Tough Times: UConn Coach Jim Calhoun Has Some Serious Problems To Deal With

Now this investigation is starting to gain some steam.  UConn has been found of committing eight violations in the recruiting scandal between a former student manager turned agent Josh Nochimson, and a recruit Nate Miles who never played for UConn but did enroll at school.

Of the eight violations that the NCAA has found UConn guilty of, the most damaging for Calhoun and the entire basketball staff is that they failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance with the NCAA.  For Calhoun that is what he calls the lowest point of his career as a head coach.

Calhoun had to have known the amount of time his assistants where spending contacting recruits.  Whether it was by phone or text messaging, there are limitations on those and UConn violated the number of times it could talk with recruits.

The resignation of assistant coach Patrick Sellers and director of basketball operations Beau Archibald is now just the beginning of fallout from this mess, that was first reported by yahoo sports in March of 2009.

Now nearly 14 months later and after a dismal season that resulted in a 7-11 conference record, Calhoun is trying his best to get through this matter with the least damage done and to try and avoid having a free-fall effect similar to both Indiana and Michigan.

UConn now has 90 days to respond to the NCAA findings and to propose self-imposed sanctions.  Then, it will take another 6 to 8 weeks for the NCAA to make a final ruling on what penalties UConn will face moving forward.

This timetable leads right into the beginning of the 2010 basketball season and could in fact be decided while the Huskies are playing in Hawaii at the Maui Invitational.

Right now this is the last distraction this UConn team needs as it tries to rebound from one of its worst seasons since Jim Calhoun took over.

The University of Connecticut didn't take these matters as serious as one might expect in the very beginning.  Now with the pressure on the UConn legal team there needs to be answers to the questions the NCAA has proposed.

It is still too early to tell what type of punishment believes will justify the violations that UConn took part in over the recruiting of Nate Miles and the involvement in a booster/agent also known as Josh Nochimson.

Let it remain that UConn broke the rules and now there is going to be a price to pay.  Who knows how severe it will be, but the NCAA needs to get a hold of what is going on in the world of College basketball recruiting.  People are bending and twisting the rules however they can day after day.

For UConn the possibility of being banned from postseason play is not out of the questions.  There's also talk of losing scholarships and being put on some type of probation.  It's almost a guarantee that their contact with recruits is to be limited and monitored.

One thing is for sure the NCAA had done its investigation and made a report that finds the men's basketball program guilty of violating the rules.  NCAA sanctions are inevitable, where and when they are handed out is the golden question.

For now, UConn needs to get its act together and do damage control.  You saw the detrimental effects for Hoosier and Wolverine fans in the past.

Husky fans could be next. Only time will tell.