JEFF JACOBS

Kevin Ollie’s absence felt at charity game

UNCASVILLE — He wasn’t here. His UConn family was here.

Kevin Ollie wasn’t at Mohegan Sun on Friday night for the Jim Calhoun Celebrity Classic.

Too soon. Too painful. “I just wish he was here,” Kentan Facey said. “I love KO.”

Fired as coach by UConn after six seasons for just cause in March, an ugly fight over more than $10 million remaining on his contract still lingering, Ollie was invited. Of course, he wasn’t here.

Too soon. Too painful. Too much unresolved.

“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Rudy Gay said. “On either side, I don’t think we wanted it to happen, but it did. I guarantee that will be made right. I know KO’s at home, wishing he was here, wishing he could be around all the guys, choppin’ it up with us.”

There was plenty of choppin’ it up — shooting the breeze, in the vernacular — among the approximately 50 former UConn men’s and women’s players and coaches at the 20th anniversary of an event that has raised more than $8 million for UConn Health’s Calhoun Cardiology Center.

Calhoun, who famously has come out of retirement to coach Division III St. Joseph’s next season, joked that he has learned to limit his colorful vocabulary around the nuns. He’s already talking about how little defense his kids were playing in the Greater Hartford Pro-Am, and said his former UConn players have been ribbing him, calling his new guys “those poor SOBs.”

Ray Allen would volunteer some advice for his new players.

When you’re on the bench, bring a towel.

You know, to wipe off the flying spit.

“Shut up and listen,” said Gay, when asked for his advice. “But mostly shut up.”

Yes, there were some good laughs. When any family gets together, especially this one, there are lots of good laughs. And with any family there is pain, too.

Allen addressed the controversy head-on last week, called it a stain on the UConn family and the state. Said both sides need to come together, make concessions, strike a deal, make it go away.

“Ray said parts of it well,” Calhoun said. “Let’s get together. But you can’t force issues that can’t be forced. The university made a decision that Kevin wasn’t the right guy to take the program forward. I have no reason to believe they’re not telling the truth. So be it. The key is I don’t think it helps, but I don’t think long-term hurts.

“Bottom line: No one likes it. It’s unfortunate. But it’s life. It’s UConn family. It’s UConn basketball. You look at great programs like Alabama and Michigan in football, they keep going. We’re going to keep going.”

Emeka Okafor’s sister, Calhoun said, is getting married tomorrow. Ben Gordon is going to the wedding. Caron Butler’s daughter is in a basketball tournament, she won Thursday night, and he couldn’t make it. Calhoun was up at Storrs earlier in the day. He had a good talk with Ryan Boatright about playing in China and his chance for a two-way contract with the LA Clippers. He said he had the longest chat he’d ever had with Jalen Adams. He told him, “Jalen, you’re the most talented guy in America … now it’s up to you.”

“Whether it be Danny Hurley running the show, Kevin Ollie running the show or Jim Calhoun running the show,” Calhoun said. “It’s UConn basketball. UConn basketball is not about the individual.”

Calhoun loves this night. He took this program to places it had never been, to three national championships. He put UConn in the national conversation. A night like this?

“You guys have your Christmas in December,” Calhoun said. “I have mine in August.”

But even Christmas can bring uncomfortable family

situations. It’s not easy to talk about Ollie on a night like this. Not when you care so much about the program.

“What’s happened has been pretty scrambled,” Rodney Purvis said. “That’s why it’s so good to have everybody back here tonight. You never want to see someone go out like that, who you played for and have a relationship. It’s

business at the end of the day. This is family and no matter who you bring in as coach, UConn is the culture. I really think Coach Hurley is the guy for this job and the one who’s going to turn this thing around.”

Kevin Freeman played for Calhoun on the national champions and was on Ollie’s staff before moving on to Penn State this offseason.

“I won’t comment on the Kevin situation but it’s great to be back in the family atmosphere, under one

umbrella,” Freeman said. “Coach Calhoun made this. No, I don’t have mixed emotions. I love UConn. It’s my school.”

Daniel Hamilton used an interesting phrase to describe what happened the past two years at UConn. “Tragic.”

“It’s real tough and unfortunate what happened,” Hamilton said. “I just hoped Coach Hurley can come in and get the program back going like it was. I just want (the contractual situation) worked out, resolved.”

Charlie Villanueva was resolute: The sky is not falling.

“UConn has too much history, too much work Calhoun has done. He laid down the foundation. This will always be a brotherhood. Events like this are special, man. It’s a family, it doesn’t matter who’s coaching.”