By Ed Daigneault, Republican-American
STORRS — Caron Butler strode into the interview room Saturday night with bloodshot eyes, the emotion of the night's event getting to him.
By the time UConn finally finished off Tulsa, 75-73, at Gampel Pavilion, there were nearly figurative tears among those in attendance. The Huskies squandered most of a 20-point lead — 48 hours after losing a 12-point lead with six minutes to play at Temple — before holding on.
Maybe this group of Huskies will grab some old game tapes and take a gander at how Butler refused to let the Huskies lose, particularly during 2001-02 season. That was Butler's sophomore season, his final one in Storrs, and ranks among the great individual campaigns in program history.
"It definitely makes you see what you're here for," senior guard Omar Calhoun said after Butler was inducted into the Huskies of Honor. "You're not just playing for yourself, and when you see guys like Caron coming back, a lot of guys understand what it means to put on a UConn jersey."
The complete breakdown Thursday night and the near breakdown Saturday night are not typical of UConn basketball. The Huskies grabbed a victory that will look good on an NCAA Tournament resume and maybe absorbed some of the magic from what Butler accomplished in scoring 1,136 points in just two seasons.
Butler recalled his time at UConn, talking about seeing Ray Allen on campus during the summer "walking on water." It was those moments that allowed Butler to understand the UConn legacy.
He is trying to pass that down now, 14 years removed from his time with the Huskies.
"That's what I looked up to," Butler said of the likes of Allen returning to campus to play during the summer. "That's what I wanted to be, to be able to carry that legacy. All those moments are so vivid in my mind."
It is more important now than ever to continue that legacy. With the Huskies gone from the Big East and residing in the American Athletic Conference, there is a slight chance that the memories of greatness in a superb league will fade.
It is up to the Huskies and coach Kevin Ollie to continue it. Two years ago, they won a national title. Last year, they missed the NCAA Tournament altogether. There is a chance that could happen again this season.
Butler played in the NIT during his freshman season with the Huskies. That was a young team, one that Butler led in scoring and rebounding. The next year, Butler took the Huskies to the Elite Eight where they lost to eventual national champion Maryland. Butler's performance in the second half of that game, when he scored 26 of his 32 points, is arguably the best half ever turned in by a UConn player.
But that doesn't stick out so much as the 2002 Big East Tournament title game, a double-overtime victory against Pittsburgh. That was when Butler learned the true meaning of the UConn family.
"The night before, me, Taliek (Brown), Johnnie (Selvie), all of us, we couldn't sleep," Butler said. "We stayed up until 4 or 5 in the morning. We just couldn't sleep. It was huge for us. We gathered together, talking, watched a movie, talked like, 'This is what I'm going to do with the trophy.'
"Everything we talked about happened to a T. It was special."
This edition of the Huskies has the tools to win an AAC Tournament title, but it needs somebody to take the reins the way Butler did in 2002. It can't continue to forget how to play in the waning minutes of games.