Drummond Calls Playing for Calhoun ‘A Blessing'

It's almost like a homecoming. The seventh annual Jim Calhoun's Charity All-Star Classic at Mohegan Sun takes place Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET and the Hall of Fame coach is looking forward to seeing those faces that helped the program to four national titles -- all for a great cause.

"Once again, I'm excited about bringing the Connecticut Basketball family back together for this game," Calhoun said, via the Hartford Courant. "It is a great way for me to reconnect with many of my former players, and I know they look forward to gathering together and playing in front of their longtime fans. As important, I'm so pleased that proceeds from the game will go to fight America's No. 1 killer – heart disease."

One of the names who will be in attendance: Ray Allen, who played in Storrs in the mid-1990s and is contemplating on whether to return for a 19th NBA season.

"[Connecticut] has been good to me," Allen said last weekend. "Any time I go up to UConn, it has changed so much, but I like to have a presence here, to impact kids here as much as I can," Allen told the Courant.

Then there's Andre Drummond, the 20-year-old who is growing into his game with the Pistons.

“Playing for Jim Calhoun,” Drummond told the Connecticut News, “not many people can even say they got a chance to speak to him. Just to be able to have him coach me was a blessing and really beneficial.”

All proceeds from the game will go to the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health. The event has raised more than $6.5 million for cardiology research and life-saving care.

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