The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Riverside’s Kalb to play for Otterbein
Riverside’s Chad Kalb is headed to Otterbein to play college basketball.
The 6-foot-6 forward made his commitment official last week, but his decision was made a few weekends earlier to join head coach Brian Oilar and the Cardinals.
“They love my size,” Kalb said. “How I was a leader on the team, how I used my size to my advantage and rebounding.”
Kalb averaged 6.6 points and led the Beavers with 7.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.4 blocks per game. He missed a handful of games with minor injuries, but Beavers coach Tom Reilly noted he never missed a practice during times he couldn’t participate.
Reilly called Kalb the program’s constant in recent years, and says Otterbein is adding a player to its program who will “absolutely give everything he has.”
“Chad was a tremendous leader,” Reilly said. “He was a kid that worked hard, he improved every year and they’re going to get a kid that is more about the team than himself.”
Kalb guessed he’s the first player from Riverside to play college basketball since 2008 graduate Alex Sullivan, who scored nearly 2,000 career points before he earned a scholarship to Akron.
He says his goals are to become someone the Cardinals can count, one of the Ohio Athletic Conference’s top players and represent Riverside well.
Oilar and Kalb first connected last summer when Reilly reached out about his then-rising senior forward. Oilar saw Kalb in practice and game action during the season, and he also visited the campus in Westerville, which Kalb says he loved.
On the court, Kalb likes that the Cardinals play a 2-3 zone on defense and play at a slower offensive pace.
“I love their tempo and their offense is a lot of pickand-roll,” Kalb said. “I feel I’m pretty good at that so it fits my needs.”
Reilly hopes Kalb’s opportunity to play college basketball will continue to set a standard for his younger teammates. And as Kalb moves on to the next level, Reilly is proud to see one of his players achieve a goal and believes Kalb’s best basketball is ahead of him.
“I still think Chad’s going to continue to improve,” Reilly said. “He’s still not the finished player he can be, he’s going to get better as far as his perimeter game and with his work ethic he will continue to make strides in his abilities.”