As you may have heard by now, everyone’s favorite state accountant, Jim Calhoun, collapsed after a 50-mile charity bike ride in his own “Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge Ride”. The fall was actually Calhoun’s second of the event as he finished the ride in a replacement helmet after cracking the other one during a fall just 12 miles into the ride that broke 5 ribs. [Insert joke about how much tougher he is than the UConn players were in the Final 4.] Calhoun was taken to the UConn Health Center in Farmington, CT where he was listed in “good” condition according to hospital spokesperson Maureen McGuire. [Ed. Note: Fortunately for Calhoun and the UConn basketball program the new interns haven’t arrived at the medical center yet.]
Given Calhoun’s history of health problems (previously diagnosed with prostate cancer and squamous cell carcinoma) everyone was probably concerned about the cause of the episode, but according to the hospital it was simply due to dehydration and trauma from his first fall. Despite the seemingly benign cause the fall will inevitably lead to more questions about how long Calhoun will be coaching the Huskies. Calhoun recently spoke about his health and the health of his program and briefly even touched upon the Nate Miles issue. While some pundits will speculate that Calhoun’s days in Storrs are numbered, the thinking here is that Calhoun will not want to go out with the pending NCAA investigation hanging over the program he worked so hard to build. Expect at least another 5 years out of Calhoun at UConn before he retires. Health permitting of course. . .