Cincinnati head coach Jerrod Calhoun speaks during a press conference announcing him as the head men's basketball coach at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

All-Basketball Jerrod Calhoun 'Going To Sell' High-Powered Entertaining Cincinnati Bearcats Hoops

Originally posted on Cincinnati Bearcats on SI
By Russell Heltman | Last updated Apr 1, 2026 7:06 AM ET

The busy stretch continues for Jerrod Calhoun as he gets more and more dialed into his new head coaching role for the UC men's basketball program.

He took a quick break from the Indoor Practice Facility food court and all the work on campus to chat with Travis and Jason Kelce on the New Heights podcast this week.

The Right Message

Calhoun is amped to bring his exciting, high-powered style of offense to Clifton and get this ball rolling downhill. He responded to the glowing comment NBA super agent Maverick Carter gave to the school when UC hired Calhoun, comparing his commitment to basketball only to LeBron James and no one else.

"Maverick and I grew up together," Calhoun noted. "We were both AAU guys, so we would spend the weekend at each other's house. I eat, sleep, drink, basketball; I don't golf. I'm constantly trying to evolve and learn. I think one of the things we'll be able to attract to Cincinnati is our style, man. We really teach guys to play green, to find, create, and keep advantages. We teach spacing. You know, it's all about reads, right? Like, you got to be able to read the game, and you guys are elite guys that have read the game for a long time, and that's what we do. We try to train their eyes.

"Man, it's a whole progression, right, from the offseason, the preseason, and a lot of this I got from (Boston Celtics head coach) Joe (Mazzula), I'll be honest, man, when I went up to Boston five, six years ago, it changed my trajectory as a coach, and who doesn't want to play in our system because we score the ball and at the end of the day. Man, it's entertainment. People want to pay money to see touchdowns, and they want to see the ball go through the basket, so we're going to sell it."

Calhoun continues to hammer home the importance of owning the city and beating Xavier, just like he did during his opening press conference.

Cincinnati has toppled Xavier just once this decade and three times since 2013.

"Rivalries are everything, right? We all got them. We all have that team. But this one is really special," Calhoun said. "I think it's one of the most unique, you got Duke-Carolina, you got Cincinnati-Xavier. There are two monster basketball programs within four or five miles. So those are games you've got to win. You've got to defend home turf. You've got to rep your city. We're going to take a lot of pride in that. And (Former Youngstown State) President (Jim) Tressel talked about Ohio State-Michigan with me for years. It's got to be talked about, it's got to be trained in our guys' minds, that we've got to win this game. And it starts in the recruiting process."

The grind continues for Calhoun as he finalizes his staff and gets ready to attack the transfer portal when it opens on April 7.

Check out the full podcast chat with Calhoun here.