"My opening statement is rather simple: You simply saw it, San Diego outplayed us. Our kids did fight back, but we gave up 48 percent. We've given up 38 for the year, and quite frankly for the second consecutive game in tournament play, we didn't play defense.”

That’s why I like Jim Calhoun. No excuses.
He lost his star point guard to a knee injury? “That wasn’t why we lost.”

We all know the story about how this guy who talks-too-fast with a Boston accent took a decent New England program, made it into a national power, and made himself a Hall of Famer.

The guy has given Connecticut two national championships, which is two more than anyone had any reason to even dream about not too long ago. If, in the process, UConn sports has become big business, well, so it has, and so be it.

This two-year-old picture is classic Calhoun with three of the players who should have given him a third national championship.
They didn’t gift Calhoun with a ring, but he gifted Marcus Williams, Josh Boone and Rudy Gay with the hoop smarts and showcase to become NBA millionaires.
He’s created quite a few millionaires.

It’s what he created along with all that that can occasionally be problematic: a fan base that has unreasonable expectations, or in some cases, is just plain spoiled.
Just read some of the internet chatter after the game. Just listen to some of the calls Kevin Nathan and Joe D. get on the radio.

Hey, the guy’s going to be 66 in May. Maybe we’ve seen him coach his last game.
But a loss to San Diego in the first round?