Alex O's dad

[HeGotGame]

For those of you with a Facebook account:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000929153232&Steven Krajewski=wall

Guy clearly struggles with the English language but he is not a fan of Calhoun:

It is all coach Calhoun is fault. He treated the kids like sub-human by knocking the kids heads against one another the end result was dead faces. This is the first time they played together as a team

It was all coach Calhoun fault. Treating kids they were in marine corps. Set kids against each other. Today is a Self evidence that coach Cal

u cannot win a game without ball movement. Pg alone connot win a game. Pass the ball don't try to be a hero. The bigman are not involved they don't get the ball when they are wide open. Same last season. No wonder Uconn bigmen don't do too well at the next level. Am very critical the way huskies play their bigmen offensively

 

[Prezidint]

Facebook accounts are like ******.

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

Maybe he should be coaching the team instead of calhoun since he has multiple championships

 

[bpear1600]

What's wrong with the Marine Corps?

 

[Kitaman]

Its a typical protective parent response, doesn't mean its true. Remember his son was in the doghouse this season, and AO himself messed up any possibility of an early entry into the NBA draft.
Calhoun gets results. The end justifies the means. He needs to call Kemba's parents.

 

[CTKIDD]

bet its a look alike account... or dad needs glasses

 

[Huskies320]

Lol Alex has made maybe two strong post moves all year.

 

[BlueMAB]

Kind of hard to get the ball to a guy who is camped out on the baseline behind the 2/3 zone waiting for someone to give him the ball instead of flashing to the middle and demanding it.

Oriakhi had 3 rebounds last night. Who is to blame for that?

He's also shooting under 50% from the field, regularly blows layups, or gets the ball stripped, and plays next to a guy who finishes above the rim on a regular basis. I'm stunned guys don't give him the ball more often. /sarcasm

Yes, the guards need to get the ball in the paint more often. However, AO has had plenty wrong with his performances this year that was his own fault. He's averaging more turnovers than blocks this year. And Mr. O, Drummond is clearly a better player with a higher ceiling, he needs to touch the ball more than your son, get over it.

 

[TopDog18]

Just a pissed off Dad who is quickly realizing he's not going to be able to quit his day job and live off his son's nonexistent NBA paycheck. I love AO but someone should tell daddy that it's hard to feed the ball in the post to him when the ball constantly slips out of his hand and with his lack of post moves

 

[djct1999]

i think there is subtle context here that is actually accurate. in hindsight, the starting five from day one should have been napier, lamb, roscoe, ao, and drummond. i do think calhoun was trying to light a fire by starting tyler and dd that simply backfired. ao and roscoe earned the starting nod from what they accomplished last season. i do think this shuffling, and pinning guys up agianst each other definitely played a destructive overtone for the entire season.......this is exactly where our lack of team chemistry originated. even last night for 28 mins we looked good with roscoe and ao contributing.....what was olander's +/-?

 

[Tenspro2002]

I don't blame Mr. Oriakhi for feeling the way he does as a parent, but Alex's play certainly doesn't justify his being a bigger part of the offense. Furthermore, I wonder if it's appropriate to read into this that AO isn't a very good fit for JC's personality.

It seems like lately there have been more recruits who simply did not get along with Coach's style, and that has contributed to the excess of transfers and some of the disappointments of the last 6 years.

Let's be honest: for certain personalities it's not as easy to play for Calhoun as it is to play for a guy like Calipari, who basically hands you the ball and tells you to go have fun. Some find it challenging and rewarding, while others can't take the heat. And it's not like Calhoun is getting any less stubborn with age.

Are our assistants who do much of the recruiting or even JC himself attuned to the personalities and attitudes of the kids they're looking to bring on board, or is that not much of a factor in the recruiting process? Or is it even possible to assess?

 

[businesslawyer]

1. It is incredibly unfair to assume anything about AO's attitude because of what his father says. How many of you really feel like you want what your relative's say to reflect on you.

2. It is quite plausible that the lineup uncertainty, and the speed with which guys who started for a championship team hit the bench, has contributed to this disaster. But, when you're managing people, even the best don't always pick the right methods to motivate certain individuals.

 

[Tenspro2002]

1. It is incredibly unfair to assume anything about AO's attitude because of what his father says. How many of you really feel like you want what your relative's say to reflect on you.

2. It is quite plausible that the lineup uncertainty, and the speed with which guys who started for a championship team hit the bench, has contributed to this disaster. But, when you're managing people, even the best don't always pick the right methods to motivate certain individuals.

#1 is a fair point, but I wanted to make the connection to AO's attitude since we've also seen him visibly frustrated with how Calhoun has treated him, both in terms of on-court or sideline demeanor and in twitter comments.

#2 is more of what I was getting at. Calhoun's "quick hook" style doesn't work for everyone, and I feel like lately -- whether it's his using it more extremely or demonstrably and/or having the wrong type of guys on his team -- there have been a lot more instances of players responding very poorly to it.

 

[g_smith]

talkin ish on social networks ; like father like son

 

[tzznandrew]

Aside from consistent focus (which they really need, and I think really the issue, not "laziness" or "not caring"), role definition has been a crucial problem.

• Part of that is the NCAAs fault, with Boatright being in and out.
• Part of that is bad luck, Calhoun not being there. The players perform differently under Blaney than they do with Calhoun, and the substitution patterns are different.
• Part of it is Calhoun messing with what worked. I understand his reasoning, but this team's roles would have coalesced earlier if the same players, with a consistent substitution pattern, got floor time together.
• Part of it was players underperforming and thinking they were owed a starting role (that may seem antithetical to my previous post, but its a matter of attitude). Some of the benching was due to AO getting in silly foul trouble and forcing Calhoun to play Olander more frequently.

 

[ktuck911]

Can we somehow bring Clyde Vaughn back? Forgive and forget and get the BEST Big Man coach UCONN ever had back in the fold?

 

[BlueMAB]

I've been as frustrated/confused as anyone with the constant shuffling of the lineup, but early in the season (before he got hurt) Olander was playing well and deserved the minutes he was getting. I never understood why Roscoe wasn't seeing more minutes than Daniels, but Olander deserved the minutes based on his performance.

 

[BlueMAB]

Can we somehow bring Clyde Vaughn back? Forgive and forget and get the BEST Big Man coach UCONN ever had back in the fold?

The suspensions, violations, probation, APR, tournament , and Calhoun's questionable health, aren't enough crap to deal with?

 

[The Funster]

Can we somehow bring Clyde Vaughn back? Forgive and forget and get the BEST Big Man coach UCONN ever had back in the fold?

I said this in another thread. When he went, we never replaced him. Our big men don't know how to box out and aren't comfortable going up quick and strong.

 

[DoctorBombay]

From an outsider's perspective:
As I've mentioned before on this board, my nephew is a UConn alum so we watch each other's team's (Cuse & UConn), just to have things to debate during family gatherings, or to bust each other's balls when needed.
In retrospect, winning the NC w/ Super Kemba, was probably the worst thing to happen to your young team.... for THIS year.
Why? Well, Shabazz Napier for example came into the season expecting to play the "Kemba" role....but, he's just a sophomore. His cred wasn't fully established like KW's & his personality appears to be more direct- he may be too blunt for his teammates.
Oriakhi expected to come in & be the focus of the frontline but.... there was ADrummond to take the spotlight, both literally & figuratively. AO's confidence level has fallen...& it can't get up.
Jeremy Lamb was pegged as a superstar, but no one realized how much he needs someone to create for him...being "The Man" is alot harder than it looks. Kris Joseph was expected to be "Wesley Johnson 2.0" for us last season, & he struggled mightily.
And finally, not having JC around to kick butt, manage egos, & tame wayward personalities, allowed the situation to remain stagnant & never get fully resolved. The team appears rudderless, like everyone's waiting for someone to take charge.
Last year you had a savior (see; Walker, Kemba) that was an upperclassman, leading a group of youngsters on a magical ride.
This year you handed the keys to a buncha kids & hoped they didn't drive too fast. All in all, this end result should not be a total surprise.
Btw- a $h!tty year following an out-of-the-blue NC is more than worth it!

 

[businesslawyer]

From an outsider's perspective:
As I've mentioned before on this board, my nephew is a UConn alum so we watch each other's team's (Cuse & UConn), just to have things to debate during family gatherings, or to bust each other's balls when needed.
In retrospect, winning the NC w/ Super Kemba, was probably the worst thing to happen to your young team.... for THIS year.
Why? Well, Shabazz Napier for example came into the season expecting to play the "Kemba" role....but, he's just a sophomore. His cred wasn't fully established like KW's & his personality appears to be more direct- he may be too blunt for his teammates.
Oriakhi expected to come in & be the focus of the frontline but.... there was ADrummond to take the spotlight, both literally & figuratively. AO's confidence level has fallen...& it can't get up.
Jeremy Lamb was pegged as a superstar, but no one realized how much he needs someone to create for him...being "The Man" is alot harder than it looks. Kris Joseph was expected to be "Wesley Johnson 2.0" for us last season, & he struggled mightily.
And finally, not having JC around to kick butt, manage egos, & tame wayward personalities, allowed the situation to remain stagnant & never get fully resolved. The team appears rudderless, like everyone's waiting for someone to take charge.
Last year you had a savior (see; Walker, Kemba) that was an upperclassman, leading a bunch of youngsters on a magical ride.
This year you handed the keys to a buncha kids & hoped they didn't drive too fast. All in all, this end result should not be a total surprise.
Btw- a $h!tty year following an out-of-the-blue NC is more than worth it!

I was ready to bust your chops for participating in this soul searching. But that is a damn good post.

 

[Tenspro2002]

Btw- a $h!tty year following an out-of-the-blue NC is more than worth it!

Doc, completely agree with you. But allow me the following thought experiment.

After the 2010 disaster, you ask: "Would you take an unexpected NC in 2011, but have to endure another miserable season in 2012?" I think 95% of this board would say "Yes" and most of those "Emphatically Yes".

After the 2011 championship, you ask: "Having won the championship, would you be OK with a miserable season in 2012?" I would be surprised if more than 20% of the people here -- probably only the extreme wing of the cheerleady element on the board -- would say "Yes".

It all depends on when you pose the question.

 

[tzznandrew]

I find seasons miserable when I dislike the players. I really like these kids. It's frustrating, but hardly miserable.

Also, they still have the inside track to the NCAAs, somehow.

 

[husky99]

Clyde was the man when it had to do with the bigs, man just wanted his kid in park and rec sports

Can we somehow bring Clyde Vaughn back? Forgive and forget and get the BEST Big Man coach UCONN ever had back in the fold?

 

[Palatine]

How can you blame this on Calhoun? He hasn't been here this year, it's obvious the back has made him a shadow of himself.

I do blame Calhoun for letting Blaney fill in. But the rant by senior O is off base.