A Dovian Take on KO

[ctchamps]

its fair. There are some head scratching things at times mostly game management stuff (as Fishy alluded to) but I think he coaches defense pretty well (when at full strength) and Ive said this before and it sounds crazy, but our offense this year as far as running stuff and getting shots we want is more successful than I remember it being in a couple years. We just cant make shots. NOBODY is making shots in any way that would start a rhythm that could give us something to hang our hat on.

As far as player progress, we are stuck with guys right now who for whatever reason never broke through the glass ceiling. Purvis at this point is all mental. I dont know if Coach K couldve progressed his career any better. Brimah just is what he is. He HAS progressed from a skills and positioning aspect. It is just that his main flaw coming in, is still his main flaw. And I dont think it can be coached up. He just has ZERO natural basketball awareness. The only thing you can do with that is put him in positions to succeed and minimize that flaw and KO has done that.

I'm totally with you on this post. If only a third of the open shots and FT's went in this season would be totally different and the same people looking to blame KO would be worried about him going to the NBA.

 

[superjohn]

BC in the 1980s and early 1990s was not the current BC. They outsmarted themselves coaching wise. Repeatedly.

I know, I watched them. They were still nothing like UConn. I remember us coming back from a big defecit against them behind a great Donyell performance, I think at that point UConn had won 25 straight against BC.

 

[superjohn]

It's like you don't see the danger signs. Read Fishy's posts. I am very afraid that this banging on the drum for Ollie's head will start resulting in one thing: recruiting misses from kids scared to go to a place with a coach on a hot seat. The next guy--please you name him, Northeastern's coach?--is going to have a much tougher time recruiting in the AAC.

Not following your post. Fishy points out concerns and deficiencies in Ollie's coaching at this point, I see them as well. If you want fans to just stick their heads in the sand and say all is right with Ollie's coaching then you probably shouldn't be on this forum. It's not going to happen, fans critique their teams.

 

[nomar]

The bottom line for me is that, as others have pointed out in this thread, KO's doing a good -- very good -- job recruiting, considering our conference. He's trading on the UConn name, but he's also closing the deal based on his own name and personality. Losing out on Diallo shouldn't give anyone a big concern. If a kid wants to go to UK, he's going to go to UK.

It's the coaching. I would counsel that drawing any conclusions from this year would be pointless, but I concede that from his entire tenure we do have enough of a sample size on which to be concerned about Xs & Os. I agree with those who say he needs an outsider with experience and credibility on the bench next to him.

If Gilbert was playing Vital's minutes, we'd have 2-3 more wins. It would not make the season a good one but it wouldn't make it an embarrassment. Yeah, I know we dropped the first two games, but I would have expected the team to start to gel after incorporating all the new players.

Edit: I started out by using the term "bottom line" but the real bottom line for me is that I think we need to give KO a very long leash. The devil you know and all that.

 

[August_West]

The bottom line for me is that, as others have pointed out in this thread, KO's doing a good -- very good -- job recruiting, considering our conference. He's trading on the UConn name, but he's also closing the deal based on his own name and personality. Losing out on Diallo shouldn't give anyone a big concern. If a kid wants to go to UK, he's going to go to UK.

It's the coaching. I would counsel that drawing any conclusions from this year would be pointless, but I concede that from his entire tenure we do have enough of a sample size on which to be concerned about Xs & Os. I agree with those who say he needs an outsider with experience and credibility on the bench next to him.

If Gilbert was playing Vital's minutes, we'd have 2-3 more wins. It would not make the season a good one but it wouldn't make it an embarrassment. Yeah, I know we dropped the first two games, but I would have expected the team to start to gel after incorporating all the new players.

Just like us Oregon dropped 2 games by Maui and hasnt lost since.

I like this team with Larrier and Gilbert healthy. The 2 early season abortions notwithstanding.

 

[gtcam]

Sorry brother but this isn't UConn football, it's UConn basketball. Our pedigree isn't just going away because of our conference situation, almost anyone who is considered a great young coach would take the job. You must think Ollie is better than everyone else out there, the longer we stay a middling team in the AAC the harder that thought process is to justify.

JC had a HUGE recruitment advantage - he had the Big East - he has alluded to that several times that past few years when folks have questioned UConn recent recruitments
Second, the after effects of the sanctions didn't impact JC, they impacted KO. Look at what it has done to Syracuse
I do agree that he needs some strength in the assistant area, loyalty to alum is great but he needs to get someone like a Blaney - someone with head coaching experience. Killings is a good start but there needs to be a bit more diversity (not race color or religion) in terms of experience. He also needs to relook at recruitment priorities - rather than going after the crème de la crème maybe notch it down and recruit for parts that make sense, ie pure shooter vs athlete, smart playmaker vs slash and dash, bulk and strength vs wiry and agile
August - I fully agree that KO is the best right now

 

[gtcam]

You nailed this so hard -- I can hardly stand to watch this offense, and we're so darn soft on D and the boards. I actually feel like Shabazz and Boat hid Ollie's ineptitude on offense....they'd run nothing for 30 seconds and then one of those guys would bail them out. How many last second tough jumpers did those guys make to save face on a possession? I love Kevin as a mentor and I love the message -- but the guy needs some help. We're getting out-coached every night now

and please explain in detail how Tubby Smith or Frank Haith "out coached" KO

 

[gtcam]

Watch the highlights of our Tournament games in 2014.

It's ridiculous how many of our made baskets were Shabazz hero shots at the end of the shot clock. Without him making an absurd percentage of those, we probably lose the Villanova, MSU, and UK games. [In fairness, we basically dominated the ISU game (up to the last 5 minutes) and the UF game (after the first 10 minutes) as a team.]

Please watch the 2011 Big East tournament games - it's ridiculous how many of UConn's made baskets were Kemba's. Without them UConn doesn't get out of the 2nd round of the BE never mind go dancing
Yeah Giffs and Lamb never made any big shots - was that Bazz with the hook shot vs St Joes?? and Kromah had no presence and Boat played no D to shut down any opposing guards
You have VERY selective vision when trying to make your points

 

[champs99and04]

I just don't know what to think about Ollie. As a head coach, he almost seems to have stepped out of central casting...except for some glaring flaws.

His teams have three traits; slow starts to the games and the second half, general disorganization at the end of games and halves and a tendency to give up huge runs.

I don't think those things reflect particularly well on him, especially when some of these things happen while he's sitting on his hands and his timeouts. We have an x and o problem. It's almost like he gets lost inside the game and his insights are not formed until he sees the box score afterwards - he's always quoting a statistic post-game, but he's taken no action to address the play that created that statistic while the game was in-progress.

I believed that we needed a strong recruiting assistant added to the staff and they did that - too much of the recruiting heavy lifting fell solely on KO's shoulders and DK solves that. Next, I think they need to add a strong bench coach next to Ollie.

Player development is a far greater problem than x's and o's. When your players don't develop, it limits what you can do from and x and o standpoint.

I mean, this team doesn't do anything well offensively. They don't screen well, their cuts are often purposeless and poorly timed, nobody - sans Adams - can finish through contact, none of our bigs can put the ball on the floor or pass worth a damn, and our senior shooting guard recoils into a seizure every time he gets the ball. Then there is the obvious problem that nobody on the team can shoot.

I have never had any question that Ollie capable of diagramming an offense that churns out consistently good shots. But, save maybe last season, he's never had the personnel to do it (and by March, that team figured it out). Even the '14 team was limited at the forward position.

I don't necessarily think KO is incapable of tailoring his offense to suit the limitations of his personnel, but I think at his core he's a basketball junkie who loves the x's and o's aspect of the job, and that might help demonstrate why he always appears so mystified on the sidelines. Honestly, I don't blame him. He shouldn't have to spoon feed these kids pearls of wisdom that they should have gotten in the sixth grade. For as much as he's struggled as a college coach, I'd be willing to bet you could give him an NBA job tomorrow and he'd hold his own with the right team.

Ultimately, he'll need to either become a better teacher or a better identifier of players who have already been taught well. His inability to do one of those has been the undoing of these last three years.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

For as much as he's struggled as a college coach, I'd be willing to bet you could give him an NBA job tomorrow and he'd hold his own with the right team.

Nailed it. This is, to me, the most interesting aspect of Ollie's struggles. In several respects he looks like a guy who thinks he's coaching grown men and finished basketball players.

 

[80shusky]

Most coaches win games because players make plays for them don't they? How can you judge a coaches performance but eliminate when players make plays for them to win games for them? I agree there are some things Ollie could be doing better as a coach. That said, if you go out there and look for a coach how many better coaches are you going to find? You can downplay his national championship all you want but he beat some really good coaches and teams to win it. And by my math (which could be wrong) he is one of only 11 active coaches with a championship. That leaves well over 300 who don't have one.
People calling for his head at this stage in the game are crazy. How many years do you think it will take to start all over again and get good with a new coach, new staff, new recruits? Assuming of course the new coach is good enough to do that.

 

[willie99]

I think it's time for the return of the quick hook. I was never the biggest fan back in the day but I think some of these younger guys could use a little tough love on occasion.

I loved the timeouts 10 seconds into the game, and JC screaming in the kids faces

"go get them Jimmy", because I always knew what the end result would be

JC was an old school disciplinarian, tough love, I miss all that so much. KO punishes his kids by telling them they have to go into "time out" for 5 minutes.

JC coached his kids up, at this point I see none of that from KO.

However, I do tend to agree with the OP, he deserves more time and there's been an unusual set of circumstances, lots of turnover

 

[KembaStepback]

I think it's time for the return of the quick hook. I was never the biggest fan back in the day but I think some of these younger guys could use a little tough love on occasion.

I'd be on board...except who they going to put in? Walk-ons? They don't have any healthy players left.

 

[Waquoit]

It may work wonders for this team. On the other hand, let's not forget that the board was often highly critical of Calhoun's quick hook.

Me included. But it's a valid tool if not overused.

 

[upstater]

Not following your post. Fishy points out concerns and deficiencies in Ollie's coaching at this point, I see them as well. If you want fans to just stick their heads in the sand and say all is right with Ollie's coaching then you probably shouldn't be on this forum. It's not going to happen, fans critique their teams.

What is it with you? It's like you knee-jerk at any comment criticizing your take. When someone criticizes your point-of-view, you swing wildly to the extreme margin and say that we want fans never to criticize Ollie, and that we shouldn't be on the forum. It's whacked.

The point I was making is that, as in Fishy's post, Ollie has a lot of things going for him. Take those away, and hire (insert name) you are taking a big chance with the program. In this conference.

 

[John]

I loved the timeouts 10 seconds into the game, and JC screaming in the kids faces

"go get them Jimmy", because I always knew what the end result would be

JC was an old school disciplinarian, tough love, I miss all that so much. KO punishes his kids by telling them they have to go into "time out" for 5 minutes.

JC coached his kids up, at this point I see none of that from KO.

However, I do tend to agree with the OP, he deserves more time and there's been an unusual set of circumstances, lots of turnover

I'll never forget the game where Calhoun called a timeout, marched almost to half court, and then *dragged* Craig Austrie off the court.

 

[upstater]

I loved the timeouts 10 seconds into the game, and JC screaming in the kids faces

"go get them Jimmy", because I always knew what the end result would be

JC was an old school disciplinarian, tough love, I miss all that so much. KO punishes his kids by telling them they have to go into "time out" for 5 minutes.

JC coached his kids up, at this point I see none of that from KO.

However, I do tend to agree with the OP, he deserves more time and there's been an unusual set of circumstances, lots of turnover

You have to give it more time. There are struggles that are easy to see (lack of a point guard and another ball handler), and struggles that are not so easy to see (interrelations with the coach). In his first 2 years, Ollie had that team playing hard. If anything, we saw a dysfunctional team from Calhoun's last year here become a very tight team under Ollie. Calhoun was not always the master motivator. He actually threw in the towel with some of these kids (Oriakhi, to mention just one).

Also remember Calhoun mentioning how some teams were night-and-day in terms of attitude compared to other years. Like Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

 

[upstater]

I know, I watched them. They were still nothing like UConn. I remember us coming back from a big defecit against them behind a great Donyell performance, I think at that point UConn had won 25 straight against BC.

They were nothing like UConn? I'd say they played very much like UConn. Guard oriented, gritty, tough, good defense. Mike Adams, John Bagley, they had a really good team. They got hosed against that Memphis team with Keith Lee, Bedford and Baskerville Holmes.

 

[8893]

What is it with you? It's like you knee-jerk at any comment criticizing your take. When someone criticizes your point-of-view, you swing wildly to the extreme margin and say that we want fans never to criticize Ollie, and that we shouldn't be on the forum. It's whacked.

The point I was making is that, as in Fishy's post, Ollie has a lot of things going for him. Take those away, and hire (insert name) you are taking a big chance with the program. In this conference.

Just ask him about Eli and see what happens.

Don't get him wrong--he loves the fact that they won championships for his teams. But when they're not winning championships, they suck and he would far prefer any shiny new penny.

 

[KembaStepback]

I just don't know what to think about Ollie. As a head coach, he almost seems to have stepped out of central casting...except for some glaring flaws.

His teams have three traits; slow starts to the games and the second half, general disorganization at the end of games and halves and a tendency to give up huge runs.

I don't think those things reflect particularly well on him, especially when some of these things happen while he's sitting on his hands and his timeouts. We have an x and o problem. It's almost like he gets lost inside the game and his insights are not formed until he sees the box score afterwards - he's always quoting a statistic post-game, but he's taken no action to address the play that created that statistic while the game was in-progress.

I believed that we needed a strong recruiting assistant added to the staff and they did that - too much of the recruiting heavy lifting fell solely on KO's shoulders and DK solves that. Next, I think they need to add a strong bench coach next to Ollie.

I just don't understand how you can expect this team to be consistent when you have 8 scholarship players healthy and 5 of them are freshmen/sophs. Enoch is a soph and is the youngest player on the team! Adams is so talented, we forget hes only a soph. He still plays young at times. Jackson, Vital, Durham were not ready for this large of a role but they were thrust into it because of injury.
I know people will point out that they lost games with Gilbert and Larrier playing...well I dismiss that. Remember, both of those guys are new to the team as well! It takes time for a team to gel and gain cohesiveness. There is no doubt in my mind that if Gilbert and Larrier were healthy we would be at WORST 2-1 in conference right now.

 

[superjohn]

What is it with you? It's like you knee-jerk at any comment criticizing your take. When someone criticizes your point-of-view, you swing wildly to the extreme margin and say that we want fans never to criticize Ollie, and that we shouldn't be on the forum. It's whacked.

The point I was making is that, as in Fishy's post, Ollie has a lot of things going for him. Take those away, and hire (insert name) you are taking a big chance with the program. In this conference.

Again, I don't understand your post. Fishy's post was about Ollie having some glaring flaws as a coach, the biggest being X's and O's. Fishy said he wants a bench coach brought in. I take umbrage with many of your posts because you extrapolate things from others posts that just aren't there or you just completely make stuff up. I wasn't criticizing your post, just pointing out I don't know what it meant. Now I'm criticizing your post. Fishy didn't say anything of those things in his post that you are attributing to him.

 

[UConNation]

The part of KO's coaching game that I'll rag on, as Fishy and others have said, are the slow starts, the inability to call good time outs, and the inbounding plays. I honestly don't have a problem with the defense. The 2-3 zone is a direct result of the injuries and with the exception of the first few games (where players were falling like flies) we're guarding the 3 point line better and teams are shooting a decently lower percentages of late (excluding Houston and Memphis). I think there's been real improvement there. While some of those things are glaring issues that he needs to deal with, I think that the Xs and Os are going to come and here's why:

Jalen - think Kemba for a minute. He was an infuriating player as a freshman. Slightly less so as a sophomore who was in control of the team... but he still made sophomore mistakes. Jalen not only is just a sophomore, but the team that he had the entire off season to practice with is not the team he's practicing with now. That's tough for a second year PG/SG, especially when this is his first year as "the guy."

Rodney - benching this guy, while it may actually help the team from an unforced turn over and FG % perspective, is not possible. First of all we don't have the players. Secondly, Rodney's a senior, and whether we like it we don't have many better options. He's one of, if not the most, infuriating player in recent memory at UConn. I get it. But we don't have much better.

Those 2 guys, along with AB, are the leaders on this team. AB is a defensive force, but limited at best on offense. When you put Jalen's situation (2nd year player, forced to be a PG, and lost the best talent that he was supposed to lean on being gone), Rodney's limitations, and the fact that freshmen are going to make freshmen mistake (a la Jackson's 35 foot 3 pt attempt with like 25 seconds on the shot clock) you're going to get some of this. Kevin has already stopped to a large degree trying to run a pro style offense because he knows he doesn't have the right pieces. That's an improvement over his first couple years. Fact is the plays he's running aren't terrible, the shots just aren't falling. Take away Rodney's 10-15 bad shots, add in our Jackson/Durham having a year under their belt, AG and Larrier back with the addition of some (hopefully) serviceable bigs and MAL, and I really think Ollie will have something to work with. An offensive minded bench coach will go along way. Last, keep in mind that Kevin is figuring this out too. Give him time. He (and UConn) are going to be OK.

 

[Mr. French]

It may work wonders for this team. On the other hand, let's not forget that the board was often highly critical of Calhoun's quick hook.

I loved his quick hook ... Sometimes I thought it was a bit rash given the wrongdoing of the player, but man that sends a message.

In my few years of HC experience, I used it with certain guys to make a point.

If I hammer something all week in practice and the first play its done wrong, I'm giving the JC hook.

 

[superjohn]

Just ask him about Eli and see what happens.

Don't get him wrong--he loves the fact that they won championships for his teams. But when they're not winning championships, they suck and he would far prefer any shiny new penny.

I love Eli but I don't have a crusty fathead of him on my wall like you. You can be critical of a player or coaches deficiencies while still thinking they are good overall. If you want to pile on a post where upstater was attributing things to Fishy that we're never said, have at it.

 

[Edward Sargent]

That's the thing.

Apologists refer to sanctions saying we had no choice but to take Brimah and Facey. That may be true.

KO's failure isn't recruiting Brimah and Facey. His failure is in not developing or recruiting over those guys at any point in the last 3 years.

Yep, kinda worried about next year as our bigs will be Steve and two guys with bad knees

 

[Candyman]

I just don't understand how you can expect this team to be consistent when you have 8 scholarship players healthy and 5 of them are freshmen/sophs. Enoch is a soph and is the youngest player on the team! Adams is so talented, we forget hes only a soph. He still plays young at times. Jackson, Vital, Durham were not ready for this large of a role but they were thrust into it because of injury.
I know people will point out that they lost games with Gilbert and Larrier playing...well I dismiss that. Remember, both of those guys are new to the team as well! It takes time for a team to gel and gain cohesiveness. There is no doubt in my mind that if Gilbert and Larrier were healthy we would be at WORST 2-1 in conference right now.

You can't blame 2 absolutely horrible losses because the players haven't played together. They should beat Wagner and Northeastern with their bench players. Those losses are the fault of the coach for not getting them prepared for a zone. If your an optimist you say they would have gelled and became the team the were meant to or your a realist and see they had no inside game and no outside shooting that two slashers (Gilbert & Larrier) would have helped.

 

[upstater]

Again, I don't understand your post. Fishy's post was about Ollie having some glaring flaws as a coach, the biggest being X's and O's. Fishy said he wants a bench coach brought in. I take umbrage with many of your posts because you extrapolate things from others posts that just aren't there or you just completely make stuff up. I wasn't criticizing your post, just pointing out I don't know what it meant. Now I'm criticizing your post. Fishy didn't say anything of those things in his post that you are attributing to him.

"Kevin Ollie comes out of central casting..."

 

[8893]

What is it with you? It's like you knee-jerk at any comment criticizing your take. When someone criticizes your point-of-view, you swing wildly to the extreme margin and say that we want fans never to criticize Ollie, and that we shouldn't be on the forum. It's whacked.

The point I was making is that, as in Fishy's post, Ollie has a lot of things going for him. Take those away, and hire (insert name) you are taking a big chance with the program. In this conference.

I love Eli but I don't have a crusty fathead of him on my wall like you. You can be critical of a player or coaches deficiencies while still thinking they are good overall. If you want to pile on a post where upstater was attributing things to Fishy that we're never said, have at it.

Thanks, SJ. Like shooting fish in a barrel. I knew I could count on you to help me prove @upstater 's point about your overreactions.

PS: When upstater tells you you are overreacting, you might have a problem.

PSS: @mauconnfan and I both know that you're rooting for your mancrush Rodgers on Sunday, and you can't wait to come here and tell everyone how right you were about his superiority.

 

[superjohn]

"Kevin Ollie comes out of central casting..."

Are you going to pretend you don't know what that means? He's a young good looking guy who made it in the NBA when his skill level shouldn't have allowed him to. He has relationships with everyone in the league, including LeBron and Durant who speak glowingly about him. That's all called looking the part. Fishy and I agree he looks the part but when it comes down to coaching Fishy has a lot of reservations as do I. The entire meat of Fishy's post was that Ollie has major flaws, enough flaws that he wants a bench coach brought in to handle the X's and O's or mentor Ollie on the X's and O's.

 

[superjohn]

Thanks, SJ. Like shooting fish in a barrel. I knew I could count on you to help me prove @upstater 's point about your overreactions.

PS: When upstater tells you you are overreacting, you might have a problem.

PSS: @mauconnfan and I both know that you're rooting for your mancrush Rodgers on Sunday, and you can't wait to come here and tell everyone how right you were about his superiority.

Dude it's like the third or fourth time you've jacked a thread to tell me I hate Eli. We have a few Giants threads on the board, keep it there. At least add some humor to the interactions, you're boring.