University of Connecticut Athletics
Calhoun Celebrity Classic Stages 9th All-Star Game
8/12/2018 10:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Generations Of UConn Players Back In Action
UConn Athletic Communications
Photo Gallery
Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun asked Rudy Gay what it was like to play for future Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.
"It's just like playing for you," Gay answered with a laugh.
A few moments later, with Calhoun out of earshot, Gay elaborated a bit.
"If you can play for Coach Calhoun, you can play for anybody," Gay said. "Pop is the same way, maybe telling you things you don't want to hear, but should. Playing for Coach made a man out of me."
Ask any one of the 30 or so former UConn players who arrived at Mohegan Sun Arena Friday night to participate in the Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic All-Star Game and chances are you'd get a similar answer. Coach made men out of them. Coach prepared them for life. Coach made them what they are today.
Much of what they heard from Calhoun while he coached them at UConn, they thought about later – when they were in the NBA, or in the G League, or overseas, or just trying to succeed in whatever life situation they are facing.
One of the most unflappable in the crosshairs of many a Calhoun barrage of wrath during his time at UConn (2002-2006), Rashad Anderson had it in perspective.
"I never let it bother me," Anderson said. "I kept telling myself that he was only trying to get the best out of me, trying to make me a better player. And, he was."
There are numerous generations of Jim Calhoun's UConn players, and amazingly, all generations were represented at Friday's game, just as they have been represented at each of the previous eight Celebrity Classic All-Star Games, held every other year since 2002.
They were there from the late 1980s-early 1990s: Chris Smith, Murray Williams, Lyman DePriest, John Gwynn, Rod Sellers.
They were there from the mid-1990s: Ray Allen, Donyell Marshall, Kirk King.
They were there from the late-1990s: Richard Hamilton, Kevin Freeman, Khalid El-Amin, Jake Voskuhl.
They were there from the 2000s: Taliek Brown, Charlie Villanueva, Rudy Gay, Jeff Adrien, Rashad Anderson, Jerome Dyson, Sticks Robinson, Hilton Armstrong.
They were there from the early 2010s: Ryan Boatright, Niels Giffey, DeAndre Daniels, Tyler Olander.
They were even there from the post-Calhoun coaching era, celebrating the program he built: Rodney Purvis, Amida Brimah, Kentan Facey, Daniel Hamilton.
And the newest members of the family were also on hand – current players like Jalen Adams. Christian Vital, Sidney Wilson, and Tarin Smith and head coach Dan Hurley and assistants Kimani Young, Kenya Hunter, and old and new assistant Tom Moore.  Â
It's obviously a tribute to Calhoun that they all keep coming back, but it's also a tribute to the UConn program, the program that has won four national championships, and the tight family that has bonded players from 49-year-old Murray Williams to 23-year-old Daniel Hamilton.
An announced crowd of more than 5,300 fans came on Friday night to watch the Blue and White teams of former UConn men's and women's players have some fun on the court. It didn't matter a lick that White defeated Blue. Those fans didn't come to see which team won. They came to see Ray Allen shoot three-pointers, to see Rip Hamilton stay on the move, to see Taliek Brown pass, to see Jeff Adrien rebound, to see Amida Brimah grab an alley-oop pass from Daniel Hamilton and dunk it.
They came to relive their favorite moments of UConn history.
The Calhoun Celebrity Classic was celebrating its overall 20th anniversary this year and can boast of raising more than $8 million for the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health. The Cardiology Center is the real winner of the All-Star Game, as it always is.
But the UConn men's basketball family clearly remains strong and on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena, Calhoun had every right to feel proud.
"He definitely should," said current assistant coach Young, attending his first Celebrity Classic. "This is pretty special."Â
Â
Photo Gallery
Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun asked Rudy Gay what it was like to play for future Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs.
"It's just like playing for you," Gay answered with a laugh.
A few moments later, with Calhoun out of earshot, Gay elaborated a bit.
"If you can play for Coach Calhoun, you can play for anybody," Gay said. "Pop is the same way, maybe telling you things you don't want to hear, but should. Playing for Coach made a man out of me."
Ask any one of the 30 or so former UConn players who arrived at Mohegan Sun Arena Friday night to participate in the Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic All-Star Game and chances are you'd get a similar answer. Coach made men out of them. Coach prepared them for life. Coach made them what they are today.
Much of what they heard from Calhoun while he coached them at UConn, they thought about later – when they were in the NBA, or in the G League, or overseas, or just trying to succeed in whatever life situation they are facing.
One of the most unflappable in the crosshairs of many a Calhoun barrage of wrath during his time at UConn (2002-2006), Rashad Anderson had it in perspective.
"I never let it bother me," Anderson said. "I kept telling myself that he was only trying to get the best out of me, trying to make me a better player. And, he was."
There are numerous generations of Jim Calhoun's UConn players, and amazingly, all generations were represented at Friday's game, just as they have been represented at each of the previous eight Celebrity Classic All-Star Games, held every other year since 2002.
They were there from the late 1980s-early 1990s: Chris Smith, Murray Williams, Lyman DePriest, John Gwynn, Rod Sellers.
They were there from the mid-1990s: Ray Allen, Donyell Marshall, Kirk King.
They were there from the late-1990s: Richard Hamilton, Kevin Freeman, Khalid El-Amin, Jake Voskuhl.
They were there from the 2000s: Taliek Brown, Charlie Villanueva, Rudy Gay, Jeff Adrien, Rashad Anderson, Jerome Dyson, Sticks Robinson, Hilton Armstrong.
They were there from the early 2010s: Ryan Boatright, Niels Giffey, DeAndre Daniels, Tyler Olander.
They were even there from the post-Calhoun coaching era, celebrating the program he built: Rodney Purvis, Amida Brimah, Kentan Facey, Daniel Hamilton.
And the newest members of the family were also on hand – current players like Jalen Adams. Christian Vital, Sidney Wilson, and Tarin Smith and head coach Dan Hurley and assistants Kimani Young, Kenya Hunter, and old and new assistant Tom Moore.  Â
It's obviously a tribute to Calhoun that they all keep coming back, but it's also a tribute to the UConn program, the program that has won four national championships, and the tight family that has bonded players from 49-year-old Murray Williams to 23-year-old Daniel Hamilton.
An announced crowd of more than 5,300 fans came on Friday night to watch the Blue and White teams of former UConn men's and women's players have some fun on the court. It didn't matter a lick that White defeated Blue. Those fans didn't come to see which team won. They came to see Ray Allen shoot three-pointers, to see Rip Hamilton stay on the move, to see Taliek Brown pass, to see Jeff Adrien rebound, to see Amida Brimah grab an alley-oop pass from Daniel Hamilton and dunk it.
They came to relive their favorite moments of UConn history.
The Calhoun Celebrity Classic was celebrating its overall 20th anniversary this year and can boast of raising more than $8 million for the Pat and Jim Calhoun Cardiology Center at UConn Health. The Cardiology Center is the real winner of the All-Star Game, as it always is.
But the UConn men's basketball family clearly remains strong and on Friday night at Mohegan Sun Arena, Calhoun had every right to feel proud.
"He definitely should," said current assistant coach Young, attending his first Celebrity Classic. "This is pretty special."Â
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Players Mentioned
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