PHILADELPHIA -- Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun isn't feeling well and won't coach the top-seeded Huskies against Chattanooga in their opening round of the NCAA tournament.<br />
<br />
The school said in a statement Thursday that Calhoun had not been well the past few days and would not be at the Wachovia Center for the afternoon tip-off.<br />
<br />
UConn sports medicine director Dr. Jeff Anderson was with Calhoun at the team hotel, but the school did not say what was wrong with the coach.<br />
<br />
The coach ran UConn's practice Wednesday in Philadelphia, and attended the team's news conference.<br />
<br />
"Jim was fine at dinner last night. He woke up this morning and didn't feel well," said Tim Tolokan, UConn's former sports information director and a close friend of Calhoun's.<br />
<br />
Calhoun's son, Jeff, was at the Wachovia Center and said his father urged him to go watch the Texas A&M-BYU game, which the Aggies won 79-66.<br />
<br />
Calhoun missed time in January of 2008 with what the team called a combination of stress and exhaustion. The coach also said then he'd been suffering from a gastric problem, something he's had for years.<br />
<br />
Associate head coach George Blaney was to coach the Huskies in Calhoun's absence.<br />
<br />
This is the third NCAA tournament game Calhoun has missed. In the two previous instances, UConn went on to win the national title.<br />
<br />
In 1999, Calhoun missed a first-round game against Texas-San Antonio. In 2004, he left a second-round game against DePaul after becoming ill.<br />
<br />
Calhoun has missed 21 games in his career, including one other game this season - a Jan. 3 contest against Rutgers.<br />
<br />
Last May, the Hall of Fame coach was treated for a second bout of skin cancer. He had surgery to remove a lump in the upper right side of his neck near the jaw line and underwent radiation.<br />
<br />
The 66-year-old Calhoun missed five games in 2003 when he underwent surgery for prostate cancer.
