Jim Calhoun has always been Boston.

Jim Calhoun became Connecticut.

Jim Calhoun will forever be a Hall of Famer.

His life has been spent in New England. His impact has had no boundaries. It's easy to see what Jim Calhoun has meant to basketball. Just look at the two NCAA trophies sitting in Storrs and the obsessive loyalty of the UConn faithful.

There has been so much more. His fund-raising figures are more impressive than his winning percentage. The list of children he has helped dwarfs the one of college stars he has coached.

Jim Calhoun was born in Braintree, Mass., on May 10, 1942. Don't believe he was born and raised in suburban Boston? Listen.

Calhoun talks faster than a kid standing near a broken lamp. His accent is thick enough that people think of parking the car at a certain college yard. A group of visiting media once replayed the tape of a Calhoun teleconference at a slower speed so they could understand him.

He was a three-sport star in high school and youngsters in his hometown play basketball at outdoor courts called "Calhoun Park."

He was a Little All-America at American International College in Springfield, Mass., not far from the Hall of Fame. He started his coaching career as an assistant at his alma mater. Head coaching positions at three high schools led to his being hired at Northeastern in 1972.

The Huskies reached the NCAA tournament in five of his final six seasons with them. He was considered a mid-major coach who deserved watching. Connecticut athletic director John Toner saw more and he was willing to take a chance.

He hired Calhoun to take over the program at the University of Connecticut in 1986. When Calhoun met the Connecticut media - starting a long relationship not found anywhere else in college sports - he told them the job was "doable." No goals were listed. Just an adjective that could mean anything.

"People have to understand what UConn was when Jim got here," said Dee Rowe, who coached the Huskies for eight seasons until 1977. "There was success on a regional level but nationally we just weren't a factor. Things started to change under Jim. People felt differently. An entire attitude was changed in a lot of people. It is truly remarkable."

UConn went from a program that had trouble cracking the top five in New England to one that is mentioned in every short list of best programs in the country. Connecticut, no UConn, was being included with Kentucky, Duke, North Carolina and Kansas. The top of the Big East with the likes of Syracuse and Georgetown became the Huskies' regular perch and the 15 banners along the ceiling of Gampel Pavilion are the proof.

The national attention started with an NIT championship in 1988. Things would never be the same in Storrs. The roster was now full of players from around the country and around the world. Winning became a staple, one that left the fervent fans looking for what was considered impossible for so many years.

"The first time everybody believed was the five-game run to the NIT title in 1988," said Tim Tolokan, Connecticut's longtime sports information director and one of Calhoun's closest friends. "That was the beginning, a point you could look back to. Connecticut won a national championship. We had left New England."

There were three NCAA tournament runs that ended a game shy of the Final Four and No. 1 rankings. Then Connecticut reached the Final Four in 1999 and won the national championship. The Huskies won it again in 2004. Only Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina have managed more than one title since the field expanded to 64.

When the Hall of Fame selected Jim Calhoun for enshrinement in April, he had 703 wins in 33 seasons as a Division I head coach. He had two national championships and plenty of coaching awards.

Through it all he kept his focus on his off-the-court interests. With his wife Pat by his side, Calhoun started a commitment to the cardiology program at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Calhoun's father died of a heart attack in 1957 at age 53. Jim was 15 and he was suddenly responsible for his mother, four sisters and brother. He grew up in a hurry. His dedication to the cardiology center is in remembrance of his father.

"This is something that comes from my heart," Calhoun said when the center was named for he and his wife. "It's so no child has to come home and be told that his mother or father, prematurely, is no longer with them."

Jim Calhoun is a coach. A very successful coach. A Hall of Fame coach.

"I've learned more from players, my kids, my assistants more than any books, clinics, lectures, even games," Calhoun said. "I do think there is a great place for college athletics. I do think we change kids' lives. I have found out that kids will do anything for you, and you can push them as hard as you want, as long as you find time to explain to them why you are doing it and how much you care about them."

Family. Charity. Basketball. Three reasons to celebrate Jim Calhoun.

Jim O'Connell joined the Associated Press in 1978 and has been the AP's national college basketball writer since 1987. He is a past president of the US Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and was a recipient of the Basketball Hall of Fame's Curt Gowdy Media Award in 2002.