And when we hit a rough patch....

[Palatine]

I was as euphoric as anyone with our play and the outcome in Germany. We should roll for the next couple of weeks.

But at some point in the season, we will hit a bad stretch. We'll lose three of four or six of seven. That will tell us as much about KO as Friday.

It will also tell us a lot about the fans and the horde. Will reporters who gave Kevin the job this week, decide to take it away? How fast will folks jump off the bandwagon? How fast will other names come into the conversation? To quote the Bee Gees, how deep is your love?

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer. Neither am I Pollyanna. This rough patch is a virtual certainty. Adversity arrives at every door. Don't be surprised by it. I'm not looking forward to it. But there it is.

How KO and his team reacts to adversity will be an important part of this season long job interview. It will play an important role in the coaching drama that is UConn basketball.

 

[Brochacho]

I have no doubt we will hit a rough patch. But if you look at the second half of the season, 1/19 - 3/9, is there any reason we can't go at least 8-6 in those 14 games? I think 12/4 - 1/14 is the part where we might hit some pretty good road bumps. Besides DePaul, Fordham, and UMES we will be fighting for our lives in those games.

And its worth noting we only have 9 road games this year, and in recent memory we have been playing 10-12. All other games are home or neutral, and we aren't going to any crazy places really. Loudest crowds on the road will probably be ND and Providence.

 

[warbler1055]

No doubt there will be down times ahead, BUT from what I saw so far and based on KO's NBA experience, KO is nothing but resilient (a : capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture. b : tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change. — re·sil·ient·ly ...).
As far as the fans and reporters it all depends on each one of us. The team seems cohesive and rallies around KO, The disgruntled have already left.

 

[ctchamps]

I was as euphoric as anyone with our play and the outcome in Germany. We should roll for the next couple of weeks.

But at some point in the season, we will hit a bad stretch. We'll lose three of four or six of seven. That will tell us as much about KO as Friday.

It will also tell us a lot about the fans and the horde. Will reporters who gave Kevin the job this week, decide to take it away? How fast will folks jump off the bandwagon? How fast will other names come into the conversation? To quote the Bee Gees, how deep is your love?

I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer. Neither am I Pollyanna. This rough patch is a virtual certainty. Adversity arrives at every door. Don't be surprised by it. I'm not looking forward to it. But there it is.

How KO and his team reacts to adversity will be an important part of this season long job interview. It will play an important role in the coaching drama that is UConn basketball.

I'm glad you wrote this. It was necessary. I was going to write something similar but decided to let the euphoria play out for a while longer before examining reality.

The press and fans are predictable. The press loves controversy because negativity sells. And guys like JJ still have a vendetta against JC. So you know he already has written articles blaming JC for foisting KO on UConn which he will release the moment the opportunity presents itself.

And you know there is a significant number of fans who are of the fair weather variety. They are quick to jump on the bandwagon when things go well and even quicker to get off when the road gets bumpy.

On the positive side, KO is a given. He has proven his tenacity, his ability to handle obstacles, his resiliency and, most of all, his ability to maintain a level of grace and dignity even when things were difficult.

The big unknown is the players. No matter who the coach is there are limits to what a coach can get from players, both skill wise and character wise. Can this group of players over achieve through out a long season? Can they handle adversity? We'll find out. It won't surprise me if they stay relatively positive all season or if they begin to fall apart. There is a lot of pressure on these young kids to achieve.

 

[Palatine]

It's a good point that the players most likely to be disgruntled have already moved on. Keeping a positive light on the program is critical. The closer we are to to the top of Big East will determine KO's fate. My guess is that he has to keep us in the top half of the league while being competitive with the best teams in the league.

 

[UCHuskies08]

Agree with the premise. Friday was Ollie's first exam and he got an A. The material gets tougher from here on out.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Yeah, we are going to face so many situations more difficult than Izzo with a legitimate top 15 team 4,000 miles form home.

 

[Dogbreath2U]

there will be different games that challenge the teams in different ways....how will the team play against highly disciplined teams running a Princeton-type offense? Or against good zone defenses? Can they keep up the high level of emotional energy even after some losses?

It can be a fun year if we focus on how the team improves rather than the usual focus on wins and losses. The "fun" part may not always be there during the games themselves if we are losing, but there is not one player who can't be expected to show a lot of progress this year.

 

[ctchamps]

there will be different games that challenge the teams in different ways....how will the team play against highly disciplined teams running a Princeton-type offense? Or against good zone defenses? Can they keep up the high level of emotional energy even after some losses?

It can be a fun year if we focus on how the team improves rather than the usual focus on wins and losses. The "fun" part may not always be there during the games themselves if we are losing, but there is not one player who can't be expected to show a lot of progress this year.

Very well stated.

 

[Husk-E]

Kevin Ollie as only passed 1 out of 3 tests, you're right. It's crucial to see how he bounces back after a bad loss/ losing streak. It's also important to see how much the team improves this year. personally I think he'll pass 3/3 and get an extension, but you never know.

 

[ctchamps]

Kevin Ollie as only passed 1 out of 3 tests, you're right. It's crucial to see how he bounces back after a bad loss/ losing streak. It's also important to see how much the team improves this year. personally I think he'll pass 3/3 and get an extension, but you never know.

Exactly. The biggest problem is how do you factor in the group of players KO has inherited with performance of the coach. The front line is still a liability imo. The experience factor is a major problem. And the numbers of scholarship players who are of a high caliber is a problem. Some people will consider these to be handicaps for KO, some won't. And the degree they are factored in will be different for each of us. The bandwagon fan won't refer to them at all if things get difficult.

 

[Husk-E]

Exactly. The biggest problem is how do you factor in the group of players KO has inherited with performance of the coach. The front line is still a liability imo. The experience factor is a major problem. And the numbers of scholarship players who are of a high caliber is a problem. Some people will consider these to be handicaps for KO, some won't. And the degree they are factored in will be different for each of us. The bandwagon fan won't refer to them at all if things get difficult.

Exactly why you look ate how much the players have improved. If Ollie can turn a bunch players that are at this point a liability into some decent players then he lands this job no problem, most likely long term.

 

[ctchamps]

Exactly why you look ate how much the players have improved. If Ollie can turn a bunch players that are at this point a liability into some decent players then he lands this job no problem, most likely long term.

I agree but evaluation of players is unfortunately very subjective.

 

[Husk-E]

I agree but evaluation of players is unfortunately very subjective.

True, you can always get a bunch of oriakhis or something even though I know that we don't.

 

[Husky68]

If Ollie coached the Kemba team to a 9th place finish in BE with no BE tournament and no NCAA tournament would be hearin' "not good enough", so much talent and "middle of pack" team. Calhoun's offensive sets were always head scratching. That's why he neede KEA, Taliek and Kemba to make things happen with the ball. Ollie's guys looked way more organized in one game on offense than any Calhoun team. How many times did Marcus Williams dribble the clock down then go one on one to try and set up a play.
I don't buy the psyco bable about fans on Ollie. He will not lose support when team loses games 'cause he will have the players playing to win. Other teams have players on scholarships also, there will be times when Uconn looks crappy - just like the Kemba team.

 

[James]

I feel like Ollie's x and o's have potential to be elite. I get that it's one game but the pro style sets adhere to this teams talent. If we can get DD to attack on boards and help better on defensive, our interior play won't be terrible IMO. Wolfe looked like a gasol brother for instances lol. In all seriousness we'll obviously lose games but you've gotta be very happy with what happened Friday . Ollie was barely smiling post game . He wants more!

 

[cohenzone]

Everybody knows the potential issues for this team and they are almost all in the front court. The ability of this team to stop interior scoring and to defensive rebound is where it's at. This is a program that could have had a frontcourt of Oriaki, Smith and Drummond. Ok, Drummond was always unlikely, but whatever one thinks of AO, he is way ahead of anyone we have in the middle this year. Of course it's a legit question of whether or not the team would function better or worse accounting for AO's seeming attitude issues, Throw in RS and this team has a pretty nice look to it.

But the frontcourt is what it is and we certainly can't count on the guards to score big every night. I am firmly in the camp now that Ollie should be extended for at least another year, preferably two and give him a better shot at recruits. I didn't like the idea of him being handed the job without a national search, but since he has the job, he darn well should be given the tools to succeed longer term.

 

[johnhuskies95]

I have no doubt we will hit a rough patch. But if you look at the second half of the season, 1/19 - 3/9, is there any reason we can't go at least 8-6 in those 14 games? I think 12/4 - 1/14 is the part where we might hit some pretty good road bumps. Besides DePaul, Fordham, and UMES we will be fighting for our lives in those games.

And its worth noting we only have 9 road games this year, and in recent memory we have been playing 10-12. All other games are home or neutral, and we aren't going to any crazy places really. Loudest crowds on the road will probably be ND and Providence.

I don't want to jinx us, but I agree with this. The schedule really isn't too difficult.

Our toughest road game is at ND and for whatever reason we play better there than anyone else in the Big East. All the other top Big East teams we get at home.

 

[arnie3]

How could Marquette, Cinncy, and Pitt be left off any list as not being tough road games? Those are all probable NCAA tournament teams. We've struggled at all those venues with much stronger teams. At this point, let's not be drinking the Kool-aid!

 

[johnhuskies95]

How could Marquette, Cinncy, and Pitt be left off any list as not being tough road games? Those are all probable NCAA tournament teams. We've struggled at all those venues with much stronger teams. At this point, let's not be drinking the Kool-aid!

Pitt will be tough but they're not ranked and ND is. Those other teams will be tough to beat as well but we have won the last two games at Marquette and 2 out of the last 3 at Cincy. I don't know if you can say we've struggled at those venues.

 

[Dann]

How could Marquette, Cinncy, and Pitt be left off any list as not being tough road games? Those are all probable NCAA tournament teams. We've struggled at all those venues with much stronger teams. At this point, let's not be drinking the Kool-aid!

yes, but pitt is scum.

 

[ctchamps]

If Ollie coached the Kemba team to a 9th place finish in BE with no BE tournament and no NCAA tournament would be hearin' "not good enough", so much talent and "middle of pack" team. Calhoun's offensive sets were always head scratching. That's why he neede KEA, Taliek and Kemba to make things happen with the ball. Ollie's guys looked way more organized in one game on offense than any Calhoun team. How many times did Marcus Williams dribble the clock down then go one on one to try and set up a play.
I don't buy the psyco bable about fans on Ollie. He will not lose support when team loses games 'cause he will have the players playing to win. Other teams have players on scholarships also, there will be times when Uconn looks crappy - just like the Kemba team.

I'm going to start a thread that declares I'm all with KO. Hope you put your sig to it.

 

[UconnDon]

I'm glad you wrote this. It was necessary. I was going to write something similar but decided to let the euphoria play out for a while longer before examining reality.

The press and fans are predictable. The press loves controversy because negativity sells. And guys like JJ still have a vendetta against JC. So you know he already has written articles blaming JC for foisting KO on UConn which he will release the moment the opportunity presents itself.

And you know there is a significant number of fans who are of the fair weather variety. They are quick to jump on the bandwagon when things go well and even quicker to get off when the road gets bumpy.

On the positive side, KO is a given. He has proven his tenacity, his ability to handle obstacles, his resiliency and, most of all, his ability to maintain a level of grace and dignity even when things were difficult.

The big unknown is the players. No matter who the coach is there are limits to what a coach can get from players, both skill wise and character wise. Can this group of players over achieve through out a long season? Can they handle adversity? We'll find out. It won't surprise me if they stay relatively positive all season or if they begin to fall apart. There is a lot of pressure on these young kids to achieve.

Agreed, but the were a few more positives to elevate my optimism. Omar C was absent in Germany after giving us a taste of his talents in the exhibition games. 21 every night? Probably not, but he will certainly take his place among those players who will make significant contributions to this season, particularly on the offense. There should be some noticeable improvement in Daniels and Evens was a pleasant surprise. Wolfe can't help but improve and I feel he'll be a factor as the season goes on. There are some potential upsides to this team that I cannot wait to see unfold.