Omar say his future is at UConn

[tcf15]

David Borges ‏@DaveBorges 1m
Been a tough year for Omar Calhoun, but he says his future's at #UConn.. "Coach Ollie knows what kinda player I am."

 

[Kitaman]

That's good news, but in all honesty his current value is not at its highest. Best move to finish what he started and position our team to win a 'Ship'. So at least now we can stop speculation and win this damn ISU game!

 

[RayRay19]

He still looks like he is recovering and I support the kid 100%. Remember him freshman year! With his hard work and commitment to this program he will be fine!

 

[superjohn]

Great news, our backcourt is absolutely stacked in the next few years.

 

[tykurez]

He's still got two great years ahead of him. Can't wait to cheer the kid on.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Good and as it should be. I hope he comes back and plays like he can... It's been a tough year for him but he's kept his head up and is committed to this team which is extremely important going forward with the team

 

[JLock819]

It is clear as day that missing the entire offseason has affected his performance and subsequently his confidence. A full offseason will do wonders for this kid. I think he will be a huge part of our team next year when Kromah departs.

 

[Horatio]

He's healthy enough to give Kane a nice MSG, Big East , flagrant foul tomorrow . Just to set the tone.

 

[aboogieee]

Omar comin' ...back!

 

[Scot-e]

I respect the kid- he stuck with us through a few iffy years. I hope he is 100% next year and shoots daggers. He will have a lot of competition with SCJ and D Ham coming in - I am routing for the kid.

 

[tcf15]

http://borgesblognhr.blogspot.com/2014/03/omar-calhoun-coach-ollie-knows-what.html

 

[Calhoun's Court]

He gets to start fresh tomorrow night in the Mecca.

 

[superjohn]

He's obviously had a very rough year but Omar is UConn through and through. He committed when we were going though all sorts of adversity and despite it being extremely tough for him personally this year he has been a great teammate.

 

[Matrim55]

Omar this year reminds me of Caron in his second NBA season (03/04). He had an injury over the summer, came back and played hurt and had no lift or quickness. It affected all aspects of his game, and he wound up shooting about 38% from the floor.

It took him a full year to get back to being "basketball fit." I think we'll see the same with Omar.

That said, the kid's still going to have a fight on his hands for minutes, let alone starts. He's got to become more consistent from beyond the arc, and he's got to become a more capable passer.

Regardless, I'm glad he's still going to be here.

 

[aboogieee]

He hit a three-pointer in drills today! Mojo risin'!

 

[Tenspro2002]

It will be an interesting competition to see who starts at the 3 next year, him or Daniel Hamilton. Does Ollie go with the veteran who once showed promise, but is coming off one of the worst years for a projected big-time contributor in program history? Or does Ollie go with the uber-talented, but untested freshman?

Either way, our depth next year should be excellent.

We lose Olander, but gain Lubin (neither contributed/will contribute much anyway, so a wash).

We lose Giffey and Kromah, but gain Hamilton (less depth at the 3/4, but more skill at the 3), and Omar likely returns to form.

We lose Shabazz, but gain Purvis and Sam Cassell (less skill at the 1/2, but more depth at the 1/2).

The net result is we gain backcourt depth and (finally) size, with 3-4 guys capable of earning minutes at the 1/2. We return to having an offense-oriented 3 in Hamilton and/or Calhoun. DD gets the lion's share of the minutes at the 4, with the possibility of going big with either Facey or Lubin at the 4. And Brimah and Nolan come back a year older, smarter, and (hopefully) bulkier.

The only place we lose anything is that the departure of Kromah and Giff takes away the option of going small (Kromah/DD/Giff at the 3/4/5). Other than that, and the question of what we do when DD is on the bench, the depth-chart is crystal clear.

 

[Lefty2one]

Glad to hear this. Just needs to fix some flaws in his form and he should be a very nice contributor for us again.

 

[cohenzone]

Hindsight being 20-20, his leg might have seemed to be ready, but a red-shirt might have been in order. He isn't the first athlete I've seen never be quite the same after a leg injury and maybe what appeared to be a good recovery wasn't close to 100% before he started doing all of the running, jumping, quick stops hoops players need to do. In my UConn student days, when medicine was in its infancy, Bill Holowaty was an even better shooter than Wes B. on the freshman team, had a bad leg injury before the next season and was never the same shooter again. Someone I had the humbling experience to guard in what I'll call an organized rec league, had been a 3 time first team all-stater, and the record-holding high scorer on the Frosh team at a university that at the time had a storied hoops program. Then he injured his leg and was never the same (although you can't prove it by my feeble attempt to guard him some years later).

 

[huskyniner]

It will be an interesting competition to see who starts at the 3 next year, him or Daniel Hamilton. Does Ollie go with the veteran who once showed promise, but is coming off one of the worst years for a projected big-time contributor in program history? Or does Ollie go with the uber-talented, but untested freshman?

Either way, our depth next year should be excellent.

We lose Olander, but gain Lubin (neither contributed/will contribute much anyway, so a wash).

We lose Giffey and Kromah, but gain Hamilton (less depth at the 3/4, but more skill at the 3), and Omar likely returns to form.

We lose Shabazz, but gain Purvis and Sam Cassell (less skill at the 1/2, but more depth at the 1/2).

The net result is we gain backcourt depth and (finally) size, with 3-4 guys capable of earning minutes at the 1/2. We return to having an offense-oriented 3 in Hamilton and/or Calhoun. DD gets the lion's share of the minutes at the 4, with the possibility of going big with either Facey or Lubin at the 4. And Brimah and Nolan come back a year older, smarter, and (hopefully) bulkier.

The only place we lose anything is that the departure of Kromah and Giff takes away the option of going small (Kromah/DD/Giff at the 3/4/5). Other than that, and the question of what we do when DD is on the bench, the depth-chart is crystal clear.

Even if you are correct (I don't agree on your assessment of Lubin, and it's not a definite that Omar returns to form), this is all in a vacuum. We can't physically measure the loss of Shabazz in terms of leadership and countless other factors. Who will be the leader of the team? I'm not sure the rest of the team would accept Boatright to fill that role and Daniels is way too quiet. The same thing happened during Shabazz's sophomore season when Kemba had just left, and it certainly hurt us on the court.

 

[tcf15]

Even if you are correct (I don't agree on your assessment of Lubin, and it's not a definite that Omar returns to form), this is all in a vacuum. We can't physically measure the loss of Shabazz in terms of leadership and countless other factors. Who will be the leader of the team? I'm not sure the rest of the team would accept Boatright to fill that role and Daniels is way too quiet. The same thing happened during Shabazz's sophomore season when Kemba had just left, and it certainly hurt us on the court.

I think one key difference is that the keys to the car will be going from one senior, Shabazz, to another in Boatright. The biggest problem in the transition from Kemba to Shabazz is that we went from a junior leader to a sophomore. Not to say that the team will respond, but I think having another senior take the reigns will help a lot.

 

[Tenspro2002]

We can't physically measure the loss of Shabazz in terms of leadership and countless other factors. Who will be the leader of the team? I'm not sure the rest of the team would accept Boatright to fill that role and Daniels is way too quiet. The same thing happened during Shabazz's sophomore season when Kemba had just left, and it certainly hurt us on the court.

I agree completely -- that's a significant concern. Shabazz was our security blanket. Boat doesn't have that ability. I don't think the team will tune out Boat the way the 2012 team clearly tuned out Shabazz, but Boat definitely doesn't produce the same confidence that Shabazz does this year.

It will be up to more guys to step up, know their role, and get it done as a team. In a sense, next year is somewhat of a transitional year, from Boat/DD to Purvis/Hamilton. Hopefully we can maintain a high level of success and national recognition over the next two years, despite some significant roster and leadership changes.

 

[uconnng8]

It will definitely be a Boat/DD led team next year (assuming both stay) as seniors. They are best friends.

 

[Strummer]

It will be an interesting competition to see who starts at the 3 next year, him or Daniel Hamilton.

I can't imagine that there would be any doubt that Daniel Hamilton should be higher in the line up than Calhoun. Calhoun is currently a 5 minute a game player who is about 10th on our depth chart. Hamilton is a stud recruit.

Don't want to turn this into a bash-Omar thread, because Lord knows that there a plenty of those, but if Omar starts ahead of Hamilton it can only be because coach is doing a start-than-pull him mental thing (a la Olander in 2011), or Hamilton is nowhere near as good as we all think he is.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

I've been critical of Calhoun's play on the court this season, but I'm really happy he's staying put. He's a true husky and there's no way he doesn't make a big impact these next two years. Hell maybe he even can knock down a 3 tomorrow.

 

[tzznandrew]

Well, the thesis is that Omar is having a bad year because of the off-season surgery. Omar averaged 11 ppg last year. Players like Tyler Olander don't do that.