Episode 11 - The Regular Season Wraps Up

The 1989-90 UConn men's basketball team closes out the regular season with their final seven conference games, including key matchups at both Syracuse and Georgetown.

The squad continues to advance up the AP Top 25 and the lone senior is honored on Senior Night.

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Transcript

Hi and welcome to The Dream Season Podcast, an oral history of the 1989-90 UConn men’s basketball season, also known as, The Dream Season.

This Episode 11, The Regular Season Wraps Up

Following the win over Fairfield, UConn entered the final stretch of the regular season. The road ahead presented plenty of challenges for the Huskies.

The Huskies had completed the non-conference portion of their schedule and seven conference matchups remained. Three of the matchups were home games at Gampel Pavilion, sandwiched between two sets of road games. Two of those road games were against the two teams currently jockeying for first place with the Huskies, Syracuse and Georgetown.

UConn was currently ranked #8 in the country, had a 20-3 overall record and a Big East record of 7-2, a half game behind Georgetown for first place and a half game ahead of Syracuse.

They were riding a 10 game winning streak, including 7 consecutive Big East wins. 

The key to the Huskies success has been their defense, specifically their full court pressure defense.

Here’s Nadav Henefeld and Jim Calhoun speaking about the defense back in the spring of 1990:

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In an effort to confuse opposing offenses, Jim Calhoun unleashed a multitude of defensive looks on UConn opponents. Man to man, 2-3 and 1-3-1 half court zones and of course, the variations of the full-court press.

The most effective of the full-court pressure defense was the 2-2-1 press. 

The first “two” in the 2-2-1 referred to the guards, most often Chris Smith and Tate George. They would be the first line of defense as the opponent inbounds the ball under their own hoop.

Tate and Smitty would attempt to force the ball handler towards the sidelines, where they could trap the ball handler, but more often than not, their pressure would result in a poor pass as the ball handler attempted to throw the ball over halfcourt to avoid a 10 second violation.

That pass would often be intercepted by one of the other “two” in the 2-2-1, Scott Burrell or Nadav Henefeld. 

Henefeld’s 98 steals has already broken the UConn single-season record, as well as the NCAA record for most steals in a season by a freshman after just 23 games.

Tate George, who has 44 steals on the season, is just 9 away from passing Corny Thompson to become the UConn career leader in steals.

And the last line of defense, the “one”, was played by the big man, usually Rod Sellers.

The Huskies have 315 total steals after 23 games, an average of 13.7 steals per game. By comparison, the 1988-89 Huskies had 275 steals in 31 games.

The Steal Curtain Defense had forced 490 turnovers so far, an average of 21.3 per game.

But the relentless full-court pressure defense does a lot more than just force turnovers.

Jim Calhoun, [QUOTE] “The reason I’ve always liked pressing, and I think it shows in this team and my Northeastern teams, is that I always thought it got us going at the first part of the game. In my first three years here, we had a tough time getting out of the gate. One thing a press does is get the blood flowing right off the bat. You’re not standing around. You don’t really think about offense. You’re really getting involved through the defense.” [END QUOTE]

Chris Smith would come to be known for his scoring prowess, but he recalls how important defense was to his game:

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Co-captain Steve Pikiell recalls facing UConn’s press in practice daily:

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Finally, Rod Sellers thinks back on how difficult it must have been to play against their defense and how it’s still a topic of conversation amongst he and his teammates to this day:

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The next test for the Steal Curtain Defense was a visit to the Carrier Dome for a rematch with Syracuse on Saturday, February 10. The Orangemen were the #6 team in the country and were looking to move past UConn in the Big East standings. 

Syracuse had won five straight games, including a 19 point win at Georgetown, after installing Michael Edwards as the starting point guard over David Johnson following back to back losses in mid-January.

Anticipation for this Top 10 showdown was, according to Syracuse Sports Information Director Larry Kimball, QUOTE “at the same as when Georgetown comes here.” END QUOTE. The Carrier Dome was sold out earlier in the week, setting an NCAA on-campus attendance record of 32,820.

Fueled by the crowd, Syracuse jumped out to a quick 11-0 lead to start the game. 

Rod Sellers scored the first points of the night for UConn at the 16:26 mark. 

Syracuse’s uptempo offense was negating UConn’s pressure defense and the Orangemen’s man to man defense was sealing off passing lanes, forcing the Huskies to fire away from the outside. 

With UConn down 13, the Huskies began to make a run. They trimmed the deficit to 7 at 36-29, when the key moment of the game occurred.

After a Syracuse miss, the Huskies looked to fast break. From half court, Tate George spotted Scott Burrell cutting towards the hoop & lofted a long alley-oop pass. The pass was offline and Burrell couldn’t corral it. Burrell grabbed the rim on his way down and was called for a technical foul. 

Derrick Coleman proceeded to make both free throws. On the ensuing possession, Syracuse patiently worked the ball, resulting in a Billy Owens three-pointer to push the Orange lead to 41-29 with 1:25 left in the half. 

The first half ended with Syracuse up 43-31.

As the scoreboard indicated, the Orangemen dominated the first half. They shot a blistering 58.1% from the floor.

The Huskies were the polar opposite, shooting a paltry 33%. UConn’s starters only accounted for four field goals in the half. Chris Smith was 0-6. Off the bench, John Gwynn and Scott Burrell scored 21 of the 31 UConn points. Gwynn entered the game and hit 3 consecutive 3 pointers, ending the half with 13 points on 4 of 7 shooting. Burrell tallied 8 points and went 3 of 4 from the field.

The first part of the second half saw more of the same from Syracuse. The Steal Curtain failed to slow down the Syracuse offense and the Orange maintained their comfortable lead for most of the half.

However, the Huskies did not fold. With 7 minutes and 58 seconds left in the game and trailing 65-50, UConn increased their defensive intensity. Chris Smith hit a 3 pointer with 5:23 left to make the score 71-64 Syracuse. A Tate George 3 made it a 6 point game, 75-69, with 3:16 remaining.

Syracuse pushed their lead back to 79-69 with 2:11 left, but UConn wasn’t done fighting.

John Gwynn hit two free throws with 32 seconds remaining to bring UConn to within 4 at 88-84. Lyman DePriest fouled LeRon Ellis, sending him to the line to shoot a one and one. Ellis missed the front end and UConn controlled the rebound. Nadav Henefeld launched a 3 pointer with 18 seconds left but it was short and Cuse grabbed the rebound. The Orange iced the game from the foul line and the final score was Syracuse 90, UConn 86.

Syracuse made 15 of 21 free throws in the final six minutes of the game to earn the victory.

The Huskies lost for the first time since January 2, when they lost by 31 points at St. John’s. Just as in that game, the UConn defense was unable to slow the offensive attack by their opponent.

The Huskies only had 6 steals and forced only 12 Syracuse turnovers, both of which were season-lows.

Derrick Coleman had a career-high 29 points and 12 rebounds for the Orangemen.

Chris Smith led the way for UConn with 25 points, all of which came in the second half. He scored 23 in the final 11 minutes and 15 seconds of the game. John Gwynn added 15 for the Huskies, who set a school record with 12 3 pointers made.

Aside from the poor defensive performance, UConn was hurt by the lack of production from the inside. The trio of Rod Sellers, Dan Cyrulik and Toraino Walker combined for 2 points and 10 rebounds. By contrast, the Syracuse big men, Coleman, Ellis and Stephen Thompson, had 62 points and 22 rebounds as a group.

Jim Calhoun, [QUOTE], “That was a big difference. The inside donut really showed up. I’m not knocking those guys but Toraino didn’t look that sad when I took him out. We’re going to have to get more out of the middle.” [END QUOTE]

The Huskies 10-game winning streak was over and they were now 20-4 overall and 7-3 in the Big East, falling to third place behind Georgetown and Syracuse.

When the new Associated Press Top 25 poll was released on Monday, February 12th, UConn fell two spots to #10. Georgetown and Syracuse each moved up two spots and were now #3 and #4 respectively.

Later that night, Syracuse lost to Villanova, 60-56.

The Huskies stayed on the road for their next game, a visit to the Fitzgerald Field House to take on Pittsburgh on Tuesday, February 13th.

UConn defeated Pitt 79-61 on January 6th at the Civic Center but Pitt entered the game hot. They had won four of their last five games, scoring over 100 points in three of those games. Their 117 points in their last game against Providence set a Big East record, which still stands entering the 2023-24 Big East season.

Lyman DePriest replaced Murray Williams in the starting lineup, joining the usual four of Tate George, Chris Smith, Nadav Henefeld and Rod Sellers.

The Huskies started strong, jumping out to a 6-0 lead on back to back 3 pointers from Chris Smith.

Pitt hung tough, eventually taking a 16-15 lead.

Then, at the 9:13 mark, things got a little nutty.

After Henefeld stole the ball from Darelle Porter, Porter fouled Nadav, sending him to the line for a 1 and 1.

As he made the first free throw, Pitt’s Brian Shorter was called for an intentional foul for elbowing Rod Sellers in the head.

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Henefeld made his second shot, Sellers missed his two, but Chris Smith made all four of the technical free throws. The Huskies maintained possession and Henefeld scored on a driving layup. All told, it was an 8 point possession and UConn led 23-16.

The Huskies maintained the lead for the rest of the first half, but the margin shrunk.

With UConn up 36-35, they looked to score on the final possession of the half:

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Chris Smith led the way for UConn in the opening half, scorching the Panthers for 18 points, including 4 3 pointers. 

Late in the half, Pitt switched to a box and 1 defense on Smith in an effort to limit his scoring. The strategy lasted through the rest of the game, with other junk defenses, such as a diamond and one and triangle and two, thrown in for good measure.

Technically, the strategy worked. Smith was held to just four points in the second half.

However, the focus on Smith created additional space for Nadav Henefeld to work with.

Henefeld scored 19 of his career-high 27 points in the second half.

UConn had a 60-51 lead with 11:26 left in the game but as was the case earlier, the Panthers wouldn’t go away. 

With the Huskies up 64-59, fans in Connecticut held their breath as Rod Sellers and Pitt’s Bobby Martin became entangled while battling for a rebound:

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Sellers limped off but eventually returned to the game a few minutes later, even scoring a basket and grabbing two key rebounds.

The Huskies were clinging to a 74-73 lead as the clock moved to under a minute. After Smith missed a runner in the lane, Pitt looked to take the lead:

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The Panthers missed three putbacks at the rim before eventually fouling Henefled on a rebound attempt.

Henefeld made two free throws and after Pitt missed a shot on their next possession, Nadav made two more, to give the Huskies a 78-73 lead. After a Pitt basket, Tate George made two more free throws to seal the game and UConn left Pitt with a hard-fought 80-77 victory.

Here’s WFSB’s Phil Andrews, along with Chris Smith and Jim Calhoun, to recap the win:

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Henefeld and Smith were the only Huskies in double figures. Tate George, who was hampered by back spasms, had a quiet night, but once again etched his name into the UConn record book. He played in the 115th game of his career and passed Bruce Kuczenski, Mike McKay and Corny Thompson to become UConn’s all-time leader in games played.

The win was UConn’s first win at Pitt since January of 1984 and  improved the Huskies record to 21-4 and 8-3 in the Big East. And thanks to Providence defeating Georgetown, the Huskies also moved back into a tie for first place in the Big East with Georgetown, both teams a half a game ahead of Syracuse.

Jim Calhoun gave the road-weary Huskies the day off on Wednesday in order to rest up for what he referred to as the New England Championship; games against Boston College on Saturday and Providence on Monday, both at Gampel Pavilion.

Calhoun was trying to ensure his team wouldn’t suffer a letdown against BC, who entered the game last in the Big East standings with a 1-10 conference record.

Early on, it seemed as if Calhoun’s fears would become reality.

Boston College led for most of the first eight minutes of the game. With just over 12 minutes left in the first half, the Eagles were up 14-9. Then things changed quickly.

Over the next four minutes, the Huskies blitzed BC with a 22-3 run to take a 31-17 lead. 

UConn entered the locker room leading 43-32 at halftime.

It was an ugly first half, with both teams combining for 19 turnovers. 

Rod Sellers, playing without a knee brace, led the Huskies with 10 first half points.

The second half was nearly a carbon copy of the first half, minus the part where Boston College led.

UConn steadily increased its lead over the first 8 minutes of the second half, eventually going up 70-48. Boston College never threatened from there and the final score was UConn 89, Boston College 67.

There were a total of 54 fouls in the game, 33 committed by BC. There were also 42 total turnovers. It was not a classic, but it was another win.

The Huskies kept pace with Georgetown at the top of the Big East standings at 9-3. The 9 Big East wins were the most UCon has ever won in a Big East season.

Five Huskies finished in double figures, led by John Gwynn’s career-high 18 points, coming in just 17 minutes. Sellers and Tate George had 16, Henefeld 15 and Chris Smith had 13.

Henefeld was outscored by his teammate on the Israeli National Team, Lior Arditti, who finished with a game-high 20 points for BC.

The Huskies would have to be more focused in order to vanquish their next opponent, Providence, on Monday, February 19th. UConn defeated PC by 15 on February 3rd in an extremely physical game at Providence, but the Friars have been playing better since that meeting. They knocked off both Georgetown and St. John’s in the past week and were fighting to stay in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Prior to the game, more honors rolled in for the Huskies. They had moved up four spots in the Associated Press Top 25, sitting now at #6, their highest ranking ever. Nadav Henefeld was once again named Big East Rookie of the Week, earning the award for the third time.

Mike Gorman and Clark Kellogg set the stage for another ESPN Big Monday matchup:

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The Huskies attacked early, taking 7 point leads twice, at 12-5 and 16-9. But the Friars used a 10-0 run to take a 19-16 lead just past the halfway point of the first half. 

With PC up 23-22 with 6 minutes left, the Huskies picked up the pace.

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UConn closed the half on a 17-5 run, capped off with another halftime buzzer-beater.

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The second half saw the Huskies increase their lead to as much as 13 points.

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A Tate George 3 pointer with 8:06 left put the Huskies up 56-44. 

It was at that point that UConn went ice cold.

Providence took full-advantage of UConn’s shooting woes. They trimmed the lead to 7 with 3:54 left, 59-52.

The Huskies also lost their touch from the charity stripe. They had started the game going 13 of 14 from the foul line. After that, they missed 10 of their next 18.

With 3:23 remaining in the game, UConn led 62-54. The Friar’s Quniton Burton hit a 3 pointer with 1:16 left to pull PC to within one, 62-61.

John Gwynn had a chance to increase the lead to 3 with 18 seconds left, but he was only able to make the front end of a 1 and 1.

That gave Providence a chance to tie or take the lead.

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The Huskies did not make a field goal in the final 8:06 of regulation as the game headed to overtime. It was the first overtime game of the season for UConn.

At the two minute mark of OT, PC led 67-65. 

Then, Chris Smith took over. Smith scored on a drive to the hoop while drawing a foul. He hit the free throw and then promptly stole the ball after Providence inbounded it. He found George under the hoop for an easy layup, putting UConn up by 3, 70-67.

After four missed free throws by the Friars, Smith hit two more free throws, making the score 72-67 with 1:35 left in OT.

UConn led 72-69 with a minute to go when Scott Burrell was fouled after grabbing a defensive rebound. With a chance to extend the lead, Burrell missed the front end of the 1 and 1, keeping hope alive for the Friars.

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After Murdock’s clutch 3 pointer, Jim Calhoun called time out with 45 seconds remaining.

There was a four second difference between the game clock and the shot clock. The Huskies worked the ball until about 5 seconds were left on the shot clock when Tate George made a move towards the hoop.

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The refs didn’t add any additional time on the clock and when Lyman DePriest stole the inbounds pass, the Huskies escaped with a 75-72 overtime victory.

Here’s Jim Calhoun and Nadav Henefeld after the game:

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UConn’s defense was the difference in the game yet again. Despite shooting a lowly 37.9% from the floor and 65.6% from the line, the Huskies won the turnover battle, 24 to 14. That resulted in 10 more field goal attempts and the difference in the ball game.

Chris Smith paced the Huskies with 17 points and Tate George added 16. 

The Huskies won their 23rd game of the season, tying the 1953-54 and 1964-65 teams for the most wins in a season. They were now 10-3 in the Big East, a half game ahead of second place Georgetown.

This was also the first close game in the history of Gampel Pavilion. As Coach Calhoun said after the game, “This building lost its innocence tonight.”

Nadav Henefeld’s game-winning three pointer most likely marked the peak of Nadav-mania in Connecticut.

While the entire state of Connecticut was already awash in Huskymania and the entire team were considered rock stars, Nadav’s popularity rose to another level. 

Israeli flags were prominent in the crowd at Gampel. Invitations to bar mitzvahs arrived to the UConn athletic department daily. News stories detailing the success of both Nadav and UConn were eagerly awaited by fans back in Israel. 

How did Nadav cope with this sudden explosion in popularity?

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BREAK

The Huskies had four days to prepare for their next game, the final home game of the year on Saturday, February 24 against Seton Hall.

On Wednesday, UConn received some good news when St. John’s defeated Georgetown, putting the Huskies in sole-possession of first place. If UConn could win their three remaining games, they would be outright Big East regular season champs and earn the #1 seed in the upcoming Big East Tournament.

Seton Hall was up first. UConn had won at Seton Hall by just 3 points back in January, but the Pirates were finishing up a tough season. They entered the game with a record of 11-13, 4-9 in the Big East and were led by freshman guard Terry Dehere. Dehere led all Big East freshmen in scoring with 16.6 points per game and was Nadav Henefeld’s prime competition for the Big East Rookie of the Year award.

The final home game of the season for UConn also meant the final home game for the Huskies lone senior, Tate George.

Tate had come a long way in his senior year. Early in his career, he seemingly had permanent residence in Calhoun’s doghouse. He would arrive for practices, technically not late, but later than Coach wanted and after the rest of the team had arrived, earning the nickname, “Late George”. 

After helping lead UConn to the NIT title his sophomore year, Tate [QUOTE] “Celebrated all summer.” [END QUOTE] By the end of his junior year, he was losing minutes to freshman Chris Smith. When he asked Calhoun why that was, Calhoun explained that Smith’s never-ending hours in the gym were giving him the edge.

Tate was upset and accepted the challenge heading into his senior year. Said Tate [QUOTE] “I was upset with myself. I had never really worked on my game. I’d always done just enough to get by.” [END QUOTE]

He stayed on campus nearly the entire summer, helping to run the off-season program with co-captain Steve Pikiell. He had one-on-one conversations with Coach Calhoun. He shot 500 jump shots a day, ran 2 to 3 miles daily and lifted weights with strength coach Jay Hoffman.

The results speak for themselves. Tate’s scoring average had nearly doubled from 7.3 points per game as a junior to 12.3 this season. He’s shooting 48.4% from the floor, up over 5% and 13 from 39 from 3 point range, compared to 2 of 10 his junior year. 

Calhoun also trusted him more. Said Calhoun [QUOTE], “He was always a leader. But now he shoots the ball better and he’s resilient. He hasn’t let things bother him.” [END QUOTE]

Heading into the pregame ceremony, Tate George held the UConn career records for most games played and most assists and was only three steals away from owning that record as well. There were also more games ahead and opportunities to create some more memories.

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Both teams started the game cold. The Huskies missed their first 5 shots from the floor, some of them by a lot. UConn finally broke the ice at the 17:43 mark on a Nadav Henefeld runner in the lane.

Not long after that, the Huskies were off and running.

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The run would eventually increase to 13-0 before a Terry Dehere free throw put the Pirates on the board. The Pirates missed their first eight shots from the floor.

UConn eventually led 35-24 at the half and came out of the locker room just as they had ended the first half. A Tate George steal led to a quick dunk by Scott Burrell and helped spur a 22-9 UConn run to start the half. 

The Huskies led by as many as 24 in the second half on the way to a comfortable 79-57 victory.

Chris Smith led the way in scoring for UConn with 21 points, while Tate George added 15 points and 5 assists.

Nadav Henefeld won the battle of the fabulous freshmen, scoring 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting while tying his career-high in steals with 6. Terry Dehere scored 16 but was 4 of 13 from the floor while committing a game-high 6 turnovers.

The Huskies held the Pirates to 34% shooting and forced 22 turnovers.

Said Calhoun [QUOTE] “It was the hardest we’ve played defense in the past 2-3 weeks. We honestly had the feeling that they might not score.” [END QUOTE]

UConn improved to 24-4 on the season and set a school record for most victories in a season. Tate George tied Corny Thompson for the school record in steals with 179.

With Georgetown cruising past Villanova, the stage was set for a showdown with the Hoyas on Wednesday night. If UConn could win either of their next two games (they travel to Boston College the following Saturday), the Huskies would clinch at least a tie for the regular season Big East title, uncharted waters for the program.

Based on the most recent Associated Press Top 25 poll, the Georgetown game would be a matchup between two Top-10 teams. The 7th ranked Hoyas and the 4th ranked Huskies. The #4 ranking marks another high water mark for the UConn program.

UConn was looking for their first win at Georgetown since the 1981-82 season. The Huskies won the first meeting this season at the Hartford Civic Center, 70-65 on January 20.

Coach Calhoun’s gameplan heading into the game was to eliminate the strength of the Hoyas, big men Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo, by controlling the perimeter game and the guard position.

The game started okay for the Huskies. They didn’t start as well as they did in the first matchup but they did lead by 5 6:40 into the game. Then they went cold.

UConn shot just 24.2% from the floor in the first half, a season-low. Mutombo dominated the half, scoring 13 points and grabbing 11 rebounds as the Hoyas took a 38-28 lead at halftime.

Early in the second half, the Huskies made a run. 3 pointers from Tate George and Chris Smith were part of a 10-2 run that brought UConn to within 4 with 15:45 left in the game. Georgetown responded with back to back 3s from Ronny Thompson and Antoine Stoudamire, increasing their lead to 56-45 with 11:12 left in the game.

Then the Hoyas went to work inside. Alonzo Mourning scored 15 of his 20 points in the second half and with 6:27 left, the Georgetown lead had grown to 20, 66-46.

The final score, Georgetown 84, UConn 64.

The Huskies went nearly 7 minutes without scoring in the second half and only made 11 of 34 shots in the half. UConn finished 6 of 26 from three point range. They could not get their offense flowing, as the Hoyas completely took away any inside options for the Huskies. Said Calhoun [QUOTE] “Georgetown didn’t allow us to do any of the things we wanted to do.” [END QUOTE]

Mourning and Mutombo combined for 35 points and 26 rebounds, while Dwayne Bryant added 20 for the Hoyas. The Huskies were led by Chris Smith’s 21 but those came on a poor shooting night for Smith, who was 7 of 26 from the floor, including 2 of 12 from 3.

To add injury to insult, Rod Sellers tweaked his left knee, the one that he injured during the game at Pittsburgh. 

There was one item of positive news to report. Tate George recorded one steal to become UConn’s all-time leader in that category.

On that same night of the Georgetown loss, Syracuse defeated Seton Hall, which created a 3-way tie atop the Big East standings. Each team had one game remaining, UConn at Boston College on Saturday, while Georgetown traveled to Syracuse on Sunday. The Huskies would clinch a share of the title with a win against the Eagles and would need some luck to be able to claim the top seed in the Big East Tournament.

Rod Sellers was still in the starting lineup on Saturday, despite the cumbersome brace on his left knee. He was joined by the usual grouping of Nadav Henefeld, Lyman DePriest, Chris Smith and Tate George. Calhoun had used this same starting lineup for the previous five games.

Clark Kellogg and Gil Santos of the Big East Television Network set the stage:

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It was a sellout crowd of 8,604 in Conte Forum, but at least half of that number were rooting for the visitors.

Halfway through the first half, the score was tied at 18, as both teams exchanged the lead several times. 

With UConn up 27-24 with just under 8 minutes left in the half, the Huskies went on a 9-0 run, led by John Gwynn, who scored 6 of his 13 points for the game during that stretch.

The Huskies led 46-36 as BC had the ball with 20 seconds left in the half:

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UConn earned that 10 point lead in large part to 23 trips to the foul line, where they converted 21. The Eagles on the other hand, only attempted 8 free throws, making 4 of them. The Huskies also forced twice as many turnovers as they committed, 14 to 7.

In the second half, UConn increased their lead to 56-41 with 16 minutes left. Boston College responded with an 11-2 run of their own to make it a 6 point game, 58-52.

But Henefeld answered with his second 3 pointer of the game and the Eagles would never get closer than 8 points the rest of the way.

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As Gil Santos mentioned in the previous clip, the Huskies jump from 7th place the previous season to first place this season, marks the largest improvement between seasons in Big East history. And that 7th place finish was the highest that UConn had ever finished in the conference.

The following day, Syracuse defeated Georgetown in overtime 89-87, which gave Syracuse the #1 seed in the Big East tournament. UConn would be the 2nd seed and Georgetown the 3rd.

Regardless, UConn’s share of the Big East regular season title marked a new high for the program.

UConn’s longtime director of athletic communications, Tim Tolokan, on the achievement:

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Jim Calhoun concurs:

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Hartford Courant columnist Alan Greenberg attempted to put the title into perspective. From Greenberg’s column from Sunday, March 4, 1990:

“I’ve never been so proud of what this team has accomplished,” UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. “It’s a tremendous accomplishment for us. Even I smiled.”

The last time Jim Calhoun smiled that easily was that May day in 1986 when he left Northeastern to become UConn’s head coach.

But then, it was a nervous smile. Calhoun’s job was to bring respectability to a program that had none. The university gave him a seven year contract. Some wondered if the job could be done in 70.

Last season’s Huskies finished seventh. Nobody held a parade, but they might have. For the first time in three seasons, Calhoun’s Huskies had escaped the Big East tournament’s opening round match between the eighth and ninth place teams that is played before thousands of empty seats. The booby-prize game.

At UConn, this is what passed for progress.

No more. Fair or not, future UConn teams will be compared to this one. Big East champions.

BREAK

Coming up on the next episode of The Dream Season Podcast, UConn travels to Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament.

The Dream Season Podcast is researched, written & produced by me, Matt Edwards. 

Written sources for this episode are the Hartford Courant archives and the Norwich Bulletin. Audio content is from interviews I conducted and YouTube.

You can connect with the show via Twitter and Instagram at DREAMSEASONPOD

If you have any memories to share about anything I just mentioned, want to correct me on something I screwed up or just have general feedback to give, send me an email at dreamseasonpodATgmail.com or call and leave me a message at (903) 884 - EIGHTY NINE NINETY. Thank you Dave from South Kent for your feedback!

After I’m done with the regular episodes of the show, I’d love to have at least one episode that consists entirely of your memories of the Dream Season. Either leave a message at the above number or email me with an audio recording of your recollections, along with your name and location, and I will include them in that episode. 

As always, thank you so much for listening!!