As he tries to re-energize Brooklyn, Kevin Ollie’s willing to repair his side of bridge to UConn

[HooperScooper]

I know I'm going to regret posting this but here goes. If this goes off the rails then moderators can go ahead and lock it. But it's worth hearing this.

“The situation when Kevin (Ollie) was let go … there’s a lot of healing that’s gone on,” Hurley said. “And hopefully at some point it can heal enough to get KO back, and we wish him well with the Brooklyn Nets with this opportunity.”

No one prompted Hurley, who was served a subpoena at his home during the height of the Ollie-UConn legal fight in 2020, he just put it out there. And Ollie was willing to pick it up.

“Yeah, I hope so, I would love for it to heal,” Ollie said Thursday, before the Nets beat Atlanta 124-97 at Barclays Center in his first home game since taking over. “As I’ve said, I bleed blue. There are a lot of people that are up there, that brick and mortar didn’t do anything. At the end of the day time heals and I would love that situation to transpire. If we can do that, it would be great.”

Dom Amore: As he tries to re-energize Brooklyn, Kevin Ollie’s willing to repair his side of bridge to UConn

Kevin Ollie picked up the olive branch tossed by Dan Hurley last week, and agreed in the hope that enough healing can occur for him to return to the Huskies family fold.

www.courant.com

Alternate access:
As he tries to re-energize Brooklyn, Kevin Ollie’s willing to repair his side of bridge to UConn

 

[RichCTBB]

I love the idea of KO being welcomed back. I would think that any animosity he might have with AD Dave and his bosses would have to be addressed, but I don't think there is any reason why KO and Danny can't get along and maybe even learn something from each other. UConn is bigger than baby dolls.

 

[brihman]

Hurley with the olive branch

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Hurley needs to be fired immediately for saying something nice about Ollie.

 

[bendm]

besides the AD, i dont think there's a reason for bad-blood with anyone that has anything to do with the basketball program

 

[Husky68]

besides the AD, i dont think there's a reason for bad-blood with anyone that has anything to do with the basketball program

Think it was much higher up on the food chain than AD to decided to go the "with cause" route. If Ollie was just fired for doing lousy job it would have been over quick.

 

[husky429]

Hard pass.

 

[bigknight3]

Hard pass.

We can't ignore that he coached a team through the 4th championship. Trying to tell our story while skipping over Ollie is not realistic.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Why the hell did they subpoena Hurley?

 

[CardiacAndre7]

We can't ignore that he coached a team through the 4th championship. Trying to tell our story while skipping over Ollie is not realistic.

Assistant Coach for the 3rd as well

 

[HooperScooper]

Why the hell did they subpoena Hurley?

They wanted to ask him when he was contacted by UConn for the head coaching job. It was widely reported at the time.

Kevin Ollie situation gets uglier with current UConn coach Dan Hurley's subpoena

The former UConn head coach's lawyers served his successor with a request to testify in an upcoming hearing.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[husky429]

We can't ignore that he coached a team through the 4th championship. Trying to tell our story while skipping over Ollie is not realistic.

What of this has to do with "telling our story?" What an odd angle to take.

It's whether Ollie should be welcomed on campus or not. The answer is no.

 

[JMick]

The only way he should be allowed back is if he gives the money back as a donation to the athletic department

 

[Hunt for 7]

There seems to be more to this than is generally known. I don’t want to go into what I know because lists like that will 1) show how much I probably don’t know 2) bring up memories we would all like to avoid. I will say that, I would not be against him being brought back into the family. I would really like to get Cahoun’s opinion before making up my mind completely. I loved him as a player and I respected that he played in the nba for as long as he did. I mean that surprised me as he was a marginal athlete so it had to be intangibles that kept him in the league. When he was first hired to replace JC I was not thrilled. Accepted it since I believe at least publicly JC seemed to be all for it. The first year did not count since there was nothing to play for. Then Bazz worked his magic. But after that I spent one year screaming at the TV my wife pretty much thought I was insane. I just hated that look, I think he was going for astonished but it came off to me as clueless.

 

[BGesus4]

The only way he should be allowed back is if he gives the money back as a donation to the athletic department

I’m not sure you understand the finer points of the difference between “for cause” and “because”.

It was a calculated risk to go “for cause” and there wasn’t a strong enough legal case for it.

 

[BlueMAB]

He should be welcomed back. I was firmly in the "he doesn't deserve the balance of his contract" camp. The courts/arbitrator decided we were wrong. Accept it and move on. He got his money. We got a better coach, a 5th title, and a very bright future. It's time to welcome him home and move on. Those who say otherwise come off bitter and sad.

 

[Kenny11]

I’ve had a few interactions with Ollie on non-basketball things shortly after his firing. He was great to deal with. I know towards the end of his time at uconn it seemed like a huge mess though. He should’ve never been fired under the guise of ncaa rule violations. That was always dumb and not working on a way to settle was even dumber.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

My take on the Ollie situation has always been it was a classic tragedy
It could have been written by Aeschylus or Shakespeare
A man achieves greatness , celebrity and power beyond his wildest imagination. Gets blinded by the bright lights and glitter forgets the work and values that got him there and crashes and burns losing most of what he once held as his dream
Since this is America the possibility for redemption is always there . Hopefully that’s the case
Here are a couple of links for those who really don’t understand

the first one is when Donny Marshall almost cost us a game with a T for sarcastic clapping

This is the Presser before the 2014 NC game

 

[Hunt for 7]

I’ve had a few interactions with Ollie on non-basketball things shortly after his firing. He was great to deal with. I know towards the end of his time at uconn it seemed like a huge mess though. He should’ve never been fired under the guise of ncaa rule violations. That was always dumb and not working on a way to settle was even dumber.

What strikes me is we talk about mojo a lot on the yard. This created the worst possible mojo. Who you might call the prodigal son of the man who built it all was fired. Whatever side you are on if you are fan of UConn BB the fact is we did not return to the top of that world until the dispute between Ollie and the University was settled. If that was not mojo or karma then it don’t exist.

 

[PAHusky]

Lots of nuance to this one. I think it’s important to recognize KO’s contributions as a player and to acknowledge he led us to a fourth chip and did a lot to solidify the program as one bigger than just Calhoun.

On the other hand, once he won that chip it seems like he got lazy and entitled, clowned around in his personal and professional life and his failings ultimately got to the point where they, combined with where the school was in conference realignment etc., meant that the program got massively set back. Without Hurley coming along we could have been in real trouble.

TL;DR - I respect the guy for his contributions but don’t think he needs any special treatment from the school or anything.

 

[HuskyInfinity]

I think time is the only thing that’s gonna make this palatable and agreeable. We would not be having this conversation without having won a NC since his departure for sure. But you have to credit Hurley for being a grown man in this situation especially given the circumstances. Not only on a personal level but as a business strategy, imo, this is a great move for him and the university eventually. A cohesive and united front through UConn’s storied success is great for our family and blue collar culture and I think would pay some dividends to future success. What Hurley has done incorporating old legends especially Calhoun into our day to day happenings has been really impactful in how I view the program just in a personal level and I’m sure for others too. I’m all for this eventually. Time heals all and Husky Nation will stand tall together I hope.

 

[AllHusky]

Great guy, went off the rails, nobody won through that ugly mess. Calhoun is the linchpin here, very "Godfatheresque"

Go Huskies!

 

[JMick]

I’m not sure you understand the finer points of the difference between “for cause” and “because”.

It was a calculated risk to go “for cause” and there wasn’t a strong enough legal case for it.

I don't care what an arbitrator decided. It's irrelevant to welcoming him back. Give back the money and I'll welcome him back. Otherwise I'd prefer he be barred from events.

 

[IndyLives]

There's 11.1 million reasons the OP's post should get a thumbs down. He cost CT residents a lot of money indirectly and even directly. There should be no burying of the hatchet in the BY. Anyway, Calhoun will never forgive him regardless...

 

[Scoe]

I do hope KO can at least repair his relationship with Jim Calhoun. As far as him returning I do believe time does heal all wounds, but it’s still just way too soon.

i see no reason why Hurley and Ollie wouldn’t co exist but it has to be akward it’s like a guy having a relationship with the guy who married your ex wife. I say give it 10 years when it’s a 20 year anniversary.