Not a nurse or a doctor or even an orderly bit on his offer.
Must have been Syracuse fans.
After getting treatment for dehydration and missing Connecticut’s first-round game, the Huskies coach was back at practice Friday. He’s set to guide the top-seeded Huskies (28-4) against Texas A&M today.
“Nobody really wants to spend even a night in the hospital, particularly during such an important time of year,” Calhoun said.
The 66-year-old Calhoun stepped onto the podium feeling refreshed and holding a cup of water. He ate breakfast with the Huskies and ran practice at the Palestra, the home of Philly basketball on Penn’s campus.
If Calhoun felt any lingering effects of his illness, he didn’t show it to his players at practice. A.J. Price described Calhoun as upbeat and his usual self. Jeff Adrien spoke for all the Huskies when he said there was no doubt Calhoun would return and go for his 803rd career win.
“He’s just fought through so many things in his life,” Adrien said. “A little sickness would not prevent him from coaching Saturday.”
In his absence, associate head coach George Blaney coached the Huskies. Price and Hasheem Thabeet each scored 20 points in the third-largest victory ever in NCAA Tournament history - 103-47 against Chattanooga in the West Regional.
If the Huskies play as they did against Chattanooga, then the ninth-seeded Aggies (24-9) could be in deep trouble. Texas A&M, though, won’t be intimidated after playing in a Big 12 conference that produced two No. 3 seeds and one No. 2.
“Different faces, but the same type of skill level,” Aggies guard Donald Sloan said. “Talent-wise, we’ve seen it before.”
A&M beat Brigham Young 79-66 on Thursday and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.
Standing in the Aggies’ way is yet another high seed playing close to home in the second round.
Last season, the Aggies paid with a two-point loss to top-seeded UCLA in Anaheim, Calif., and in 2007 they knocked off sixth-seeded Louisville in Lexington, Ky.
Coach Mark Turgeon might use Philadelphia’s iconic rallying figure as a way to make the Aggies believe they can topple the top seed and move on to Arizona.
“I don’t know if I’m going to throw that Rocky line on them tomorrow before we start or not,” Turgeon said.
