On Tuesday, UConn announced that the school will honor the 2004 men’s basketball team before their game against Xavier on Jan. 28. A ceremony will be held to celebrate the team on the court as they get inducted into the Huskies of Honor.
The 2003-2004 Huskies went 33-6, won the Big East Championship and the program’s second-ever National Championship under head coach Jim Calhoun. Four players from the team became lottery picks in the NBA Draft, including Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva and Hilton Armstrong.
With the team’s induction to the Huskies of Honor just one month away, let’s look at where some of the most prominent members of the 2003-2004 UConn men’s basketball team went following their banner season.
Jim Calhoun
Following the 2004 season, Calhoun went on to coach the team until the conclusion of the 2011-2012 season, finishing with a 629-245 record at UConn (877-382 overall) and three national championships. The four-time Big East coach of the year was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005 and currently sits sixth all-time in Division I men’s basketball wins. In 2017, Calhoun un-retired from coaching to jumpstart the basketball program at Division III St. Joseph (West Hartford, Connecticut), leading the program to a 47-17 record and a trip to the Div. III NCAA Tournament before retiring from coaching for good in 2021.
Emeka Okafor
After his dominant 2004 collegiate season, Okafor was selected No. 2 overall by the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA Draft. The All-American big man went on to win the 2005 NBA Rookie of the Year award and averaged 12 points and 9.7 rebounds per game across 10 seasons in the NBA.
Ben Gordon
Drafted one selection after Okafor, the Huskies leading scorer was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the 2004 NBA Draft. The two-time all-Big East selection spent his first five seasons in the windy city, earning first team All Rookie and Sixth Man of the Year honors in his first season in the league. In 10 NBA seasons, Gordon played for the Bulls, Pistons, Bobcats and Magic, finishing with career marks of 14.9 points and shooting over 40% from beyond the arc.
Charlie Villanueva
After two successful seasons at UConn, Villanueva was selected seventh overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2005 NBA Draft. The Queens, New York native was selected to the NBA’s All-Rookie team but was shipped off to Milwaukee the next season. There, he would average 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game over three years. Villanueva made stops at Detroit and Dallas before his retirement in 2016.
Rashad Anderson
A starter for the 2004 national champions, guard Rashad Anderson went undrafted and pursued a career overseas following his four years at UConn. The Lakeland, Florida native averaged 11 points per game over four years in Storrs.
Josh Boone
Pairing with Okafor in the starting frontcourt for the Huskies ‘04 team, big man Josh Boone would go on to play three seasons with the Huskies before earning a first-round draft selection in 2006 to the New Jersey Nets. The glass king from Mount Airy, Maryland played in New Jersey for four seasons before pursuing the rest of his basketball career overseas.
Taliek Brown
The leading facilitator for the Huskies in ‘04, point guard Taliek Brown played four seasons at UConn but went undrafted following the conclusion of the season. Brown has recently pursued a career in coaching and is currently an assistant coach in the Big East with St. John’s.