Calhoun looks on, but his former deputies move on

Parents love to see their children succeed, but they love it a little less when those children succeed at their expense.

That's the situation Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun finds himself in today when the NCAA Tournament begins. The Huskies coach will be beaming with pride as four of his former assistant coaches, including Penn coach Glen Miller, lead teams into the Tournament. The only problem is, instead of coaching against his disciples, Calhoun will have to resort to cheerleading. The Huskies failed to qualify for the Tournament for the first time in five years and for just the fifth time in Calhoun's 21 seasons.

"He called us the night after the selection show and congratulated us, as well as apologized for not being here," Miller said. "He promised he'd be back next year, and I believe that."

The web of coaching relationships between Calhoun and his four former assistants - Miller, Virginia's Dave Leitao, George Washington's Karl Hobbs and Central Connecticut State's Howie Dickenman - weaves back and forth between Connecticut and Northeastern, where Calhoun was given his first head job in 1972. The five coaches were never on the sideline at the same time, but Calhoun, Miller, Leitao and Dickenman coached together from 1986-87 to 91-92 and Hobbs replaced Miller to make another foursome in 1993-94.

If an up-and-coming coach was to try and find a role model, few could serve as a better one than Calhoun, who is in the Hall of Fame and has a 750-328 career record, 19 NCAA Tournament appearances and 2 NCAA Championships.

"I really had a lot of respect for coach Calhoun," said Penn assistant Perry Bromwell, who was recruited by Calhoun at Northeastern. "You could just tell at that time in 1982 that he was a great coach and had a lot of intensity."

Miller played under Calhoun at Northeastern for two seasons (1982-84) after transferring from UConn. Following his senior season at Northeastern, Miller returned to UConn to finish his degree. When Calhoun was hired as UConn's head coach in 1986, Calhoun brought Miller on as an assistant.

Miller stayed with Calhoun until the end of the 1992 season when he left for Connecticut College. He completely revamped the Camels program in just six years, taking the team from a 6-18 record in his inaugural campaign to a 28-1 record in his final season at the school.

The coaching group has turned itself into its own basketball fraternity.

"We congratulate each other after big wins," said Dickenman, whose Blue Devils will face top-seeded Ohio State today. "And if things aren't going well, it's nice to know you've got support from each other."

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