CINCINNATI (AP) — Jerrod Calhoun was introduced as Cincinnati's men's basketball coach Wednesday where he promised to restore the defensive identity the Bearcats had under his mentor Bob Huggins.
“When you look at Cincinnati basketball, the best teams here, people feared us,” Calhoun said. “People feared coming into Fifth Third Arena. You have to get the fear into your opponents by really getting after them. One thing we'll do is we're going to steal
the ball. We want to have that style."
Calhoun agreed to a six-year contract. He will earn $3.7 million in the first year followed by annual raises of $100,000.
Calhoun — who led Utah State to the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament — graduated from Cincinnati in 2004 and was a student assistant under Huggins during the 2003-04 season. He also spent five seasons on Huggins’ staff at West Virginia from 2007-12, including when the Mountaineers went to the Final Four in 2010.
Huggins was in attendance on Wednesday and received a standing ovation when he was announced.
“Coach Huggins, I would say, is the best practice coach I've ever seen,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun has been a head coach for 14 seasons and has a 297-159 record. He was at Division II Fairmont State in West Virginia for five seasons before getting his first Division I job at Youngstown State. He directed the Penguins for seven years, including five straight winning seasons, the first time they had done that at the Division I level.
Calhoun then went to Utah State and went 55-15 in two seasons. The Aggies went 29-7 this season and won the Mountain West regular-season and tournament titles.
“Coaching searches are never simple and this one was not,” Cincinnati director of athletics John Cunningham said. “Today is about finding the right leader at the right time for this historic basketball program. Somebody who understands the pride, the edge and the expectation.”
Calhoun would not say if he expects any Utah State players to join the Bearcats via the portal.
"When the portal opens, we're going to recruit a ton of guys," he said. “The most important guys are the guys in your program. They have built in advantages of playing in the Big 12. We will start with them. I think we'll be able to attract some of the best players in the country. We have to look at everything.”
He will try to turn around a Bearcats team that is on its third coach since Mick Cronin left in 2019 for UCLA. Cincinnati has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2019.
Calhoun said Cronin was a major influence on his decision to come back to Cincinnati.
“He's become a very big mentor of mine over the last couple of years,” Calhoun said. “Mick's vision and desire to get this program back, (him saying) 'You’re the right guy at the right time', ‘Your style will work there’, was tremendous.”
Calhoun replaces Wes Miller, who went 100-74 in five seasons, including 18-15 this season. Miller was hired as the men's coach at Charlotte on Monday.
Calhoun is a Cleveland native and played two seasons at Cleveland State for Rollie Massimino.
Cincinnati hasn't reached the Final Four since 1992 under Huggins, its only appearance since 1963.
“We should not be just wanting to get into the NCAA Tournament,” Calhoun said. “We should be wanting to advance week by week and get back to a Final Four. We don't take this opportunity lightly.”
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