Calhoun recap

Jim Calhoun sat down for an hour and 20 minutes with the media Thursday afternoon to discuss the season that was and the offseason that will be. As you can imagine, 80 minutes of discussion produced more than what could fit into today's stories: an examination of the immediate future of the team and A.J. Price's impending surgery and his take on the whole situation.

As for UConn's immediate future, Calhoun more than hinted that there will be a roster shake-up, with as many as two to three current players leaving.

"Between some personnel changes, some additions to the roster and a couple deletions, we think it's the best interest of everybody," he said. "If a kid comes in and asks me, 'Coach, what's my role next year?' As you'll probably imagine, I'll be blatantly honest with all those kids. And some kids it might surprise, some kids it might be. But it won't be shocking to anybody I don't think. But I will take the total package of what it's like to be a UConn basketball player and I've had a few disappointments in the total package of our culture."

The prime candidates for transfer appear to be Curtis Kelly, Donnell Beverly and Doug Wiggins, three players who either have already seen their playing time slashed and may be an even tighter crunch with the impending arrival of several recruits. Kemba Walker and Scottie Haralson are already locked into next season, but there remains the possibility Nate Miles joins next year's class as well as Ater Majok, who is expected to make an official visit sometime in mid to late April. Miles still needs to clear several academic hurdles, including UConn's own admissions process.

As for who these players may replace:

Kelly, highly touted coming out of Rice (the same school as Walker), appeared primed for a big year at the start of the season. Calhoun called him the Huskies' best player during preseason workouts and his first game against Morgan State (13 points, nine rebounds) showed what the 6-foot-9 sophomore was capable of. But between a poor showing the following in New York at the 2K Classic, the emergence of Gavin Edwards as a reliable reserve and a dislocated elbow in late February, this season was largely a disaster for Kelly.

Beverly received high praise from Calhoun Thursday. "I still think he's going to be a good basketball player," the coach said. "He may be our single hardest worker and he may be one of our best teammates." That said, being a freshman on a team with a solidified backcourt, Beverly was usually the odd-man out, aside from his performance against Indiana. And with a player like Walker expected to join since last summer, Beverly's place always seemed in question. He seemed to adjust well, and his high school has been known to produce late bloomers (e.g. UCLA's Russell Westbrook), but there just may be too many guards to justify Beverly sticking around.

Wiggins, a favorite of Calhoun's early in the year, had as erratic a season as anyone on the team. After being suspended two games for alcohol possession, the East Hartford native struggled with his confidence but rebounded with some great performances (the 20 points at South Florida sticks out the most), only to have his playing time slashed with the return of Jerome Dyson from his 30-day suspension. Calhoun refused to speak of Wiggins status, though he did in somewhat veiled terms.

"You can't say we've had a ton of behavior problems," Calhoun said. "We had an incident and it was not pleasant, but it was some thing I think that one young man has really grown from it."

Then this, earlier about Dyson: "I think you'll see a different Jerome Dyson; we're setting plans up for him. I've got one call in and a return call from Ben (Gordon), and he may be the kind of guy we want him working out with. What he has right now is terrific athletic talent, great, great competitiveness, he's probably one of the toughest guys I've coached. ... He needs to develop more game, in other words, not just one speed going at the hole, but changing speeds."

There's always the possibility someone else could transfer, citing a desire for more playing time. And academics could play a roll for others not mentioned here. Either way, who stays or goes should be made apparent quickly.

"If you see any movement in our roster, and I'm telling you right now, you will, and speculate all you want, I think most of it will become pretty evident in the next week or two," Calhoun said.

Last season also marked a departure of several Huskies, including Rob Garrison to Niagara, Ben Eaves to URI and, very early on this past winter, Marcus Johnson to USC. Asked if he misjudged some recruits who've come into the program, Calhoun said that wasn't necessarily the case.

"It's hard to say we misjudged them when the program hasn't dipped and gone any place. Has it gone below it's lofty standards? Yes it has. But I hasn't dipped and gone any place. But when you take the real positive (outlook), it seems to be on the cusp of having a real terrific year next year in a very difficult league.

"I want us to be better next year."

He added, "Everybody reacts differently to the pressure putting on you, to other good players in the program, to what we're asking of you."

Here to talk about the past
Though it wasn't the focus of today's stories, Calhoun did speak of the season as a whole, though it largely reflected what he said after the loss to San Diego.

"The season was a success for us," he said. "It just wasn't a terrific season, which we've kind of become very used to here. And I don't want that change. I know one of the columnists wrote that I wanted my head on a platter and people will write different things about me. … But regardless, the most wins the university had before 1986 was 23. We won 24 this year. So some perspective may be in order."

Calhoun added that, "No question we would have won that game if A.J. had played, but ... we still should have won the game. I think we were good enough and had been through losing at that point our leading scorer (in Dyson earlier in the year) to be able to adjust to some things. We had enough guards."

And more, on the Huskies' 10-game winning streak, by far the defining part of the regular season: "I asked (associate head coach) George (Blaney) to look at that stretch, and he took that stretch and he thought that's when we would lose the most games at any point in time. He thought that 6-4 in that 10 games would be good. And to win 10 in a row is a magnificent accomplishment. How did that evaporate? I think it's a lack of focus."

Thabeet to go on?
Calhoun was mum about what he thinks Hasheem Thabeet will do, but he expects the 7-foot-3 sophomore to either choose between staying or entering the NBA Draft within the next two to three weeks. Thabeet wasn't made available to the media Thursday, but Calhoun said he plans to set up a trip to a Boston Celtics game and perhaps a practice so Thabeet can speak with players about to expect from joining the league.

"And what it's like to be a Kwame Brown and still make six or seven million (dollars) a year because he was the (first pick)," Calhoun said.

Calhoun has not been shy this season about what he thinks Thabeet should do. He wants him to stay, both for the sake of the program and for the sophomore himself. As good as Thabeet is defensively, there are far too many gaps in his offensive game for him to make an immediate impact in the pros. The question is, what is a better environment to improve those weaknesses: The college game, where if he continues his progression, he can be dominant next season, or an NBA bench or perhaps even the NBDL? The monetary draw is undeniable, but teams that take Thabeet are still largely taking a project.

"I will give him the best advice on both sides of the issue to satisfy the responsibility he has," Calhoun said. "He does enjoy college very much, he's a good student (Thabeet has the highest GPA on the team). He's enjoyed his time here. And he's got some weighing out to do, some legitimate weighing out. Last year, I think he was intrigued. And people were intriguing him. This year has has a legitimate decision to make because we have a feel of where he might go right now. And he would go without question in the first round. And he would go in the upper two-thirds."

If Thabeet does leave, that would clear up one more scholarship and undoubtedly change how the Huskies play defense. Calhoun said Thursday it would go back to a more "traditional" style to what UConn teams in the past have played.

Price to be determined
Price was scheduled to have his surgery today, and an update is expected to be released later this afternoon about what Dr. Michael Joyce found during the procedure. Stay tuned.