Connecticut head coach Jim Calhoun knew Emeka Okafor could do better.

Okafor never had trouble with his defense, leading the Huskies with nine rebounds and four blocks per contest as a freshman last season.

But offense hampered the Texas native, who averaged 7.9 points a year ago.

This season, Okafor, a power forward, has taken Calhoun’s challenge and turned it into 15.3 points per game to go along with 10.9 boards and 4.5 blocks.

‘For a guy averaging almost five blocks a game, he’s really improved his offensive game,’ Calhoun said. ‘He’s always getting better shooting-wise.’

During his senior season at Bellaire High School in Houston, Okafor averaged 22 points, 16 rebounds and 6 blocks to lead his school to a 26-5 record.

Last year, Okafor earned Freshman All-America status, setting school records for blocked shots and rebounds by a freshman. He helped the Huskies earn a trip to Elite Eight.

‘He gets great position,’ Calhoun said. ‘He can give help and rotate back to his man and still block a shot.’

In a 74-65 win over Villanova on Jan. 25, Okafor poured in 14 points and grabbed 10 boards, drawing praise from Wildcats head coach Jay Wright.

‘The staff taught him how to play aggressively without fouling,’ Wright said. ‘We tried to go at him, but he was tremendous — not just at blocking shots but at changing them.’

Perhaps one of Okafor’s greatest learning experiences this year came in one of his worst games. In a Jan. 11, 83-80 overtime win over Miami, Okafor was plagued by foul trouble throughout. He scored only seven points.

‘I just couldn’t get in any kind of rhythm,’ Okafor said. ‘Once I did, I’d get a foul, and they’d take me out of the game. As long as we win the game that’s OK. You have to try your best to keep calm and keep focused and try to help your team win the game.’

Okafor has also opened things up offensively for UConn guards Ben Gordon, Tony Robertson and Taliek Brown. Gordon leads the Huskies in scoring with 21.1 points per game. Robertson also scores in double digits. Many consider Okafor and Gordon one of the nation’s best inside-outside punches.

‘He gets so many double-teams that we get better shots,’ Calhoun said. ‘His presence inside also allows to apply more ball pressure.’

Said Okafor following a Jan. 2 win over St. Bonaventure: ‘I know that we have really good shooters, so if I can’t do anything with the ball, then why not dish it out and let them score? Get to return the favor now and then.’

To go along with his achievements on the court, Okafor excels in class, too. He maintains a 3.8 grade-point average as a finance major.

‘His time management skills are amazing,’ Gordon told The Sporting News. ‘Whenever I have seen him taking it easy, he’ll always jump up a couple of minutes later and say, ‘I need to be working on something.’ ‘

With guards such as Marcus Hatten, Troy Bell and Brandin Knight dominating the Big East spotlight this season, the centers have often been ignored. But the position’s importance hasn’t been lost on Calhoun.

‘You’re always going to have to stop people,’ Calhoun said. ‘If you have a great center in postseason play it really helps. What happens in and around the basket changes games.’

‘Just like I don’t want to be known as only a good student or only as a basketball player, I don’t want to be known only as a defensive player,’ Okafor told The Sporting News. ‘I want to be a complete person and a complete player.’

Calhoun has cancer

Calhoun announced yesterday he has prostate cancer. He will take a three- to four-week medical leave for surgery to be performed Feb. 6 at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Conn.

Assistant coach George Blaney will assume coaching responsibilities effective today.

‘I am most fortunate to have a great coaching staff,’ Calhoun said.

Calhoun, 60, has spent 17 seasons with the Huskies. He led them to a national championship with an upset of Duke in 1999.

‘We are fortunate that through our early detection methods we have identified coach Calhoun’s prostate problem as a relatively low-grade cancer,’ said Dr. Peter Albertsen, the urologist who will perform the surgery. ‘Coach Calhoun’s condition appears to be very treatable, and we anticipate his return to normal job-related activities within three to four weeks.’

‘I want to attack this thing,’ Calhoun told the AP. ‘I’m going after it.’

Road rules

Playing on the road is never easy — especially in the Big East.

That doesn’t seem to bother Boston College.

The Eagles have started 5-3 on the road, including 2-2 in the conference. While most teams thrive at home, the Eagles are riding a two-game winning streak away from Chestnut Hill, Mass.

BC’s latest road victory came Saturday in a 95-71 upset over then-No. 14 Connecticut. That marked the Huskies’ worst home loss and the first time the Eagles won at UConn since 1987. Bell led the Eagles with 26 points.

Other impressive BC road victories include Massachusetts, Iowa State and North Carolina State. The road wins will help come NCAA Tournament selection time.

‘On the road we don’t have any comforts,’ Skinner said. ‘It helps us focus.’

Overtime thriller

Last season’s second meeting between Notre Dame and Georgetown produced a four-overtime thriller that the Irish won, 116-111. On Saturday it looked as if the teams may head in that direction again before Notre Dame won, 93-92, in two overtimes.

Matt Carroll led the Irish with 36 points, while Mike Sweetney scored 38 for the Hoyas.

‘We’ve had six overtimes the last two times we’ve played these guys,’ Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey said. ‘I’m really proud of our guys. We needed a lot of different people to make those plays, and everybody that got in the game had a big part in this win.’

The game marked the third consecutive tough loss for Georgetown, which also fell to Syracuse, 88-80, last night. Last Saturday, the Hoyas lost to Pittsburgh, 65-64, on a last-second free throw. On Wednesday, they dropped one to Seton Hall, 93-82, in overtime. Officials later realized Seton Hall finished regulation with six players on the court.

‘We made a lot of mental errors down at the end of the game, which we need to correct,’ Sweetney said. ‘We can’t keep talking about it. We need to start doing it, because it’s getting toward the end, and we need to get as many wins as possible.’

This and That

Boston College’s Bell and Notre Dame’s Carroll shared Big East Player-of-the-Week honors. Bell shot 8 of 13 in two wins. Carroll scored 36 points in Saturday’s double-overtime win over Georgetown. He shot 12 of 12 from the free-throw line. … Rookie-of-the-Week honors went to BC’s Craig Smith for the fourth time this season. He scored 25 points in a win over Virginia Tech and 20 more in Saturday’s win over UConn.

Published on February 2, 2003 at 12:00 pm