Jim Calhoun

Jim Calhoun

Head Coach

Connecticut Huskies

774-337

Dave Leitao (Virginia), Karl Hobbs (George Washington), Howie Dickenman (Central Connecticut)

Reggie Lewis (Northeastern), Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Donyell Marshall, Caron Butler, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor (Connecticut)

Won NCAA titles with Connecticut in 1999 and again in 2004.

Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005

In the pantheon of New England sports heroes, Jim Calhoun is right in the mix with the likes of Larry Bird, Tom Brady and David "Big Papi" Ortiz. And deservedly so... he's taken a college in rural Connecticut -- once best known for its agricultural programs -- and turned it into one of the top programs in all of college hoops.

Calhoun built his hall-of-fame resume from the ground up. He started at the high school level, building his Dedham, Massachusetts squad into a local power. That earned him a shot at the college level.

He built Northeastern from a Division II afterthought to a regular in the Division I postseason, reaching March Madness five times in six years from 1981-86.

After the 1986 season he took over at UConn -- one of the weakest teams in the mighty Big East conference. They wouldn't stay in the cellar for long. His Huskies won the NIT title in his second season in Storrs, and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight in year four.

By the mid-nineties, the Huskies were firmly entrenched as one of the top programs in the Big East -- and the nation. They made things official in 1999, when the team keyed by Richard Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin and Ricky Moore topped mighty Duke to win the national title. Calhoun added a second title in 2004, behind the inside-out combination of Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon.

Among active coaches, Calhoun's 774 ranks behind only Duke's Mike Kryzyewski and Arizona's Lute Olson. He was the first coach to amass 240 wins at two different schools. And in 2005, Calhoun was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside longtime Big East rival Jim Boeheim of Syracuse.

Nearly as impressive as Calhoun's list of accomplishments is the list ex-Huskies in the NBA. Thirteen of Calhoun's players drew NBA paychecks this season, including Ray Allen, Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, Gordon, Hamilton, Donyell Marshall, Okafor, Kevin Ollie, Charlie Villanueva, Jake Voskuhl and Marcus Williams.

Off the court, Calhoun is active in supporting several charities, including Autism Speaks, Coaches vs. Cancer and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

Unfortunately, his work with Coaches vs. Cancer hits particularly close to home. On May 6, Calhoun had a cancerous mass removed from his neck -- the third time he's fought the disease in one form or another. He will undergo radiation treatments this summer as a preventive measure, and is expected back on the sideline for his 23rd season with the Huskies this fall.