Caron Butler on how former players view UConn

[Dogdeacon]

He doesn't side step anything and knows how it worked at UCONN. The hypocrisy stinks. These players know; they were insiders.

There is no hypocrisy and people act as if UConn took back the $ that Ollie was paid for the multiple years when he wasn't doing his job which resulted in violations and a deteriorating program that had no chance of success and was in fact driven into certain failure.
I think I can sum up the key difference:
Calhoun - IF he committed violations, they were more of the Belichick variety. Calhoun was always looking for every possible advantage to win, pushed the limits, put the success of UConn basketball as the #1 priority and then tried to color within the lines on the rest if possible or if doing so was common practice at other competitive NCAA D1 programs. And he built up an infrastructure that supported & maintained a major D1 basketball powerhouse. If or when Calhoun bent or broke NCAA rules, even if willingly, it was in an effort to get the best possible players on the court for UConn.

Ollie - Violations occurred because of a lack of attention to detail, poor management & not caring enough. Yet he WAS PAID in full for years of not doing his job. To say that he somehow deserves to get paid for a future years of a contract that he violated, didn't fulfill and for work & years he didn't coach is throwing good money after bad. Ollie inherited a functioning team and program (basketball operations) and eventually ruined both. When Ollie broke the rules it was grossly negligent - routine violations occurred because of not knowing NCAA rules well enough, not diligently policing and failure to follow even relatively simple rules. These were one of the many byproducts of gross mismanagement, bad coaching and neglecting to steward a once great basketball program.

You can not fix the fundamental problem with money; the basketball program issues which resulted in losing are being corrected through the effort of rebuilding and fixing what was mismanaged in the program. That is exactly what they are doing. Throwing money at Ollie won't accomplish a single thing beyond silencing those that fail to see or take responsibility for Ollie's gross negligence. Once the program is competitive again those that care first about UConn will come around.

 

[Huskybass]

I literally gave that book to my son for Christmas. I want to read it when he is done.

 

[8893]

I literally gave that book to my son for Christmas. I want to read it when he is done.

In honor of @freescooter, maybe you should just burn in front of your son instead and tell him "This is how we treat ungrateful traitors."

 

[Kathy]

I literally gave that book to my son for Christmas. I want to read it when he is done.

Awesome book!

 

[Waquoit]

I'm a UConn fan first. These guys are fans of their guys more than they are UConn fans. So I get it. I completely disagree with them. And while I don't "hate" them by any means, my love is not as strong.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

As soon as I saw KO trying to fit Sterling Gibbs in the PG spot, I knew the tide had turned. Nothing ever felt "right" after that.

Really? That was the moment for you? Seems like revisionist history.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Calhoun - IF he committed violations, they were more of the Belichick variety. Calhoun was always looking for every possible advantage to win, pushed the limits, put the success of UConn basketball as the #1 priority and then tried to color within the lines on the rest if possible or if doing so was common practice at other competitive NCAA D1 programs. And he built up an infrastructure that supported & maintained a major D1 basketball powerhouse. If or when Calhoun bent or broke NCAA rules, even if willingly, it was in an effort to get the best possible players on the court for UConn.

Ollie - Violations occurred because of a lack of attention to detail, poor management & not caring enough. Yet he WAS PAID in full for years of not doing his job. To say that he somehow deserves to get paid for a future years of a contract that he violated, didn't fulfill and for work & years he didn't coach is throwing good money after bad. Ollie inherited a functioning team and program (basketball operations) and eventually ruined both. When Ollie broke the rules it was grossly negligent - routine violations occurred because of not knowing NCAA rules well enough, not diligently policing and failure to follow even relatively simple rules. These were one of the many byproducts of gross mismanagement, bad coaching and neglecting to steward a once great basketball program.

God this place is great.

 

[Madmannsucks]

It's not okay for anyone to make comments about any of our former legendary players but it's okay for people to allude to our legendary coach as a cheater. Got it.

I am not in my posts referring to JC. I am referring to the overall atmosphere in college sports.

 

[Madmannsucks]

I think about my youthful transgressions. One after another. B and E, drugs, kicked out of school, ect, ect....One day someone reached out to me.....I have lived a pretty good life mentoring, raising responsible kids. Glad I am not defined by my life before adulthood.

 

[Waquoit]

I think about my youthful transgressions. One after another. B and E, drugs, kicked out of school, ect, ect....One day someone reached out to me.....I have lived a pretty good life mentoring, raising responsible kids. Glad I am not defined by my life before adulthood.

Caron is still amazing. I'm gonna put that guy on ignore.

 

[Huskybass]

Really? That was the moment for you? Seems like revisionist history.

No, it's the absolute truth. I had season tickets that year and could just feel that things were very off. You can chose not to believe me, I really don't care.

 

[BFieldHusky]

No, it's the absolute truth. I has season tickets that year and could just feel that things were very off. You can chose not to believe me, I really don't care.

That year was so frustrating. We should have been a 2nd weekend tournament team, not a bubble team. Felt like KO didn't use Gibbs, Adams or Miller right.

Then again, we would take the type of season right now!

 

[businesslawyer]

God this place is great.

Thank you. Unbelievable 2020 American "analysis" that you were responding to. "Everything my guy does wrong isn't really wrong and if it is there was good reason for it, but your guy is the devil."

 

[superjohn]

I am not in my posts referring to JC. I am referring to the overall atmosphere in college sports.

Other people in the thread are referring to Calhoun.

 

[CL82]

Jim Calhoun is a diety at UCONN, that said, the condition he left the program in was less than ideal to say the least. The conference move, KO's divorce, broken rules, all contributed to the situation, but dropping the entire blame on KO is unfair, bad coach that he ended as.

As I've said before, I don't think anyone other than Ollie gets us the 2014 championship, including 2014 Calhoun. That said, everything that happened afterward falls squarely on Kevin's shoulders.

The real question is what happens after the arbitration decision. I'd love for that to end things but given how things have gone so far, I have my doubts.

 

[8893]

The real question is what happens after the arbitration decision.

He will be reinstated as our coach, just to make everyone equally miserable.

 

[CL82]

I think about my youthful transgressions. One after another. B and E, drugs, kicked out of school, ect, ect....One day someone reached out to me.....I have lived a pretty good life mentoring, raising responsible kids. Glad I am not defined by my life before adulthood.

Great book. I think there was talk about doing a movie with Micheal B. Jordan as Caron for a while. I'm not sure what happen with that.

 

[CL82]

He will be reinstated as our coach, just to make everyone equally miserable.

Well his representation initially said that Hurley's hiring was invalid because KO wasn't fired until the arbitration was over so...

 

[8893]

Well his representation initially said that Hurley's hiring was invalid because KO wasn't fired until the arbitration was over so...

Maybe co-head coaches?

 

[CL82]

Maybe co-head coaches?

Kind of a Remember the Titans kind of thing?

 

[UCDaveD]

Really - that must be why Hurley invited him to come talk to the team. Hurley must love having irrelevant people talk to his players.

Missed the mark again, Karen. Coaches have old heads talk to their current team all the time. I’m talking about 15, 16, 17 year old recruits who don’t currently have any association with UConn. Kids who were still pooping their diapers when Tuff Juice was entering the league. His words on the situation at hand hold little weight to them, I’d wager.

 

[Kathy]

Missed the mark again, Karen. Coaches have old heads talk to their current team all the time. I’m talking about 15, 16, 17 year old recruits who don’t currently have any association with UConn. Kids who were still pooping their diapers when Tuff Juice was entering the league. His words on the situation at hand hold little weight to them, I’d wager.

Wrong again - one of the strengths for UConn recruiting is its history in the NCAA and in the NBA. Hurley would be a fool not to use former NBA greats that attended UConn while talking to recruits and their parents. So those UConn greats need to be on the university's side.

 

[Husky25]

Jim Calhoun is a diety at UCONN, that said, the condition he left the program in was less than ideal to say the least. The conference move, KO's divorce, broken rules, all contributed to the situation, but dropping the entire blame on KO is unfair, bad coach that he ended as.

What role did Calhoun play in Ollie's divorce?

 

[Madmannsucks]

What role did Calhoun play in Ollie's divorce?

What is the point to this question. Clearly not what was said here.

 

[UCDaveD]

Hurley would be a fool not to use former NBA greats that attended UConn while talking to recruits and their parents.

Use them how? Caron can’t change the fact that he attended UConn. Hurley can still point to Caron as a former NBA great to come out of the university in his recruiting pitch. Where does Caron being mad at UConn hurt recruiting? Because we’re unlikely to see him sitting court side anytime soon? Big deal.