The Daily Campus

Issue date: 4/6/09 Section: March Madness

Jim Calhoun looks on during the men's NCAA Final Four game against Michigan State.

DETROIT - After Saturday night's game, the UConn locker room was dead silent. In the middle of the room was a dining cart with sandwiches, chips and fruit.

None of it had been touched.

Each player sat in front of his respective locker - some had their heads down, others wore blank expressions on their faces.

After battling through the ups and downs of the season, UConn's loss to Michigan State seemed too sudden to be true.

The seniors spoke softly when talking with the reporters. Each question was a constant reminder that they had come so close to a National Championship, yet they would never get the chance to play for it.

In their years at UConn, the seniors have been on both ends of the spectrum. At first it was mainly positive, as they were members of the 2006 team who lost to George Mason in the Elite Eight.

Then their careers at UConn took a negative turn.

In the 2006-2007 season, the Huskies went 17-14 and didn't even receive an invitation to play in the NIT Tournament.

"Coach told us that we'd never have a season like that again, and we told him the same thing," said A.J. Price. "I definitely think we made strides to move forward in the right direction."

For the seniors, Saturday's loss was, in some ways, not a loss at all.

"The last three years from when I came out with this same group of guys who were 17-14 - that season was over quick," Price said. "For those same group of guys to end up in the Final Four with a good chance to move on to Monday; we look back on it with a great sense of pride and understand how hard we've worked and that everything we've overcome has paid off."

All the members of this year's team feel that they've restored UConn men's basketball to its former elite status.

But at the same time, while the seniors on this team have put in countless hours to bring UConn basketball back on the map, the UConn basketball program has given something to its seniors that nothing else could - the memories.

"Growing up as a kid your parents always tell you that college is the experience you'll never forget and that's the honest truth," Price said. "These are some days that I'll never forget. I'll remember them for the rest of my life. These guys, these players, coaching staff I'll always remember for the rest of my life. It's been a phenomenal run."

Continued...

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