In his reaction post to the announcement that Connecticut basketball coach Jim Calhoun is taking an indefinite medical leave of absence, Andrew Porter of SB Nation's The UConn Blog says that not only does the news come at crucial point in the Huskies' season, it's bound to raise questions about Calhoun's (and program's) future.
Calhoun's contract expires this summer, but it was widely reported just a few weeks ago that he and UConn were close to a five-year contract extension. However, since that report was confirmed, both sides have been mum, and there has been no word on whether or not there is a signed contract or where the two parties currently stand. Presumably, if this is just a temporary leave as UConn has indicated (and I have no reason to think its not), it should not effect on the extension, but still, one wonders. In addition, if we're looking at the future, we're getting into prime basketball recruiting season, and knowing the cutthroat nature of college athletics, you can bet some opposing coaches will be using this to put some nasty thoughts in the ears of players UConn is looking at.
Porter then goes on to pre-emptively dismiss other questions that are bound to come up, specifically ones related to the NCAA following up on Yahoo Sports' investigation of the program from last March and the idea that Calhoun is quitting on the team while it's struggling.
Head on over to The UConn Blog to read the full post.