Holy Cross included seven 20-win seasons and eight postseason appearances. And while his time at Seton Hall was short Blaney certainly had an impact on the basketball career of current Rhode Island head coach Dan Hurley, who played for Blaney at the Big East school.

“I don’t think I would be in basketball today if it wasn’t for George Blaney,” Hurley said in the 2011 Hartford Courant article. “He kind of saved me, saved my soul in the game of basketball.

“I was struggling emotionally, struggling mentally at the time and [Blaney] kind of rekindled my love for the game, with his coaching style. … He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met. I owe him a lot.”

As for UConn, the Huskies still have head coaching experience on the staff with both Glenn Miller and Karl Hobbs assisting Ollie. And the head coach entering his second season at the helm learned a great deal from Blaney during their time together in Storrs.

“He’s been somebody I can confide in, no matter what the situation,” Ollie said in the release. “Not only was Coach Blaney a great help to me last year through the transition to head coach, but he helped me when I was an assistant, helped me in my whole path to becoming a college coach. And of course, his decades of coaching experience have been invaluable to me on the bench.”

Former Dartmouth assistant Ricky Moore, who was a key member of UConn’s first national champion team in 1999, is the third assistant.

Raphielle can be followed on Twitter at @raphiellej.