Shilique Calhoun Dismissed from Team at Midd. North and More

Updated with *****Breaking News***, 1:40 p.m. Shilique Calhoun has been dismissed from Middletown North’s team, according to a text sent from head coach Mike Iasparro to All Shore Media’s Matt Manley.

My thoughts are still the same, but obviously take the post below with the knowledge that Calhoun will no longer be with the team. Calhoun was averaging 17.5 points per game and 10 rebounds per game before being dismissed for his actions in yesterday’s loss to CBA.

I agree with Iasparro’s decision, for the record.

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Gee, did anything controversial happen in yesterday’s 69-35 win by Christian Brothers Academy over Middletown North?

Of course, I will start with the Shilique Calhoun situation, which just got updated with his dismissal from the team. First, here is the take of the Shore Scout, which you can read by clicking here.

I was sitting right behind the Middletown North bench, so I saw the whole thing unfold, as I detailed in the game story. Perhaps the strangest part of it was the utter lack of emotion on Calhoun’s part after head coach Mike Iasparro subbed another player in for him after being upset with a lackluster defensive effort that led to a wide-open shot by CBA’s J.P. Koury with five minutes left in the third quarter. It’s not like Calhoun knocked the Gatorade jug over or punched the bleachers or cursed. With a blank look after taking a drink of water, he turned around, took his jersey off and just walked out the door. I thought maybe he was blowing off steam in the hallway and would come back, but obviously it didn’t work out that way.

My first hope for this situation is that it is a unilateral decision on his future. I have seen similar incidents in the past where the coach wants to crack down on discipline but the administration doesn’t want to see a potential championship season go out the window or caves to parental pressure and disagrees with the decision. There also is the flipside of that argument, where the coach may be too lax in the discipline and the administration wants to be much more severe. To me, there needs to be an agreement between Iasparro and the administration about what they decide to do. I also think it can’t strictly be left up to the team. Adults have to make this decision.

There has been a pattern of this behavior, so I can’t really see how one more “I’m sorry” from Calhoun to his teammates is going to have any impact on them because they’ve heard it before. It’s just so strange because after the Lions stunned CBA earlier in the season, Calhoun gushed about how he loved his teammates, and his teammates talked about how they really made it a point to become good friends with Calhoun off the court in the offseason. That all went out the window yesterday and the statements by Calhoun after the first CBA game ring hollow at this point.

If I’m on that team, I don’t know how you can go back into battle with him. That was the ultimate selfish act in team sports. You would always be waiting for the other shoe to drop. I would rather know now the way it’s going to be for the rest of the season rather than being on pins and needles half the time wondering if Calhoun is just going to walk away, literally or figuratively, because he is upset about something.

Plus, if  Iasparro brings Calhoun back and he does this again, that just looks beyond terrible. It may even mean the end of his job as head coach, you never know. I know Iasparro and other coaches at North have been knocked for coddling Calhoun at times, but honestly, if they didn’t give him a little leeway or try to teach him when he did certain things wrong early in his career, he probably would’ve quit sports three years ago and maybe even left school instead of earning himself a football scholarship to Michigan State that at least represents a chance to turn things around and do things right.

Still, walking out on your teammates is the cardinal sin in basketball. It’s like plagiarizing someone else’s work in journalism. It’s the kiss of death. It’s just so strange too, because Calhoun is polite and engaging in conversation and interviews, but it’s like a switch just went off in his head yesterday and he was done.

He also put Iasparro in a no-win situation. Undermine a potential great season by removing the team’s leading scorer and rebounder or lose face as a lax disciplinarian who lets star players do whatever they want under his watch. This is not like this is the first time with Calhoun, either. Eventually, players have to learn there are consequences to their actions other than just a slap on the wrist and a missed game here or there.

To put myself in Calhoun’s shoes, I would think he felt he was embarrassed in front of his team and the fans behind the bench after getting yelled at, so he decided to get the upper hand, make a power play, and leave. Obviously no one really knows but him.

I’m just praying Calhoun learns from this and develops thicker skin. I’ve talked to many former Shore stars who played at big-time football programs, and they said one of the hardest adjustments was getting used to the intensity of coaches always in their face being critical. If Calhoun can’t take what I thought was a fair criticism by Iasparro, the type of criticism that I’ve seen a million coaches given in the middle of a game, it’s going to be awfully tough at Michigan State. I want Calhoun to succeed, and maybe he points to this incident as to when the light bulb finally went on for him and he took responsibility for his actions.

I just don’t see how he can be brought back from what happened, especially since it wouldn’t be ruining his athletic future to remove him from the team because he already has a football scholarship. For all we know, Calhoun doesn’t want to come back and that was the last time we’ll see him on a basketball court. Who knows?

But it’s not my decision. A lot of eyes will be on Iasparro and the North administration in the coming days.

I feel bad for the remaining North players, but they can’t feel sorry for themselves. Now is the time to show leadership, regroup, and not give up on their hopes of further championships. There is still plenty of talent on that team, although now they would be easier to defend if Calhoun doesn’t return because they can’t play inside-out without a real post presence in there, so teams will extend their defense to guard the perimeter more heavily.

Oh by the way, there was an actual game played in the middle of all that, so let’s get to some stuff from that as well, plus some other things from around the Shore.

—I already noted in the game story about the defensive switches made by CBA coach Geoff Billet, notably putting J.P. Koury on North point guard Eric Youncofski and putting Matt McMullen on North forward John Martens. In North’s two losses to Lakewood and CBA, the opponent has had a long-armed defender on Youncofski to try and reduce the alley-oops and take away some of his court vision by smothering the 5-foot-9 guard. Koury admitted that Youncofski has a quick crossover and got him a few times yesterday, but Koury stayed with him and did a nice job, including a few steals that led to easy dunks. To Youncofski’s credit, he didn’t try to force things that weren’t really there, but it may take some high screens and other sets to get him a little more space vs. taller defenders. Also, it puts a premium on getting in transition, where Youncofski can use his speed to get by taller defenders.

McMullen forced Martens to put the ball on the floor to beat him. He was not going to give up open looks from 3-point range to Martens, and that was huge because Martens couldn’t get anything going off the dribble.

Finally, junior Kieran Hughes harassed Calhoun in the post and at least made him work for his points, as Calhoun had 12 in the first half and hit some nice jump hooks. Hughes had a few plays where he came from behind to smack away entry passes and made it more difficult for the Lions to enter the ball to Calhoun in position to score. Calhoun was going to get his 20+, but he was going to have to work for it. Hughes, Brian Cali and McMullen also did a solid job of defensive rebounding and preventing North from hurting CBA with second-chance putbacks.

—Defense is going to be the key to how far CBA goes in the tournaments. It has periods in its halfcourt sets where it can’t hit the broad side of a barn, but if it is going to defend like it did yesterday, CBA will be right in every game. That’s all you can ask because when you have battle-tested, clutch scorers like McMullen and Koury, they can take you home in the fourth quarter.

—Not only will North have to replace 17 points and 10 rebounds a game if Calhoun doesn’t return, they also lose an intimidating shot blocker in the middle. Once he was out, CBA attacked the paint relentlessly and it became a layup drill once North had to extend its defense to try to get steals near halfcourt and easy buckets.

—If Calhoun is gone, I think that puts some pressure on junior Jason Huelbig. To me, he is the guy who would have to bring it up a notch to replace that production. He responded well in the third quarter yesterday after Calhoun’s departure, but the team as a whole was flat in the fourth quarter. Huelbig has the talent to be a big-time scorer, and North may need him and Martens to carry a bigger load if the Lions are going to make a run in the SCT and Central Jersey Group IV tournament.

—Finally, if Calhoun does not return, this will be the second time in the past three seasons that a freak occurrence has derailed possibly the best season ever for a certain public school program. It was only a few years ago when Monmouth Regional was poised to possibly win its first SCT and Group III title, only to watch as star center Joe Willman broke both of his wrists in a nasty fall against, you guessed it, Middletown North and Calhoun. Obviously, Monmouth had no control over that situation because it was a freak injury, while this is a decision by a player to walk out. Still, goes to show that sometimes luck can be just as big a factor as talent when these once-in-a-generation teams come along at certain programs.

Also, a few other quick things from around the Shore:

—Congrats to Ryan Keegan for becoming Howell’s all-time leading scorer with 1,235 points after a 23-point night in a win over Manalapan yesterday. Howell is rapidly becoming a team no one wants to see early in the SCT.

—Neptune pulled out a five-point win over Freehold without starters Ikie Calderon and Fuquan McDonald, who are serving a two-game suspension for disciplinary reasons stemming from a fight in a win over Monsignor Donovan on Saturday, but the Scarlet Fliers now will have to face Red Bank Catholic on Thursday with the overall Class B North title on the line without those two. Neptune can clinch the title outright with a win, while RBC would share it with the Scarlet Fliers with a victory. Neptune will still be considered the public champion, while RBC would tie Colts Neck for second place with a loss, which means the Caseys get the non-public title anyway. A win by RBC would be big for the Caseys’ SCT seeding argument because that would be two victories over Neptune this season.

—Big win by Matawan last night over Rumson. Key win for Matawan’s SCT seeding argument. That team has good offensive balance. There is no major scorer on that team (although freshman Kashaun Barnes certainly could become one in the next few years), but there are 5-6 players capable of double figures on any night. That makes them tough to defend.

—Some good wins for some underdogs last night. Henry Hudson got its first B Central win by downing Keansburg, and Long Branch stunned Monmouth to knock the Falcons out of an SCT berth. Congrats to both teams for not giving up on the season even though they only have a handful of wins. Says something about the character of their players and coaches.

Tags: CBA, J.P. Koury, Matt McMullen, Middletown North, Ryan Keegan, Shilique Calhoun