Huskies Boosted by Obama Inaugural

Coach Calhoun Attends the Inauguration

UConn Hall of Fame basketball coach Jim Calhoun has never shied away from where he stands politically.   So it comes as little surprise that the lifelong Democrat attended today's inauguration with his family.

Back in Storrs, the third-ranked UConn team watched the history-making event and clearly was impacted.

UConn senior forward Jeff Adrien said, "This is the greatest thing for him and his family since he's been alive."  Adrien added that it is a "great honor to have someone new in power who can hopefully change lives" and that he looks forward to President Obama "changing the world."

Other UConn players like A.J. Price, Hasheem Thabeet and Jerome Dyson said they were disappointed that they couldn't join their coach in Washington, D.C., but said they were happy that Coach Calhoun could represent them.

UConn assistant coach George Blaney said he "kept thinking all during the speech that he (President Obama) would have been a great coach because that's what he's trying to do, he's trying to put together a team."

For the record, the Obama family already has a coach.  Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson, a former two-time Ivy League player of the year at Princeton, is the head basketball coach at Oregon State.

Coach Robinson was about a free throw's distance away from his brother in law during the inauguration, a place where many of the Huskies wish they could have watched today's historic event.

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