Calhoun Has High Expectations for Junior Season

Calhoun is looking to bounce back from a disappointing sophomore season

If there's one word to describe the 2014-15 Huskies two weeks before the start of the season it's "expectations." Some of the biggest expectations fall on the shoulders of junior guard Omar Calhoun, who struggled with injuries and inconsistency last season, and saw his playing time dwindle as the Huskies geared up for their title run.

A knee injury earlier this week will sideline Calhoun for several weeks, but when he returns, he plans to let his play make everyone forget about his sophomore season.

"The people closest to me know the kind of person I am, that I'm always a hard worker and I'm determined to be successful," Calhoun told TheDay.com recently. "I'm not a quitter. I'm going to keep fighting.

"People closest to me knew I was going to come back even stronger this year. Obviously, people that weren't so close to me thought about me leaving or going somewhere else. At the end of the day, my mind was focused on coming back this year and making a big impact."

Calhoun's teammates have noticed the change.

"A whole different player," senior Ryan Boatright said. "He's back being Omar. He's talking stuff, hitting shots and dunking. He's just got his confidence. He's got his whole little swagger back. I'm glad that he got it back. And he put a lot of work in this summer -- I witnessed it -- to get back to where he is now."

Coach Kevin Ollie, who has supported Calhoun all offseason, was asked at Wednesday's AAC media day about the sharpshooting guard.

“Omar’s doing great," Ollie said. "We had the MRI come back, everything was structurally sound. He does have a little sprain in his MCL, but I think he’s gonna be back, hopefully in time for the season’s start. If not, we’re gonna go with the guys that we have. But it was great results we got back from the doctor, saying there was no structural damage and he’s just gonna have to rehab.

“You saw Omar handle adversity well last year," Ollie continued. "That’s the beautiful thing about Omar.”

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