Jim Calhoun To BC? Imagine The ACC Coaches Meetings

Now that the Boston College job is open, there is all kinds of speculation of who might fill the void.  Now comes a report that former UConn legendary coach Jim Calhoun is very interested in it.  If I'm Boston College, I do that.   Now.  I know this isn't a long term answer, but it is an answer for a program that has floundered since early successes in the early to mid 2000s.

If that happened, think about the ACC's coaches photo.  Think of the coaches meetings, the media days, the ACC Tournament.

Prior to last season, the ACC already employed two legendary Hall Of Fame coaches.  Mike Krzyzewski at Duke is the all-time winningest Division I men's basketball coach.  He has four National Championships, is approaching 1,000 wins, has been the USA's Olympic coach and is among the best to ever coach the sport.

Up the road in Chapel Hill is Roy Williams.  Williams is also a Hall Of Famer, has over 700 wins, two National Championships and is one of the few men who can say they have coached two of the sport's true blue bloods (Kansas, North Carolina).

This season, Syracuse joined the ACC.  Jim Boeheim is 2nd only to Coach K in all-time wins during his nearly 40 years at Syracuse.  He has a National Championship and ... yes ... is a Hall Of Famer.

Next season, Louisville joins the ACC.  Rick Pitino has seen all kinds of successes.  He is approaching 700 wins and would have more if he didn't do a few stints in the NBA with the Knicks and Celtics.  He is a Hall Of Famer who has won two National Championships and is the only coach to win a title at two different schools (Kentucky, Louisville).  He also has taken three different programs to the Final Four (John Calipari is the only other coach that can say he did that, though his appearances with UMass and Memphis has since been vacated).

Right now, that is four Hall Of Fame coaches in one conference at the same time.  A conference that still has coaches like Dean Smith, Lefty Drissell, Jim Valvano, Gary Williams, Norm Sloan, Everett Case, Frank McGuire and Vic Bubas hovering around their respective programs (not to mention Louisville's Denny Crum).

Add Calhoun to that mix.  Calhoun has 873 wins, three National Championships and basically built UConn into a power.  He would also been the 5th active Hall Of Fame coach in the ACC.

Amazing.  Amazing to think that Krzyzewski, Williams, Boeheim, Pitino and Calhoun would all be coaching in the same league.  I know there have been other times where great coaches were all together, but this isn't just greatness but legendary.  Five Hall Of Famers with 12 National Championships with over 4,100 wins between them.

Legen ... wait for it ... dary.

And it isn't like there aren't some other good coaches in the ACC.  Leonard Hamilton at Florida State has been the "third program" in the conference over the past decade.  Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon has been winning at a 75% clip during his decade with the Panthers.  Miami's Jim Larranaga took George Mason to an improbable Final Four run in 2006 and won an ACC regular season and tournament title with the Hurricanes.  That last feat was just done by Virginia's Tony Bennett.  Add Notre Dame's Mike Brey to the list of solid ACC coaches.

{Note:  Since I wrote this, Virginia Tech has hired former Marquette head coach Buzz Williams to their position.  Another very solid coach in the ACC}

Amazing.  I do hope Calhoun gets the BC gig because, honestly, no one else fits it so well.  He's a New England guy who can coach in big time games in a big time conference.  He can also get BC back up to where it should be and hopefully leave it as a desirable place to coach when he decided to hang them up.