I BELIEVE in Omar Calhoun....

[Huskybass]

The last guy that went from averaging 5 points as a Junior to 20 points as a Senior was
Fictitious Dreamonus back in 1962-63.

 

[Rico444]

Your nuts!

What about his nuts now?

 

[BJ_Toscano]

An interesting thing about Omar is that his points per 40 minutes and 3-point % are:

2012-2013: 13.8, 32%
2013-2014: 11.4, 24%
2014-2015: 12.7, 34%

A lot of people (myself included) hearken back to his freshman year performance. But considering the injuries, not such a big drop-off when he's actually healthy enough to play.

 

[Kembacity]

I've told this story before, but I'll repeat it again because it seems relevant. I went to an open practice during our national championship season two years ago. It was very tame, I'm sure, but Ollie addressed us a few times and at the end of practice, he thanked us for coming and let the fans come onto the court for pictures, autographs, etc. The players were all great, but Omar went out of his way to say hello to just about everyone; I hung back from the court because I didn't have kids to introduce to the players and would've felt a little weird just walking up to them by myself, but Omar came right up into the stands and said hello to everyone and shook all of our hands. This was right in the middle of that stretch where he was really struggling, barely seeing the court, and hearing it from the fans. I'll always root hard for the kid after seeing that,

Awesome to hear, looks like he learned well from Shabazz. He always struck me as a shy kid, I don't know why, so its nice to hear that he really isn't when it comes to mingling with the fans

 

[Huskybass]

Omar will be a starter this season. Will have a huge year like former Husky Kemba Walker and will be a first round NBA draft pick. You can take that to the bank.

How's this looking right about now after 22% shooting against Maine and New Hampshire? If Omar can be a decent role player, that would be great. But he isn't going to start, be a star, or be drafted by the NBA.

 

[CL82]

How's this looking right about now after 22% shooting against Maine and New Hampshire? If Omar can be a decent role player, that would be great. But he isn't going to start, be a star, or be drafted by the NBA.

It doesn't look that way right now, but that's kind of a tough thing to celebrate, isn't it?

 

[Huskybass]

It doesn't look that way right now, but that kind of a tough thing to celebrate, isn't it?

I would love to see Omar contribute. But those predictions about starting and being the star were just plain crazy. Gibbs and Purvis combined for 41 points last night. Who was Omar going to start in place of?

 

[MexicoHusky]

I wish Omar tried to focus on doing things other than shooting 3s. He seems to be hunting those shots, but his percentage is poor thus far. Combine that with the previous 2 years and my optimism for Omar is all but gone. Anyways, at this point his career is 3/4 complete and he's still trying to become a three point specialist. Maybe he can contribute like Kromah did in 2014. we'll see. It ain't over until it's over.

 

[superjohn]

Omar doesn't contribute right now, he loves shooting the three but he just isn't a good shooter. He needs to find something he's good at if he wants to see the court. He's a tough kid so I wouldn't count him out but the reality is he's an end of the bench player.

 

[8893]

Omar doesn't contribute right now, he loves shooting the three but he just isn't a good shooter. He needs to find something he's good at if he wants to see the court. He's a tough kid so I wouldn't count him out but the reality is he's an end of the bench player.

I was thinking that last night. There isn't much difference between what he and Sam offer at this point, which is not a lot for this team.

 

[uconnell]

I hope Omar comes back to what he was the year he committed. I wish nothing but the best for a very nice young man who stuck with Ollie during the coaching change.
Omar coming.

 

[August_West]

I was thinking that last night. There isn't much difference between what he and Sam offer at this point, which is not a lot for this team.

he is WAY more athletic than Sam.

 

[Marat]

he is WAY more athletic than Sam.

And thus is a better defender.

 

[8893]

he is WAY more athletic than Sam.

And thus is a better defender.

Agreed that Omar has better potential because of that, but perhaps that didn't make as much difference last night, especially on offense against the zone, which appeared to neutralize Miller's athletic advantage as well.

 

[Matt1010]

I'm not writing Omar and SCJr off for the season with this post but if things continue the way they have been they can't be on the floor (more than ~5-10 minutes) against top competition. The drop off between our top guards and those two is HUGE. Omar needs to stop being a gunner and try to make plays for other guys. He seems to think that he is a legit three point threat but the plain and simple answer is he's not. If you can't hit 35%+ from deep I don't want you shooting, especially given the multitude of other offensive weapons we have.

 

[cohenzone]

I hope Omar comes back to what he was the year he committed. I wish nothing but the best for a very nice young man who stuck with Ollie during the coaching change.
Omar coming.

I agree. He's been as loyal as they come, and he has the potential to be enough of a contributor to be important at times. He did it as a freshman. One thing I know, is that leg injuries really affect some players a lot on offense in ways that seem to linger for years. A key contributor or not, he is one of the real good guys.

 

[CallMeBruce]

The FG% numbers are ugly, but in a surprising shock, Omar has actually been an effective offensive player this year. 11 points on 9 FG attempts and no turnovers comes out to an ORtg over 120. It's obviously not going to last if he doesn't start hitting his shots, but I want to see him shoot his way out of this. He and Adams are going to have to be able to score points on the second unit.

 

[JimHurley]

I think both Cassell and Calhoun can be decent producers. They can combine for 25 minutes and ~10 PPG. I like Cassell backing up Purvis and Calhoun at the 3 when Hamilton is at the 4.

 

[HuskyCLT]

IMO, Ollie will have to go with the guy with a hot hand to a degree. We will need these guys to see some time on the floor at the very least. I'm hoping both of them will be able to break out of their slumps as they both are capable of filling in on our second unit.
We've seen both guys be good shooters (Cassell was good last yr early on, and hit a few shots last night, and Omar his freshman year), so we all know there's something there. Both guys have flashes of being very capable players so there is definitely something there - you can't write off a person for a bad game or two.

I'm sure everyone here is hoping Omar finds his way since, like posted above, he is a loyal husky and has stayed through this program despite Calhoun stepping down, the 1 year postseason ban, being hurt and not seeing much time during our championship run and last year to a degree.

 

[Marat]

Also, retweeted by Purvis today.

 

[Matt1010]

I think both Cassell and Calhoun can be decent producers. They can combine for 25 minutes and ~10 PPG. I like Cassell backing up Purvis and Calhoun at the 3 when Hamilton is at the 4.

Maybe against lesser competition, but in big games I'd really like to see Gibbs/RP/DH at ~30 minutes unless they get into foul trouble. I'd much rather give ~20 of the backup minutes to Adams, and that just doesn't leave much time for Sam and Omar.

 

[joober jones]

Omar can provide some scrappy and tough defense when he wants to. At this point it's the best thing he has to offer - not that it's a bad thing to bring to the table.

 

[raf46]

Omar can provide some scrappy and tough defense when he wants to. At this point it's the best thing he has to offer - not that it's a bad thing to bring to the table.

Would be very happy if he became this years NCAA Gunslinger. In hindsite, perhaps he should have redshirted after the two hip surgeries after his freshman year.

 

[TasteofUConn]

Between SC2 and OC, I'll take OC all day. He's more athletic, scrappier, and, most importantly, and unlike SC2, at some point in the past we observed him hitting at a good rate from deep.

 

[cohenzone]

Maybe against lesser competition, but in big games I'd really like to see Gibbs/RP/DH at ~30 minutes unless they get into foul trouble. I'd much rather give ~20 of the backup minutes to Adams, and that just doesn't leave much time for Sam and Omar.

I think he will. But there will probably be enough situations where either Omar or Sam will be asked to do something more than just give guys a few minutes rest if they can show that they can be counted on. We'll see. Adams is still in the process of getting used to the speed of the college game, and we haven't played any really challenging teams yet, taking nothing away from a decent New Hampshire team.