Disagree, but feel that's not an unreasonable take.
Disagree and it's an unreasonable take. Facey was a fringe top 100 player, and the only reason Brimah has had NBA interest is because of UConn. If he was at USF or something you'd never hear his name mentioned.
And you're mischaracterizing Adams. He was a combo guard/shooting guard in high school & AAU who never played as the primary PG on ANY team until Gilbert got injured this year. That is a hard transition to make -- Westbrook, for example, couldn't make it over two college seasons with any grace, and neither did Kemba. Neither did Terry Rozier. Neither did a whole host of combo guards who we only remember for their stellar final college seasons (and subsequent NBA careers to one extent or another) after they made the transition to fulltime PG.
Here is the bottom line with the Ollie era:
- Recruiting was hamstrung from 2012-2015, with 2016 being our first "complete" class
- We have lost our best player after each of the last three seasons (Bazz, Boat, DHam)
- We lost our THREE best players from last season
- We have not had a true PG since Bazz left, though Adams is very much on the verge
- We have been ravaged by injuries this year
- We have one upperclassman in the backcourt, and he is one of the most frustrating in UConn history
- Our upperclassmen project bigs have developed into serviceable players, but nothing more than that
- Recruiting has improved each season in spite of some big misses
Results-wise, this year is the bottom. In terms of stabilizing the program for the long haul, the bottom was the 2014 recruiting class and it's been steadily upward since then. Just have to have some patience and perspective.
I admittedly mischaracterized Facey as a top 50 recruit, but labeling him a "fringe" 100 recruit is probably steering things too far back the other way. He was relatively low on ESPN, but he was NYC POY and the consensus was that he was a legitimate four star prospect. Looking on rivals, he was 66th, and virtually every player ranked in that same vicinity who played for a reputable coach - Bronson Koenig, Kris Jenkins, Frank Mason, Josh Hart, Kennedy Meeks, V.J. Beachem, Nate Britt, Steve Vasturia, etc. - are currently playing big roles on top teams. That kid should be better by this point, especially considering how much promise he showed early in his sophomore year.
Adams, I think I characterized fairly. By no means am I under the illusion that he is a pure point, but he was recruited here to be a lead guard and actually, is well on his way to being an all-American type player. He's the least of our problems, just like I thought Bazz - despite the teams struggles - was the least of our problems in 2012. No complaints here. This kid is going to be the next great Husky.
There are plenty of places to cut Ollie slack. Nobody could have foreseen Omar's career being derailed by health problems in the manner that it was. Nobody could have expected the team to contend nationally in '15 with Cassell, Samuel, and Nolan playing big minutes. Some of the misses on the trail - Jordan Bell, Tyler Dorsey, Larrier the first time around, Briscoe, Stone, etc. - were purely random and there was probably nothing that could have been done to prevent them.
That in mind, the '14 recruiting class that brought in two five stars - Hamilton and Purvis - is only the disaster it is now in hindsight because neither of those guys made the impact that we hoped they would. Hell, Phil Nolan was a fairly coveted, albeit modest prospect who was the same player as a sophomore as he was as a senior. That has to fall on Ollie. Brimah is virtually an identical case study, though he has improved in some areas. The 2015 team started Boatright, Purvis, Hamilton, Facey, and Brimah and brought plenty of experienced, winning players off the bench. To not reach .500 in a league like the AAC is difficult to rationalize.
This year, you lost two games to low-majors with a full team. Then you got blown off the court by an ordinary Oklahoma State team before Larrier went down. Then you around with a team like Auburn, who, theoretically, should be way further behind in the building process. The injuries suck, but they could have been overcome if our seniors developed like they should have. It's too early to give up on Enoch, but he's half way through his sophomore year now and he's still a huge project. Jackson and Vital are freshman, but freshman who would have been capable of playing a role on a veteran-laden team.
He has routinely been handled by guys like Dunphy who take those same three star guys that we consider reaches and turn them into good players.
Please understand, though, that I'm using a high bar here. I didn't expect him to reach that bar by this point, and nobody should. That he is behind great, veteran coaches is kind of natural. Comparing him to other young coaches like Smart, Hurley, Pastner, etc., he is clearly ahead. It would be a big mistake to think that this isn't a process.
Jeff GoodmanVerified account@GoodmanESPN
