KARNS CITY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Jacob Callihan was content in the past to be a supporting player.
After all, the Karns City boys basketball team had bonafide stars in Micah Rupp, Taite Beighley and Luke Cramer until a knee injury wiped out his season last year.
But now the understudy has become one of the leading men.
The 6-foot-2 Callihan has erupted during his senior campaign, averaging 14.8 points and seven rebounds per night.
There’s little weakness in his game.
Callihan has shown the ability to drive to the hoop. He can hit short jumpers. He can even drain 3-pointers when called upon from the perimeter. He plays solid defense and can find the open man.
“He has a great sense for basketball,” said Karns City coach Zach Kepple. “He’s always had a really good touch. A lot of people focus on Taite and Cramer and last year Taite and Micah, so I think he kind of gets overlooked sometimes. But if you do that, he’s gonna hurt you.”
He hurt Sharpsville in the season-opener, pouring in 23.
Against Cranberry, he put up 20 and in back-to-back games against Redbank Valley and Moniteau, he struck for 15 each time.
Callihan said during the offseason he made up his mind that he wanted to be a bigger impact player this season as a senior.
So, he went to work.
“I’ve been working with my teammates, just trying to get better, trying to get better at ball handling and shooting off the dribble,” Callihan said. “Me and my teammates have been working hard every day since the seasons started and it’s really paying off. Hopefully we can keep it going.”
Callihan has been the perfect complement to Beighley and Cramer, giving Karns City a third consistent option.
“I wanted to improve my game to help this team get even farther into the playoffs and the state playoffs, hopefully get a district title this year,” Callihan said. “If we have four guys in double digits, that’s gonna help. It’s going to be good if everyone is contributing.”
Callihan said the biggest strides he has made has been in his jumper.
His mid-range shot is smooth and hard to stop.
“Last year it was just OK,” he said. “This year, I really took it to another level.”
Kepple said Callihan may be one of his best 3-point shooters, too, based on what he has seen at practices.
“I make our varsity guys shoot a lot after they warm up and he’s draining them all the time,” Kepple said. “I tell him, ‘If you have shot, take it.’ I fully trust in our team. They know their strengths and we talk about their strengths and he’s a guy who has a lot of them. If he has a shot, he can take it.”
Callihan is also deceptively quick.
“He’s just fundamentally sound and he’s really good at going baseline,” Kepple said. “He’s had a great start to the year and hopefully he can continue playing at that high level.”
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