43
Calhoun recalls previous his Kent State challenge
By Brian Dzenis
YOUNGSTOWN
Jerrod Calhoun will make his Youngstown State debut against NCAA tournament participant Kent State this Saturday.
Even though it’s his first game as a Division I coach, it’s not his first time punching above his weight against the Golden Flashes.
Calhoun’s Division II Fighting Falcons at Fairmont State traveled to Kent during the 2012-13 season and was a missed three-pointer away from upending the Flashes in a 77-75 defeat.
He remembers what worked well in that game and its what he’s bringing to Akron this weekend.
“Pressing. We were down 16 in that game and we heated them up,” Calhoun said Monday. “[Kent State coach Rob Senderoff] said to me — and he’s a really good guy — he joked that he would never play Fairmont State again.”
Calhoun considers himself 0-2 against Kent State, including a loss while working as an assistant under Bob Huggins at West Virginia.
“There will be no fear factor from me, I can certainly tell you that,” Calhoun said of making his D-I debut.
The Golden Flashes are the reigning Mid-American Conference Champions, going 22-14 last year before falling to UCLA in the the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“It will be interesting to see how we match up with them because our starting five is a bit undersized and they have bigs that can rebound,” sophomore Braun Hartfield said. “It’s going to be a tough test.”
The probable starting five will be guards Cameron Morse, Jeremiah Ferguson and Hartfield and bigs Devin Haygood and Naz Bohannon.
BACK AT PITT
The women’s basketball team also starts its season on the road this weekend.
The Penguins travel to Pittsburgh Friday night. Their second game of the year last year was a 63-50 loss to the Panthers.
“Pitt is an ACC team. They’re long, they’re athletic, talent and I feel like last year we got that game and got a little bit overwhelmed with the situation,” coach John Barnes said. “I feel like having been through that last year, we played them pretty tough. It’s going to be a challenge and they want to get out there and compete for real now.”
The team went through its final tuneup on Saturday, beating Div. III Davis & Elkins 73-55. Redshirt-junior forward Sarah Cash was held out of the scrimmage due to injury, but is expected to be ready for the opener.
Barnes said this year’s team is the deepest he’s had in five seasons in charge. It makes the competition for playing time nearly as heated as competition on the court.
“I think practice is much more competitive now,” guard junior Alison Smolinski said. “[Barnes] can throw anyone in there and I think he has confidence in all of us.”