Bilas: Top 10 coaches on the hotseat

[RayRay19]

7. Kevin Ollie (Connecticut)/Chris Walker (Texas Tech) -- Both Ollie and Walker were placed in similarly uninspiring situations during the offseason. After Jim Calhoun retired, Ollie signed a one-year contract to coach a Huskies team that lost top talents Jeremy Lamb, Andre Drummond, Roscoe Smith and Alex Oriakhi and will not compete in the postseason due to a subpar Academic Progress Rate score. After former head coach Billy Gillispie’s messy offseason exit, Walker inherited a Texas Tech squad that earned one Big 12 victory last season (1-17). Neither Ollie nor Walker is promised anything beyond this season. And their circumstances will limit their abilities to turn their “temporary” tags into permanent ones.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...66508/top-ten-coaches-feeling-pressure-to-win

 

[uconnfan68]

7. Kevin Ollie (Connecticut)/Chris Walker (Texas Tech) -- Both Ollie and Walker were placed in similarly uninspiring situations during the offseason. After Jim Calhoun retired, Ollie signed a one-year contract to coach a Huskies team that lost top talents Jeremy Lamb, Andre Drummond, Roscoe Smith and Alex Oriakhi and will not compete in the postseason due to a subpar Academic Progress Rate score. After former head coach Billy Gillispie’s messy offseason exit, Walker inherited a Texas Tech squad that earned one Big 12 victory last season (1-17). Neither Ollie nor Walker is promised anything beyond this season. And their circumstances will limit their abilities to turn their “temporary” tags into permanent ones.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebask...66508/top-ten-coaches-feeling-pressure-to-win

And to think I used to give Jay credit for knowing what the real story was...

 

[rbny1]

I don't think KO is on the hot seat. He enters the season with a lot of goodwill among the players and fans and will, IMO, get a multi-year contract so long as he doesn't screw up badly. My hope is that he will emerge over the next few years, with a little experience under his belt, as one of the best coaches in college BB and will be our coach for the next 20 or 30 years.

 

[MCNPA]

I don't think KO is on the hot seat. He enters the season with a lot of goodwill among the players and fans and will, IMO, get a multi-year contract so long as he doesn't screw up badly. My hope is that he will emerge over the next few years, with a little experience under his belt, as one of the best coaches in college BB and will be our coach for the next 20 or 30 years.

Any coach who is given a one year contract is by definition on the hot seat. IMO, a contract like that is incredibly stupid in just about every way. You can't judge Ollie's performance in just one season with JC's team. Any new coach needs a few years to recruit and make their own mark with their recruits. He inherits a Uconn team with little frontcourt which is unenviable to say the least. He really can't be judged by this year's performance.

A one year contract also handcuffs the coaching in trying to recruit talent. Most top kids arent going to consider a program with a brand new coach who has never coached at this level, with no contract past this season.

A much smarter move IMO would have been to give him a 3 year contract with a favorable buyout and problem is solved.

 

[Kitaman]

To outsiders he is on the hot seat. To them he must perform or else.

We insiders (or at least I) believe he will get a pass this season ironically for the very reasons Jay mentioned. Ollie benefiting from JC endorsement and who is a UConn family alum; as long as his team is competitive, stays out of trouble, does not lose every game, and gains respect from his staff/players, he will be given an extension. Ollie can do that easily.

 

[ctchamps]

And to think I used to give Jay credit for knowing what the real story was...

When KO was announced as the new head coach and the contract was publicized, Jay Bilas was critical of the contract. He publicly stated at the time of the announcement that the contract would impact recruiting and was unfair to KO given the circumstances surrounding the team.

This current statement does not indicate a change of position by Jay. It is suggestive that KO is not getting a decent opportunity to prove himself to WM and therefore he is on the hot seat.

 

[freescooter]

Any coach who is given a one year contract is by definition on the hot seat. IMO, a contract like that is incredibly stupid in just about every way. You can't judge Ollie's performance in just one season with JC's team. Any new coach needs a few years to recruit and make their own mark with their recruits. He inherits a Uconn team with little frontcourt which is unenviable to say the least. He really can't be judged by this year's performance.

A one year contract also handcuffs the coaching in trying to recruit talent. Most top kids arent going to consider a program with a brand new coach who has never coached at this level, with no contract past this season.

A much smarter move IMO would have been to give him a 3 year contract with a favorable buyout and problem is solved.

Oh yeah you can. You'll know by season's end whether there is any prayer as to whether he'll be a good coach or not. Whether most UConn fans will be willing to admit it if he isn't cutting it, that is a different question.

 

[Husky68]

Oh yeah you can. You'll know by season's end whether there is any prayer as to whether he'll be a good coach or not. Whether most UConn fans will be willing to admit it if he isn't cutting it, that is a different question.

So once you determine whether he has "any prayer as to whether he'll be a good coach or not"; what do you do? Small prayer you give him a six month extension; bigger prayer you give him a year? At what level of prayer to you cut him lose (<5% maybe) and at what prayer level do you give him a standard 3 year deal (>80% maybe); what do you do at the prayer level in between?

 

[caw]

It's completely fair to say he is on the hot seat, he has a seven month audition.

Most of the others on the list are on the hot seat because they have proven they are mediocre coaches at their current locations (Howland aside - he is there because it is a blue blood school that demands results which he hasn't fulfilled in the past few years, he was pretty darn good the first few).

Ollie is on the list for a completely different reason. It's not due to anyone knowing he is a mediocre coach, but rather not knowing what he can do. Manuel has put him on the hot seat, fair or not.

 

[Palatine]

A one year deal is an instant hot seat.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

And to think I used to give Jay credit for knowing what the real story was...

NOT Bilas . . .
Top 10: Coaches feeling pressure to win

November, 7, 2012
Nov 7
10:40
AM ET
By Myron Medcalf | ESPN.com

 

[UConn3432]

Definitely not bilas. This guy put tubby #1 because he came from the Minneapolis star tribune, nobody else cares anout minny hoops. Should've been howland #1 after the last few years and bad press this past year.

 

[freescooter]

So once you determine whether he has "any prayer as to whether he'll be a good coach or not"; what do you do? Small prayer you give him a six month extension; bigger prayer you give him a year? At what level of prayer to you cut him lose (<5% maybe) and at what prayer level do you give him a standard 3 year deal (>80% maybe); what do you do at the prayer level in between?

Pretty simple really. If he shows enough to convince you he'll be successful very soon, you give him an extension. If you don't see evidence that he'll succeed quickly you thank him for his service and get the next guy quickly. I have said again and again that I think a better than .500 record is needed to get an extension, but every time I write that I hear from others who say there should be no such standard. Wins don't matter. Only playing hard or some other undefinable term matters. To me, this is UConn, not Indiana State. We can't have a basketball coach who isn't going to get us back to a very high level of competitiveness very quickly.

 

[caw]

Pretty simple really. If he shows enough to convince you he'll be successful very soon, you give him an extension. If you don't see evidence that he'll succeed quickly you thank him for his service and get the next guy quickly. I have said again and again that I think a better than .500 record is needed to get an extension, but every time I write that I hear from others who say there should be no such standard. Wins don't matter. Only playing hard or some other undefinable term matters. To me, this is UConn, not Indiana State. We can't have a basketball coach who isn't going to get us back to a very high level of competitiveness very quickly.

I somewhat agree, .500 should be doable. I don't think it should be a hard and fast standard though. Flukes and injuries have to be taken into account.

For me the effort standard only comes into play for games where the other team has undeniably more talent or is vastly favored. I do expect full effort even in these cases and regardless of score.

 

[ctchamps]

Pretty simple really. If he shows enough to convince you he'll be successful very soon, you give him an extension. If you don't see evidence that he'll succeed quickly you thank him for his service and get the next guy quickly. I have said again and again that I think a better than .500 record is needed to get an extension, but every time I write that I hear from others who say there should be no such standard. Wins don't matter. Only playing hard or some other undefinable term matters. To me, this is UConn, not Indiana State. We can't have a basketball coach who isn't going to get us back to a very high level of competitiveness very quickly.

What is your position about HFC PP?

 

[freescooter]

I somewhat agree, .500 should be doable. I don't think it should be a hard and fast standard though. Flukes and injuries have to be taken into account.

For me the effort standard only comes into play for games where the other team has undeniably more talent or is vastly favored. I do expect full effort even in these cases and regardless of score.

Well, sure if Calhoun and Boatright both go down, for example, winning 8 games might be an accomplishment. But you don't assume injuries. But I assume we won't have devestating injuries. But if UConn can't win 16 games, I think that will make it pretty clear that Ollie isn't up to the task.

 

[willie99]

don't they know "we" determine who is on the hot seat or not

well, collectively we many have some influence

 

[freescooter]

What is your position about HFC PP?

Not sure what it as to do with Ollie, but I think Pasquoloni has proven to be an awful choice. I didn't think so initially, and I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt last year given the changes he was making, and the fact that he needed to replace two key guys and the backups left for various reasons, and frankly, because it is football which is a different animal than basketball in terms of what and how you build a team. It can take 3-5 years to build a team. But I think this year he has proven he is the wrong guy for the job as the team has gone backwards. And if I were the AD I'd replace him at the end of the season. If he stays, I would insist that he replace his offensive coordinator, his receiver coach and likely his special teams coach. Two of those are areas where UConn has taken major steps backward. The third is one where we haven't produce with the same coach for several years. Again, football is a different animal. And UConn football is starting at a lower place than UConn basketball. I thought it was possible we'd see a step back last year and we did. But we shouldn't keep going back this year. Time for a new coach. And for the record, I think we're going to see a step back under Ollie this year in basketball. But the question is how much of a step back is acceptable. I say a 500 season when you consider that there are really 8-9 games on the schedule that are almost automatic wins...I mean if we lose to Vermont, that is comparable to losing a football game to Umass or Fordham.

 

[ctchamps]

Not sure what it as to do with Ollie, but I think Pasquoloni has proven to be an awful choice. I didn't think so initially, and I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt last year given the changes he was making, and the fact that he needed to replace two key guys and the backups left for various reasons, and frankly, because it is football which is a different animal than basketball in terms of what and how you build a team. It can take 3-5 years to build a team. But I think this year he has proven he is the wrong guy for the job as the team has gone backwards. And if I were the AD I'd replace him at the end of the season. If he stays, I would insist that he replace his offensive coordinator, his receiver coach and likely his special teams coach. Two of those are areas where UConn has taken major steps backward. The third is one where we haven't produce with the same coach for several years. Again, football is a different animal. And UConn football is starting at a lower place than UConn basketball. I thought it was possible we'd see a step back last year and we did. But we shouldn't keep going back this year. Time for a new coach. And for the record, I think we're going to see a step back under Ollie this year in basketball. But the question is how much of a step back is acceptable. I say a 500 season when you consider that there are really 8-9 games on the schedule that are almost automatic wins...I mean if we lose to Vermont, that is comparable to losing a football game to Umass or Fordham.

It has everything to do with Ollie. I want both coaches be to judged in a similar manner. Using your contention that it takes 3-5 years to build a team in football, as opposed to bb which probably only takes two years, I would argue that it is less critical to fire a bb coach after one losing season than a football coach. PP has coached two seasons and both seasons are losing seasons. By your calculations the football team may take another 5 years (worse case scenario) plus the two dismal seasons PP coached for a total of 7 potential bad seasons before becoming decent. If KO is given the same opportunity that you supported for PP and turns out to be as bad as PP after the second season, then UConn is four years removed from success.

You defend PP because he had to replace two key guys on the football team but you won't accommodate KO who was given a team without a viable 4 or 5.

I'm against your double standard, not your arguments. Personally I want to give PP the third year because I agree with you football takes 3- 5 years to prove things. I would give KO two more years because a bb coach needs two years to prove himself. I wouldn't count this season because recruiting might have been impacted by the short contract.

 

[UCONNfan1]

FWIW I don't disagree that he's on the "hotseat" since he only has a 1 year contract and is basically interviewing for his future this entire season. I'm not convinced he's going to land any top 100 kids in recruiting battles any time soon. Perhaps in the spring he might get in with someone who was over looked but a quality player.

I'm not so sure win-loss numbers are what will determine if he's extended or not. I think effort, improvement, and if the team manages any surprise wins during the season. How hard they play for Ollie, and how the team looks in March vs. how they look now.

 

[HuskyHawk]

FWIW I don't disagree that he's on the "hotseat" since he only has a 1 year contract and is basically interviewing for his future this entire season. I'm not convinced he's going to land any top 100 kids in recruiting battles any time soon. Perhaps in the spring he might get in with someone who was over looked but a quality player.

I'm not so sure win-loss numbers are what will determine if he's extended or not. I think effort, improvement, and if the team manages any surprise wins during the season. How hard they play for Ollie, and how the team looks in March vs. how they look now.

It won't be about W-L. He has never been a head coach. He needs to show he's not incompetent and he will get a longer deal. In that next deal he needs to win.

What a bunch a babies. Most people are employed at will and can be fired every minute of every day. Having any contract for employment is a cushy deal by comparison.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[MCNPA]

A 1-year contract can't really even be looked at as a contract at all. It's essentially an interim label without actually calling it such. There are no coaches with 1-year contracts except Ollie. If he's the only one in D1 without anything that carries a few years, he can't recruit at a high level.

Add to that the issue that Uconn is replacing the entire frontcourt and I don't see it as any sort of recipe for supporting the young and inexperienced coach. More than half the battle is recruiting and that rug has already been pulled from underneath him. What can Ollie possibly do in this scenario? I'm not sure, but it's not enviable.

 

[orangehomer]

based on the timing that calhoun left, there was only 4 options as far as i can tell:

1) name an assistant other than ollie as interim coach, making it clear that ollie is not a candidate and then perform a national search in the spring. this is probably a non-starter, as it would piss off more people than it is worth between calhoun, ollie, and the fanbase.

2) name ollie interim coach, with a chance to compete for the position in the spring. this option doesn't instill much confidence in ollie, tags him with the dreaded "interim" label, and probably pisses off calhoun anyway.

3) ollie gets 1-year contract. to me this option is hedging between giving ollie a vote of confidence, and trying not to piss off calhoun. i understand the move politically, but it leaves the program in a bit of limbo because there is no clear way to establish success parameters for an extension, outside of the extremes. like if ollie wins 25+ or wins less than 5, both of which are very unlikely, the middle is nothing but gray.

4) commit to ollie and give him a real contract. to me this is the most logical choice, it keeps calhoun happy and likely keeps him around to at least help guide the program through conference realignment. ollie gives the best shot at some continuity, and what is the worst thing that can happen; basically that he stinks and you fire him and start over anyway.

in summary, i think the one-year contract was an olive branch to try to keep calhoun happy, and may be a safe move unless ollie turns out to be mediocre and manuel doesn't extend the contract. the worst case scenario is that ollie does decent enough to not suck, and manueal decides not to extend him in which case you wasted year on ollie and still have a pissed off calhoun. in that scenario manuel should have ripped off the bandaid and gone for option 1, pissed calhoun off from the start, and then tried to win him back.

 

[metsfan2323]

Ollie getting the extension is a layup. The only thing that can bring him down is a scandal which won't happen. The decision to give him a one year deal was asinine because history will show that all it did was injure the program's recruiting efforts. Warde's first major decision as AD was an epic brain fart.

Too add to the stink it appears that Warde thinks P needs at least three years to teach zone blocking.

 

[sledog]

What is perplexing on this issue is, given JC's political local resources, why the AD wasn't told to f#####k-off if he didn't pull the line with a multi-year contract?? That would solve the ?? issue.

 

[freescooter]

Ollie in some way isn't the problem. The true problem was Jim Calhoun. He left the program in shambles with NCAA issues all over the place. And he left 2 weeks before practice started putting the AD in an impossible position. Even so, Kevin Ollie got an opportunity he hadn't earned, but to assume he gets to keep the job without demonstrating some capacity to succeed (i.e. wn basketball games) is just foolish.

 

[freescooter]

It has everything to do with Ollie. I want both coaches be to judged in a similar manner. Using your contention that it takes 3-5 years to build a team in football, as opposed to bb which probably only takes two years, I would argue that it is less critical to fire a bb coach after one losing season than a football coach. PP has coached two seasons and both seasons are losing seasons. By your calculations the football team may take another 5 years (worse case scenario) plus the two dismal seasons PP coached for a total of 7 potential bad seasons before becoming decent. If KO is given the same opportunity that you supported for PP and turns out to be as bad as PP after the second season, then UConn is four years removed from success.

You defend PP because he had to replace two key guys on the football team but you won't accommodate KO who was given a team without a viable 4 or 5.

I'm against your double standard, not your arguments. Personally I want to give PP the third year because I agree with you football takes 3- 5 years to prove things. I would give KO two more years because a bb coach needs two years to prove himself. I wouldn't count this season because recruiting might have been impacted by the short contract.

I', not defending Pasqualoni. I said if it were up to me I'd fire him after this year. How's that defending him? Last season, given the nature of the game of football I was willing to give him a pass. And here's another difference...Pasqualoni has a track record. He has produced some very good football teams. Ollie has ziltch. I'm sorry but the days are long passed when UConn is a place where you can come to learn your craft.We're not in the Yankee Conference anymore. You do that in the MAAC, the A-10, the Horizon, the NEC. I'm even willing to concede that in 10 years Ollie could well be a very good coach. The problem is, if we wait for that, UConn will be an afterthought.

 

[ctchamps]

I', not defending Pasqualoni. I said if it were up to me I'd fire him after this year. How's that defending him? Last season, given the nature of the game of football I was willing to give him a pass. And here's another difference...Pasqualoni has a track record. He has produced some very good football teams. Ollie has ziltch. I'm sorry but the days are long passed when UConn is a place where you can come to learn your craft.We're not in the Yankee Conference anymore. You do that in the MAAC, the A-10, the Horizon, the NEC. I'm even willing to concede that in 10 years Ollie could well be a very good coach. The problem is, if we wait for that, UConn will be an afterthought.

PP proves that track records mean zilch. Are you saying the football program can never rise again post PP? Of course not. PP is a setback which can be overcome with the right coach. The same applies to UConn men's bb. Ollie deserves the opportunity to prove himself whether you are anyone else feels his opportunity was wrongly gained. Kevin did not put a gun to WM's or JC's head to get the opportunity. He was/is a pawn in these events.

Even if the worst case scenario took place, that is KO was given a three year contract and failed by your standards, that would not be the end of the bb program. He could be fired after three years, and the person replacing him would only have a slight disadvantage from the opportunity he could have had if KO were never hired.