Ashton-Langford, W. Jackson, V. Jackson, Ali, Samuel, Cassell, Lubin, Enoch...

[shizzle787]

Does anyone seriously think that losing a 54 year-old white assistant coach with a bad haircut is the reason current players are leaving and MAL bailed? I don't buy it. You don't play for the assistant, you play for the head coach. Previous posters nailed the MAL situation. Jalen Adams not going pro (good thing because he's not ready), Gilbert redshirting and now being in the same class as MAL plus Chillious potentially bringing Blake was too much competition for MAL to handle. The current players bailing when playing time is plentiful is what has me seriously concerned. We need to know what's going on. JC doesn't seem to have been much of a presence around the team the last couple years. I wonder why?

What does him being white or 54 have to do with anything?

 

[UCweCONN]

What does him being white or 54 have to do with anything?

Relateabilty, my man. Who was our last white recruit? It's just a fact. City kids don't relate to old white coaches. We aren't Duke with Coach K. When you were 17 or 18 did you connect with a lot of 54 year old white men....? Sorry. I hope I didn't strike a nerve.

 

[shizzle787]

Relateabilty, my man. Who was our last white recruit? It's just a fact. City kids don't relate to old white coaches. We aren't Duke with Coach K. When you were 17 or 18 did you connect with a lot of 54 year old white men....? Sorry. I hope I didn't strike a nerve.

Uh...there are plenty of fifty-something white coaches in D-1 that recruit inner city kids.

 

[UCweCONN]

What does him being white or 54 have to do with anything?

So you agree with me about his haircut?

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Relateabilty, my man. Who was our last white recruit? It's just a fact. City kids don't relate to old white coaches. We aren't Duke with Coach K. When you were 17 or 18 did you connect with a lot of 54 year old white men....? Sorry. I hope I didn't strike a nerve.

Maybe they should learn to relate. And since when did Calipari, Roy Williams and Mike White from Forida, become young and black?

 

[uconnever]

Prince Ali College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. We didn't lose anything by not getting Prince Ali.

None of these guys have or will turn out to be anything special.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

We all long for the days Donyell kept Rudy Johnson on bench as freshman. Or when Albert Mouring could get on the court because of Khalid. There were others as well that JC brought along slowly, sometimes too slowly. But now they get to play due to injuries, don't play well, but still leave.

 

[AntG168]

Why revive this thread? It sucks lol

 

[BUConn10]

anyone consider the possibility Cooley has been in MAL's ear this entire time, especially amidst all the transfers and coaching change?

 

[AntG168]

anyone consider the possibility Cooley has been in MAL's ear this entire time, especially amidst all the transfers and coaching change?

I actually think thats likely

 

[Tenspro2002]

anyone consider the possibility Cooley has been in MAL's ear this entire time, especially amidst all the transfers and coaching change?

When the decommit happened, my first thought was that somebody has been talking to this kid behind the scenes.

No idea who, but the way things are playing out it wouldn't surprise me if it were Providence.

 

[UConnNick]

Does anyone seriously think that losing a 54 year-old white assistant coach with a bad haircut is the reason current players are leaving and MAL bailed? I don't buy it. You don't play for the assistant, you play for the head coach. Previous posters nailed the MAL situation. Jalen Adams not going pro (good thing because he's not ready), Gilbert redshirting and now being in the same class as MAL plus Chillious potentially bringing Blake was too much competition for MAL to handle. The current players bailing when playing time is plentiful is what has me seriously concerned. We need to know what's going on. JC doesn't seem to have been much of a presence around the team the last couple years. I wonder why?

Maybe because he has a job as a color commentator for ESPN and is traveling a lot.

 

[Matrim55]

When the decommit happened, my first thought was that somebody has been talking to this kid behind the scenes.

No idea who, but the way things are playing out it wouldn't surprise me if it were Providence.

It's going to be Providence because they're going to put the ball in his hands from the jump, while with us he's third on the PG depth chart.

Remember when we "missed" on Dunn b/c we already had Bazz and Boat? Same thing.

I wish the kid luck and have zero worries about to recruit & develop high-end PGs in the coming years.

 

[champs99and04]

I don't disagree that you need to be bringing in highly ranked players like Hamilton.

The problem was, we got the guy who was a total wet blanket in the locker room and had no predilection to lead, or even to be here.

While I think there may be a point in there somewhere about some of our recent guys not necessarily loving it here, this is more than a bit harsh and really, completely unfounded.

The fact that he no longer wanted to be a student-athlete does not by any stretch mean he never wanted to be here, nor does it mean he was a wet blanket in the locker room. That's just a ridiculous reach at something none of us are privy to.

I don't care if a kid transfers or leaves early or just flat out stops playing basketball. The team, the program, and the school means everything to them while they're here. I'm sure somebody can post the video of the team celebrating with Jalen after the Cincinnati game a year ago. None of that is manufactured and nobody - if they could bottle that one moment in time - would ever find any fault in the purity of it all. It's all the other stuff that causes people to have to make difficult decisions and I think it's unfair to characterize D-Ham as broadly as you are when there is nothing to indicate he didn't invest everything he had while he was here.

 

[champs99and04]

I could see a scenario in which KO's constant preaching of cliches and corny phrases would cause some players to not buy into that and feel like a lack of substance/toughness coming from their head coach. Is that possible?

There are many, many coaches who recycle cliches and corny phrases to the point that their players tune them out.

Kevin Ollie is not one of those. He's probably one of the least corny people you could ever meet.

 

[WrenchFan69]

It's going to be Providence because they're going to put the ball in his hands from the jump, while with us he's third on the PG depth chart.

Remember when we "missed" on Dunn b/c we already had Bazz and Boat? Same thing.

I wish the kid luck and have zero worries about to recruit & develop high-end PGs in the coming years.

Cartwright played very, very well down the stretch for PC last year. No way he's not their starting PG next year. He'll have a better chance to start there than here though

 

[willie99]

players don't like Ollie?

awesome baby, looks like he's morphing into Jim Calhoun

I have no problem with that

 

[joober jones]

We all long for the days Donyell kept Rudy Johnson on bench as freshman. Or when Albert Mouring could get on the court because of Khalid. There were others as well that JC brought along slowly, sometimes too slowly. But now they get to play due to injuries, don't play well, but still leave.

Didn't Rudy Johnson redshirt as a freshman?

 

[traitor71]

The difference is that Haseem Thabeet looked ready to go. Hamilton did not look nor was ready to go. He's playing in the D-League for a reason. He isn't good enough for the NBA. He should have stayed to further develop his game.

I'm not sure staying in college is a better way to develop your game in his case, or many guys case really. I have to believe that not having to worry about classes or practice limitations is an advantage when it comes to working on your game.

 

[King Husky]

players don't like Ollie?

awesome baby, looks like he's morphing into Jim Calhoun

I have no problem with that

As long as they respect him. Great coaches usually elicit a certain sense of fear in their players. Huggins and Popovic are two guys that come to mind that their players love them while still having that slight sense of fear. Calhoun obviously too.

 

[coloradohusky]

I've been out of the loop, why did Durham transfer? PT?

 

[champs99and04]

Cartwright played very, very well down the stretch for PC last year. No way he's not their starting PG next year. He'll have a better chance to start there than here though

It is interesting - if this is indeed about playing time - that he felt more confident competing for minutes at a program that returns virtually everybody from an NCAA tournament team than he did at a program that flamed out and turned over 2/3 of their roster.

I don't buy that this has anything to do with Gilbert. He had to have known there was a good chance Gilbert would be here four years given his size. Either he expected Adams to be gone, he didn't anticipate Vital being this much of a factor, or some combination of Miller leaving/the program sputtering drove him off.

I have to imagine there would have been minutes for him next year, though, and at PC, he'll be competing with Cartwright, Diallo, and White for minutes moving forward.

 

[HooperScooper]

I've been out of the loop, why did Durham transfer? PT?

Never said and no parent commented like with Jackson and Enoch. There were comments from Oz that KO asked him to leave because he didn't work hard enough. Not sure I believe that but who knows.

 

[champs99and04]

Purely speculation, but I think Durham's transfer is as simple as him just not wanting to be here.

 

[wethyhusky]

Purely speculation, but I think Durham's transfer is as simple as him just not wanting to be here.

Or he just wasn't good enough to get PT.