Player Profile: Omar Calhoun

Looking Back: It couldn’t have been a worse season for Omar Calhoun. He was coming off a shoulder injury that limited him throughout the summer and he had to shake off the rust during the preseason. He looked really good in those early games but when it came to game time against better talent, he just couldn’t get anything positive going. With each brick, turnover, or defensive lapse, his confidence sank which led to even more mistakes. Whenever a shot did go in, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief that he was finally getting back on track, but he could never sustain any momentum and put two consecutive positive plays together. With each poor outing, Kromah and Samuel began eating into his minutes until he only played sparingly which didn’t give him much of an opportunity to break out of his awful slump. It all added up to a lost year for him and a major step back in his development.

The Good: It has to be his resilience. For a player to go through what he had last year and just continue to fight through it shows his heart and toughness. He has the tools, it is there on tape, but he just couldn’t get a break. He has a good handle, has the ability to knock down jumpers, and plays solid defense. He just needs the confidence that he can make a positive impact on the court.

The Bad: It is easy to lay blame on a wide variety of his game simply because he had a horrible season, but if there is one aspect of his game that he needs to get better at it is his jumper. It is quick but the release is all wrong and over his two seasons it has proved to be inconsistent and streaky. Now this is tough to ask of a player to do. To change something like their jumper is a long and arduous task and a gamble. There is no telling if it will truly work out for him, but right now, his release isn’t working and something has to change. He also needs to know how to make other contributions if he isn’t scoring. That means attacking the glass, causing havoc on defense, and getting to the line.

Looking Ahead: It can only go up from here, right? He is healthy and will have an entire off season to work on his game, get bigger and play, play, play. If he can figure out how to get to the line two or three times a game then it would drastically help his game. What he lacked is confidence and to see a few baskets drop for him early in the game might pay huge dividends for him. Hopefully he can get back on track because this upcoming team has a plethora of young and hungry guards that will be nipping at his heals for some playing time, but for now there is no telling which Calhoun will show up this upcoming season.

Player Profile: Omar Calhoun

Looking Back:  Omar Calhoun had a tough role to play last season.  He was the third guard behind that of Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright, which meant that he didn’t get many offensive sets designed especially for him.  He ended up being primarily a three point shooter, 134 of his 246 shots were from deep.  He struggled with a hip injury halfway through season which limited his ability to drive and might have effected his jumper.  After the season he went through hip surgery and hasn’t had much basketball activity through the off-season.

The Good: He has a lightning fast release and is accurate.  His defensive skills, while not exceptional are underrated, especially if you consider he was playing bigger and more athletic wings.   He did have 13 blocks which is excellent for a guard and shows his ability to stay with his man on defense. He’s also a good rebounder. 114 total boards with 38 of those offensive which is only one less than DeAndre Daniels who led the team in offensive rebounds.  Even though he isn’t known for taking his man off the bounce, Calhoun did get to the line 106 times and made 80 of those.

The Bad: While his jumper is accurate and quick, it is awkward with a low release point which allows his defender to block it more easily and his mid-ranged game needs more work.  Teams are going to take away his three point shot, so he will need to adjust and take the ball in for that ten to fifteen foot jumper.  His jumper is also inconsistent and he went through a couple of long dry spells.  His assists, 37, to turnovers, 54, needs to improve and even out more also.

Looking Ahead: Omar is primed to have a breakout season.  If he can bounce back from his surgery then he should help stretch the floor, but with little to no practice done in the off season, Calhoun will have to work hard to catch up.   Ollie will need to watch Calhoun’s minutes early on, but by the end of the year, Omar should develop into a major scoring threat and alleviate the pressure off of Boatright and Napier offensively.

The Breakdown: The Guards

Everyone who follows college basketball knows that success depends heavily on the backcourt and Connecticut has a three guard tandem to rival any in the country.  Starting with Shabazz Napier.  He is already getting NBA draft buzz and is knocking on the door of an All-American award.  He has all the tools to be one of the best pure point guards to leave Storrs.  Sure Walker and Price have shown that they can handle the point with success, but Napier has a smoother stroke from deep and has comparable to better court vision.  Shabazz doesn’t have that killer instinct nor the ability to light it up like Walker, but he does possess more of a point guard mentality.  He has shown progression each and every year and there is no reason why he shouldn't flirt with 20 points and 10 assists a game this upcoming year.

Ryan Boatright is heading into an important season.  He showed glimpses of a pesky two-guard that has the ability to score twenty a game, but he lacked consistency last season and struggled mightily when Napier was injured.  He needs to show that he can take care of the basketball and play with purpose.  Too many times he dribbled himself into trouble while improvising.  He needs to trust in the sets that are called.  His jumper also needs to improve.  Teams were driving him off the line and he didn't have a second option.  If he can work on the mid-ranged game, get to the line more, and limit his careless turnovers than he should have a great season.

The biggest X-Factor is Omar Calhoun.  He has shown the ability to hit the deep ball and his mid-ranged game began to emerge late in the season.  This year should show a much more mature game in Calhoun.  There is just too many options for the offense that Omar needs to contribute in other ways other than camping out for the deep shot.  He’ll need to battle for those mid-ranged rebounds that plagued UConn last season and also find ways to get points at the line, which will mean playing more downhill.  If he can do these things, then this three guard line-up should be tough to handle for any team in the country.

Lasan Kromah also joins the team, transferring from George Washington University.  Kevin Ollie loved what R.J. Evans brought to the team last year.  A confident, tough nosed, senior guard that is willing to do all the little things from solid defense, rebound in traffic, run sets, and play within himself.  Kromah should be able fill that role.

With the plethora of guards at Ollie’s disposal, he can mix and match his lineup, but he’ll more than likely use Napier, Boatright, and Calhoun to start and end the halves with Kromah and Giffey to slide into the shooting guard roles when necessary.  It all leads up to a very deep line-up and one that can win the new American Athletic Conference and make a deep run into the NCAA tournament.

Omar Calhoun on why he is at UConn

Napier and Calhoun on Playing Georgetown

Omar Calhoun on Cincinnati Bearcats

Omar Calhoun & Kevin Ollie on getting advice

Meet Omar Calhoun

Omar Calhoun is UConn’s top prospect heading into the 2012-2013 season.  He’s a pure scorer from Brooklyn, New York.  Being 6-6 and 185 pounds, Calhoun has a fluidity to his game and has a multitude of ways of scoring but it all stems from his jumper.  He has great basketball instincts, leaking out on the fast break, cutting hard on screens, or finding ways for second chance opportunities.  His best attribute though is his work ethic.  Kevin Ollie has called Omar a “workaholic” and coming from Ollie that is high praise.  He still needs to work on his ball handling, sometimes leaving it exposed for steals and he isn’t explosive or attacks the rim hard.  It might take him a few games to get used to the speed of the game, but with his assets, he might not be starting games, but he will be getting starter minutes, especially late in ballgames.

Omar Calhoun Dunk on Tim Zephyr

Omar Calhoun: 2012 NIKE PRO CITY

X-Men Vs Take No Prisoners (TNP)
 X-Men Roster
 (Black): #3 Elan Davis [ ASA College ]
 #11 Michael Haynes [ Fordham University ]
 #12 Donnie McGrath [ Providence College ]
 #15 Chris Wehye [ Quinnipiac University ]
 #21 Smush Parker [ Fordham University ]
 #24 Omar Calhoun [ University of Connecticut - Christ The King High School ]
 #25 Mike Campbell [ LIU Long Island University ]
 #31 Lance Goulbourne [ Vanderbilt University ]
 #33 Jenar Harrison [ AIC American International College ]
 #35 Gordon Malone [ West Virginia University ]
 #44 Tommie Eddie [ University of Mississippi ]
 #53 Mike Davis [ Seton Hall University ]

 Take No Prisoners TNP Roster (Gray):
 #3 Antawn Dobie [ LIU Long Island University ]
 #5 Kenny Satterfield [ University of Cincinnati ]
 #10 Kirk Williams [ Longwood University ]
 #11 Fabian Pinnock [ CSU California State University Bakersfield ]
 #12 Taaj Ridley [ Iona College ]
 #15 Allan Sheppard [ St Francis College ]
#21 Charles Jones [ LIU Long Island University ]
 #25 Kyle Cuffe [ St John's University ]
 #31 Aaron Williams [ Delaware State University ]
#35 Anthony Glover [ St John's University ]
 #40 Ryan Pearson [ GMU George Mason University ]
 #44 Tyshawn Valentine [ Sullivan County Community College ]
 #50 Anthony Cox [ Farmingdale State College ]

Omar Calhoun: City of Palm Highlights

Omar Calhoun Entire Game:

Christ The King High School ( Queens ) Vs Archbishop Stephinac High School ( White Plains )

Christ The King High School ( Queens ) Roster (White):
#2 Eric Ishman
#3 Isaiah Cosbert
#5 Malik Harmon
#10 Jon Severe
#11 Chris Mormon
#12 Adnois Delarosa
#15 Maynard Grant
#20 Thomas Holley
#21 Omar Calhoun UConn ( University of Connecticut )
#22 James Coleman
#23 Jesse Higgins
#30 Marthely Senat
#33 Jordan Fuchs

Archbishop Stephinac High School ( White Plains ) Roster (Blue):
#1 Josh James
#2 Naim Thomas
#3 Malik Omess
#4 Tyler Iacuone
#5 Mark Giardini
#10 Davino McRae
#14 Tarik Stoval
#15 James Decker
#21 Ryan Burnett
#22 Andrew Murray
#23 Samir Khalil
#25 Quarry Greenway
#44 Allen Suriel

Omar Calhoun Put-Back & 1 with Interview

Omar Calhoun Highlights

Omar Calhoun One Handed Slam

Omar Calhoun Interview

Omar Calhoun & Others at Nike Global Challenge

Players featured include Julius Randle, Tony Parker, Omar Calhoun, Cameron Beidscheid, Dominic Artis, Aaron Gordon, Brandon Ashley, Gary Harris, J.P. Tokoto, Ricardo Ledo, Sim Bhullar, Anthony Bennet, Andrew Wiggins and more. Video by Tim Brown, OregonLive.com

Omar Calhoun at Nike Skills camp

Omar Calhoun has hops

Omar Calhoun Interview