Bob Huggins on Jerrod Calhoun: 'He May End Up Being One of the Great Ones'

It is a new era for Cincinnati University Basketball as the Bearcats recently inducted former Fairmont State, Youngstown State, and Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun on a six-year contract worth $3.7 million in year one, which will increase by $100,000 in subsequent years.

Calhoun’s 55-15 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances with the Aggies provided Athletic Director John Cunningham with enough evidence to ensure he was ready for the step up to the Big 12.

Last season, Utah State’s 81.4 points per game created one of the most fun energizing offenses in the nation leading guard Mason Falslev to be named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, with the Sixth Man of the Year award going to fellow Aggie Karson Templin, and Coach of the Year being awarded to Calhoun, as Utah State won both the regular season and conference title.

Past Connections Help Pave Way For Epic Return

Cincinnati head coach Jerrod Calhoun walks into the arena to cheers 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

Calhoun worked under former Cincinnati head coach Bob Huggins for six seasons. Calhoun’s first was in Huggins’ penultimate year with the Bearcats, where a 25-7 season was ended by a 92-68 round of 32 loss to Illinois in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cincy grad then moved to Walsh University, where he served as an assistant for the NAIA program for three years, the same school Huggins once coached.

Huggins then brought Calhoun onto his West Virginia staff from 2007-2011 as director of operations, before Calhoun spent the 2011-12 season as an assistant coach for a Mountaineer team that went 19-14, losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Gonzaga.

Huggins was at Calhoun’s introductory press conference, where he shed light on his former assistant, projecting that Calhoun “may end up being one of the great ones.”

“He was in my office pretty much every day, and he studies film. He's just done a great job all the way around. He goes and finds players. And that's hard to do. It's much, much harder than what a lot of people think it is," Huggins said to local media.

Calhoun’s last transfer portal class saw Utah State bring in the four-star transfer MJ Collins. The former Virginia Tech Hokie and Vanderbilt Commodore was nominated to the All-Mountain West Second Team, while also winning the Mountain West Tournament MVP. Collins finished his senior season averaging 17.5 points per game with 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists on a fantastic 48.7% field goal rate.

“I knew he was the guy [for the job],” quoted Huggins. “This is perfect for him; he's an Ohio guy … They tried to get guys that didn't really fit in. And I think more than that, didn't understand the players, and what their needs were.”

For Calhoun, now is where he and his new staff of Paul Molinari (chief of staff), and expected hire Mantoris Robinson (assistant coach) must begin to rotate their rosters for next season, which includes the transfer portal, and figuring out which of the current roster fits Calhoun’s style.

"He wants to be one of the good ones, he may end up being one of the great ones."

Two minutes with Bob Huggins on Jerrod Calhoun returning to UC to become the next head basketball coach of the Bearcats. pic.twitter.com/z8swfNmvN0
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) March 25, 2026