With Calhoun Retiring, Huggins Could Move Into Top-3 Wins All-Time in 21-22

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – On Thursday afternoon, it was first reported by Dom Amore, that legendary coach Jim Calhoun has stepped down from the Saint Joseph job, ending his 43-year run as a head coach.

Calhoun is most known for coaching UCONN from 1987-2012, building a great basketball program. Calhoun won three national championships with the Huskies (1999, 2004, 2011).

Breaking: Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun stepping down as men’s basketball coach at Saint Joseph https://t.co/jvhj06eHw3

— Dom Amore (@AmoreCourant) November 18, 2021

Jim Calhoun is retiring. The 3-time national champion coach while at UConn is 79 years old and has been the head coach at D-3 Saint Joseph since 2018. One of the best to ever do it.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) November 18, 2021

What does Bob Huggins have to do with this?

Huggins is currently tied for fifth all-time in the NCAA coaching wins list, with 902. Huggins tied Bobby Knight with the Backyard Brawl win last Friday against Pitt.

“Guys, I’m telling you, I know you’re going to think it’s BS but I don’t think about it,” Huggins said. “I have great respect for coach Knight, he’s become a good friend of mine. Would it make a difference if I won 902, or 900? It doesn’t matter.”

Huggins will pass Knight and Roy Williams on the all-time wins list this season, as the Mountaineers just need two more wins to do so. Calhoun is at No. 3 with 920 wins. If West Virginia has a decent season, they’ll just need 19 more wins for Huggins to pass Calhoun and become the third all-time most winningest coach.

In the eight meetings all-time, Calhoun is 6-2 against Huggins.

Huggins then will be just behind Mike Krzyzewski (1,174) and Jim Boeheim (984) as they continue to coach this season.