I am not Jim Calhoun's #1 fan. I don't really have anything against him, but I don't have unabashed love for him either. Basically, I can take him or leave him, and I guess that is saying something for someone in the Hall of Fame and three national titles.
But I will come to his defense in this case.
I don't know what the fuck this guy wanted from Calhoun. Ignoring the fact that UConn went on to win the game, the title, and capped off an incredible 11 Game winning streak, let me pose the question: what is the point of a pregame speech? Is it to go in and yell and say nonsensical gibberish just because the camera is on you? Or is it to rehash key points, and maintain the focus of the team? You tell me.
I titled this post "damned if you, damned if you dont," because if it were the opposite, and Calhoun came in and threw a clipboard against the wall and was screaming, I'm sure this blogger would be saying "why does he have to get up for this? no one is buying this! Calhoun is normally reserved, he must have known the cameras were on him," etc. So Calhoun was in a lose-lose situation, which is what happens ANYTIME you allow cameras into the locker room - any sport, any time, any situation. There is nothing good that happens in a locker room that you want broadcasted to the rest of the world, but thats another story.
But, the more I think about, not only do I want to defend Calhoun for being in a lose-lose situation, but I actually want to compliment him. If you listen closely to the speech, its a) pretty good, and b) the Huskies were able to do what he said. If you communicate to your team a list of goals, and tell them they will be successful if they do it, and then they do it, and you are in fact successful, I would imagine that is a pretty good day at the office. UConn was the better team, they did outwork Butler, they did drain Butlers will, etc.
On top of all that, this one minute clip is clearly a small section of the whole pregame locker room routine. That should be obvious regardless, but the blogger attacks Calhoun for concluding on "lets go get them," when he clearly continues to talk after it gets cut off. He has an entire dry erase board devoted to the gameplan, so I don't think he just talked to his team for one minute, and then walked out of the locker room without anymore direction.
It seems as though this blogger was just grasping at straws for a news story in an otherwise uneventful title game. Calhoun didn't throw a big "rah-rah" speech because he didn't have to. If you want to persecute him for his recruiting violations, his looming suspension, or his blow-up a few years back about his annual salary, that is one thing, but criticizing his pregame speech, and this one in particular - one that came before he won his third national title, is one of the dumbest things I ever heard.
That ISNT to say I wouldn't want to hear a pregame or halftime speech from Joe Kine.
Or, a postgame speech from Jim Mora.
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