Jim Calhoun: UConn Coach Taking Indefinite Medical Leave for Spinal Stenosis

With the Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team struggling to retain its form following a national championship season last year, the last thing it needed was to be without head coach Jim Calhoun. That is precisely what will happen for an undetermined amount of time, though.

According to Andy Katz of ESPN, Calhoun will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from the team, as he cannot currently coach through his spinal stenosis condition.

NBC Connecticut is reporting that Calhoun has been dealing with the condition for the past few months. Spinal stenosis is a debilitating lower back condition that causes Calhoun great pain and discomfort and prevents him from moving fluidly.

UConn Health Center physician Dr. Peter Schulman said that Calhoun had been treating the condition with stretching and exercise but that it had recently become too severe to cope with:

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"Last summer, Jim had some significant back pain and has seen two excellent back specialists," Schulman said. "The initial approach recommended to him was stretching, physical therapy and exercise, and that was successful for several months. It turns out that there is some degenerative problem in the lumbar vertebrae and it’s impinging on the nerves. It has led to significant back pain and some symptoms in his lower extremities."

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NBC Connecticut also reports that associate head coach George Blaney will assume Calhoun's duties during his absence. Blaney certainly will have a lot on his plate, as the Huskies are 14-7 overall with a Big East record of just 4-5.

They have lost four consecutive games and now sit in the middle of the conference standings. Big games against Seton Hall, No. 25 Louisville and No. 2 Syracuse loom in the coming week, so it will be contingent upon the players to press on without Calhoun.

This isn't the first time Calhoun has taken a leave of absence for health reasons, as he battled prostate cancer in 2003 and took some time away in 2010 as well for an unspecified ailment. Getting better should obviously be Calhoun's main focus right now, but it can't be easy with his team in dire straits.