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Question of the Day: Should and will UConn coach Jim Calhoun retire after winning the NCAA title?

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Writers from around the Tribune Co. weigh in on Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun after winning the NCAA championship Monday night. Check back throughout the day for more responses, vote in the poll and feel free to leave a comment of your own.

Chris Dufresne, Los Angeles Times

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Yes, absolutely, positively, it is the perfect time for Jim Calhoun to retire. He probably won’t do it soon. He likes to quote advice from former North Carolina Coach Dean Smith who said to never hastily make an important decision. He might wait until October to assure one of his assistants gets the job.

But it makes sense for Calhoun to walk away on top, after his third title, and not have to face that three-game suspension next year for NCAA violations.

Calhoun is a proud man, who probably did his best coaching job this year. He’ll likely be losing his star player, Kemba Walker, to the NBA. Connecticut has a lot of young, talented players to build around. Freshman Jeremy Lamb is an emerging star and Shabazz Napier is ready to take over for Kemba at the point.

But this just feels like the right time for Calhoun, given all he’s been through, to step aside. Not many guys get to go out with a national title. John Wooden did it at UCLA in 1975, and that’s pretty good company.

[Updated at 9:32 a.m.:

Jeff Otterbein, Hartford Courant

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Jim Calhoun shouldn’t and won’t retire.

He has every reason to on a personal level -– he is 68, has battled health problems and could choose to walk away and enjoy the grandkids. He has every reason to on a professional level -– he is in the Hall of Fame, has won three national titles and is widely known for one of the greatest building jobs in college basketball, elevating UConn to the national stage. This year’s run to the title, where the Huskies won five games in five days at the Big East tournament and then followed that with six wins in the NCAA Tournament, will go down as one of the greatest in college basketball history. And for Calhoun, the most delightful, in a season where NCAA sanctions and the death of a family member and close friend weighed on his mind.

Why not retire? Yet, why leave the job you love if you’re not ready. He still has the edge, the desire, the passion. Given that, we don’t see him walking away. No matter what all the pundits might think or write or say. Calhoun has always done it his way.]

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