SUPER BOWL 2012

Just talked to Andre LaFleur, the former UConn assistant coach who left last April to join Ed Cooley's staff at Providence as associate head coach.

Contrary to popular belief, LaFleur says he didn't leave UConn because he felt he had been passed over by Kevin Ollie on the UConn coaching depth chart. It all came about at last year's Final Four in Houston, when he sat down with Cooley shortly after Cooley had left Fairfield to become PC's new head coach.

"It wasn't something I was even thinking about," LaFleur said. "I was trying to position myself for a few head coaching jobs, and I talked to Ed to see if I could get in the mix for (the Fairfield) job. He told me they wanted to go with a sitting head coach, and Ed and I just started talking from there."

LaFleur left UConn shortly after the Huskies' national championship game over Butler. In fact, he missed the championship parade in Hartford as he readied to take over his new position.

"I was thinking maybe it was time for a change, for different responsibilities," LaFleur said. "I had been at UConn for a while."

Although Jim Calhoun didn't appear very happy about LaFleur's departure the day of the parade, LaFleur insists that Calhoun "understood."

"It should be the goal of every assistant coach to do your job somewhere and one day, have the opportunity to run your own program," LaFleur said. "This seemed like an opportunity to do that someday."

Popular opinion was that LaFleur felt eclipsed by Ollie, the first-year assistant coach who drew raves for his recruiting and inspirational leadership with last year's team. LaFleur insists that's not the case.

"I never felt eclipsed or pushed out by anybody," he said. "I learned a lot from Kevin and from Glen Miller (who took over LaFleur's assistant job). On the court, Kevin brought a lot to the table with drills and practice things from his NBA experience. And I thought Glen was one of the best X's and O's guys ever as a UConn assistant coach."

LaFleur said he still has the same type of recruiting responsibilities as he did at UConn, but now has a lot more responsibilities on the court, with scouting, game preparation, etc.

LaFleur, who last saw Calhoun at the Hoops Hall Classic in mid-January, says he's been rooting for UConn all year. That ends Tuesday night, however, when the Huskies face PC at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence.

"For one game, 40 minutes, we'll be trying to beat them," he said. "The atmosphere is going to be tremendous. Historically, UConn at Providence has not been an easy out."

But he added that he still hasn't counted UConn out for this season just yet.

"I still think they're capable of catching fire," he said. "There's too much talent there."

Hectic day at Big East Media Day. On the short walk over from the subway station to the New York Athletic Club, my Big East umbrella (a gift from last year’s media day) practically ripped apart from the rain and strong winds. Symbolic, I’d say, given the Big East’s current uncertain state.

Got there at 10 a.m., just as the event was getting underway. I made out better than Jim Calhoun, who didn’t arrive until about 11 a.m. after getting stuck in traffic on his drive from Storrs. He said he left Storrs at about 6:30 a.m.

Calhoun is always a bit fashionably late for his availability to the media throng at this event, but never 45 minutes tardy like today.

“A new record,” he boasted.

Obviously, he was the subject of lots of interest from the assembled media. Calhoun mostly repeated what he’s been saying all along: that he wants to stay in the Big East, but will look out for what’s best for UConn.

“We’re in the best basketball conference in America, and that’s where we want to play,” he said. “The Big East made so many things possible for Connecticut, for me and my players. We’d love to be in the Big East.”

He did note, however, that he has been and will continue to be reaching out to his connections in the ACC and Big 12.

Here are some of the more interesting quotes I gathered throughout the day:

ALEX ORIAKHI:


(on UConn’s strong frontcourt)

“The good thing with our big men, we’re not a black hole. If you throw it into us and we see an open man, we’re willing to pass. I think our wings know that.”

(on Andre Drummond)

“He’s just a crazy athlete, man. The thing about his, with all the hype around him, you’d think he’d be arrogant. But he’s not. He listens. I try to coach him out there and tell him what he’s doing wrong, and he just takes it in like sponge. That’s the greatest part about him. When you have a kid with that much talent and is willing to listen and get better … the sky’s the limit.”

(on what Drummond needs to do to improve)

“He’s definitely still raw. He has to get a better understanding of actually playing the game. He’s so athletic, he does everything off pure athleticism. But once he’s able to get a face-up jump shot or a jump-hook, he can really be unstoppable. I think he has to work on his overall skill set. Once he does that, he’s going to be real scary.”

SHABAZZ NAPIER:


(on what Drummond needs to get better at)

“He needs to improve on a lot, like we all do. The one thing he’s been working on is his post moves. That’s one thing, coming in, he wasn’t really good at. I can tell you now he’s improved a lot. His ability to get to the glass and post his man up underneath the basket is one of the best I’ve seen. He just wants to get better, and that’s one thing about the guy I like. He wants to be the best player he can be.

JEREMY LAMB:

(on whether he’s thought if this will be his last year in college)

“I haven’t been thinking about that. I’m in college right now, I’m on the team right now.”

(on his own confidence level)

“I definitely have more confidence. Just the fact that I’m going to be a sophomore this year and I know how the Big East is.”

But …

“I don’t think my confidence is where it should be right now. My shot’s been falling, but I’ve been missing too many little shots that I probably should make.”


CALHOUN

(on freshmen Drummond, DeAndre Daniels and Ryan Boatright)

“Our three freshmen are really, really good players. All three are terrific.”

(on Drummond)

“You go out on the street and find me a 6-11, 277-pound kid that can touch the top of the backboard, I’ll find a place to fit him in.

“The biggest surprise is just how athletic he is, and how he can do so many effective things right now, instinctively. I’m not gonna tell him, but he’s really talented. He doesn’t know how talented he is yet, so we’re going to keep it a secret between us.

“Now, the thing is to take this athletic, wonderful kid who listens all the time, and turn it into a terrific basketball player. He’s not that yet, he really isn’t. But he’s got some things you just can’t teach.”

PROVIDENCE COACH ED COOLEY

(on Andre LaFleur, who left UConn to become Cooley’s associate head coach)

“Andre’s been tremendous. He thought it was a different opportunity. To this day, he tells me he misses Connecticut. He loves Jim Calhoun, he’s a father figure to him … but he also thought it was a chance to spread his wings and do something different. He’s added a great element to our program, given us a good profile. We’re really, really fortunate to have Andre.”

“I didn’t ask him why he left … maybe it just was a change. I’ve never asked him that, because I really don’t care.”

(on another Andre … you guessed it – Drummond)

“Great player. I’ve watched him for two years in the summertime, obviously watched him a lot this summer with the young men we recruited who were on his team. Jim’s going to do a great job with him. He’s a tremendous talent.”

A few other tidbits:

*** In the national preseason polls for Blue Ribbon Yearbook, Athlon Sports, Sporting News, Lindy’s, ESPN.com and Yahoo ! Sports, UConn is ranked, respectively: No. 5, 4, 4, 8, 6 and 7. First AP poll of the season will be released on Friday, Oct. 28.

*** Calhoun said that Rudy Gay and Ben Gordon may be practicing with the team this weekend. Kemba Walker and Hasheem Thabeet apparently have already done so.

*** This is the ninth time that UConn has been picked to finish first in the preseason coaches’ poll.

*** Napier and Lamb are on the cover of this year’s Big East media guide, embracing after last year’s national championship victory.

Providence College hasn't won much over the past decade, though the Friars have had surprising success against UConn in recent years on the basketball court.



Now, for the first time in memory, the Friars have beaten the Huskies off the court, as well.



PC has received a commitment from Kris Dunn, the highly-touted guard out of New London High. Per this espn.com article, PC has signed just three McDonald's All-Americans in its history (though I'm not sure I'd include Delray Brooks, since he was a transfer from Indiana).



This also beats the Ryan Gomes situation, since few (including then-PC coach Tim Welsh) knew that Gomes would blossom into such a great player at the time. Jim Calhoun famously recruited Emeka Okafor and Caron Butler ("They're not bad!") instead.



Credit new PC coach Ed Cooley, who started recruiting Dunn while Cooley was still coaching at Fairfield and had never let up. Give some credit to ex-UConn assistant Andre LaFleur, too.



And the good news could keep coming for the Friars ... Ricky Ledo will make his college decision next week, according to a source, and PC appears to be in very standing for Ledo's services.

Just spoke briefly with Ryan Boatright, the incoming freshman point guard out of East Aurora, Ill. Boatright will arrive in Storrs in about 10 days – on Saturday, June 25 – and begin summer classes the following Monday.

Boatright, who was Illinois' co-Mr. Basketball this past winter along with Stanford-bound Chasson Randle, is looking forward to kicking off his Husky career. He has certainly taken note of the program's two signings last week – fellow incoming freshman DeAndre Daniels, a forward, and Class of 2012 guard Omar Calhoun, Jr.

"It's exciting, because I know we'll have a great team, year after year," Boatright said. "We'll always be strong, keeping the program at the top where it belongs."

Boatright averaged 32 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals per game as a senior for East Auroroa. A shoot-first point guard, he scored more than 50 points in a game twice, including 63 in one contest.

With Kemba Walker heading to the NBA, Boatright figures to fight for the Huskies' starting point guard position. Of course, sophomore-to-be Shabazz Napier will have something to say about that.

"I was never the type to take a back seat, or at least go in with that attitude," Boatright said. "I'm going in to fight for whatever I'm gonna fight for. But it's not about starting or anything like that, it's about doing what the team needs me to do."

Boatright has heard from both recently named co-captains Alex Oriakhi and Napier – mostly Oriakhi – over the past few weeks.

"He just keeps saying, 'It's gonna be fun.'"

Andre LaFleur was Boatright's prime recruiter. Of course, LaFleur left the UConn program in April to become Ed Cooley's associate head coach at Providence. Boatright was disappointed that LaFleur left.

"I mean, I couldn't say it was messed up, but it was just shocking, really," he said. "I didn't see that coming. I'm supportive of him, he had to do what he had to do. It didn't really make a difference for me coming there, though."

Neither, apparently, did the potential for Jim Calhoun to retire.

"He told me, just like he told everybody else, 'Don't worry about it 'til I say I'm not gonna be there.'"

Jim Calhoun participated in his fifth annual ride and walk against cancer on Saturday. Starting amidst a torrential downpour ("I'm a rain-maker," he noted), the clouds were clearing by the time he finished his bike ride.

Fitting, as things couldn't be much sunnier for the UConn men's basketball program these days.

Here's a little of what Calhoun said on a number of topics Saturday afternoon in Simsbury:

(On what he's telling prospective recruits about his future at UConn)

“Whatever answer I’m giving them, apparently, they like it.”

(On the Huskies' program as a whole)

“I want the program to be like Carolina’s and, somewhat Duke, but more like Carolina’s in the sense that Bill Guthridge went to the Final Four when Dean (Smith) left, Matt (Doherty) had a really great year then a not such a great year and Roy (Williams) came in and they moved on. What we’re selling in our situation is the ability to get you ready to succeed, get to postseason play and get to the NBA. We had a pretty good year this year doing that.”

“The program is exactly where we want it to be.”

(On the team's APR situation)

“We just need some change, so that we don’t have a situation like we did with the APR. Not drastic change, just change. It’s actually already built in there, we’ve just got to get everybody aboard.”

“Having Susan (Herbst, the school's incoming president) out here like this is, I think, terrific. She was at the Final Four, at the Big East. We need people to be active, just like our coaches are active.”

(On the recruiting efforts of Kevin Ollie and Glen Miller)

“They’ve done a terrific job, I didn’t expect anything less. When Kevin Ollie talks, you’re going to listen … (Glen) knows the terrain, he knows what he’s doing, he’s smart and he’s a great basketball guy. I thknk a lot of times we lock too many things into Kevin Ollie, Glen Miller or whomever it may be. It’s UConn. We happen to have very good guys in place, doing a wonderful job. But we’ve had other good players come in before. We got Ray Allen, we got Emeka, we got Ben Gordon ... we've got some guys who can play a little bit. I’ve always said that one of the greatr recruiting jobs of all-time in recognizing that he would be good was Andre (LaFleur) with Hasheem Thabeet. I didn’t’ see what he saw. He saw that, and plenty of other coaches didn’t see that. He did.”

Some notes 'n quotes from today's UConn national championship victory parade:

*** While the crowd was estimated at 40,000 lining the streets surrounding the State Capitol building, it seemed even more than that. Fans were lined up seven or eight deep virtually throughout the entire route. Hard to believe organizers would underestimate the crowd size, however.

*** There was one noticeable absence. Andre LaFleur, a UConn assistant for the past 10 seasons, was the only coach and/or player from this year’s team not at the festivities. While nothing has been announced officially yet, sources have confirmed that LaFleur will be named the associate head coach at Providence, perhaps as early as today.

Calhoun wasn’t much in the mood to discuss LaFleur on Sunday.

“We will have a coaching change,” he said, “but the best thing to do is talk to Andre about that.”

“He has to do what’s best for him and his family,” Alex Oriakhi said of LaFleur, who earned about $175,000 as an assistant at UConn. “For him to leave this program with a national championship, I guess that’s the best way you can go out.”

Glen Miller, who spent the past season as director of basketball administration, is in line to be bumped up to assistant coach.

“I think we’re going to be all set,” Oriakhi said. “Coach Miller moving up, he’s one of the guys we really looked up to, because he really knows what he’s talking about. He really knows a lot about coaching. I’m just looking forward to working with him more.”

*** Some of the more interesting signs spotted the parade: several pleading, "Marry Me, Kemba." Also, a Knick fan had a sign with Walker already bedecked in Knicks gear.

"The Knick one was a good one," Walker said. "Me being from New York, I’ve always dreamed about playing for the Knicks, of course.”

*** Jim Calhoun had to be prodded to stand up and acknowledge the loud ovation he received after being introduced at the post-parade rally. A few boos were reserved for Jeff Hathaway, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other pols, but for the most part, happiness abounded.

*** Walker, of course, received the loudest cheers of all. Oriakhi gave him a "we're not worthy" bow when Walker made his way to the microphone to briefly address the crowd. A chant of "one more year!” broke out, which the junior point guard found amusing.

“It was fun, but it’s a little too late for that,” Walker said afterwards. “I wish. I really wish I could come back. But, it’s my time.”

Yeah, I'd say so.

*** One of the day's most popular celebrities wasn't riding on the red double-decker bus that held the Husky team. Milling throughout the crowd was Tom Emery, a heavy-set, red-headed man who was nearly as much of a celebrity as the players on top of that bus.

Who's Tom Emery? Well, you know him better simply as "Big Red."

Emery, a Wallingford native who moved to Meriden a few years ago, has been a season-ticket holder since 1973 – the same year he graduated from Sheehan High. Emery expressed the same sentiments Calhoun would later echo: “This never gets old.”

“It’s just something that I enjoy,” he said. “Basketball is a great thing, and they bring a lot of life to the state of Connecticut, which we would never have. We don’t have any pro teams, but the girls and the boys both bring a lot of excitement to the state.”

"Big Red" said he couldn't pick a favorite among UConn's three national titles.

"No. 1, Tampa Bay, was their first. San Antonio was a team that they didn’t think would do anything. And this one here, of course, they counted us out early. Every single kid that’s played in any Final Four stood up for our state as well as possible. I would not look over any team, including this team.”

A Providence-based web site is reporting that Andre LaFleur, who just completed his 10th season as a UConn men’s basketball assistant coach, will soon be named the associate head coach at Providence. Former Fairfield coach Ed Cooley was named PC’s new head coach last month.

GoLocalProv.com says that LaFleur will be named to the position sometime next week, possibly as soon as Monday.

A source within the Providence program told the Register that LaFleur’s hire is “very close.”

LaFleur, 46, joined Jim Calhoun’s staff at UConn in 2001 as director of basketball operations, a role he served for three seasons. Prior to the 2004-05 season, he was elevated to assistant coach. LaFleur played for Calhoun at Northeastern in the early 1980’s.

While it might seem odd that an assistant on a national championship squad would take a job at a struggling program like PC, LaFleur’s options at UConn in the future appeared limited. Kevin Ollie, just hired as an assistant last year, is a favorite to take over as head coach once Calhoun retires, according to several sources within the UConn program.

As an associate head coach at PC, LaFleur would also be a step closer to a head coaching position he has been looking for for years now. He has long been tight with Cooley, a Providence native.

LaFleur landed several top recruits for the Huskies over the years, including Kemba Walker, who went out of his way to praise LaFleur during his press conference to announce he’s going pro on Tuesday in Storrs.

Kemba Walker announced his intentions of skipping his senior season at UConn and entering the NBA draft at a press conference today at Gampel Pavilion. In about an hour-long press conference, attended by Jim Calhoun and UConn's coaching staff (Andre LaFleur, George Blaney, Kevin Ollie and Glen Miller) and teammate Alex Oriakhi, here's some of what Walker and others had to say:

KEMBA WALKER:

"I'll be giving up my senior season and going on to the NBA. I wanted to take this time to thank everybody – thank Coach Calhoun for turning me into a man, from Day One. Most importantly, thank my parents for being very supportive of everything I've done in life."

"I just think it's the right time for me. I think I've accomplished a lot in my college career,a nd I think Coach did a great job of preparing me for that level."

(when did he make the decision)

"A couple of days ago, when I got back from L.A. for the Wooden Award stuff. I sat down with Coach and my family, and we just made the decision that it was time."

(did the potential for an NBA lockout make the decision more difficult?)

"Not really. I finished up this season so well, I'll probably be in a great situation."

(on leaving his teammates and the school)

"It's a happy day, but also a sad day. They're my brothers. I grew with them, they grew with me. Those freshmen, I wish I could stay another year with those guys to see how much they improve. But, it's just time."

"The whole state of Connecticut has been very supportive throughout my whole career. Connecticut will always be my home, regardless of anything. I'll never forget this place This place raised me. I'm just happy to say that I played in this program."

"The reason I am who I am today is because of (Jim Calhoun), and also the other coaching staff. Coach (Andre) LaFleur, he was the one who took my ggame to a whole new level, he helped me mature as a basketball player. Every other coach: Coach Blaney has been great, K.O., Coach Miller, they've been great throughout my career."

(what type of player he'll be in the NBA)

"I think it all depends on the team I go to, whatever style they play. I'll have to adjust to whatever team I go to."

(on what he'll do for his family after being drafted)

"Whatever I can do to repay them for making me the kind of person that I am. As far as goals in the NBA, hopefully I can go into the NBA and once again prove all the doubters wrong, like I've been doing my whole life. Everybody's saying I'm too small, can't guard anybody in the NBA. Just prove them wrong."

JIM CALHOUN:

"It's time for Kemba now to be a little more selfish than he has been, to take advantage for him and his family and for everybody else, because he's been so special for us."

"It would be very hard to be a more loved player than Kemba Walker."

"We're only controlled by how others see us by Kemba, than the perception of us is awfully good, because he's a very, very special person."

(on what kind of NBA player he'll be)

"He's got some Allen Iverson, in the fact that he's actually 20 pounds heavier than Allen was when he first went to the NBA … he'll be able to score points, he'll be able to defend, he can play above the rim, and he can lead a team. Against Bucknell, he had 12 assists, there were times when he could have had 15 assists. He sees the game, he understands the game. One of the great things about him – you can get players who can run a team and are quick and fast. Well, he can run a team, he's proven that very definitively. He can score points. On a lot of teams, you're going to need that point guard to score points – Chris Paul has to do that. Whoever he's drafted by is getting a guy who's going to be great by the time he gets on the bus."

"I told him, we just don't have a scholarship for him … although we'd probably find one if we needed to."

"It's an incredibly happy day for all of us – his family, his wonferful family, and Kemba – but it's a very sad day for us to lose them, and Kemba. But, in life, you've got to keep going."

"He's done everything you can possibly do, including winning a national championship."

"He got the most singularly important trophy you can get – the national championship."

(on where he could be selected in June's NBA draft)

"One team has said No. 1. It depends on the need factor. We can probably talk about Williams and some of the other guys, it depends upon who and what you need. Clearly, from the people I've talked to so far, he's probably top 10. You want a guy who's going to win for you


ALEX ORIAKHI:

"I just wanted to be here to support him and here the good news that he's taking his game to the next level. It's definitely kind of emotional, because Kemba's one of my best friends. He's a real good dude. It's going to be sad to see him go, but he has to move on."

We'll have a couple more blog posts coming over the next hour that deal with some more specific subjects.

Jim Calhoun was asked about the Mick Cronin situation at today's press conference. Calhoun had hinted a couple of weeks ago that Cronin hadn't voted for Kemba Walker as first-team all-Big East. Cronin said last night that he had spoken with Calhoun about the situation. Here's the transcript:

Q. Mick said last night that you called him earlier this week, I guess, to talk about what Kemba Walker -- whether you voted for him or --
COACH JIM CALHOUN: I called him. I didn't ask him that question. I just said that there was a misunderstanding, he and I needed to talk as opposed to publicly discuss it, and we had a good conversation.

Q. So it's all cleared up?
COACH JIM CALHOUN: It's all cleared up. We had a good conversation. I never knew there was a -- I was just talking about my kid, who I was trying to push every way, and I said someone's away for a month and we went to two different places and they wrote about how they recruited him. I said maybe they didn't vote for him or something, and I shouldn't have said that and I did. So I called Mick just to let him know that. I'm the one who said something initially and just wanted to have him get squared away.
So I'll root for him. I think he's done terrific -- as I just said, he's done a terrific job. And I initiated the phone call and we had a good conversation.

Earlier, Walker was asked about his recruitment by Cronin and the Bearcats:

Q. When you guys were in Cincinnati, Mick Cronin talked about how close you came to going to Cincinnati. How close did you actually come and what kind of relationship do you have with him?
KEMBA WALKER: It was close. But I really wanted to come to UConn my entire life. So I was just waiting for the opportunity and it came. But as far as me and Coach Cronin, we had a great relationship. He did a great job recruiting me. He had a good relationship with my parents, also. So if UConn didn't come in, it would have most likely been Cincinnati.
So, yeah, it was pretty close.

Calhoun was asked about that, too:

Q. Kemba was in here talking about his recruitment a little bit and how he considered Cincinnati but UConn was his first choice. Can you talk a little bit about his recruitment and did you ever think he might go somewhere else besides UConn?
COACH JIM CALHOUN: We know that he had said to Mo Hicks at that time, his coach at Rice, who is now at St. John's, that his dream school was UConn. At the same time, in around that period, September, October, Brandon Jennings was visiting us. And Brandon, like did he with the other three schools, committed on the visit. He had done at the previous two schools, so I didn't no if it was that firm of a commitment.
And he's a great, great kid, by the way. Brandon was a great, great kid.
When the visiting got conclusion and we made a phone call to Brandon and Brandon said, well, I still want to visit a couple more schools but I'm definitely coming to UConn, I turned to Andre LaFleur and said, let's see if you can go all out to try to get Kemba Walker. He'll be a program player, a terrific player for us, a lead guard. We've got Taliek Brown, we'd got Ben Gordon. Let's go after him full blown. He'll be here long term in the program. And the rest I guess is history in some ways.
I always thought he'd be a good to very good to excellent guard. I didn't know -- I didn't automatically see some of the greatness that I now see.