MARCH MADNESS: UConn’s Joey Calcaterra says it’s ‘crazy’ that he’ll face old rivals SDSU in final

Former San Diego guard Joey Calcaterra says it’s “crazy” for him to take on his old rivals San Diego State with the new team, UConn, in the National Championship game, warning “it’s going to be a battle of principle.” finally”.

Joey Calcaterra spent the majority of his college basketball career in a heated rivalry with San Diego State. Now the UConn transfer guard is preparing to battle his old foes for a national title.

The Connecticut Huskies and San Diego State Aztecs are set to kick off in Monday night’s national championship game as UConn tries to win its fifth title and SDSU tries to win its first.

Calcaterra, a native of Marin County, California, in the northern part of the state, played four years for the University of San Diego Toreros. During that time, SDSU was his biggest rival.

Now, the man affectionately nicknamed ‘Joey California’ by UConn fans will see his college career come to a close against that same rival on a new team with bigger stakes than ever before.

“You know, it’s really something special when you have confidence in yourself and you decide to move somewhere else,” Calcaterra said in response to a DailyMail.com question. ‘[We’re] playing teams in the tournament like St. Mary’s and Gonzaga I never had a chance to win in San Diego.

Connecticut guard Joey Calcaterra will play in the NCAA national championship on Monday.

Calcaterra played for the University of San Diego, the city's main rivals to San Diego State

Calcaterra played for the University of San Diego, the city’s main rivals to San Diego State

Now, Calcaterra will play their old hated foes for a title shot this Monday.

Now, Calcaterra will play their old hated foes for a title shot this Monday.

And then finish my career playing at San Diego State in the national championship. It’s just… you know, it’s crazy. Crazy. You can’t really describe that.

‘You know, they’ll be ready to go and it’s going to be a battle from start to finish. They have a great team, a great coaching staff and we are going to have to prepare a lot for them’.

Calcaterra was a starter from his sophomore to senior year for the Toreros, averaging 9 points, 1.4 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game over the four years.

At the time, he was coached by Sam Scholl, who now sits across Calcaterra’s bench on the SDSU bench as an assistant coach.

SDSU is also the team that Marin County native Darrion Trammell plays for. Trammell transferred from Seattle University last season and made it to the same level as Calcaterra.

“We’ve been friends our whole lives just playing basketball playing against each other.” [and] playing each other in open gyms,’ Calcaterra said. ‘We have worked with the same coach before.

I am very proud of him and happy for what he has been able to do at this level. You know, he didn’t have scholarship offers coming out of high school. So he had to push himself… and he ended up in Seattle.

‘And then [he] had the opportunity to play in a major program like San Diego State… so [I’m] happy for him

‘Happy for all the recognition Marin County is getting…we have a fair share of soccer players. [Detroit Lions quarterback] Jared Goff is from Marin Catholic High School.

Facing Calcaterra at SDSU will be his friend and Marin County native, Darrion Trammell.

Facing Calcaterra at SDSU will be his friend and Marin County native, Darrion Trammell.

Calcaterra will be important off the bench for Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley (right)

Calcaterra will be important off the bench for Connecticut head coach Dan Hurley (right)

“There aren’t many basketball guys who have made it to the peaks of college basketball and above.”

Sometime on Monday, Calcaterra will likely be guarding Trammell as they play similar positions. But unlike the recreational courts they’ve played on before, Houston will demand excellence from both.

“It’s going to be a great experience for both of us,” admits Calcaterra. ‘It’s a great experience. Knowing that the national championship trophy will end up in Marin County no matter what.

“So one of us is going to take it home to our home people and it’s really cool.”