Jim Calhoun Agrees To Four-Year Extension With UConn

Jim Calhoun offered an emphatic an answer to the question of whether or not he would be coaching next season by agreeing to a four-year extension with Connecticut Thursday night.

Calhoun, who will be 68 years old by the start of next season, will be entering his 25th year with UConn in 2010.

ESPN’s Andy Katz is reporting that Jim Calhoun will return to the Uconn bench to coach the Huskins on Saturday against Cincinnati, more than three weeks after he took a medical leave of absence on January 19.

SB Nation’s The Uconn Blog confirms the report and presents the university press release on the matter.

Over at SB Nation’s UCONN blog--aptly named, The UCONN Blog--they’re all over this story. And upon closer inspection, it seems that Calhoun’s leave of absence could have more to do with his mental health, as opposed to physical ailments. At least according to one report from Sports Illustrated, it’s stress-related. The UCONN blog examines the implications:

And yet, for all the furrowed brows up in Storrs, Connecticut--as UCONN fans ponder a future without Calhoun--the Hartford Courant is reporting that Calhoun’s absence could be as brief as 10 days. That’s not so bad, is it?

While the school has not officially released the ailment that has forced men’s basketball head coach Jim Calhoun to take an indefinite leave of absence, a university spokesman said Tuesday night that Calhoun “is not dealing with a cardiac problem or cancer.” Additionally, the coach will not be hospitalized. Athletic director Jeff Hathaway had this to say:

Blaney will coach the team beginning with Wednesday’s game at home against St. John’s.

In his reaction post to the announcement that Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence, Andrew Porter of SB Nation’s The UConn Blog says that not only does the news come at crucial point in the Huskies’ season, it’s bound to raise questions about Calhoun’s (and program’s) future.

Porter then goes on to pre-emptively dismiss other questions that are bound to come up, specifically ones related to the NCAA following up on Yahoo Sports’ investigation of the program from last March and the idea that Calhoun is quitting on the team while it’s struggling.

The UConn men’s basketball team will be without its head coach for an indefinite amount of time as Jim Calhoun will take a medical leave of absence. The school has not specified what the medical condition is, although school physician Peter Schulman said the following:

Calhoun will be replaced by associate head coach George Blaney, the same coach who has filled in for Calhoun during his previous three medical leaves. Calhoun missed one game last season (UConn’s NCAA Tournament win over Chattanooga), one game in 06-07 and five games in 2003 when Calhoun had his prostate removed.