Jim Calhoun, ‘Feeling Much Better’ Is Back In His Element

STORRS – If you’ve had a parent or grandparent with a fractured hip, you know there are good days and bad during the recovery process. Tuesday seemed to be a good one for Jim Calhoun, who was at Gampel Pavilion most of the afternoon. The Huskies had worked out scheduled late in the day.

“I feel much better,” he said, as he walked with crutches from his office to the court. “I have to stay on the crutches to make sure the [stabilizing] screws stay in place.”

Calhoun, 70, has about four weeks of rehab left before his hip is fully healed, but he was in good spirits, happy to be back in the office. But his own future remains up in the air, and he is still not ready to put retirement talk to rest, though, again, he does not act or sound like he will call it a career.

“I’m going day by day,” he said. “I was out on the road more this year than I had been in years. We’re deeper into  it now, which is good, we’re getting closer to the season.”

Whether he will continue as coach, he said, would come down to “a combination of a number of things,” and not strictly his health.

(It’s no secret Calhoun would like Kevin Ollie to be named his designated successor, but so far Athletic Director Warde Manuel has not been willing to do that.)

Calhoun’s major concern on this day was getting and keeping his players healthy. Tyler Olander sprained his right ankle last Thursday during a pick-up game. “I was worried it was much worse,” Calhoun said. “You look around and he’s our only experienced post player and say, ‘oh-oh.’”

Calhoun, though, is extremely pleased with the work Olander put in  this summer, building his upper body.

Keeping players healthy is a fine line. You want to push them to get into shape and sharpen their skills, but you don’t want to lose them for the season. “One guy we’ve pushed hard to get in shape is R.J. Evans,” Calhoun said, “but in pushing him, he has a groin problem and [if you're not careful] it could affect him all season, so there’s the fine line.”

Shabazz Napier’s foot, which required him to wear a boot most of the summer, is still bothering him, too. So the staff is taking it slow with him.