Jim Calhoun is set to begin his third season as head coach of the men’s basketball team at the University of St. Joseph.
Jim Calhoun is set to begin his third season as head coach of the men’s basketball team at the University of St. Joseph.
It will mark the Hall of Famer’s 43rd season as an NCAA head coach and it will be unlike any he’s coached in the past.
“I never thought that this kind of thing would happen certainly,” said Calhoun. “I wouldn’t think that I’m getting ready with a practice plan and a mask, it’s a little different.”
Calhoun led the Blue Jays to their first NCAA Tournament and first GNAC championship last season. This year, the GNAC canceled conference competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the University of St. Joseph will try to piece together a schedule with opponents in the area.
“It was definitely disappointing,” said St. Joseph junior forward Jake Sullivan. “I know we really reloaded this year and we brought new guys in that we were excited about.”
“They are still going to have the NCAA Tournament we’re told as of right now, we want to qualify for that,” said Calhoun. “We’ve got some folks around here, particularly in the 100-mile radius that want to play games and hopefully we do that but you know once again, the biggest thing is safety first. Like Batman used to say to Robin, ‘safety first Robin,’ and we’ll do that.”
The Blue Jays began full team practices on Tuesday and all players and coaches are required to wear masks throughout practice. Games are not likely to begin until January.
