It’s Jim Calhoun’s voice — the one that screamed, complained and cursed in practice — that the Connecticut men’s basketball team misses most.

Sure, Calhoun’s diagnosis of how to break down a 2-3 zone would be helpful. So would the intensity he brings to practice every day. But more than that, it’s the steady hand on UConn’s rudder that the Huskies have missed since Calhoun had surgery Thursday to remove a cancerous prostate.

Calhoun was released from UConn Health Center on Sunday and is expected to make a full recovery but will not resume coaching for three to four weeks.

‘It’s like we’ve lost our voice,’ UConn assistant coach Tom Moore said. ‘We’re a young team that doesn’t have a true leader. You like to have one on the floor, but certain years, the head coach is (the team’s only leader).’

Tonight at 7, No. 19 Syracuse (16-3, 7-2 Big East) visits the Hartford Civic Center to meet the No. 18 Huskies (14-5, 5-3) minus Calhoun. UConn will also be without starting point guard Taliek Brown, who broke his left index finger during a 95-74 loss to Virginia Tech on Wednesday.

In Calhoun’s absence, George Blaney will coach the Huskies. Blaney has previous head coaching experience, at Seton Hall and Holy Cross. Still, replacing Calhoun — one of two coaches in the Big East, along with SU head coach Jim Boeheim, to win more than 600 games — has been difficult for the subdued Blaney.

In his first outing, Connecticut lost to Virginia Tech. In his second, the team was more successful, downing Providence, 84-68, on Saturday.

‘The attitude has been good,’ Moore said. ‘We’ve been more technically bad than anything attitude-related.’

Moore said UConn has committed too many turnovers during recent losses to the Hokies and Boston College. The turnovers resulted in a lack of confidence on offense, which has affected the team’s shooting.

Calhoun, though, had a simpler explanation. After watching the VT loss on television, Calhoun told the coaching staff he felt the team lacked emotion.

“He wanted to see more life, more competitive fire,” Moore said. “He wanted it to jump off the TV screen.’

Syracuse associate head coach Bernie Fine can relate to the challenge facing Blaney and Moore.

Last year, Boeheim had prostate surgery and missed three games. Led by Fine, SU beat Hofstra but lost consecutive games to North Carolina State and Georgia Tech.

‘You’re not really coaching,’ Fine said. ‘You’re out there doing what the other person would want. It’s a lose-lose situation.’

Losing is something Connecticut’s become accustomed to lately. After starting the year 11-1 and climbing as high as No. 6, the Huskies have lost four of their last seven games. The two most recent losses have been blowouts by halftime.

‘The way they’ve played lately has been very upsetting,’ Moore said Thursday. ‘They’ve played so poorly and been so unconfident. They’ve been timid and had stretches where they don’t compete. It’s a shock to the whole program.’

In order to adjust, the Huskies will need big numbers from its two star sophomores — Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor — who account for 44 percent of the team’s scoring.

If they don’t get them, Calhoun’s recovery will be a lot more painful, and, perhaps, a lot faster.

‘He’s a tremendous fighter,’ Boeheim said. ‘He’ll be back. He’s a lot tougher and in better shape than I was in, so he’ll come through this and be back yelling again at everybody, I predict, within three weeks. Maybe sooner than that if he sees his team play the way mine did last year.’

Published on February 8, 2003 at 12:00 pm