Checking In With Jim Calhoun And the University of St. Joseph’s Blue Jays

In his first 11 games as head coach of the University of St. Joseph Blue Jays, Jim Calhoun has picked up right where he left off when he served as UConn’s legendary coach. With a coaching staff filled with UConn connections, Calhoun has gotten the Blue Jays off to an impressive start in the program’s inaugural season.

Just before Christmas, Calhoun and the team headed down to Daytona Beach, Florida for the Daytona Beach Shootout. After dropping the tournament opener to LaGrange, Calhoun and the Blue Jays defeated Rockford 85-62.

The win over Rockford brought USJ to 7-4 on the season and was Calhoun’s 880th win at the collegiate level, passing North Carolina’s Dean Smith for fourth on the all-time men’s college basketball wins list.

With 13 games left in the regular season, Calhoun has an outside chance of passing Bob Knight’s 902 wins to move if USJ performs well down the stretch this year and Calhoun — who will turn 77 in May — decides to come back next season.