Awesome Ollie article

[UofCT]

http://mobile.courant.com/p.p?a=rp&m=b&_fromSocial=1&postUserId=47&postId=2161078

 

[Ts5034]

Great article. We need more guys like him to come through the program.

 

[Kitaman]

Wow....nice read. Many coaches couldn't get kids to willingly do that. Ollie's NBA pedigree is the difference. Its obvious the players look up to him.

 

[art4life]

"He would work out 2 ½ hours, and then go to the weight room," Freeman says. "You mention anybody you want, Kobe Bryant? Kevin [Ollie's] workout was tougher. It's 120 percent all the time."

That is awesome!
Thanks for posting.

 

[UConnDan97]

I'm going to be really interested to see how this team plays together next year. Some of the comments by Ollie and the players reflected what I have thought about last year's team; we had a lot of talent last year, but it was clear that there was little chemistry. Sometimes, there is an addition through subtraction, and if these guys bond and gel together, then we could be looking at a very very good team next year!

Go Huskies!!

 

[UConn Hoops1]

Thanks for the post. The first time I met Kevin Ollie was watching games in a summer league at Connecticut College. He,Ray,Kirk King,Donnie Marshall and I'm sure some other UConn guys all played there when they were still in school. Great seats in a small, hot gym; and an "up front and personal" experience of great hoops at break neck speed(and, yes,they played defense). We were able to talk to them after games and get autographs etc.. Kevin was always accessible and great to talk to. I'm certainly not anxious to see JC retire; but I will be VERY disappointed if Kevin doesn't get the job. He is a perfect fit on so many levels from recruiting to tactics to NBA contacts to, most importantly, developing young men to make a life for themselves in the world(with or without the hoops).

GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[husky99]

Twitter
Kendall Smith, 2013 pg
"Just got off the phone with Kevin Ollie from uconn he heka cool"
_________________

seems like the recruits like him also

 

[GemParty]

They are offering a bunch of guards, wonder which one wants Storrs first?! Also, think I read the VTech transfer is zeroing in on other options. Too bad, a transfer like him may have been ideal for our reloading.

 

[Puertorock43]

Warde Manuel should come check out one of ko's work outs and see how hard this kids work for Kevin...maybe that will make up his mind a little quicker about who should be our next coach

 

[Tommyboy]

Funny, Ollie graduated 2 years ahead of me and is 2 years younger than me. Don't think he is 36. Isn't he 40?

 

[UConnDan97]

Funny, Ollie graduated 2 years ahead of me and is 2 years younger than me. Don't think he is 36. Isn't he 40?

I had the same exact thought! I think he has to be at least 38. I'll try to find out the real data on that, because I'm curious now.

Addendum: He is going to be 40 this December:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Ollie

36....40....what's a few years between friends?

 

[freescooter]

The media blitz is on to get Ollie named the next head coach...when Susan Herbst leaves we should probably give the UCONN Presidency to the principal of EO Smith...I heard he runs a tight ship over there, an dhe knows the area real well...

 

[FASTEDDY]

Ollie is a WORKER and there is A LOT TO REALLY LIKE ABOUT HIM AS a future CONN head coach.

I am firmly rooting for him. However, the proof will be in the pudding and on court results will go a long way to determining if he gets the job.

 

[UConnDan97]

There's already plenty to like about him on the recruiting trail and in the gym. For those people who are making fun of those who have already crowned Ollie as the next head coach, I am equally puzzled by those who want to blatantly dismiss him as a candidate.

 

[upstater]

The media blitz is on to get Ollie named the next head coach...when Susan Herbst leaves we should probably give the UCONN Presidency to the principal of EO Smith...I heard he runs a tight ship over there, an dhe knows the area real well...

Do you know Herbst's background? She wasn't a college president before landing the UConn job. She was an assistant, like Ollie.

 

[freescooter]

Do you know Herbst's background? She wasn't a college president before landing the UConn job. She was an assistant, like Ollie.

She was effectively the COO of the Georgia State System...and had other administrative experience in the SUNY system...Ollie has 2 years as a mid-level assistant. Every big name coach wants to name one of his assitants as his successor when he retires, either as a reward for loyalty (Dean Smith) or because he thinks it will continue his legacy (John Thompson, Louie Carnesecca). Those decisions rarely work out and sometimes result in disaster( See Craig Esherick, Brian Mahoney). Fact is that Ollie is not Jim Calhoun, just as Esherick and Mahoney were not Thompson or Louie. They knew how those guys coached. They were both considered great recruitiers for their bosses. But they weren't the same, didn't have the same feel for the game, the same strategic approach nor the same relationships and the results were disasterous...St Johns arguably still hasn't recovered, and Georgetown went 6 years until it brought in JTIII to revive the disaster. And both Mahoney (53-58 career) and Esherick (108-78) had way more experience than Ollie. And both schools had big enough reputations that they could have brought in guys with bigger reputations and more experience...both gave in to the egos of their big name coaches rather than making rational decisions and suffered because of it. Indeed there are those fromGeorgetown who say Thompson simply told Fr Goia that he was leaving and Esherick WOULD replace him...not sure that story is true, but in any case, he clearly forced the issue. Add the overall mediocre record of Calhoun assistants in head coaching jobs (more than half the staff are former assistants who washed out as head coaches elsewhere) and you have to question why you'd let him pick the next head coach.

 

[upstater]

She was effectively the COO of the Georgia State System...and had other administrative experience in the SUNY system...Ollie has 2 years as a mid-level assistant. Every big name coach wants to name one of his assitants as his successor when he retires, either as a reward for loyalty (Dean Smith) or because he thinks it will continue his legacy (John Thompson, Louie Carnesecca). Those decisions rarely work out and sometimes result in disaster( See Craig Esherick, Brian Mahoney). Fact is that Ollie is not Jim Calhoun, just as Esherick and Mahoney were not Thompson or Louie. They knew how those guys coached. They were both considered great recruitiers for their bosses. But they weren't the same, didn't have the same feel for the game, the same strategic approach nor the same relationships and the results were disasterous...St Johns arguably still hasn't recovered, and Georgetown went 6 years until it brought in JTIII to revive the disaster. And both Mahoney (53-58 career) and Esherick (108-78) had way more experience than Ollie. And both schools had big enough reputations that they could have brought in guys with bigger reputations and more experience...both gave in to the egos of their big name coaches rather than making rational decisions and suffered because of it. Indeed there are those fromGeorgetown who say Thompson simply told Fr Goia that he was leaving and Esherick WOULD replace him...not sure that story is true, but in any case, he clearly forced the issue. Add the overall mediocre record of Calhoun assistants in head coaching jobs (more than half the staff are former assistants who washed out as head coaches elsewhere) and you have to question why you'd let him pick the next head coach.

I guarantee you this: the Presidents of top schools more often come from lower positions at other top schools than they do from being President of schools such as Virginia Commonwealth.

And by the way, Ollie doesn't have a mustache.

 

[CL82]

Ollie's got to coach some games this season. If he's a good gameday coach. I'm 90% sold. I like him, a lot, but it's tough to say no if established quality coaches are interested in the job.

 

[freescooter]

I guarantee you this: the Presidents of top schools more often come from lower positions at other top schools than they do from being President of schools such as Virginia Commonwealth.

And by the way, Ollie doesn't have a mustache.

LOL, no...but they usually don't hire a president who was a student until 2 years ago and now is a mid-level assistant in the President's office...don't get the mustache reference...he isn't coaching Pitt football is he?

 

[Pudge]

Tom Izzo.


One of the finest college coaches in the last 15 years is the shining example to refute this idea that Assistants can't. More & more, I think Kevin Ollie can replace Calhoun. That he is special ... and NOT certaintly Esherick or Mahoney. But, frankly, there is no way of knowing a priori. You have to make the leap. And that would go the same if we brought in a Kevin Willard or someone. As the merry-go-round circles, the UConn Program may have a solid candidate with a solid D1a record; more than likely, we take one with some risk.

 

[champs99and04]

Ollie's truly one of Calhoun's best products from an attitude standpoint. You gotta believe he has absorbed an awful lot of material from JC in the six + years he's spent both as a player, and on staff. Even if JC doesn't return for another season, I think Ollie is the perfect guy for this particular group of kids. He's never been the biggest or most talented player, and for a team with a supposedly low ceiling, he's probably the guy to get them to believe that they can go as far as their work ethic carries them.

 

[AfgHusky15]

I am an Ollie supporter for the head coaching position once JC retires. I think JC, having done an unprecedented job at bringing Uconn to the level its at right now, has a pretty good understanding who will best be able to not only replace him but continue uconn's unprecedented rise as one of the nations true blue blood programs...besides say after a couple of years it doesn't work out then we can always hire someone else. We are Uconn, its not just the young kids who have aspiring dreams of playing in the nba that want to come here, its coaches aspiring for legacies and fame (and money).

 

[upstater]

LOL, no...but they usually don't hire a president who was a student until 2 years ago and now is a mid-level assistant in the President's office...don't get the mustache reference...he isn't coaching Pitt football is he?

You don't remember Esherick?

Your analogy is way off, to say the least. The next step after assistant coach is coach.

 

[UConn Hoops1]

I think that you are overlooking a lot re: Kevin. Most importantly, that he is played 13 years in the league for a variety of head coaches with different tactical approaches; AND, he survived and thrived. His contacts in the league are a given. But, his playing experience there is invaluable; and, for that reason alone, makes comparing him to Escherick and Mahoney silly. You simply can't conclude even by implication that UConn would be heading down some slippery slope that they could not recover from. It doesn't wash. No one expects a smooth transition from a Hall of Famer to his replacement; but don't assume that a so-called "national name" would offer you any guarantees. Kevin Ollie makes sense for a number of reasons. UConn wouldn't be taking a huge risk hiring him.

GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[jibsey]

I have been so torn on this but it's impossible not to like and respect KO. Seems like the game coaching is the only thing that we are unsure about. So if he gets the shot and fails, what is the worst case scenario? We go out and get a big name 2 seasons later. He will give us 150%, of that there is no doubt. Give him his shot.