The Sharp Shooters
Published on April 7, 2018 under National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada)
Moncton Magic News Release
As the 2017-18 season approached its halfway point, Moncton Magic head coach Joe Salerno recognized his team needed a kickstart on the offensive end of the floor. Getting reliable scoring outside of Terry Thomas and Anthony Anderson was a problem, but while Salerno rightly concluded that the issue wasn't entirely personnel, but also how he was deploying them, there was a hole on the roster he needed to fill.
"We were in dire need of another three-point threat, and Jason Calliste filled that void with flying colors," Salerno says. "He fit seamlessly from the moment he got here." The Magic had acquired the Scarborough, Ontario native in the offseason but he went through the early part of the year unsigned. When Calliste joined the team in time for their January 10th home game with the Niagara River Lions, they were 8-8 and weren't getting consistent perimeter shooting, particularly from three-point range.
"Jason was one of the most important additions we made all season," Salerno says now. "I think it's easy for people to look at Jason and just call him a shooter. The fact of the matter is, he is a complete player. He has an extremely high basketball IQ, great court awareness, and he's an underrated defender. He has great length on the perimeter, he rebounds it very well from the guard position, and brings some true toughness to our roster. When we made the trade for his rights just prior to the season, I could only hope that he would consider returning to the NBL. In the end, I think it worked out well for everyone, and we couldn't be happier to have Jason as part of the Magic."
All Calliste has done since joining the squad is average double-figures in scoring while hitting a league-leading 49.6% of his three-pointers in under 22 minutes a game. He makes over 83% of his free throws, averages almost a steal a game and only turns it over once every two games. He's a consummate team guy, as is his backcourt teammate Corey Allmond.
Of all Calliste's contributions, maybe his most impressive has been how he's meshed with the man that starts in front of him at shooting guard. Allmond was struggling with his shot around the time that Calliste became a member of the Magic, and from the outside, it may have appeared as though he was being brought in as competition for the Maryland native. However, it was never Coach Salerno's plan for Calliste to supplant Allmond in the lineup. His plan for the bearded three-point gunner was quite different.
As the calendar reached mid-January, Allmond found himself in the starting lineup. Calliste's arrival seemed to relax him more than anything, taking some of the pressure off him as the "designated" three-point shooter on the roster. Since his first game as a starter on January 24th, he's splashed in a scorching 52% of his whopping 172 attempts from long-range, a level of efficiency unheard of with such a volume shooter. Repeatedly, Coach Salerno goes to a simple pin-down play with Allmond swinging to his left and, even though they know it's coming, the opposition can't stop it.
"Corey really has had an incredible season for us," raves his coach. "In my opinion he might be the most lethal shooter in the entire league. There have been multiple times this season where he's knocked down a shot or two, and you just knew the next five or six were going down as well. He has the ability to get in a zone shooting the basketball, and when he gets in that zone, there really is nothing a team can do about it. I think one thing that is overlooked in Corey's game is his ability to free himself up off screens. His change of direction and foot work coming off down screens may be the best I have ever coached, and you can attribute that to the countless hours he puts in when the gym is empty."
You could see how frustrated Allmond was with his shot from the sidelines throughout the early part of the season, but never once did he let it affect his effort on the other end. He's been a terror defensively on the ball and consistently stuck his nose in under the boards. Well before he became a 2-time Atlantic Division player of the week, he certainly had the respect of fans and we broadcasters. You don't have to spend much time around the team to see the respect he has from his teammates as well. "He is a true professional," continues Salerno, "and is always working to get better. He has stepped up as a leader on this team many times, vocally in the locker room, and by example on the court, whether it's on the offensive or defensive end of the floor. We were extremely fortunate to sign Corey this season, and look forward to hopefully seeing him back again next year.
National Basketball League of Canada Stories from April 7, 2018
- Lightning Take a Two Game Lead over River Lions - London Lightning
- The Sharp Shooters - Moncton Magic
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