Joey Calcaterra has been a proficient scorer throughout his high
school years. At Marin Catholic, he averaged 5.8 points as a freshman
and 20 points as a sophomore. In a 19-11 season for the Wildcats last
year, the shooting guard prospect averaged 27 points, 5 rebounds, 3
assists, and 3 steals.
Coach Mike Saia considers Calcaterra a unique talent, “In the 6 years of coaching at Marin Catholic, I can’t think of an accurate comparison to Joey. His unique style on the offensive end of explosiveness, body control, toughness in getting to the rim, and mid and deep range shooting is something I haven’t seen, especially from a player with as ‘slight’ of a build that Joey has. He doesn’t have the bulk that many would think of a guy who puts up big numbers, but he is wiry strong, and a very tough kid. Accepts the physicality of the game, and has the concentration to finish.”
Calcaterra came into his freshman season as a lanky scorer but has also evolved his athletic and defensive skills. Over the past summer, he played for the inaugural Splash City team in the Under Armour circuit. The competition from the circuit pushed his play to a new level.
According to Calcaterra, “Playing against Trevon Duval and Jalek Felton forced me to really work on my defense and quickness because while playing in front of over 75 college coaches every game, I couldn’t have any weaknesses on the court. I'm being recruited as a player who can score as well as handle the ball. All the schools I've talked to are looking for scorers and ball handlers and I feel like I can take on that role at the next level.”
This strong showing of his overall and comprehensive basketball and athletic skill set increased his recruiting status. Pacific, San Diego, San Francisco, Stetson University, and UC Davis have offered while he has decided on his official visits to be Pacific, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and UC Davis. During his junior year of high school and club basketball, over 30 schools contacted him with varying levels of interest with the most recent being Davidson, Hofstra, seven Ivy League schools (out of eight), Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, Southern Utah, and UC Santa Barbara.
Coach Saia says about what his star guard needs to do during his senior year and thereafter, “Continue to get stronger, and that will come over the rest of his high school and college careers. He is very committed to working on his game in the off-season, and that includes weight room and speed work. I don’t believe he is done growing and filling out. And he has to show that he can defend both the PG and SG at the next level. His offense will get him into games, but his defense will keep him in games. He has a very good feel for the game, and is excellent in the open floor. He has offers from excellent schools and basketball programs. Very excited for him and his family.”
The 6-foot-3 and 165 pound Wildcat is working to gain some more pounds and get bigger during the rest of summer. He is also focusing on improving his quickness, ball-handling, and perimeter shot.
Marin Catholic has had win totals of 17, 23, and 19 during Calcaterra’s first three seasons. Coach Saia walks through his own timeline with Calcaterra on his roster, “Biggest difference is his evolution as a leader on this team. He played with his older brother Frankie his first 2 years. Last year and this year, as a captain, he needs to continue working on leading this team. We, as a team, have goals that we want to achieve, and Joey will lead us, both on and off the court. He was our 7th man as a freshman, and has started every game since the beginning of his sophomore year. On the court, he just keeps getting better and better, and much stronger every year. Early in his high school career, he was the recipient of many passes. We expect him this year to be more of a distributor, even though we will be expecting him and need him to get his share of touches.”
Calcaterra muses about his final high school season, “I’m looking to make another run at a NCS Title like my sophomore year as well as a run at state. We didn’t get as far as we wanted to last year so we need to make up for it. Our team is made up of most of my senior class this year so we have experience and we’re looking to have a strong team this year.” The senior captain is looking to light it up again from the hard wood with his Wildcats in Kentfield, Calif.
Coach Mike Saia considers Calcaterra a unique talent, “In the 6 years of coaching at Marin Catholic, I can’t think of an accurate comparison to Joey. His unique style on the offensive end of explosiveness, body control, toughness in getting to the rim, and mid and deep range shooting is something I haven’t seen, especially from a player with as ‘slight’ of a build that Joey has. He doesn’t have the bulk that many would think of a guy who puts up big numbers, but he is wiry strong, and a very tough kid. Accepts the physicality of the game, and has the concentration to finish.”
Calcaterra came into his freshman season as a lanky scorer but has also evolved his athletic and defensive skills. Over the past summer, he played for the inaugural Splash City team in the Under Armour circuit. The competition from the circuit pushed his play to a new level.
According to Calcaterra, “Playing against Trevon Duval and Jalek Felton forced me to really work on my defense and quickness because while playing in front of over 75 college coaches every game, I couldn’t have any weaknesses on the court. I'm being recruited as a player who can score as well as handle the ball. All the schools I've talked to are looking for scorers and ball handlers and I feel like I can take on that role at the next level.”
This strong showing of his overall and comprehensive basketball and athletic skill set increased his recruiting status. Pacific, San Diego, San Francisco, Stetson University, and UC Davis have offered while he has decided on his official visits to be Pacific, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, and UC Davis. During his junior year of high school and club basketball, over 30 schools contacted him with varying levels of interest with the most recent being Davidson, Hofstra, seven Ivy League schools (out of eight), Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara, Southern Utah, and UC Santa Barbara.
Coach Saia says about what his star guard needs to do during his senior year and thereafter, “Continue to get stronger, and that will come over the rest of his high school and college careers. He is very committed to working on his game in the off-season, and that includes weight room and speed work. I don’t believe he is done growing and filling out. And he has to show that he can defend both the PG and SG at the next level. His offense will get him into games, but his defense will keep him in games. He has a very good feel for the game, and is excellent in the open floor. He has offers from excellent schools and basketball programs. Very excited for him and his family.”
The 6-foot-3 and 165 pound Wildcat is working to gain some more pounds and get bigger during the rest of summer. He is also focusing on improving his quickness, ball-handling, and perimeter shot.
Marin Catholic has had win totals of 17, 23, and 19 during Calcaterra’s first three seasons. Coach Saia walks through his own timeline with Calcaterra on his roster, “Biggest difference is his evolution as a leader on this team. He played with his older brother Frankie his first 2 years. Last year and this year, as a captain, he needs to continue working on leading this team. We, as a team, have goals that we want to achieve, and Joey will lead us, both on and off the court. He was our 7th man as a freshman, and has started every game since the beginning of his sophomore year. On the court, he just keeps getting better and better, and much stronger every year. Early in his high school career, he was the recipient of many passes. We expect him this year to be more of a distributor, even though we will be expecting him and need him to get his share of touches.”
Calcaterra muses about his final high school season, “I’m looking to make another run at a NCS Title like my sophomore year as well as a run at state. We didn’t get as far as we wanted to last year so we need to make up for it. Our team is made up of most of my senior class this year so we have experience and we’re looking to have a strong team this year.” The senior captain is looking to light it up again from the hard wood with his Wildcats in Kentfield, Calif.
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