The Wait is Over
Jun 20, 2017 | Men's Basketball
high school star JJ Caldwell readies for his long-awaited Aggie debut this fall
Dribbling up the lane, JJ Caldwell is composed and confident, relentless and riveting.
Spinning out of opponents' reach, swiftly slinging the basketball to assist a teammate and exhaustedly walking off the court to celebrate a victory with his family are moments that characterized much of his prolific high school career.
So, naturally, the highly sought after Texas A&M signee was excited to make an impact for the Aggies on the hardwood last season.
But early in the fall semester, Caldwell found out that he would be unable to travel with the team or suit up on game day.
He was denied eligibly by the NCAA on grounds of a strict homeschool ruling.
"It was pretty tough," Caldwell said. "Coming into the year I didn't really think about not playing, but when I got here and they told me I couldn't play, it was devastating."
Although extremely disappointed, he said his teammates helped him come to terms with the decision.
"I remember at the beginning of the year when I first found out, Admon [Gilder] basically just told me, 'Whatever they say, if you don't play this year [or] if you do, just make sure to work hard just like you were playing,'" Caldwell said. "'Don't let up just because you didn't play.'"
Through patience, perseverance and the same quick passing that drew the attention of many evaluators, including recruiting expert Bob Gibbins, who dubbed Caldwell the nation's fifth-ranked point guard recruit, the ESPN Top 100 prospect worked out diligently, put on some extra muscle and waited.
"Just to see us struggling from the point guard position, it was hard for him to watch the games, so I talked to him a couple of times," guard Gilder said.
His message: 'Your time is coming.'
Caldwell said one of the aspects that he likes most about basketball is that the sport builds character.
"You have to work hard every day," he said. "You can't let up. You can't be lazy when you play basketball because it's an up and down game, so I think it keeps me in tip top shape. It keeps my head right."
Fellow point guard Chris Collins described Caldwell as a unique player.
"He has an incredible work ethic and he's always working on his game, working on different moves, working on different shots, but the thing that stands out the most about JJ is his vison," Collins said. "He's the definition of a pass-first point guard. He sees everything that happens on the floor. He can really pick a defense apart, find loopholes in the defense and make the right pass on every play."
Likewise, Caldwell's film from high school shows a casually confident, high-tempo competitor who problem solves, confuses opponents and visualizes various scenarios down the stretch.
Many members of the maroon and white are eager to implement his style into the lineup next season, including forward Robert Williams.
"He just brings a true point guard mentality," Williams said. "Point guard is what JJ's been playing his whole life. He brings enthusiasm. His passes are amazing. We're so ready to play with him."
Starting their collegiate journeys together as freshmen, Williams and Caldwell formed a quick friendship and share many memories.
"When he first got here, we were playing open gym one day and I was running on the right side and I jumped but he went to the left like he didn't see me," Williams said. "He threw the ball back and he was trying to throw me an alley (oop)."
"His passes are so quick if you're not watching him, you'll get hit, so he hit me in the face," Williams said laughing. "I adapted to him."
The team's closeness will likely translate to their chemistry and competitiveness on the court.
"Man, we'd do anything for each other," Williams said. "That's my brother. Even though I didn't get to play with him this season, we know we're going to produce when we get on the court together."
After a tumultuous season last year, Gilder also said the Aggies want togetherness to be a big part of their game plan. This time around, Caldwell will get his chance to factor into that approach.
"There's a lot in store for this team," Gilder said. "We've got to come in with the right mindset knowing that we went through a season where we struggled. We don't want to go through that ever again, so we've just got to come together collectively and just get on the same page."
In addition to basketball, Caldwell has played football, too.
He said that his cousin and brother were positive catalysts in his basketball development, all the way from elementary school to his rising at Cypress Woods and in the SATCH (Houston Homeschool Athletics) ranks to earn recognition as one of the best passers in the country during his recruitment.
When he was young, he developed his signature penchant for passing.
"I feel like when I used to play when I was little, I used to always have good players on my team," Caldwell said. "I wasn't the best, but I felt like if I wanted to be as good as them, I had to help them out."
It was during these early days that Caldwell developed his individuality on the floor.
"When I was little, that was a big deal," Caldwell said. "You get 10 assists a game when you're in third or fourth grade, people are going to look at that, so I felt like I built confidence from my game to get it where it is now."
Although consistently evolving in strength training and practices, one thing remains the same. The Houston native draws much inspiration from his parents.
Caldwell, who is very close to his family, cites them as the main reason why he plays basketball. Through basketball, he strives to help his parents be stress free.
When he was a baby, he was adopted by Hattie and Harry Caldwell. According to an online article from The Houston Chronicle, "The judge in the adoption granted a permanent conservatorship to Stan and Erma Wheeler, which effectively gave J.J. two families."
When he was six years old, the family lost his father, Stan. At 11, he also lost his grandmother. Then, when he was a freshman in high school, his mother, Erma, passed away, as well.
"My parents passing away when I was younger, my grandma passing away too, and then, I didn't pass a lot of my classes because of me being lazy or me not doing something, but, I think those [obstacles] have made me a better man," Caldwell said. "I think all that fuels my fire and that makes me work as hard as I do."
Caldwell has overcome many challenges in his life to become the person and player he is today. Despite the tragedies in his family, he exudes an easy-going, friendly demeanor.
"JJ is a person that loves to have fun," Gilder said. "He thinks he plays video games real good but I don't think so [laughs]. He's just a good guy to hang out with, an easy guy to talk to from a fan standpoint or just getting to know him."
Collins agreed.
"Obviously, he has a lot of hype coming out of high school," Collins said. "I mean he's an incredibly talented player, but he's down to earth. He's just like every other guy you'd find on this campus at school and so I think that's really cool."
Next season, the sport management major will put his talent to the test.
Building on his natural athleticism and successful high school tenure, Caldwell's year of determination and waiting his turn will finally pay off.
He's ready to play his part.
"The key to winning this year is just to play higher," Caldwell said. "Play your role. My role isn't to go out there and score thirty points. My role is to go out there and distribute to my teammates and get them open shots. That's the main ingredient."
Spinning out of opponents' reach, swiftly slinging the basketball to assist a teammate and exhaustedly walking off the court to celebrate a victory with his family are moments that characterized much of his prolific high school career.
So, naturally, the highly sought after Texas A&M signee was excited to make an impact for the Aggies on the hardwood last season.
But early in the fall semester, Caldwell found out that he would be unable to travel with the team or suit up on game day.
He was denied eligibly by the NCAA on grounds of a strict homeschool ruling.
"It was pretty tough," Caldwell said. "Coming into the year I didn't really think about not playing, but when I got here and they told me I couldn't play, it was devastating."
Although extremely disappointed, he said his teammates helped him come to terms with the decision.
"I remember at the beginning of the year when I first found out, Admon [Gilder] basically just told me, 'Whatever they say, if you don't play this year [or] if you do, just make sure to work hard just like you were playing,'" Caldwell said. "'Don't let up just because you didn't play.'"
Through patience, perseverance and the same quick passing that drew the attention of many evaluators, including recruiting expert Bob Gibbins, who dubbed Caldwell the nation's fifth-ranked point guard recruit, the ESPN Top 100 prospect worked out diligently, put on some extra muscle and waited.
"Just to see us struggling from the point guard position, it was hard for him to watch the games, so I talked to him a couple of times," guard Gilder said.
His message: 'Your time is coming.'
Caldwell said one of the aspects that he likes most about basketball is that the sport builds character.
"You have to work hard every day," he said. "You can't let up. You can't be lazy when you play basketball because it's an up and down game, so I think it keeps me in tip top shape. It keeps my head right."
Fellow point guard Chris Collins described Caldwell as a unique player.
"He has an incredible work ethic and he's always working on his game, working on different moves, working on different shots, but the thing that stands out the most about JJ is his vison," Collins said. "He's the definition of a pass-first point guard. He sees everything that happens on the floor. He can really pick a defense apart, find loopholes in the defense and make the right pass on every play."
Likewise, Caldwell's film from high school shows a casually confident, high-tempo competitor who problem solves, confuses opponents and visualizes various scenarios down the stretch.
Many members of the maroon and white are eager to implement his style into the lineup next season, including forward Robert Williams.
"He just brings a true point guard mentality," Williams said. "Point guard is what JJ's been playing his whole life. He brings enthusiasm. His passes are amazing. We're so ready to play with him."
Starting their collegiate journeys together as freshmen, Williams and Caldwell formed a quick friendship and share many memories.
"When he first got here, we were playing open gym one day and I was running on the right side and I jumped but he went to the left like he didn't see me," Williams said. "He threw the ball back and he was trying to throw me an alley (oop)."
"His passes are so quick if you're not watching him, you'll get hit, so he hit me in the face," Williams said laughing. "I adapted to him."
The team's closeness will likely translate to their chemistry and competitiveness on the court.
"Man, we'd do anything for each other," Williams said. "That's my brother. Even though I didn't get to play with him this season, we know we're going to produce when we get on the court together."
After a tumultuous season last year, Gilder also said the Aggies want togetherness to be a big part of their game plan. This time around, Caldwell will get his chance to factor into that approach.
"There's a lot in store for this team," Gilder said. "We've got to come in with the right mindset knowing that we went through a season where we struggled. We don't want to go through that ever again, so we've just got to come together collectively and just get on the same page."
In addition to basketball, Caldwell has played football, too.
He said that his cousin and brother were positive catalysts in his basketball development, all the way from elementary school to his rising at Cypress Woods and in the SATCH (Houston Homeschool Athletics) ranks to earn recognition as one of the best passers in the country during his recruitment.
When he was young, he developed his signature penchant for passing.
"I feel like when I used to play when I was little, I used to always have good players on my team," Caldwell said. "I wasn't the best, but I felt like if I wanted to be as good as them, I had to help them out."
It was during these early days that Caldwell developed his individuality on the floor.
"When I was little, that was a big deal," Caldwell said. "You get 10 assists a game when you're in third or fourth grade, people are going to look at that, so I felt like I built confidence from my game to get it where it is now."
Although consistently evolving in strength training and practices, one thing remains the same. The Houston native draws much inspiration from his parents.
Caldwell, who is very close to his family, cites them as the main reason why he plays basketball. Through basketball, he strives to help his parents be stress free.
When he was a baby, he was adopted by Hattie and Harry Caldwell. According to an online article from The Houston Chronicle, "The judge in the adoption granted a permanent conservatorship to Stan and Erma Wheeler, which effectively gave J.J. two families."
When he was six years old, the family lost his father, Stan. At 11, he also lost his grandmother. Then, when he was a freshman in high school, his mother, Erma, passed away, as well.
"My parents passing away when I was younger, my grandma passing away too, and then, I didn't pass a lot of my classes because of me being lazy or me not doing something, but, I think those [obstacles] have made me a better man," Caldwell said. "I think all that fuels my fire and that makes me work as hard as I do."
Caldwell has overcome many challenges in his life to become the person and player he is today. Despite the tragedies in his family, he exudes an easy-going, friendly demeanor.
"JJ is a person that loves to have fun," Gilder said. "He thinks he plays video games real good but I don't think so [laughs]. He's just a good guy to hang out with, an easy guy to talk to from a fan standpoint or just getting to know him."
Collins agreed.
"Obviously, he has a lot of hype coming out of high school," Collins said. "I mean he's an incredibly talented player, but he's down to earth. He's just like every other guy you'd find on this campus at school and so I think that's really cool."
Next season, the sport management major will put his talent to the test.
Building on his natural athleticism and successful high school tenure, Caldwell's year of determination and waiting his turn will finally pay off.
He's ready to play his part.
"The key to winning this year is just to play higher," Caldwell said. "Play your role. My role isn't to go out there and score thirty points. My role is to go out there and distribute to my teammates and get them open shots. That's the main ingredient."
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