Post by elp525 on Jul 26, 2011 5:34:13 GMT -5
Friday July 22, 2011
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- The newest addition to West Virginia's basketball program isn't one of the six freshmen or three transfers.
Those nine all agreed to join the Mountaineers months ago and a few participated in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club's summer league that recently concluded.
It is instead Jerrod Calhoun, who for the previous four years was the director of basketball operations. In June he replaced Billy Hahn as an assistant coach, and is working with the team in preparation for an exhibition tour of Europe set for August.
Hahn moved to an administrative role as the special assistant to the head coach.
Even though Calhoun has been around the program and all its daily activities, these pre-trip practices are just as useful for him as they are for any of the other newcomers.
"It's sort of a pretrial thing for me for the next 10 or so days," said Calhoun, 29. "For me, I think it's been terrific. It's given me a chance to kind of show the guys my style and what I expect. Just going through drills with the guards and getting to know the guys has been good for everyone."
Calhoun will work with the point guards mostly, while Larry Harrison will get wing players and Erik Martin post players. Calhoun's duty is especially important this year. WVU has senior Truck Bryant and freshmen Gary Browne and Jabarie Hinds, who has not yet enrolled, although he should be on campus next month. Juwan Staten, a transfer from the University of Dayton, must sit out the upcoming season.
Calhoun said most of his early work with Bryant has been stressing the value of his leadership on a team with just Bryant and Kevin Jones as seniors and only those two, junior Deniz Kilicli and redshirt freshman Kevin Noreen as returning scholarship players.
In Browne, a native of Puerto Rico who played this past season at Arlington Day School in Jacksonville, Fla., Calhoun sees a composed player who has made the most of his playing time with his national team. Calhoun said the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Browne reminds him of former WVU point guard and graduate assistant Darris Nichols.
"He's just a wonderful kid," Calhoun said. "You don't have to tell him the same things over and over. He doesn't make a whole lot of mistakes."
Before WVU started practicing for games in Sicily and Italy, Calhoun made his first recruiting trip with the Mountaineers. The NCAA calendar had an evaluation period from July 6-15 and Calhoun visited tournaments in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
"The biggest thing was I got to get out and see kids," he said. "I think I had a pretty good six days on the road. I got to see a ton of kids. I think by the end of this period we'll be in pretty good shape with the number of kids we want to recruit."
The final evaluation period of the summer is July 22-31. Calhoun and Coach Bob Huggins left Thursday to head to their first stop so they're in place today for the first of another 10 days on the road, quite likely looking for a shooting guard and a frontcourt force.
WVU has only two scholarships to award for the 2012 recruiting class, though that could go up if players leave next season.
Calhoun wouldn't say where he was headed, except that he and Huggins would be where the players are.
"Year to year these tournaments change, but we go to where the kids are at," Calhoun said. "We sit down as a staff and map it out. We have a pretty good plan for where to go. It just makes more sense to cover the events where they're at."
WVU basketball doesn't recruit states or regions quite as specifically as WVU football does, but Calhoun hopes to enhance WVU's presence in Ohio. He's from Cleveland, played two seasons at Cleveland State then transferred to Cincinnati and worked with Huggins as a student assistant.
He coached AAU basketball for the Cleveland Basketball Club before moving on to work as an assistant at NAIA powerhouse Walsh College, in North Canton, Ohio.
Calhoun knew early in his teenage years he wanted to coach, and he convinced himself to get an early start when he was in college. Cleveland State accepted Rollie Massimino's resignation after Calhoun's second season and Calhoun decided end his playing days in order to move on to Cincinnati and try to get close to Huggins.
His dream is to be a Division I head coach, and Calhoun feels like he's in the best spot. He's not far from his hometown and he can see his son, Jordan, on a fairly regular basis. Calhoun also got married in May and there's a chance for productive longevity as an assistant here.
Huggins, 57, has a lifetime contract with WVU that guarantees he'll be the coach until he's 65 - if it's not extended beyond that. Not only can Calhoun enjoy that job security, but he knew years ago Huggins wasn't going anywhere. That mattered to Calhoun, who had a few opportunities to interview for, or even accept, Division II head coaching jobs.
He considered them. He knew it would have been easy to take one of those offers and then begin on his own. He decided it wasn't the right move. Calhoun fell back on the ability to consult Huggins, Massimino and even Jerry West. They all told him to remain patient and appreciate the future benefits that would come from staying at the highest level.
A spot on the WVU bench wasn't guaranteed, but it's what he earned by staying put.
"When we all came in four years ago as a staff, the whole goal was to win a national championship," Calhoun said. "There were some different opportunities, especially after we went to the Final Four, but I think once we got to that level, after we got so close, the goal has been to get back ever since.
"Having the six freshmen and the three transfers coming in, these first few practices, there's been such new life and energy, but at the same time, so much to learn. It's an exciting time. Then you look out back of the Coliseum and we've got a palace being built for a practice facility that's really going to enhance recruiting. It's going to do so much for our program. It's tough to leave when you think about all the things going on here."
* * *
Organizers for the iBN Sports Las Vegas Classic announced the final four participants for the 11th annual tournament. Joining WVU, Baylor, Saint Mary's and Missouri State are Bethune Cookman, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Kennesaw State and Tennessee Tech.
Though the Mountaineers don't know who the opponents will be, they will play home games against two of the four teams announced Wedensday. Regardless of the outcome, they move on to Las Vegas for games against some combination of the four previously anounced teams in the semifinal and either championship or consolation rounds. The games are Dec. 22-23 at Orleans Arena.
Tickets for the games in Las Vegas go on sale Saturday and can be purchased by calling the arena's box office at (702) 284-7777 or (888) 234-2334 or by going online to www.orleansarena.com.
by Mike Casazza
Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- The newest addition to West Virginia's basketball program isn't one of the six freshmen or three transfers.
Those nine all agreed to join the Mountaineers months ago and a few participated in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club's summer league that recently concluded.
It is instead Jerrod Calhoun, who for the previous four years was the director of basketball operations. In June he replaced Billy Hahn as an assistant coach, and is working with the team in preparation for an exhibition tour of Europe set for August.
Hahn moved to an administrative role as the special assistant to the head coach.
Even though Calhoun has been around the program and all its daily activities, these pre-trip practices are just as useful for him as they are for any of the other newcomers.
"It's sort of a pretrial thing for me for the next 10 or so days," said Calhoun, 29. "For me, I think it's been terrific. It's given me a chance to kind of show the guys my style and what I expect. Just going through drills with the guards and getting to know the guys has been good for everyone."
Calhoun will work with the point guards mostly, while Larry Harrison will get wing players and Erik Martin post players. Calhoun's duty is especially important this year. WVU has senior Truck Bryant and freshmen Gary Browne and Jabarie Hinds, who has not yet enrolled, although he should be on campus next month. Juwan Staten, a transfer from the University of Dayton, must sit out the upcoming season.
Calhoun said most of his early work with Bryant has been stressing the value of his leadership on a team with just Bryant and Kevin Jones as seniors and only those two, junior Deniz Kilicli and redshirt freshman Kevin Noreen as returning scholarship players.
In Browne, a native of Puerto Rico who played this past season at Arlington Day School in Jacksonville, Fla., Calhoun sees a composed player who has made the most of his playing time with his national team. Calhoun said the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Browne reminds him of former WVU point guard and graduate assistant Darris Nichols.
"He's just a wonderful kid," Calhoun said. "You don't have to tell him the same things over and over. He doesn't make a whole lot of mistakes."
Before WVU started practicing for games in Sicily and Italy, Calhoun made his first recruiting trip with the Mountaineers. The NCAA calendar had an evaluation period from July 6-15 and Calhoun visited tournaments in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
"The biggest thing was I got to get out and see kids," he said. "I think I had a pretty good six days on the road. I got to see a ton of kids. I think by the end of this period we'll be in pretty good shape with the number of kids we want to recruit."
The final evaluation period of the summer is July 22-31. Calhoun and Coach Bob Huggins left Thursday to head to their first stop so they're in place today for the first of another 10 days on the road, quite likely looking for a shooting guard and a frontcourt force.
WVU has only two scholarships to award for the 2012 recruiting class, though that could go up if players leave next season.
Calhoun wouldn't say where he was headed, except that he and Huggins would be where the players are.
"Year to year these tournaments change, but we go to where the kids are at," Calhoun said. "We sit down as a staff and map it out. We have a pretty good plan for where to go. It just makes more sense to cover the events where they're at."
WVU basketball doesn't recruit states or regions quite as specifically as WVU football does, but Calhoun hopes to enhance WVU's presence in Ohio. He's from Cleveland, played two seasons at Cleveland State then transferred to Cincinnati and worked with Huggins as a student assistant.
He coached AAU basketball for the Cleveland Basketball Club before moving on to work as an assistant at NAIA powerhouse Walsh College, in North Canton, Ohio.
Calhoun knew early in his teenage years he wanted to coach, and he convinced himself to get an early start when he was in college. Cleveland State accepted Rollie Massimino's resignation after Calhoun's second season and Calhoun decided end his playing days in order to move on to Cincinnati and try to get close to Huggins.
His dream is to be a Division I head coach, and Calhoun feels like he's in the best spot. He's not far from his hometown and he can see his son, Jordan, on a fairly regular basis. Calhoun also got married in May and there's a chance for productive longevity as an assistant here.
Huggins, 57, has a lifetime contract with WVU that guarantees he'll be the coach until he's 65 - if it's not extended beyond that. Not only can Calhoun enjoy that job security, but he knew years ago Huggins wasn't going anywhere. That mattered to Calhoun, who had a few opportunities to interview for, or even accept, Division II head coaching jobs.
He considered them. He knew it would have been easy to take one of those offers and then begin on his own. He decided it wasn't the right move. Calhoun fell back on the ability to consult Huggins, Massimino and even Jerry West. They all told him to remain patient and appreciate the future benefits that would come from staying at the highest level.
A spot on the WVU bench wasn't guaranteed, but it's what he earned by staying put.
"When we all came in four years ago as a staff, the whole goal was to win a national championship," Calhoun said. "There were some different opportunities, especially after we went to the Final Four, but I think once we got to that level, after we got so close, the goal has been to get back ever since.
"Having the six freshmen and the three transfers coming in, these first few practices, there's been such new life and energy, but at the same time, so much to learn. It's an exciting time. Then you look out back of the Coliseum and we've got a palace being built for a practice facility that's really going to enhance recruiting. It's going to do so much for our program. It's tough to leave when you think about all the things going on here."
* * *
Organizers for the iBN Sports Las Vegas Classic announced the final four participants for the 11th annual tournament. Joining WVU, Baylor, Saint Mary's and Missouri State are Bethune Cookman, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Kennesaw State and Tennessee Tech.
Though the Mountaineers don't know who the opponents will be, they will play home games against two of the four teams announced Wedensday. Regardless of the outcome, they move on to Las Vegas for games against some combination of the four previously anounced teams in the semifinal and either championship or consolation rounds. The games are Dec. 22-23 at Orleans Arena.
Tickets for the games in Las Vegas go on sale Saturday and can be purchased by calling the arena's box office at (702) 284-7777 or (888) 234-2334 or by going online to www.orleansarena.com.
