Former San Diego guard Joey Calcaterra said it was crazy that his old San Diego State rivals would face a new team, the UConn, in the national championship game and warn it would be a battle from start to finish.
Joey Calcaterra spent most of his college football career in a heated rivalry with San Diego State. Now, the UConn transfer guard is preparing to battle his old foes for the national title.
The Connecticut Huskies and San Diego State Aztecs are set to head out in the national championship game Monday night – with UConn trying to win its fifth title and SDSU trying to win its first.
Calcaterra – a native of California’s Marin County in the northern part of the state – played four years for the University of San Diego Toreros. During that time, SDSU was their biggest competitor.
Now, the man dubbed “Joey California” by UConn fans will see his college career end against that same rival on a new team at greater stakes than he has faced before.
“You know, it’s really special when you stay so confident in yourself and decide to move on,” Calcaterra said in response to a question from DailyMail.com. (We) play championship teams like St. Mary’s and Gonzaga, I didn’t have a chance to win in San Diego.
Connecticut guard Joey Calcaterra is scheduled to play in the NCAA National Tournament Monday
Calcaterra played with the University of San Diego – their main rivals in San Diego State
Now, Calcaterra will play against his hated old foes for a title shot on Monday
Then I finished my career playing San Diego in the National Championship. It’s just… you know, it’s just crazy. crazy. You can’t really describe it.
“You know, they will be ready to go and it will be a battle from start to finish.” They’ve got a hell of a team, a great coaching staff and we’re going to have to prepare really hard for them.
Calcaterra was a regular starter from his sophomore to his senior seasons at Toreros – averaging 9 points, 1.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game over the four years.
At the time, he was coached by Sam Scholl – who now benches Calcaterra on the SDSU bench as an assistant coach.
SDSU also has fellow Marin County native Darion Trammell playing for him. Trammell transferred from Seattle University this past season and arrived at the same stage as Calcaterra.
Across Calcaterra at SDSU will be his friend and Marin County native Darion Trammell
“We’ve been friends our whole lives just by playing basketball against each other (and) playing with each other in open gyms,” Calcaterra said. We’ve worked with the same coach before.
I’m really proud of him and happy for what he’s been able to do at this level. You know, he had no scholarship offers coming out of high school. So he had to grind…and ended up in Seattle.
And then (he) got the chance to play in a big program like San Diego State… so (I’m) happy for him.
“Glad for all the recognition Marin County is getting right now… We have our fair share of football players. (Detroit Lions quarterback) Jared Goff from Marin Catholic High School.
Calcaterra will be important on the bench for Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley (R)
“There are not many basketball players who have reached the pinnacle of college basketball and above.”
At some point on Monday, Calcaterra will likely guard Tramiel as they play similar positions. But unlike the scoring stadiums they’ve played before, Houston will demand excellence from both of them.
It will be an amazing experience for both of us, Calcaterra admits. It’s a very cool experience. To know the National Championship Cup will end in Marin County no matter what.
“So one of us is going to bring him home to his family which is really nice.”
