Hoops prowess puts ball in Calhoun’s court Coaches pursue Raritan H.S. star as he works to improve academically BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer CHRIS KELLY staff Raritan’s Qa’rraan Calhoun goes up for a shot during last year’s playoffs. The 6-foot-9 senior hopes to lead the Rockets even deeper than last year’s state semifinals appearance. The unsigned senior hopes to elevate himself into the upper echelon of college recruits. We’ve all been guilty of seeing a really tall person and thinking, “Yup, he plays basketball.” Many know the 6-foot-9 Qa’rraan Calhoun because he averaged 17 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots per game last season at Raritan High School, Hazlet, statistics that have made college coaches from Arizona, UConn and Missouri, along with many others, salivate over him. Even with a college scholarship waiting in the wings, his polite demeanor sets him apart. “He’s so nice to everybody in this school. He’s always smiling, and that’s why people like him — he’s just such a friendly person,” Qa’rraan’s teammate, Dave Lonnay, said. Not a bad assessment of somebody who was in an entirely different situation just three years ago. While Qa’rraan calls Hazlet his home now, his previous hometown of Asbury Park was not what he considered an ideal spot for somebody who aspired to go to college one day. “Nobody down there cared about anything,” the senior said. “Kids wouldn’t even go to school ever, and so it was time for me to get out.” Since coming to Raritan, his grades have improved to “about a B-minus average,” according to Qa’rraan. For this, he thanks the people who have made it possible. “The teachers here are great. They’re always around to help the kids out if they ever need individual help. That’s what I really like about this school,” he said. Even though his grades have improved and he is working hard to become eligible to participate in college athletics as a freshman under NCAA guidelines, there is a possibility that he may have to go to a prep school for a year. “Qa’rraan has a very unique situation in that he transferred schools and he is still trying to get his grades up,” Raritan head basketball coach Sean Devaney said. “Some colleges have been in touch and said that he may need to go to prep school and better himself academically, and Qa’rraan understands that.” Unlike some student-athletes who neglect their studies, Qa’rraan, who considers English his favorite subject, is able to find a daily balance between academics and athletics. “I go to school and after that, I come home and rest for a little while. Then I’ll go play basketball, and when I come home, I do my homework. This is what I do on most days,” Qa’rraan said. Besides having a composed school life now, Qa’rraan said he has an improved home life, living with teammate and cousin Marques Johnson and his uncle, Brock Johnson, who doubles as his AAU summer league coach with the Trailblazers. “If I do go to a prep school, maybe my cousin will come with me and it will be like a package deal,” Qa’rraan said. “I think that would be fun with the two of us already playing together here [at Raritan].” “My uncle has helped me a lot also. He’s given me a lot of lectures on basketball and life. It’s helped me out a lot,” Qa’rraan said. Even with a good family structure and a solid foundation at school, it seems like Qa’rraan has everything going for him. But in a small community like Hazlet, it’s clear that he’s the biggest fish (literally and figuratively) in a small pond, and sometimes may not know how to handle his growing popularity. To deal with that, he can look to a buddy who, while living in a bigger area, deals with a similar situation. “I’m friends with [Middletown South football star] Knowshon [Moreno], and I know what he goes through,” Qa’rraan said. “It’s kind of the same thing for both of us because we’re both being recruited right now.” No matter who Qa’rraan rolls with or where he goes to school in the future, those around him know he’ll still be the same kid with the ear-to-ear grin at all times. “It’s like he has rock star status at school — that’s how popular he is. Everybody likes him, and I think that will take him a long way in life,” Coach Devaney said. Grades: B- at RHS Sport: Basketball Actively recruited by: University of Arizona University of Connecticut University of Missouri