A day unlike any other

STORRS, Conn. -- The day began like most game days for University of Connecticut men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun. Awake at 5 a.m, thinking of the task at hand that night: beating Georgetown, which would put the Huskies on the cusp of clinching at least a tie for the Big East regular-season championship with Boston College.

But this was a different day for Calhoun. It was potentially a milestone day, with career victory No. 700 looming with a win last night at sold-out Gampel Pavilion.

And while a Georgetown-UConn game has always carried a little bit more panache than most, this one had extra meaning as Calhoun hit another high spot in a career that has spanned more than 30 years.

The 15th-ranked Huskies ran over Georgetown, 83-64, last night to give Calhoun his coveted 700th win, the crowd serenading Calhoun with chants of "700, 700," followed by "Hall of Fame," which could very well be the next Calhoun milestone next month. There were other signs of affection and respect, from a video of former players offering congratulations, to Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, who reached the magical number of 700 Monday, offering his congratulations.This was just another step in Calhoun's career, which brought him to the White House, to Wrigley Field for the ceremonial seventh-inning stretch and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" serenade, and to "Late Night with David Letterman." Heady stuff for a kid from Braintree, who had visions of simply being the best in Boston.

As he prepared to become the 19th coach in Division 1 history to hit the 700-victory plateau, Calhoun had difficulty dealing with the concept of that many wins.

After yesterday's pregame shootaround, someone asked Calhoun if he could recall any details of his first win as a head coach at any level.

"Old Saybrook," said the 62-year-old Calhoun without pausing while remembering an event almost 36 years back. "I was the coach at Old Lyme [High School] and they [Old Saybrook] were pretty good. I was making $6,200 a year, $6,000 for teaching, $200 for extracurricular activities."

From that point, Calhoun made various pit stops, including back to Dedham High School. In fall 1972, when Calhoun was all of 30 years old, he was named head coach at Northeastern.

Calhoun remembered back to his second season at Northeastern, when the Huskies were playing in a tournament in San Diego in which Kentucky -- under legendary coach Adolph Rupp, who is No. 2 in all-time Division 1 wins with 876 -- was playing.

"I remember walking by him and thinking he didn't know who I was," said Calhoun, who says he still looks at the icons who have won 700 or more games -- such as Rupp, former Oklahoma State coach Henry Iba, and former Kansas legend Phog Allen -- with a degree of awe. "And he asked me if I thought Kentucky would win that night."

Calhoun immediately called home and repeated the conversation to his wife, Pat. "Why would he think you would know?" she asked with a laugh.

Now Calhoun, like Boeheim, is ranked among a group of coaching legends such as Rupp and North Carolina's Dean Smith, the all-time leader.

As it became apparent with three minutes left that Calhoun was going to get No. 700, associate head coach and longtime friend George Blaney looked at Calhoun with a smile and said, "Dean Smith, Hank Iba." Calhoun shook his head with a laugh and told Blaney to buzz off.

But later, he acknowledged the special group he had joined. "My father always said you get judged by the company you keep," said Calhoun.

That he has done it in New England -- at Northeastern, where he won 248 games in 14 seasons, and here in tiny Storrs, where the joke is it's still difficult to find a place to get a sandwich -- seems even more remarkable, especially factoring in the two national championships UConn has won under Calhoun's guidance.

Calhoun, who is light-years away from his days at Old Lyme -- he recently signed a contract extension that will increase his total compensation package to $1.5 million a year -- remains focused on the game at hand.

Last night's win was No. 20 for the season, which is good, not great, for a coach who has had five 30-win seasons, second only to Mike Krzyzewski's eight at Duke.

Calhoun said the goal is still winning championships. Stuff like joining the 700 club can be enjoyed after the fact. "My mind is more focused on the smaller numbers," said Calhoun. "Twenty wins for a pitcher, 20 wins for a team, things like that are what you focus on. The idea of 700, I haven't really focused on it that much.'

He will in time, when this season has run its course. He will sit back and think about what former coach and philosopher Abe Lemons said about what a long career means.

"A lot of dribbling," said Calhoun.