Hard work pays off for men's basketball Bo Calhoun

Junior forward Bo Calhoun goes up for a shot during the game against Bowling Green on Feb. 14 at Worthen Arena. DN PHOTO BREANNA DAUGHERTY
Junior forward Bo Calhoun goes up for a shot during the game against Bowling Green on Feb. 14 at Worthen Arena. DN PHOTO BREANNA DAUGHERTY

Upcoming Schedule

Tue, Feb. 16 - at Miami (OH)

Fri, Feb. 19 - vs. Northern Illinois

Tue, Feb. 23 - at Toledo

Sat, Feb. 27 - vs. Eastern Michigan


Senior forward Bo Calhoun led the way for the Ball State men's basketball team with 22 points and 14 rebounds during the team's 75-63 win over Central Michigan on Feb. 13.

The 6-foot-6 forward went 6-10 from the field and 9-9 from the free-throw line, a testament of his hard work paying off.

For Calhoun, his success started as a freshman in high school. He said that he would go to the gym every morning before school to work on his game. 

“I used to go to the gym every morning at 6 a.m.,” he said. “It just translated to working hard, I always knew it would pay off.”

When Calhoun entered into his college career, his overall production from high school to college went down significantly. 

Calhoun averaged 18.6 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game as a member of South Bend Washington High School. In his freshman season, he averaged 1.7 points per game and 1.6 rebounds per game.

“I was in a bad place, I used to be so mad because I felt like I could’ve done something to help the team,” Calhoun said. “I always kept good faith because I’ve always been a positive guy, I just tried to spread it around.”

Things changed his sophomore year when he was introduced to Ball State head coach James Whitford, who is on track to have his first winning season as a Cardinal.

“When Whitford came, it was new to everybody,” Calhoun said. “Everyone had to carve out roles, so I gave Whitford the confidence to play me.”

Junior year was a breakthrough season for Calhoun. His personal highlight came against Toledo on Feb. 28, 2014 when he went for a career-high 30 points on 13-17 shooting.

“I felt like I finally belonged [in college basketball],” Calhoun said. “It just let me know that if I keep working hard, I can do anything on the court—I have good teammates that give me good energy and good confidence.”

Toledo is the same team that is currently tied with the Cardinals for first place in the Mid-American Conference West Division. Both boast a 16-9 overall record and 7-5 in the MAC. 

“I feel good because we’re in first place,” Calhoun said. “This is my first time ever being in first place [this far into the season] since I’ve been here—it means we’re going in the right direction.”

The Cardinals were able to beat the Rockets 87-69 in Worthen Arena on Jan. 06. On Feb. 23, Ball State will travel to Toledo, Ohio to take on the Rockets - in the same gym Calhoun scored his career high.

In his final campaign with Ball State, Calhoun ranks fourth in the MAC at rebounding with 8.5 rebounds per game, and 27th in the conference with 11.4 points per game.

 

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