A Healthy Outlook for U-Conn., Coach

PHILADELPHIA

The coincidence isn't lost on Jim Calhoun, unwanted as the experience is. The last two times the Connecticut head coach missed NCAA tournament games, in 1999 and 2004, his Huskies won the national championship.

So here we are, five years later and seemingly on schedule in this unhealthy but productive pattern. U-Conn. has a No. 1 seed and Calhoun has already spent more time being examined by doctors than coaching, having spent Thursday night in the hospital.

"Maybe it's an omen or something," he said before returning to the bench for Saturday's second-round game against Texas A&M. "Hopefully it is. I wouldn't necessarily like these types of omens. I'd rather have the kids just play."

And that's what Calhoun's team did Saturday: just play from the opening tip. There was no need for Calhoun's voice, blood pressure or heart rate to jump during the Huskies' 92-66 victory over the Aggies. The Huskies, with A.J. Price and Jeff Adrien leading the way, took a 10-0 lead and were never challenged.

They made their coach's afternoon here as easy as possible. Calhoun appeared a little subdued, by his standards, and went after the officials a couple of times, but it looked to be little more than exercise.

Relatively speaking, this latest trip to the hospital was pretty mild stuff. In 2003, cancer caused the removal of Calhoun's prostate. And last spring, he underwent radiation treatment for squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer. Repeatedly on Friday and again on Saturday morning, Calhoun, 66, reminded everyone that what kept him from working Thursday night's game wasn't anything remotely as serious.

"They looked at virtually everything, and came out with the fact that I was probably dehydrated," he said. "I bribed my way out of there as quick as I could. I started bargaining, using tickets, T-shirts being sent to their children, their next of kin, anything I could to get out of there as early as I could. Quite frankly, I feel good now. I got a full examination. I will say one thing: The full exam, which got high ratings, did not include a psychiatrist."

Of course, Calhoun got the laugh he was looking for. Similarly, he got a wry smile out of his longtime Big East adversary and friend in the coaching fraternity, John Thompson, who was calling the game on radio at courtside. Thompson tried to contact Calhoun and reached a school official who told him Calhoun was going to be okay, and was relieved to know his team had won it all the last two times he missed tournament games.

"That old fox," Thompson said. "Nobody is more superstitious than coaches."

But Thompson, who once had to head to the Georgetown locker room before a game's end because of dehydration, wasn't so quick to say no harm, no foul.