Samis Calderon rejoins KU Jayhawks in San Diego after supporting family in Texas
With heavy hearts, KU basketball coaches and teammates embraced freshman guard Samis Calderon upon his return to California Saturday from El Paso, Texas, where he spent two days supporting family members following the death of his dad, Luis Calderon.
Coach Bill Self explained the situation:
“We landed here Wednesday, about 4:30 (p.m.) maybe. And by 7 (p.m.) he was on a plane to El Paso because his father was very, very sick, and then he got to El Paso that night, but didn’t make it in time to say goodbye to his father,” KU coach Bill Self said Saturday from Viejas Arena, site of first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games.
KU will meet St. John’s in a Round of 32 game at 4:15 p.m. Central on Sunday.
“That’s so hard for anybody at any age to go through, let alone a youngster. I know he’s heartbroken, but he came back, and he’s with us now. And we’ll certainly do our best to hold him and prop him up and do everything we can to support him,” Self added.
Calderon, a native of Brazil, came to America three years ago to play for the Overtime Elite program in Atlanta after a few months in Mexico for the NBA Academy. He said Saturday: “I had to go back there right after we got here (Wednesday). My dad passed away.
“I’m here now. I’m thinking of my dad, my family but I have to be focused too on March.”
He desperately wanted to be with his teammates for Friday’s NCAA opener against Cal Baptist but will be able to be available for Sunday’s game against St. John’s.
“The funeral will be in two weeks or so,” Calderon said. “We were very close. A lot of things in my life have happened because of him. We’re sad but moving on and trying to not think too much about what happened.”
He continued.
“Everything that happened can add motivation. But I will not be thinking about it too much. I know my dad likes to see my success and has done a lot for me in basketball. All I’m thinking about now is the championship, getting a championship. All the coaches have been teaching me stuff I didn’t know and been helping me a lot this year.”
