Hall of Fame coach Calhoun unretires for DIII Saint Joseph

Jim Calhoun says he tried, but just couldn’t get rid of the itch to coach basketball.

Almost exactly five years after announcing his retirement from UConn, the 75-year-old Hall of Famer started work Thursday at the tiny University of Saint Joseph, a Division III school that won’t even begin enrolling men until next fall.

“I terribly missed the coaching on a daily basis,” Calhoun said. “I missed the association with the kids.”

Calhoun is still employed as an adviser at Connecticut and can’t take the job of head coach at Saint Joseph until that contract runs out in March. Until then, he has title of consultant to the program and adviser to the president.

He said that will involve being the program’s architect, developing the facilities, putting together the schedule and recruiting athletes who will begin playing in the 2018-19 season. He said he’s already heard from a number of high school coaches and prospects from as far away as Israel.