UConn men’s basketball coach John Calhoun was suspended by the NCAA for three games next season for recruiting violations committed under his watch.  Those three games will be the first three Big East conference games.

Then again, his program was spared any post-season bans, though it was placed on three years’ probation.

Upon reading that, some of you may think he got off too lightly.  It certainly seems to be the case.

Let’s face it, if an average coach got popped for recruiting violations, chances are he/she would have been suspended for many more games and be received a post-season ban for a year or two.  Hell, look at what happened to Southern Cal’s football program.

On the other hand, a lot of coaches, fans, and the media will view Calhoun in a different light.  They will look at him in the same view as known cheaters and shady coaches such as John Calipari, Jerry Tarkanian, and Bruce Pearl.

While most people are not naive and realize that most (if not all) major college programs cheat or at least push the envelope when it comes to recruiting, having years of hard work slapped with a big-ass asterisk is a punch in the stomach.

Calhoun worked VERY hard to turn UConn into a college basketball powerhouse in winning two national championships and several more Big East championships.  Too bad his hard work will now be remembered as a “yeah, but”…

Categories: college basketball, sports story