Jim Calhoun Basketball Quotations

We are lucky to have him as a part of our staff and this promotion is a well-deserved acknowledgment of the part that he has played in the phenomenal success of our basketball program.

Of 1,100 basketball games I've been fortunate to be involved with, I've never been involved in anything like that.

My understanding is the athletic director is going to now, hopefully, put it on the front burner this year. In my personal opinion, they were going to fix football before they fixed basketball. I know a couple of the people are basketball people who gave money to football and that's fine. They gave money to the university.

On paper, we seem to be a deep, big and experienced basketball team that should be ranked in the top 10 teams in America.

I don't have any question that was a very well-coached basketball team. He's got complete control of the way that teams runs.

From top to bottom, this league is terrific - Notre Dame, is a fantastic team, they sit at 1-5, but they're not a 1-5 basketball team. That's the unfortunate thing about the league. You can't have an off day, or an off couple of minutes, or you'll lose.

I don't think we played an ounce of basketball after that.

He's comfortable being the best sixth man in college basketball.

He has been and will continue to be a member of our basketball family and we will always be here to help Josh work through this process and arrive at the best decision for everyone involved.

He?s a very young kid. All the things that I, you, all of us ? because of his incredible athletic ability, not necessarily his basketball ability ? thrust upon him, it might have been a little bit early for him, that?s all.

He's going to be something very, very special. Right now, he is a terrific college basketball player, not the great, great dominating college basketball player that he would be if he stayed in college. I don't think the circumstances are going to allow it to come, unfortunately. I just think that's the way it is.

Hopefully, they'll learn if they truly, truly want to be UConn basketball players and represent the state, represent themselves and our team. Give me that opportunity.

He clearly has the talent to play basketball at the professional level, but if anyone can make the transition, it's him.

He learned at the feet of the master, ... To have someone full-time for basketball issues is a great, great situation.

I think this is really a great opportunity for Ed. He clearly has the talent to play basketball at the professional level, but if anyone can make this transition, it is him. He knows he has our support and we will do anything we can to help him make this move successfully.

I think Indiana is a very good basketball team. I just think there were moments and minutes in that game where we were pretty special. It didn't matter who we were playing because we blocked everything, we ran out and we made good decisions. I'm very proud of my basketball team today.

Well, 1,100 basketball games I've been fortunate to be involved with (and) I've never been quite involved with something like that. It was just an incredible game fought by two teams who gave it everything they possibly have. And I don't know if the teams could have gone another minute. I thought it was an incredible display of what competition is all about.

The ability to take somebody off the bounce is incredibly important. It's really tough to defend a guy who can go by you.

When the ball did fall in to send us into overtime, I thought we were going to win the basketball game.

We really played our best basketball. It was one of the few games I can say you could just enjoy. It was just really a tremendous basketball game for us and hopefully it's a peek into what we're capable of. Seasons are really funny. But I think those things are good. We jump right now into a hot stove.

Well, to state the obvious, we're happy to be here. We survived an incredible basketball game.

Well, to state the obvious, we're happy to be here today. We survived an incredible basketball game between two incredibly competitive teams. I think that game could go up as Exhibition A of what this tournament has been.

We have to keep reminding them they?re the No. 1 team in the country to get them to truly believe how good they are. I mean, I spent two hours against Albany trying to get my team to truly believe that. Let?s put it this way: For 28-3, we?re not an overly confident basketball team. On the contrary, this is a team that sometimes has had crises of confidence.

We are incredibly happy to be here today. We survived an incredible basketball game. Washington gave us everything we could ever imagine to handle. But we were able to withstand it and advance. And that is what you want to do in the NCAA Tournament.

We became a terrific basketball team. We have had some times when the expectations weighed heavily upon us. As the season wore down, we saw our window of opportunity start to become more limited. The greatest thing we did was we kicked the window out and we made the opportunity for ourselves.

We've probably had five complete games all year. I truly expect, though - and I hope it happens, and it needs to happen - for us to have a bust-out game where we put together a lot of longer stretches of the kind of basketball I think we are capable of.

We weren't prepared. We were living on an 11-0 season that meant absolutely nothing because you have to play the next one.

There's something to learn about college basketball on every page. Not to mention that the book is just fun to read.

I've watched him grow as a person, but he's still been able to maintain his wit, his optimism and that ever-ready smile. A lot of kids would have spit the bit at different times if they weren't starting. All he wants to really do is play and win and that's exactly what he's done. He's as comfortable in his skin as any kid I've ever had. I'm telling you right now ? and hopefully it will be five weeks, six weeks before it's the end of his career ? I will miss him for his personality, along with obviously his basketball game. He's a terrific kid.

The sky's the limit with his ability and his vision of the game. I watch some of those NBA games and I happened to be watching Boston down the stretch, and I said, 'You throw him in that uniform and all of a sudden they'll be a different basketball team.' I believe that much in him.

Rashad wanted to be so good tonight, and of all guys who I thought wanted the limelight at home, it's really unfortunate he didn't have the kind of game he's capable of having. He's a terrific basketball player ... the best sixth man in college basketball.

People had the misconception that if you have three 6-10 kids, all of a sudden you have a good basketball team. The game takes instinct.

The name has magic to it. There's nobody in basketball that when I say the name Gavitt they don't respond.

Denham is playing the best basketball of his life. This is the guy we had while winning the Maui Invitational. Denham had some roadblocks but thank God he stayed with it all season. But that's the story of this season. It's all about who can persevere.

Albany was magnificent for 30 minutes. We were equally, if not better or more magnificent, the last 10 minutes of the basketball game.

They gave us a tremendous shot. We withstood it and stood up to it. I couldn't prouder of my basketball team.

They don't measure heart by inches, they don't measure courage, they don't measure basketball instinct and intelligence.

They find a way to win. A lot of the things that happened against Washington were plays that players make. Guys who refuse to lose a basketball game, guys who are down by five with 30 seconds to go but don?t believe they?re going to lose. And that, as a coach, you don?t teach. Maybe you try to set the mood that we?re still here, but you can?t set the mood if you don?t have winners with you.

They are barred indefinitely from all team activities, and their academic and personal activities will be closely monitored on a daily basis by the members of our basketball staff. They will continue to have complete access to all of the academic support staff so they can focus their energies on their studies.

They are a tough, tough basketball team. They made our life awfully, awfully miserable. We thought the game was going to be as easy as it was early.

This is where our basketball culture stands. Whether I agree with kids leaving after two or three years really is of no consequence.

They're a good basketball team. They're going to be very tough out in their league. We gave up 24 points in a very short period of time.

It was a terrific, terrific win in a very hostile basketball atmosphere. We got the ball where we wanted to most of the time. ... The difference in the game was our power inside.

It's incredibly needed on this basketball team. He is our inside threat right now.

It's amazing that we were playing Kentucky for the first time. But we're trying to earn (recognition) as a lead program in America, and hopefully we continue to do that. It was obviously a tremendous, tremendous basketball game.

It's both being fortunate and having the basketball gods smiling on you a little bit because quite frankly they had every right to win that game as much as we did. We took our foot off the pedal and we can't do that.

It seems Ed picks up fouls quicker than any guy I've ever had. And I don't know why. Ed is a very good basketball player and yet I don't think he ever gets recognized for that. He automatically gets tagged because he looks strong and muscular. Well, he's a very good player.

No kid in America has come so far to be a top-20 basketball player.

They did more than enough to win this game. More than enough. We were fortunate that the basketball gods were smiling on us. They had every right to win that game as much as we did.

I'll remember Marcus' smile from the office in the mornings. I'll remember his loyalty; I'll remember how hard he has worked on becoming a terrific basketball player that is, in my opinion capable of stepping into the NBA and starting for someone next year.

I don't know if there is another player as complete or as poised all the time with the basketball. Bottom line is that he's a terrific basketball player.

If I haven?t changed, then I know I wouldn?t be sitting here today, ... You don?t coach college basketball in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and now the 2000s, unless you make changes. The outside wrapper is probably a little different, but the values are the same.

I can still see Calvin Murphy getting 62 points, and I can still see flashbacks from the pictures of Wilt getting 100, ... You go from the biggest to the smallest. The wonders of the game, from the guys playing pickup to the kids shooting in Indiana to the inner city kid who finds a way out through the sport of basketball - and I don't mean necessarily to the NBA - are embodied in this game. It doesn't take wealth or pure size. It takes heart, repetition, talent. All that stuff is embodied in the game. When I walk through that building, it's embodied there.

I don't think the Big East or college basketball or the (selection) committee should feel any embarrassment if that team goes to the NCAA Tournament. (But) we were home and Denham, some of our veteran players, Rashad, etc., they made some terrific plays down the stretch.

We feel that the 2-2-1 press is a very effective means of controlling tempo and providing us with opportunities to capitalize on the mistakes of our opponents. At the same time we feel it is a very safe press because we work very hard at the necessary rotations.

We stop practice every time we see one of our players not blocking out.

...Basketball doesn't care what color your skin is. It doesn't care what language you speak or what religion you practice. It doesn't care if you're big or small, fast or slow. It just asks you to play, to complete, to lose with dignity, to win humility.

This is my favorite time of the year. I love it. I just hope we come out and play the best basketball possible. Win and advance: that's all we think about. It's one game at a time. We don't talk at all about Indianapolis or Washington, D.C.