"Let's remember that Kevin Ollie #BleedsBlue"

[auggie22]

I hope Ollie's response to anyone who asks him to accept a reduced buyout is, to quote the big Irishman, "Not one dime!"

So long as you feel the same @ the university when they terminate for cause.

 

[Tex-Lager93]

Speaking of divorce...the emotions feel like an impending one. I will always have a place in my heart for him - he is one of us - with many good and some not so good memories. There’s just been more downs than ups - too much dysfunction - and now cheating. Alright, maybe that’s a stretch...but there is that torn feeling - I want to hang on but know it’s not meant to be.

 

[Chief00]

I guess I have 2 questions on how I will feel about Ollie after he's not the coach any more.

1). As others mentioned, my feeling on him will depend on what happens from this NCAA investigation.

2). What happened in the last few years after the NC? Fishy keeps insinuating he was lazy and didn't pay attention to his job. If true, why did he get like that? Those articles from last spring did not paint a pretty picture about his relationships inside and outside the program. Did the divorce wreck him? And by the way he was being paid very well to do that job. If he's actually trying and just over his head then I guess I can't be that mad. But it just seems strange that things went down hill so fast. I want to know why that is.

Quite frankly, at this point, the divorce is the least of his problems. Maybe it was the match that started a chain reaction but with all the subsequent wreckage the cause of the fire is an interesting piece of trivia but far in the rear view mirror. .

 

[Milo65]

He predicted the future wrong, but I’m not convinced that he was wrong about Ollie’s potential to be a great coach. Something changed in terms of Ollie’s willingness and/or ability to do what was necessary to grow and adapt in the job.

The job changed a bit along the way and got more challenging; in the past few years he has not risen to the challenge. That’s what stings, because rising to the challenge and working hard previously seemed to be Ollie’s most defining characteristics.

So, if Calhoun got that wrong about Ollie, I don’t think he was alone.

I think it’s only natural to want to succeed on your own. We all have aspirations to be independent in our own lives (work,family,school). I think the plan was for Calhoun to mentor and advise. I believe After the National Championship, Ollie felt it was time to go out on his own. It’s natural to feel this way. Not knowing what he doesn’t know, he wasn’t ready for this. Calhoun not having a purpose went his own way.

 

[uconnever]

He’d have to be out of his mind to walk away from six million dollars, regardless of the reason.

Exactly, these people who suggested this really are stupid. Point blank period. Throw me out on my ass and im gonna give u a deal.

 

[8893]

Not knowing what he doesn’t know

Agree with this. It's his biggest blind spot imo, and it's a tough one to fix.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Awesome thread by Penfield

"He led us to the National Championship the following year. The banner will hang at UConn forever. This is how I will choose to remember him"

"It's sad to watch fans turn on a person that was loyal to us for so many years as a player and a coach. I'm not saying that calling for change is wrong or that he deserves even more chances, just that we should be decent to a man who is likely going to lose his dream job"

"It will likely take a while, but I hope some day down the road Ollie will feel welcome on campus, and I hope he will get the same reception all our former players get at when he walks into Gampel Pavilion. Let's remember that Kevin Ollie #BleedsBlue just like the rest of us"

This is exactly what I feel and wanted to say, and he did a great job articulating it.

Agreed. Saw it on Twitter. Props to @Penfield We do need to stay classy, even if we're a bit angry now.

 

[LStudfellow]

I would amend this slightly: when KO only had to focus on a small fraction of the job -- getting tough and coachable guards to develop and run the team -- he was fine.

When he had to manage the entirety of a major D-I program, he was exposed: horrible eye for talent, horrible eye for intangibles, couldn't earn the respect of his players, couldn't teach those players X's and O's, couldn't develop bigs, etc.

In other words, he would have made a great assistant coach, which is exactly what he was before JC foisted him upon the program.

Spot on.

Actually, this is not quite "spot on". I do agree that much of what Tenspro said in this post is correct, which is why I gave him the like. However, Kevin does NOT have a horrible eye for talent. The key is that Kevin has too often been unable to get these "right guys" to commit to our program.

For proof, just go back and look at the threads from the beginning of this year that were tracking how players were doing that we recruited but lost out on, or did not prioritize when we should have... and I am not talking about the obvious 5-star guys (Diallo, Bamba or even Waters. Put them on the side for the sake of this discussion, as their talent and skill level was obvious to everyone).

There are a number of guys on that list, that if they had come to UConn would have made a huge difference last year and this year. Maybe even all the difference between us having success as opposed to what has actually happened.

Myles Powell (I knew missing out on him 2 years was going to come back and bite us, as he would have been the outside threat we so desperately have needed the last 2 years. He was ranked the best pure shooter in his class, and if you have watched any Seton Hall games you can see why. He has a beautiful stroke, and is a major reason why they are a Top 20-25 team with the chance to do serious damage in the tournament come March).
Alpha Diallo (another guy ranked in the 100-150 area that fits the profile of athletic player who can actually play... and shoot well, also).
Bonzie Colson (nothing much needs to be said here, as his production over the last 3 years does all the talking needed. He is a great college player, and a lot of fun to watch play. Big miss, as has been noted by many, not going harder after him after we identified him as a possible fit AND he showed a desire to want to come here).
Ahmed Hill (has turned into the tough, athletic and skilled big man... the type we have sorely missed since Alex Oriakhi left).
Tyrique Jones (another one of those athletic bigs who also had a skill set that has developed nicely at Xavier).
Bruce Brown (the highest ranked of all these guys mentioned, but I bring him up only because at one point he was very interested in coming here, and it was our interest that apparently waned. Was there someone in his camp requesting a hand out? Honestly do not know, but nothing has come of it since, therefore let us assume there is no "there, there". So this one goes in the WTF category, as he would have seriously helped us).

EDIT: Definitely add Chris Clarke (at Virginia Tech) to this list as well. That guy is a freaking bull, and a total high-energy guy. Brings it every night. We could always use a lunch-pail guy like that here who combines good skills with strong leadership and great energy.

This sampling is proof that Ollie and staff have identified talent in the high 3* to 4* range quite well - they just didn't win (or try to win, in a couple of notable cases) those recruiting battles. That is the real lasting negative of Ollie's recent recruiting... not being able to close the deal on the right guys.

 

[HuskyHawk]

He predicted the future wrong, but I’m not convinced that he was wrong about Ollie’s potential to be a great coach. Something changed in terms of Ollie’s willingness and/or ability to do what was necessary to grow and adapt in the job.

The job changed a bit along the way and got more challenging; in the past few years he has not risen to the challenge. That’s what stings, because rising to the challenge and working hard previously seemed to be Ollie’s most defining characteristics.

So, if Calhoun got that wrong about Ollie, I don’t think he was alone.

Not alone, but there were plenty of people, including me, who thought it was a bad decision. It is a big job. A major program...or at least it was, and there were huge shoes to fill. In any other circumstance but blind nepotism, would UConn have hired a career journeyman NBA player with a total coaching experience of three years as an assistant? No. Wouldn't get a sniff. Central might have hired him. Maybe. And that's where he should have started. We needed an experienced hand who could handle the situation.

 

[8893]

Not alone, but there were plenty of people, including me, who thought it was a bad decision. It is a big job. A major program...or at least it was, and there were huge shoes to fill. In any other circumstance but blind nepotism, would UConn have hired a career journeyman NBA player with a total coaching experience of three years as an assistant? No. Wouldn't get a sniff. Central might have hired him. Maybe. And that's where he should have started. We needed an experienced hand who could handle the situation.

Hindsight has proven you right. And I agree that there is no substitute for experience. But I think--or at least thought--that a good case could be made that his years on NBA benches, where he reportedly spent countless hours scouting the other teams to make the most of his scant minutes and was also viewed as a mature leader in the locker room, were the functional equivalent of at least a few more years of coaching experience. And in those first few seasons, he seemed to have a decent knack for out of bounds plays, in game adjustments and pushing the right buttons. I attributed those things more so to his NBA experience than to the few years he spent as an assistant here.

But, in retrospect, it looks like there were a number of factors in play. Yes, better players. And yes, better coaching assistants. But I still believe that Ollie himself was different for the first few seasons. He was engaged. He was passionate. I thought he would continue to adapt and grow with the job, but maybe the combination of the divorce, his own intoxication with his immediate success and, ultimately, his apparent limitations combined to lead us here.

It's a tough call imo. Like most things, I don't think it's black or white; I think there is a lot of grey. And I have a hard time adopting the narrative that he lucked into that early success with someone else's players and that he is essentially our equivalent of "Chauncey Gardiner."

 

[HuskyHawk]

Hindsight has proven you right. And I agree that there is no substitute for experience. But I think--or at least thought--that a good case could be made that his years on NBA benches, where he reportedly spent countless hours scouting the other teams to make the most of his scant minutes and was also viewed as a mature leader in the locker room, were the functional equivalent of at least a few more years of coaching experience. And in those first few seasons, he seemed to have a decent knack for out of bounds plays, in game adjustments and pushing the right buttons. I attributed those things more so to his NBA experience than to the few years he spent as an assistant here.

But, in retrospect, it looks like there were a number of factors in play. Yes, better players. And yes, better coaching assistants. But I still believe that Ollie himself was different for the first few seasons. He was engaged. He was passionate. I thought he would continue to adapt and grow with the job, but maybe the combination of the divorce, his own intoxication with his immediate success and, ultimately, his apparent limitations combined to lead us here.

It's a tough call imo. Like most things, I don't think it's black or white; I think there is a lot of grey. And I have a hard time adopting the narrative that he lucked into that early success with someone else's players and that he is essentially our equivalent of "Chauncey Gardiner."

I can't argue with that. I hoped playing experience would help. And I fully supported him when he got the job. I certainly never rooted for him to fail, and don't now.

What I think was/is missing related to the difference in being the leader of a program and merely "understanding basketball" along with the differences in the college and NBA games. That's both on court, and off court. Coaching kids out of HS and coaching NBA players, even young ones, is not the same. The game itself is different. Not may coaches make the transition effectively. Stevens did. Pitino didn't. Cal didn't. Larry Brown did. Another negative that I thought would be a positive, was the fact that Kevin moved around from team to team. Exposure to several head coaches? Yes. Deep understanding of how they run their team, and how they structure the offense and defense and find players for it? Probably not. By way of example, one year working with Belichick is not the same as 8 years working with him.

I sense that Kevin is a guy who kind of coaches by the seat of his pants. He lets the team go where it will and coaches by instinct and feel. When you're got a veteran team with talent, that may be a great approach. When you've got a young team that needs consistency and firm direction, it's a terrible approach.

 

[Huskybass]

Looking back at the 2014 championship roster, that team was pretty well stacked.

Shabazz- Superstar
Boat- Star
Giffey- Star
Daniels- Star
Kromah-excellent role player who did many things well
Nolan-underated role player, especially on the defensive end
Brimah-role player, rim protector, St.Joe's hero

That's a nice mix of players to work with. No denying that KO did a great job in years 1 and 2. But the cupboard has never been refilled nor properly utilized since then.

 

[Yankee2]

Great thread. However for me, his legacy will be stained for a little while.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I am concerned that we will learn that Kevin Ollie was not the program's biggest problem.

 

[Milo65]

Looking back at the 2014 championship roster, that team was pretty well stacked.

Shabazz- Superstar
Boat- Star
Giffey- Star
Daniels- Star
Kromah-excellent role player who did many things well
Nolan-underated role player, especially on the defensive end
Brimah-role player, rim protector, St.Joe's hero

That's a nice mix of players to work with. No denying that KO did a great job in years 1 and 2. But the cupboard has never been refilled nor properly utilized since then.

Don’t forget Oriakhi and Roscoe Smith transfers and would have been a senior and Junior on that team. Drummond went to the NBA after the 11-12 season and could have been a Junior on the 2014 team and If Lamb stayed he would have been a senior.

That’s how loaded JC’s teams were. One man goes down and another steps up.

 

[8893]

I am concerned that we will learn that Kevin Ollie was not the program's biggest problem.

Bunky?

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Don’t forget Oriakhi and Roscoe Smith transfers and would have been a senior and Junior on that team. Drummond went to the NBA after the 11-12 season and could have been a Junior on the 2014 team and If Lamb stayed he would have been a senior.

That’s how loaded JC’s teams were. One man goes down and another steps up.

Roscoe would have been a senior. Oriakhi would have been a senior in 2013.

 

[Northbound]

Not alone, but there were plenty of people, including me, who thought it was a bad decision. It is a big job. A major program...or at least it was, and there were huge shoes to fill. In any other circumstance but blind nepotism, would UConn have hired a career journeyman NBA player with a total coaching experience of three years as an assistant? No. Wouldn't get a sniff. Central might have hired him. Maybe. And that's where he should have started. We needed an experienced hand who could handle the situation.

Sadly, I echoed this sentiment when KO was hired and was damn near hung in effigy - I learned to keep my mouth shut. You don't hire the 3rd year management trainee to run a Fortune 500 company. I don't care if he/she went to Harvard undergrad and HBS and finished first in their class.

It's unfortunate that its turned out this way.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Sadly, I echoed this sentiment when KO was hired and was damn near hung in effigy - I learned to keep my mouth shut. You don't hire the 3rd year management trainee to run a Fortune 500 company. I don't care if he/she went to Harvard undergrad and HBS and finished first in their class.

It's unfortunate that its turned out this way.

In addition to the results on the court, I was concerned that letting JC shoehorn KO into the job would look like a small-time move, as opposed to a national search.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

2). What happened in the last few years after the NC? Fishy keeps insinuating he was lazy and didn't pay attention to his job. If true, why did he get like that? Those articles from last spring did not paint a pretty picture about his relationships inside and outside the program. Did the divorce wreck him? And by the way he was being paid very well to do that job. If he's actually trying and just over his head then I guess I can't be that mad. But it just seems strange that things went down hill so fast. I want to know why that is.

I'm with you. I don't actually buy the notion that he was in over his head and ill equipped to handle this job from the start. To me he seems like a fundamentally different person than he was when this thing started and I'm really curious as to what changed.

 

[UConnNick]

Love KO but as some posters have stated, he's in over his head. I don't think it's one single thing but a combination of things.

He gave us a championship and I'll cherish that one as much as all the others.

If he can reel in Larry Brown to be the head coach, I will be happy for KO in being an assistant coach again.

Good grief, not Larry Brown. The man is a walking, talking NCAA serial rule violator. Everywhere he's been he leaves a trail of manure behind him big enough to fertilize the Sahara Desert. Thanks but hell no!

Ollie wouldn't accept a demotion anyway, so it's a moot point.

 

[Milo65]

Roscoe would have been a senior. Oriakhi would have been a senior in 2013.

You’re right, but even removing AO, JC still brought in some talent.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Looking back at the 2014 championship roster, that team was pretty well stacked.

Shabazz- Superstar
Boat- Star
Giffey- Star
Daniels- Star
Kromah-excellent role player who did many things well
Nolan-underated role player, especially on the defensive end
Brimah-role player, rim protector, St.Joe's hero

That's a nice mix of players to work with. No denying that KO did a great job in years 1 and 2. But the cupboard has never been refilled nor properly utilized since then.

Ollie won a national championship without a single player that would go on to be an NBA starter, and only one player that would go on to play in the NBA at all.

 

[Huskybass]

Ollie won a national championship without a single player that would go on to be an NBA starter, and only one player that would go on to play in the NBA at all.

And now he loses to teams like UCF, ECU, Wagner, Northeastern, and Tulsa. What's your point?

 

[jayteeman]

Looking back at the 2014 championship roster, that team was pretty well stacked.

Shabazz- Superstar
Boat- Star
Giffey- Star
Daniels- Star
Kromah-excellent role player who did many things well
Nolan-underated role player, especially on the defensive end
Brimah-role player, rim protector, St.Joe's hero

That's a nice mix of players to work with. No denying that KO did a great job in years 1 and 2. But the cupboard has never been refilled nor properly utilized since then.

You make a valid point. Now take it the other way

Adams - Star
Larrier - Star but not really
Vital - tries very hard to show how good he thinks he is
Onuorah - transfer one and done who can't even start against freshmen
Anderson - transfer one and done who couldn't hit a shot for 4 games (guard mind you) and a frightening ball handler
Cobb - transfer from hell
Alterique - promising mystery
Huskids - a bunch of freshmen waiting to explode with next years incoming

Not a nice mix of players to work with. No denying that JC did a great job, but deal him this hand, in the year 2017 where the players have different mindsets and aspirations, and have grown up in a different world. Do you really think he had the patience to deal with the attitudes of today?
KO deserves next year