Maurice Calloo’s Journey from Windsor’s
West End To March Madness and Beyond
Story by Ryan Percy
Photography by Oregon State Athletics
Most kids who grow up with dreams of being a pro athlete want to make it big in college, then enter the pro leagues to earn their place in history for being the best of the best.
While most never make it, one Windsor boy has grown up into a man that is more than halfway there.
Maurice Calloo realized he was well on his way when he stepped out on the court, backed by his Oregon State Beaver brothers at his first March Madness tournament game in 2021. It was a dream come true.
“At first I got the jitters,” Calloo says with a smile, sitting on a hotel bed as his team is readying up for an away game in Arizona. “I’ve been watching March Madness with my brothers and my mom since I was young.”
While Oregon State did not win the tournament, finishing in the top eight, there were memories made and dreams fulfilled.
“It was one of my goals and it was just an amazing feeling to be successful and win a few games in the March Madness Tournament,” Calloo says. “Words can’t really describe how it feels.”
Calloo grew up in Windsor’s west end. From his early years he wanted to be an athlete, but it was not basketball where he first stepped out onto a court, or rather, in a very Canadian way, a rink.
“Little do they know I actually played floor hockey growing up at General Brock,” he says with a laugh about how his American teammates used to ribbingly ask why he did not shoot for the NHL instead of the NBA. “I know how to skate too. Hockey is still in my blood. I’m Canadian.”
He did have sights set in different places, both basketball and football appealed to him. He had to make up his mind which path he wanted to go down.
It was one year of floor hockey at General Brock before he switched jerseys and entered the basketball court. But Calloo points to skills and knowledge he gained during that year helped jump start his basketball career.
This led to him crushing the record previously set by his older brother for most points scored in a game at General Brock, with Calloo scoring 38.
“After I broke my brother’s record, I felt like basketball was for me,” Calloo says. “I saw this was going to be a good path for me, so I chose basketball over football.”
From General Brock he went on to Catholic Central where he had already started building a bond with the players and staff there even when he was in grade school thanks to his brothers already being on the team.
“I’d been going to Catholic Central to watch my brothers practice. I’d work out with them and even get to join their practices while I was in the seventh and eighth grades,” Calloo says.
But even better than just the chance to train and improve was how he was able to build a support network around him.
“Cusumano was one of the guys that kept me in the gym and going to basketball practices,” Calloo says of being able to lean on his coach, Peter Cusumano, for support. “I lived far away from Catholic Central, so the staff helped me get a ride if I didn’t have one or just come pick me up near the University.”
Calloo found he excelled even more on the court in high school, he even helped lead Catholic Central to a WECSSAA championship his first year. This made the fire of desire burn even brighter for Calloo. With the support of his team and coaches he decided the goal was across the border, getting into a US prep school for a shot at a college scholarship.
“Windsor is a great city, but I felt for me to grow and build my brand as a basketball player and who I wanted to be, leaving Windsor was something I had to do at a young age,” Calloo says of having to make the decision to head south. “It was hard at first, but I knew what my goals were. Going to prep school had been one of my goals and something that I prayed for when I was in the sixth or seventh grade. It was a good feeling but at the same time kind of sad. It was a lot of emotions at the same time, but it turned out good for me.”
From excelling at Huntington Prep in West Virginia he managed to get a full-ride scholarship at Oregon State, getting his degree in Speech Communication. When asked why he chose against the stereotypical Kinesiology program he laughs and says it is part of his grand plan.
“One of the things I wanted to do after my basketball career was to commentate,” Calloo says, a smile still on his lips, “So being able to communicate and speak is something I need to learn and continue to learn throughout my career.”
As he made his way to the US, he learned that he had to prove himself even more, since he’d constantly bump into some rather faulty assumptions Americans held of Canadian culture.
“When I first came over to America, they’d say Canadians are soft, Canadians live in igloos and all kinds of crazy stuff,” Calloo says. “I got that at first, but I’ve been here so long some Americans think I’m American now.”
But Calloo is still Canadian, still a Windsorite to the core. So, when he dreams of being finally drafted to the NBA there are two teams front and centre in his mind.
“If I were to play on an NBA team it would be the Raptors or Pistons because that’s basically home for me,” Calloo says with a happy glint in his eyes.
While he wants his own success, Calloo says one thing he wants to be is proof to anyone they can make it if they just set their mind on a goal and go at it.
“Dreams do come true,” Calloo says, “You just got to keep working hard every day doing the things that you love and don’t forget anybody. If you put in the work and you grind every day, then what you want is reachable.”
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