SUPER BOWL 2012

Omar Calhoun isn’t worried about UConn’s current situation and, instead, is just concentrating on his Christ the King basketball team as it nears postseason.


“We’re just focused on the season,” his father, Omar Calhoun, Sr., said on Saturday. “We’re trying to make sure we’re 100-percent ready so when he gets to a college campus, he’ll make an impact.”

He didn’t specify which college campus that will be, however.

Calhoun, 6-foot-4 combo guard out of Christ the King in Brooklyn, signed his national letter of intent to attend UConn back on Nov. 9. But with Jim Calhoun on indefinite medical leave with spinal stenosis and the program very likely to be ineligible for next year’s NCAA tournament, it’s fair to ask if Calhoun might be considering a release from his LOI.

“It bothers us that they may not be in the tournament next year and that Jim Calhoun is (on medical leave), not feeling well,” Calhoun, Sr., said. “But we’re not really concentrating on that right now. We hope Jim Calhoun is OK, that’s the most important thing.”

He added that, at some point, he’s looking forward to talking to Jim Calhoun about his condition and his future at the university, among many other issues.

“We’re looking forward to talking to him, see what the best situation is for (Omar), have some dialogue with the UConn staff,” Calhoun, Sr., said. “We’re concentrating on the season right now."

“The only comment we have," he added, "is we just wish Jim Calhoun a swift recovery.”

While NBA owners continue to lock out their players to the general disinterest of much of the country, the college basketball season kicks off tonight with great fanfare.

UConn is one of hundreds of schools to kick off its season with First Night festivities this evening. It all starts on Fairfield Way outside of Gampel Pavilion with a Fan Fest. Doors to Gampel open at 6 p.m. and there will be an autograph session with the players from both the men's and women's teams.

After that comes player introductions, etc., as well as 3-point and dunk contests. Alex Oriakhi, Andre Drummond, Jeremy Lamb and Roscoe Smith are all said to be competing in the dunk contest. Hasheem Thabeet says he'll be a judge and may serve as a "prop" of some kind. But the early favorite to win the dunk competition will be 6-foot freshman Ryan Boatright.

"I think Boat's gonna steal the show," Oriakhi said.

Boatright boasts some boundless athleticism (I witnessed a small sampling of it this summer in Greater Hartford Pro-Am action). He should be a fun player to watch tonight, and all season, for that matter.

The Huskies will also have some recruits on hand. Omar Calhoun, a Class of 2012 commit, will be there (he was on campus on an unofficial visit last week, as well), and we're told that Amile Jefferson, a 6-foot-7, 190-pound Class of 2012 power forward out of Philadelphia will also be in the house, among others.

Admission to the event is free.

Omar Calhoun isn’t sure whether or not he’ll be at UConn’s First Night festivities on Friday.

“We have to work that out with Coach (Kevin) Ollie,” said Calhoun’s father, Omar, Sr.

But don’t worry, Calhoun’s not having second thoughts about committing to UConn back in June. In fact, he was on campus this past weekend, spending some time with Jeremy Lamb, Shabazz Napier and the rest of the team, as well as Jim Calhoun.

“He had a good time up there this weekend,” Omar, Sr. said.

When Calhoun does officially arrive in Storrs next fall, he could be somewhat of a package deal. Calhoun’s sister, Sierra, is a sophomore at Christ the King High School (where Omar is a senior this year). A 6-foot guard, she’s one of the top female players in the country and is being recruited heavily by all the major powers: UConn, Tennessee, Maryland, etc.

Obviously, she wouldn’t be a freshman at UConn until Omar’s junior year. But there’s certainly a strong possibility that the two will be in Storrs together someday.

“Absolutely. That’s the goal,” said Omar, Sr.

In fact, she was up in Storrs with her brother this past weekend, as well, though she didn’t get a chance to see Geno Auriemma, who was off in Europe with Team USA. But both Auriemma and assistant coach Chris Dailey have seen plenty of Sierra, ever since she was in eighth grade.

Omar, Sr. said his son isn’t worried about all the recent conference realignment talk and the chance that UConn could be left out on the lurch.

“We wish Syracuse and Pitt were still around, but if UConn is going to go, I think this would be a great opportunity to follow suit,” he said. “Hopefully, for one year they’re still there, and hopefully UConn follows suit. Then we’ll have played in the Big East and ACC and have had the best of both worlds.”

Omar, Sr. believes his son, a 6-5 combo guard, could be an instant contributor next season.

“Hopefully, Jeremy Lamb does what he has to do and get out of the way by the time we get up there,” dad said, jokingly.

It’s good to be Jim Calhoun these days.

As if being just a few months removed from your third national championship, then getting commitments from a pair of blue-chip recruits, wasn’t enough, Calhoun now has all six of his beloved grandchildren living nearby. His oldest son, James, just moved from California back East to Massachusetts. The whole family, in fact, is heading down to Jamaica for a vacation on Friday.

Before that, however, Calhoun is heading down to Augusta, Ga., tomorrow for the Peach Jam, where many of the nation’s top recruits will be playing (and where the Huskies first laid eyes on an under-the-radar recruit named Jeremy Lamb a couple of years ago).

When Calhoun returns from Jamaica, he’ll be heading to Orlando and Las Vegas for another pair of showcase events. The Huskies have already got one recruit (6-foot-6 – yes, 6-6, not 6-4, as has been commonly reported – Omar Calhoun) and are planning on bringing in two more. UConn hopes to get a scholarship back from APR if it shows it is taking steps towards improving its academic situation, and there’s a strong chance that Lamb (and maybe even Alex Oriakhi) could go pro after this season.

Anyway, here’s a little of what Calhoun had to say about the current state of his program:

On DeAndre Daniels:

“He and ‘Scoe (Roscoe Smith) can play very well together. DeAndre is not quite strong enough to play inside, now, but he’s gonna be a player.”

“He’s much more effective when he’s on the perimeter. He can put it down, pass it and really, really, really shoot it.”

On Lamb’s breakout performance at the U-19 World Championships:

“Couldn’t be prouder. The ball didn’t go in the hole (always). With him, as with other players over the years – particularly kemba – if he didn’t play well, Jeremy would go find a gym and shoot. We talked on the phone twice, and it was bothering him that Coach Hewitt didn’t want him to shoot, he wanted him to rest. If that’s Connecticut, he’d be shooting. But I’m really proud of what he did. They didn’t have a great team, but he had a great, great tournament.”

On how close Lamb came to going pro:

“His family talked about it. I told Rolando (Lamb’s father) it’s a real bad idea. Yes, he would have been a top-25 pick – the earliest I heard, definitely, was the Knicks – but most importantly, he was not ready mentally or physically. He has the chance to be a special player, whether it’s this year, next year, whenever it may be.”

On Niels Giffey:

“Niels played on the (German) 20-and-under team, and his coach Henrick Rodl just elevated him to the senior team. The last month (of summer) could be really great for him.”

On next year’s team:


“We should have a solid, 9-man rotation – maybe 10, maybe 8. We have a lot of good pieces. Roscoe can play the 3 and 4, Tyler can shoot the ball. We’ll probably play a lot the same, but in some ways be a lot different … We’ve got good pieces on the outside, good pieces on the wing, we can play multi-dimensional. I’m worried about our muscle. Tyler is 240 now, Niels or Michael – one of them’s got to emerge, get a little more muscle. I have great confidence in Shabazz, he’s getting more mature, and he’s going to have to carry that into the season. Jeremy can play at the 1, 2 or 3, he played at the 1 in 19-under. Without question, Ryan’s coming in with the ability to pass the ball. He’s quick, and he can certainly score the basketball. We can play Niels at the 2, DeAndre – against zones, in particular – as a 2.”

On another ‘key’ loss, besides Kemba – Charles Okwandu (yes, Charles Okwandu):

“He gave us 15 minutes per game, blocked a shot-and-a-half, he was 260 pounds, a 7-foot wide-body. We don’t want to lose sight of that right now. Alex can be good, and we hope Enosch or Michael does, because I don’t see anybody right now being able to do what Charles did for us.”

On filling the position of director of administration vacated by Glen Miller:

“We hope to have that done within the next week … It involves a former UConn player.”

Calhoun noted that the hope is to essentially bring in two new people, one to work with academics, alumni relations, etc., and the other to concentrate more on compliance and other aspects.

On Kemba Walker:

“He came to school a couple of days ago and hung out with us. Tomorrow, he’ll be honored at the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce in Cromwell. He’s staying here because this is home to him … To get a player that special again would be an awful lot to ask.”

Just spoke briefly with Ryan Boatright, the incoming freshman point guard out of East Aurora, Ill. Boatright will arrive in Storrs in about 10 days – on Saturday, June 25 – and begin summer classes the following Monday.

Boatright, who was Illinois' co-Mr. Basketball this past winter along with Stanford-bound Chasson Randle, is looking forward to kicking off his Husky career. He has certainly taken note of the program's two signings last week – fellow incoming freshman DeAndre Daniels, a forward, and Class of 2012 guard Omar Calhoun, Jr.

"It's exciting, because I know we'll have a great team, year after year," Boatright said. "We'll always be strong, keeping the program at the top where it belongs."

Boatright averaged 32 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals per game as a senior for East Auroroa. A shoot-first point guard, he scored more than 50 points in a game twice, including 63 in one contest.

With Kemba Walker heading to the NBA, Boatright figures to fight for the Huskies' starting point guard position. Of course, sophomore-to-be Shabazz Napier will have something to say about that.

"I was never the type to take a back seat, or at least go in with that attitude," Boatright said. "I'm going in to fight for whatever I'm gonna fight for. But it's not about starting or anything like that, it's about doing what the team needs me to do."

Boatright has heard from both recently named co-captains Alex Oriakhi and Napier – mostly Oriakhi – over the past few weeks.

"He just keeps saying, 'It's gonna be fun.'"

Andre LaFleur was Boatright's prime recruiter. Of course, LaFleur left the UConn program in April to become Ed Cooley's associate head coach at Providence. Boatright was disappointed that LaFleur left.

"I mean, I couldn't say it was messed up, but it was just shocking, really," he said. "I didn't see that coming. I'm supportive of him, he had to do what he had to do. It didn't really make a difference for me coming there, though."

Neither, apparently, did the potential for Jim Calhoun to retire.

"He told me, just like he told everybody else, 'Don't worry about it 'til I say I'm not gonna be there.'"

Omar Calhoun will participate in the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Top 100 High School Camp this week (Wednesday through Saturday) at the University of Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena.

Calhoun, a 6-foot-5, Class of 2012 shooting guard out of Christ the King High in New York, committed to the Huskies last week.

The camp, which will feature 18 of the top 20 ranked high school players in the nation, helps prepare players for competition and life at the next level. (There are seminars on everything from how to dress to sex education. We kid you not).

Among the other participants include Andre Drummond (Class of 2012), Mitch McGary ('12) and Nerlens Noel ('13) -- players UConn is recruiting heavily.

(As an aside, who ever would have guessed UVA would name its basketball arena after Led Zeppelin's bassist?)

While Jim Calhoun hasn't officially announced whether he's returning, there will be another Calhoun on the Husky men's basketball team in two years.

Omar Calhoun, a 6-foot-5, Class of 2012 shooting guard out of New York's Christ the King High, has verbally committed to UConn.

"Yes, I committed to the University of Connecticut,” he told SNY.com's Adam Zagoria. “After spending quality time with Coach [Jim] Calhoun and the rest of the coaching staff, Coach [Kevin] Ollie and Coach [Glen] Miller and touring the campus my family and I felt UConn is the perfect place for me to continue my higher education academically as well as athletically."

Another nice haul for the Huskies, who got a commitment on Tuesday from DeAndre Daniels, one of the Class of 2011's top forwards.

No wonder Jim Calhoun seems in such good spirits these days!