SUPER BOWL 2012

Although I was at the UConn-Rutgers game Saturday night, I didn't see Jim Calhoun's interaction with DeAndre Daniels during a late-game timeout. Too busy tweeting and writing a game story.

I hadn't even heard of the alleged incident until a few days later, and didn't see the video until this evening. After watching it, there is no doubt in my mind that Calhoun hit Daniels. There is also no doubt in my mind that it is not a fireable offense, in the vein of Bob Knight or Woody Hayes. Or, you could argue, past incidents by Calhoun, as detailed in this column by the Courant's Jeff Jacobs that needed to be written.

Two or three years ago, I saw Calhoun hit Stanley Robinson in the abdomen with both (open) hands, out near the middle of the floor after callling a timeout. Really whacked him hard. A collective gasp could be heard from the first 10 or so rows behind UConn's bench. Nothing was made of it by any writer -- myself included. Maybe I should have, maybe not. Just Jim being Jim, y'know?

But there's no room for that. I don't even believe there's room for Calhoun's in-your-face screaming at Ryan Boatright the other night. We laugh about it, tweet about it, and the players usually seem to be able to brush it off pretty quickly. But there's no need to embarass an 18-year-old kid like that before 15,000 people and on national TV. Why? Because he made you look bad, Jim?

Calhoun is a tremendous coach, even a bit underrated (you rarely hear his name mentioned in the same breath as Coach K, Adolph Rupp, Bob Knight and Dean Smith, even though he's got more national titles than Smith and as many as Knight). Perhaps no one in the history of the sport has done a better job at building a program from nothing than Calhoun.

But there's no room for making physical contact with kids, no matter how innocuous it may seem.

I’m not a big Bob Huggins fan. I’ve seen him behave far too boorishly with the media over the years. Tries to be too much of a bully, if you ask me.

But there’s no denying he’s an excellent basketball coach, as evidenced by his 703 career wins. Which raises the question: Why doesn’t Huggy Bear get more respect as a coach?

I don’t recall much of any fanfare surrounding Huggins’ 700th win, achieved a few days before practice. Only 19 other coaches have won more games than him, and only three of them active – Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim and Jim Calhoun. Huggins recently passed Denny Crum for 20th on the all-time list, but I remember Crum being a much bigger name in the coaching world than Huggins ever has been.

Then again, Crum won two national championships. Huggins has zero, with two trips to the Final Four and none to the national championship game.

Maybe I just answered my own question.

But here’s something else to consider: At age 58, Huggins would seem to have plenty of more years left as a coach. A lot could happen between now and then, of course, but if Huggins gets in 10 more years and averages 20 per year, we could be talking 900 wins – something only two coaches (Coach K and Bob Knight) have achieved to this point.

*** Bit of a different vantage point for me tonight, and from here on out, for games at the XL Center. Press seating has been scattered all about, with my seat moving from just a bit past midcourt across from the visitors’ bench to near the far corner, across from UConn’s bench. Not a bad vantage point. Certainly better than along the baseline, where we have to sit at Syracuse, Seton Hall, Georgetown, Pitt, DePaul, etc. Hard to get a good feel for the game from those seats.

There is no reason for you to care about where the media is sitting, of course, except for this: the reason for the move is that there are now high-priced, courtside seats for the well-heeled where much of press row used to be. More money into the program can only be good for UConn and its fans (if not so much for the media covering the game).

*** Celtics GM Danny Ainge is among the 11 NBA scouts/GM’s, etc. expected at tonight’s game.

When (if?) UConn and Syracuse square off tomorrow night, Jim Calhoun and Jim Boeheim will set a record for the most combined wins between two head coaches with 1,687. The prior mark of 1,665 was set in 2006 by Bob Knight and Eddie Sutton. Last season, Calhoun and Mike Krzyzewski totaled 1,647 in a game at Madison Square Garden.

A little more on tomorrow night's scheduled game:

Syracuse will look to avoid its first five-game losing streak in Boeheim’s 35 years at the helm. The 17th-ranked Orange, undefeated and ranked third in the nation just two short weeks ago, aren’t as fluid offensively and seem a bit slow in their traditional 2-3 zone, according to Calhoun. They’ve fallen to 18-4 overall and 5-4 in the Big East on this recent skid, which includes a baffling 22-point home loss to lowly Seton Hall.

But Calhoun also realizes that the Huskies will be facing a desperate team this evening – always a tough draw in the Big East.

“In this league, it always seems that desperate teams, especially ones as talented as Syracuse, come up with great efforts,” he noted.

*** The Huskies (17-3, 5-3) are also limping into the game a bit, on the heels of Saturday’s frustrating, double-overtime home loss to Louisville.

“It’s two teams coming off a loss, desperate for a win,” junior guard Kemba Walker pointed out. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to be an intense game.”

Walker is hoping to break out of a shooting slump that’s seen him hit just 32 percent (24-for-74) of his shots over the past four games. Finding holes in the Orange zone – particularly around the free throw line extended – could be one way to get his shooting touch back.

“I’ve just got to get to my comfort zone, my mid-range shot, just get back to that,” Walker said. “That’ll give me a little better rhythm for my (3-point shot). I’ve got to use screens better, I just can’t force up shots.”

Walker is 3-for-20 from 3-point land in his last three games.

*** Calhoun knows that Walker can snap out of his slump at any time. Similarly, he knows Syracuse can do the same.

“I think Syracuse is still one of the best teams in this league,” he said. “It’s possible for anybody to get on a role – and anybody, unfortunately, to get on a slide.”