Connecticut wants out of the ACC, but it might be staying in the Big East, at least until it can convince the ACC to accept another member or two.
Until then, the Huskies are prepping for another season against longtime rivals like Syracuse, Pitt, Georgetown. And Louisville. Ah, Louisville.
There could be some off-court headlines for that one.
Once news of UConn’s wishes emerged, Cardinals coach Rick Pitino blogged his displeasure about it, calling it the “dumbest thing” he’d ever heard. Not that it bothers Calhoun.
From the Hartford Courant:“We are going to play in a conference, but we’re going to be in a place that’s best for us,” he said. “We’ve worked too hard to get where we are, we’ve worked too hard to let anyone stop us.”
And as for Rick Pitino’s comment that UConn moving out of the Big East was “the dumbest thing he’d ever heard,” Calhoun responded, “The coach who said that has been talking to every conference in America.” But later, he said he was joking.
Calhoun can sympathize with Pitino. Neither wants to coach a program that’s seemingly playing in a second-rate conference (at least when it comes to BCS schools). If that means publicly advocating for a move or ripping schools that bolt, that’s what they’ll do.
“Hey, line ‘em up, we’ll play ‘em,” Calhoun told the paper. "… If we play in the Big East, I don’t think anyone would be angry with that. Rick [Pitino] was thinking of Louisville’s interests and we have to do what’s in our best interests, as, by the way, Syracuse and Pitt did.”
Ah, yes. Syracuse and Pitt. Seems UConn and Louisville have a common enemy.
Related story:
- Rick Pitino: UConn to ACC would be “dumbest thing” ever
- UConn’s not sweating Drummond’s adidas video
- Are the Huskies now the team to beat in 2012?
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