If you love the University of Connecticut men’s basketball program and you love reading, this is your time.

Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant teamed up with former UConn coach Jim Calhoun to coauthor a book, More than a Game: How the UConn Basketball Dynasty Was Built on a Culture of Caring. Coincidentally, it was released a week after a book coauthored by Ian O’Connor of The Athletic and current UConn coach Dan Hurley came out in late September.

This is the third time Calhoun, 83, has cowritten a book, but it’s his first since 2007 and his first since leaving the school in 2012 after guiding the Huskies to three NCAA tournament championships over 26 seasons.

We recently caught up with Amore to discuss what makes this book different.

Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Awful Announcing: Why should someone buy More than a Game?

Dom Amore: “If you’re a fan of UConn, it’s a must-read. If you’re a fan of college basketball, it’s a must-read. I think it’s also a must-read if you’re interested in how coaches build trust and relationships, how a coach becomes a coach for life. I think those are all things that resonate with people. I think people will find those concepts examined in this book in a deep and interesting way.”

How did this idea come about?

“Coach approached me. He read a baseball book called The Wax Pack, where the author took a random pack of ’80s baseball cards and tracked down all the players. (Calhoun) wanted to take that idea, pick out 12 or 15 players, and people where he felt he made a difference in their lives, and then examine his relationships with them. How the relationships evolved and how they’ve remained close to this day. So we set about picking out about 15 guys, usual stars that you would expect: Ray Allen, Rip Hamilton, and Caron Butler, etc. But also some lesser-known or unknown players (and) people.”

Was there anything else that was an inspiration for this book?

“We connected the theme of how he wanted to pay forward all of the help he received from his coaches: what they did for him when he lost his father at 15. He felt like his high school coaches and mentors saved his life. He has spent his life trying to be that person for others.”

What happened to Jim Calhoun’s father?

“His father died of a heart attack. Jim was playing centerfield in an American Legion baseball game. Someone yelled over the fence. ‘Hey! Calhoun, get home. Your father just died.’ So, at 15, he became the man of the family. He had several sisters, and he had to take care of his mother. He had a younger brother.

“Through his first years out of high school, he worked various blue-collar jobs to support the family. His high school coaches and the coaches in his town in Braintree stayed after him to find a way to get to college. Ultimately, he played college basketball at American International College. Then, of course, he went into coaching and he went into coaching largely because of what (other coaches) had done for him.”

What was your relationship like with Jim Calhoun previously?

“I was the beat writer for the UConn men for his last season. Then, after he retired, I would talk to him periodically for stories. I became the general columnist at the paper. After he retired, that’s when our relationship started to evolve. His memoirs, he wrote in 1999 with Leigh Montville. Leigh and I went to the same high school in Connecticut. He wanted to write this book. He talked to Leigh. Leigh said ‘You’ve got Dom Amore right there. Ask him. He’d be great.’ He recommended me. That’s how I became his co-author.”

What was it like collaborating on a book?

“I was concerned about making sure the book sounded like Jim. I thought some of his other books were really good, but they didn’t sound like him. He has a very distinctive way of talking. I tried to capture his voice. His accent doesn’t throw me. The speed of his talking doesn’t throw me, but he does go off on tangents, so I had to rein him in a little bit and keep it on point. That was somewhat of a challenge. But for the most part, when his wife started reading chapters and saying, ‘Boy, this sounds like you,’ I knew I had achieved the most important thing. There’s very little of me in this book. This is Jim’s voice, Jim’s story.”

Did you learn something that surprised you?

The afterword of the book was written by Mark Daigneault, the Oklahoma City coach who was a student manager with Jim at UConn. At the end of Mark’s freshman year, Jim put his car keys in his hand and said ‘I want you to drive my expensive car to New York and park it in the garage across from Madison Square Garden. Follow the bus and don’t screw it up.’

“This kid was from the woods in Massachusetts. Never driven in New York before. He was trying to keep up with a maniacal bus driver through the city streets. He just breathed a sigh of relief when he finally pulled into the garage, parked the car, and put the keys back in Jim’s hands at the hotel. That was the kind of thing that Jim did. To trust him and empower him, and ultimately, he became part of the inner circle.”

Thrilled to put these in the coach’s hands, and for him to sign the first copy for me. Remember, preorder on Amazon, Barnes&Noble or https://t.co/5SjL7SdIzu. In bookstores 10/7. We’ll be announcing events soon: pic.twitter.com/oYlBpb3iV5


— Dom Amore (@AmoreCourant) September 22, 2025

Any thoughts on the 2025-26 season for the Huskies?

“I think they’re gonna be right back in the conversation for the Final Four and contending for a championship. Dan addressed some of the problems that they had last year at point guard and elsewhere. He’s brought in some good transfers. He’s got another good recruiting class. He’s got a lot of kids coming back. It’s not the revolving door that other programs have become, so I expect them to be very good.”

Do you and Ian O’Connor have a friendly rivalry since you’ve both co-authored books with UConn championship coaches?

“Not really. Ian is well-established as a writer of best-selling books. And, of course, Dan is the coach now. He’s won championships recently. Jim and I conceived of this before Dan announced he was doing the book. We were about six months into this project when Dan announced he was doing a book. We were running our own race. We want to tell our own story. I have a feeling that people who buy one book will end up buying both because I think they’re both good reads.”

You’ve been at the Hartford Courant for 37 years. How much longer do you intend to keep going?

“I’m 63 and a half. Once I get to 65, I’ll see where I am. But right now I feel good. I’m in good health, God willing. Things are fairly stable at the paper, and I have a nice position as the general columnist. It’s a job I’ve always wanted. I anticipate doing it for a few more years. Not too much longer, but I want to have money to enjoy my time and time to enjoy my money.”

More than a Game is now available for purchase.