Storrs says goodbye to Calhoun

STORRS, Conn. (WTNH) -- The small town of Storrs is sharing what Jim Calhoun meant to them, and their little town.

"He's done a phenomenal job, he definitely has," said Scott Fazzina, of Storrs.
 
If you have to ask, "Who?," you've never been to the biggest little town in the Nutmeg State.

"I travel all over the state, and in New York, for work, and when I mention Storrs, a lot of people will go 'Oh yeah, basketball,'" Fazzina said.

The little halcyon hamlet of Storrs, Connecticut is 5.7 square miles. Thanks in large part to retiring UConn hoops coach Jim Calhoun, it's a place that everybody knows the name.

"I mean, I still thought about UConn before Jimmy, but it wasn't about basketball," said Randy Newbury of Hartford.

"He's brought national recognition," said Christopher Smith. "People know, because of the Huskies, where Storrs is, so people want to come here."

Some things probably haven't changed much since the mid-1980s.  Men were men, women were women, at UConn neither had been champions, but when Jim Calhoun came on the scene in 1986, no one could have known what was in store, in Storrs.

"It stinks, with the traffic, at times, but you know, you get a lot more people in, so it's been pretty good," said Storrs resident Christina Fusco.

Life will go on in Storrs.

"The program is not going to be the same without him," Smith said. "I know it's going to be great going forward, but you know, 26 years, it's been a long time. We're going to miss him."

But unlike "B.C." before Calhoun that is, it will be measured not just in cows and credit hours, but in wins, losses, and championships.