Maturity a Hallmark of Callero Teams

Maturity –  The state or quality of being fully grown or developed. (Dictionary.com)

In a game wrapped-up in so much emotion and constant physical execution, how do these guys keep their heads throughout?

It’s a question I’ve asked myself. Maybe an astronomically-high level of maturity is the norm at this level. It certainly is beyond what I expected.

Drake U’u, like most of the Mustangs I’ve interviewed, showed a pretty high level of maturity after their loss to Fresno State. By Owen Main

I’ve had the opportunity to interact with Cal Poly men’s basketball players and coaches for the past three seasons. I’ve talked to redshirt freshmen. Chatted with injured upperclassmen. Interviewed unlikely heroes.

Joe Callero’s players always have one thing in common: maturity.

Maturity can be shown after wins. Guys talk about staying humble. They defer praise to their teammates. After losses, though, maturity is as evident as the green numbers on the front of their home jerseys.

Last year, guys like Amaurys Fermin and David Hanson always seemed collected, thoughtful, and positive — even after really tough losses. It was almost as if Callero was crafting many of their comments himself.

This year’s team seems like they’re on the same track.

Take Cal Poly junior forward, Chris Eversley. Eversley plays with a high-level of energy and intensity on the court. He will undoubtedly be Cal Poly’s leading scorer this season, having the broadest range of offensive weapons on the team. Three games into the season, he is averaging team-highs of 14 points and 7 rebounds per game. On Monday night, he was also about as gracious as anyone can be in defeat.

There was so little frustration shown. So much forward thinking. Eversley is happy with getting better. He credits Fresno State’s shooting. I sometimes think guys like this have achieved a higher level of consciousness. Some kind of sports nirvana.

Senior Drake U’u also fits into this category. In his final season at Cal Poly, U’u (who is built like a running back) has had to move from the wing to play a lot of point guard. The move to handling the ball and running offense isn’t one he looks completely comfortable with yet on the court. In his senior year, U’u has made a transition to a different position without a peep.

I’m ten years older than these guys, but in terms of holding my sports-related emotions in-check, I’m not even in the same stratosphere. I’m devastated when I lose a basketball pickup game. These guys have the hopes of a fan base and student body on their shoulders and still manage grace and positivity after a tough loss. I don’t think they are taking emotion out of the equation for themselves. Surely they do feel. You can hear it in their voices and see it on the court. They’re just controlling that emotion 1,000 times better than any of us (or maybe I’m just speaking for myself here?) ever could.

Don’t get me wrong, maturity isn’t a replacement for winning. Attitude can take you only so far. At some point making shots and winning games does have to happen. For the 2012-13 version of the Mustangs, that time is clearly Big West Conference play. Everything leading up to that, well, is incidental. “We got better,” said Callero after the Fresno State loss. “If I was in my fifth or tenth year of coaching, it’s hard to be very positive about a loss… but it’s actually really encouraging what we did do, a little more movement a little bit more rhythm out of things. It’s hard to sit there too jolly, but the big picture is, you know, we’re scheduling tough, and we’re not backing down from that.”

To play teams like UCLA is a big deal for Callero and a team like Cal Poly. Last season, they managed a signature win, upsetting Pac-12 USC at the Galen Center. While this season’s UCLA team is much less likely to be upset than the USC team they faced last year, Callero knows scheduling these games can also be a recruiting tool.

“It’s the exciting part of it, when they sign up to go to Cal Poly,” said the 4th year head coach. “If our engineering school is going to be nationally ranked, they’ve got to compete against top engineering schools… we’re playing three conference champions this year and the number one recruiting class in America.”

Most fan bases-would rather have championship banners than engineers. Then again, this is Cal Poly and I bet nobody would complain about having both.

Photos by Owen Main

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