APB: Omar Calhoun are you out there?

[Chelo]

I just think that he came to the program way overrated. We as fans are expecting too much from a player that does not have the skills to live up to our expectations. Maybe we should change our mindset and think t of Calhoun as just a three point threat and maybe a decent defender.

 

[UCONNfan1]

I don't know if Omar was over rated or not. I've not watched enough games from last year to this year to be able to determine if he's improved or not. I don't see the kid in practice every day so I have no idea what he does, or does not, do on a daily basis.

I don't blame Omar at all for anything. Ollie is the HC of this team. It's only his 2nd year. He has to guide and lead these kids and teach them to be the best hoops players they can be. But Ollie decides who plays, how much, and what rotations to use. If most every fan can see that Giffey and/or Kromah is/are more effective out there then one of 4 things is going on...

1. Ollie, who is smarter than all of us, sees things we do not
2. Ollie is hoping that by keeping confidence in the kid that he will be able to play through his issues
3. Ollie is just missing the boat as a coach and needs a bit of a reality check
4. Calhoun is still struggling from his injury and can't seem to get his mojo or game back on track

I have no idea which it is. And it seems to me that it's up to Ollie to lead the team and in only his 2nd year, he surely will have good moments, average moments and bad moments. I remember him saying that the kids who play with passion and fire are the ones who are going to get the PT. But I'd also like to see him add that playing smart is just as important. An out of control Boat playing with passion and intensity but playing 1 of 5 basketball helps no one.

It seems to me that we are a legit top 20 team that has a good shot to make the sweet 16 this year in spite of all our flaws. Fans that were talking about a potential final 4 run were delusional and far too optimistic IMO. I am enjoying this team immensely. I'm frustrated by the 2 stupid losses, but impressed by the wins against solid teams.

Again, this is a hugely flawed team. For a division 1 college hoops team, we have an awful post presence. BUT we have 2 guards who can be sensational as well as a 3/4 in Daniels who also has flashes of greatness. We also have a really strong bench if you consider Kromah and Giffey are not considered starters at this point. I have no idea what to expect, but as fans, did anyone think it wouldn't be a bumpy ride? I get the frustration, but this program is going in the right direction and I'm still enjoying it a lot...!

 

[dsturdy5]

Sir,

I KNOW AL MOURING & RASHAD ANDERSON and O. CALHOUN is no RASHAD ANDERSON!

I know Calhoun had the surgery etc. but still there is no excuse for his lack of fire, intensity and going hard at it. Don;t just shoot lazy deep outside shots. He has become completely one-dimensional and he's not even been good at that one dimension. His game has not developed and progressed at all.

You can't say that all he does is toss up "weak 3's" when that is, in large part, his job. He is to shoot. He is struggling, and mightily so. However, as a frosh he put up better numbers than AM did as a frosh or soph with more around him.

I'll say this, the lack of a big man to set screens for him off of the ball so he can get to a spot and shoot off of a set play could be hurting him as much as his offseason surgeries. The majority of his "open" looks come from as a result of help off of dribble penetration. Those kick out passes are not always hitting him in a good position to catch and shoot. How many times is he having to reach down to catch a pass at his knees or lower. Ideally, he'd catch at his belt and go right up.

I hate to see our fans get so down on a kid who is so talented. I am as frustrated as anyone with him and every time I see him shoot, I hope and pray it is going in (unlike with RA when I expected it to go in). It seems like so many on here would just as soon hope he misses so they have something else to get upset about. I'd say his development as a shooter over the next two years is paramount to help open things up for guys like Hamilton, Purvis, and Ali and I, for one, am interested in seeing him succeed.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I support Omar, but up until last game I didn't understand how he has been given such a long leash where as if Giffey, Brimah and even Kromah do anything wrong they get yanked.

 

[Onions]

You can't say that all he does is toss up "weak 3's" when that is, in large part, his job. He is to shoot. He is struggling, and mightily so. However, as a frosh he put up better numbers than AM did as a frosh or soph with more around him.

I'll say this, the lack of a big man to set screens for him off of the ball so he can get to a spot and shoot off of a set play could be hurting him as much as his offseason surgeries. The majority of his "open" looks come from as a result of help off of dribble penetration. Those kick out passes are not always hitting him in a good position to catch and shoot. How many times is he having to reach down to catch a pass at his knees or lower. Ideally, he'd catch at his belt and go right up.

I hate to see our fans get so down on a kid who is so talented. I am as frustrated as anyone with him and every time I see him shoot, I hope and pray it is going in (unlike with RA when I expected it to go in). It seems like so many on here would just as soon hope he misses so they have something else to get upset about. I'd say his development as a shooter over the next two years is paramount to help open things up for guys like Hamilton, Purvis, and Ali and I, for one, am interested in seeing him succeed.

It's not just the misses, it's the enormity of the misses. I've never seen anyone shoot so many air-ball 3's in my life. He's clearly lost his confidence and is playing confused out there. Hopefully he fights thru it, we need contributions from him to go anywhere in March.

 

[mauconnfan]

It was real clear how much confidence he has lost against Houston when he and Boat were out on an even 2 on 2 break and he stopped at the 3 Boat penetrated and crossed over to kick it to a wide open Omar and he hesitated then traveled…….there was no hesitancy on that one last year, it was shot immediately…….Boat did a great job setting him up on that too!

 

[ctchamps]

I support Omar, but up until last game I didn't understand how he has been given such a long leash where as if Giffey, Brimah and even Kromah do anything wrong they get yanked.

Probably because KO has a great understanding of the personalities of his players and what is the best way to handle them to get them to play at their best. Giffey, Brimah and Kromah can handle tough love and probably respond best to it. Most likely OC can't. It might seem like a double standard and with the wrong intent it is a double standard, but face it, not every parent handles kids the same way. Heck, some parents handle different members in the family differently. Some people respond only if they are getting yelled at. Others go into a shell when yelled at. The best parents, teacher, business owners and coaches are ones who understand the various natures of people and have the skill sets and flexibility to bring out the best in people. And sometimes that means having to approach different people differently.

KO must understand that his players come from different backgrounds and upbringing and is working with the kids in the way they were molded.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

@fleudslipcon I agree that everyone may need to be handled differently personality wise, but not at the expense of the team.

Maybe NG needs tough love, maybe OC doesn't respond well to it, who knows?

However, NG has been the teams second best player all season and I feel like he gets shortchanged out there a lot in terms of Ollie's decisions and PT.

I'm not saying OC needs to be yelled out when he comes out of the game but if NG. did half the stuff OC did he'd play 5 minutes a game.

 

[tykurez]

Probably because KO has a great understanding of the personalities of his players and what is the best way to handle them to get them to play at their best. Giffey, Brimah and Kromah can handle tough love and probably respond best to it. Most likely OC can't. It might seem like a double standard and with the wrong intent it is a double standard, but face it, not every parent handles kids the same way. Heck, some parents handle different members in the family differently. Some people respond only if they are getting yelled at. Others go into a shell when yelled at. The best parents, teacher, business owners and coaches are ones who understand the various natures of people and have the skill sets and flexibility to bring out the best in people. And sometimes that means having to approach different people differently.

KO must understand that his players come from different backgrounds and upbringing and is working with the kids in the way they were molded.

This is exactly right ... and it's likely what had been happening up until Giffey got the starts.

He's a top recruit, he contributed 11 ppg last year (although his shooting still wasn't there) and he's probably a kid that needs to shoot his way out of a slump. It was pretty apparent that Ollie made a concerted effort to get him going in the Maine and E. Washington games. He got his points, but he still didn't play particularly well.

It's pretty apparent the leash has been shortened. Sick or not last game, he got 7 minutes for a reason. He got 16 against Washington. 15 against Florida. He's down to 20 mpg this year as opposed to 32 last year. He's not the same player right now. Hope he fights through it.

 

[ctchamps]

@fleudslipcon I agree that everyone may need to be handled differently personality wise, but not at the expense of the team.

Maybe NG needs tough love, maybe OC doesn't respond well to it, who knows?

However, NG has been the teams second best player all season and I feel like he gets shortchanged out there a lot in terms of Ollie's decisions and PT.

I'm not saying OC needs to be yelled out when he comes out of the game but if NG. did half the stuff OC did he'd play 5 minutes a game.

I agree coaching various personalities should not be at the expense of a team's performance. There is the need for compromise - winning vs. player development. But one other parameter exists and that is short term success vs. winning at tournament time. There needs to be enough wins to get into tournaments and favorable seedings and there needs to be player development so that players skills and team play will be optimized when the one and done season begins.

I feel KO has handled things brilliantly. He has made the shift to start Brimah over Nolan and Giffey over Omar. And he has given more minutes to Kromah and Giffey at Omar's expense. In other words he has changed tactics out of necessity as opposed to punishment. He is playing the players who contribute in a game as opposed to a fixed line up. That is why Nolan was in most of the second half in the EW game and not DD. It's why Kromah got a lot of second half minutes in the Washington game and it's why OC hardly played in the second half of the Houston game.

In spite of all this decision making by KO, decision making that I feel was the correct handling of players, there is nothing that can be done when everyone on the UConn team except Ryan Boatright was having a bad first half and the Houston players were having career games. There is only so many options a coach has under their control.

 

[msgordon]

I can see Omar transfering at the end of the season. If Boat stays, then Omar is coming off the bench behind Purvis. DHam has the 3 locked up. And if Omar stays to his senior season, there is no way he will start ahead of Ali.

speculating that far ahead is ridiculous but a senior calhoun would be a massive favorite to start over freshman ali

 

[FASTEDDY]

I TOTALLY BELIEVE in Calhoun and KNOW THAT HE IS VERY TALENTED. Thats why I am frustrated with his lack of production b/c I know that he has the talent to be very successful. When the 3s aren;t flowing then go tot the hole, ,get fouled, hit some shoirt shots. ANYTHING TO GET JUST GET a FLOW GOING. He can help the team and get his GROVVE BACK. Pick your head up and double the intensity and effort and it will lead to positive results.

 

[ctchamps]

I TOTALLY BELIEVE in Calhoun and KNOW THAT HE IS VERY TALENTED. Thats why I am frustrated with his lack of production b/c I know that he has the talent to be very successful. When the 3s aren;t flowing then go tot the hole, ,get fouled, hit some shoirt shots. ANYTHING TO GET JUST GET a FLOW GOING. He can help the team and get his GROVVE BACK. Pick your head up and double the intensity and effort and it will lead to positive results.

Here's a hint. Don't be frustrated when you watch his poor play. Can you do that? I doubt most of us could even if we set it as a goal. Why? Because the human brain is not wired like a computer. The input/output going to/from the processing centers of the brain are receiving all sorts of signals from other parts of the brain interfering with the processing. Fear, doubt, anger, are emotions that invade our cognitive brain centers all the time changing the way we behave, act, respond, feel, think and so on. Telling someone to do something and expecting them to perform as directed is as silly as someone telling a car without an engine or battery to start. You have to understand the mechanics of the object. No one in their right mind would expect this vehicle to perform properly. Sadly we understand cars, computers and many things more than we understand how people function.

 

[joober jones]

Probably because KO has a great understanding of the personalities of his players and what is the best way to handle them to get them to play at their best. Giffey, Brimah and Kromah can handle tough love and probably respond best to it. Most likely OC can't. It might seem like a double standard and with the wrong intent it is a double standard, but face it, not every parent handles kids the same way. Heck, some parents handle different members in the family differently. Some people respond only if they are getting yelled at. Others go into a shell when yelled at. The best parents, teacher, business owners and coaches are ones who understand the various natures of people and have the skill sets and flexibility to bring out the best in people. And sometimes that means having to approach different people differently.

KO must understand that his players come from different backgrounds and upbringing and is working with the kids in the way they were molded.

This is true. DD mentioned this in an interview a while ago.

 

[Kitaman]

Curtis would actually help this team immeasurably.

Sad but true.

 

[tykurez]

Yikes - kid got 5(!) minutes tonight.


Can't imagine he's a happy camper. We could really use those 11ppg from last year.

 

[UconnDon]

I can't help but notice many similarities between OC and Curtis Kelly. Both players left their Christ the King Brooklyn high school with Mr. NY Basketball accolades showered on them, and possibly a "can't miss" tag for future development in Div 1. But, notwithstanding some degree of success in NCAA career, Kelly also seemed to have difficulty with ball handling and general attitude. He did improve at KState, but not to degree his earlier promise indicated. Kelly possessed as physique that assisted him in college (read Kansas), while Omar does not share those size assets. OC's development at UConn so far mirrors some of the difficulties encountered by Kelly, particularly in the skills department. Maybe CTK skips on some vital rudiment training and exposure in its efforts to create the super star image of a chosen player each season??