STORRS, Conn. – Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun returned to the Huskies bench on Saturday, less than a week after undergoing back surgery.
The Hall of Fame coach received a standing ovation as he walked on the court before UConn (17-12, 7-10 Big East) hosted Pittsburgh in the team's regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon.
Calhoun took an indefinite medical leave on Feb. 3 and has missed the Huskies' last eight games because he has spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spine, normally associated with aging and sometimes with arthritis.
The operation Monday in New York involved removing a large disk fragment that had been pressing on a spinal nerve, the school said. The surgeons decompressed the area around the nerve.
The Huskies are 3-5 since Calhoun took his medical leave.
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