Chasing Ghosts: Calhoun looms large, but clouds parting at UConn

[BFieldHusky]

The Big East gives them more of a chance, but I think four national championships in 19 years is probably unattainable for as long as college basketball exists. What Calhoun did was unparalleled and likely won't be seen again at this level. But unlike some of the other programs we've discussed in this series, it wasn't that long ago that UConn was a March factor every season.

The Huskies have won two national championships and been to three Final Fours in the past 10 years. The past four years of Kevin Ollie's tenure were poor and Hurley struggled during his first season in Storrs, but I don't think things are too far gone for UConn as a program. Hurley is an outstanding coach who turned around two programs prior to coming to UConn -- but it didn't happen overnight at either Wagner or Rhode Island. He needs more time.

I do think the attention UConn's move to the Big East generated on a national scale shows that this is a program that still resonates nationally, that still has plenty of cachet built up in college basketball.

Chasing Ghosts: Calhoun looms large, but clouds parting at UConn

Jim Calhoun created a national power at UConn. The Huskies find themselves at a crossroads as they attempt to fortify what he built.

www.espn.com

 

[kansashusky]

Every national writer/voice has suggested that UConns move to the NBE will yield wonderful recruiting results and help get the program back on track.

We seem to be in a good position with multiple prospects; now we need to get them to campus and close the deal!

 

[NJHoops]

Appreciate Borzello providing some accurate context to what was going on at URI, both before and during Hurley’s time there.

 

[Towney007]

Ironically - the take that's quoted was probably the most pessimistic one in the whole piece, I thought.

 

[Guapo]

Really a glowing report!

If y’all have been following this series, the general vibe has been very pessimistic.

 

[bendm]

if espn was being vindictive by including us in this series at the last minute then it backfired.

overall a positive/optimistic article

 

[mauconnfan]

Geez even Lunardi has us on the bubble in March already huh? Ok well kind of

Good read thanks for posting.

 

[Guapo]

Here’s something else to consider with the move to the Big East:

Worst case scenario: Hurley fails. UConn will still be a very attractive job (as long we’re willing to pay).

In the AAC, it felt like he needed to succeed or else UConn would be done forever.

 

[tcf15]

Quite the quote from KO in 2014. Damn.

"I don't know if you've been around our program but I'm my own man. [Calhoun] has been a great resource for us. He's an ambassador. He built this program. So I'd be a fool not to use him. But at the end of the day I have to make my decision on what I think is best." -- Kevin Ollie in 2014.

 

[gampelcrazies]

Quite the quote from KO in 2014. Damn.

"I don't know if you've been around our program but I'm my own man. [Calhoun] has been a great resource for us. He's an ambassador. He built this program. So I'd be a fool not to use him. But at the end of the day I have to make my decision on what I think is best." -- Kevin Ollie in 2014.

How did that work out for KO

 

[WrenchFan69]

"it probably would have been 0-for-4 were it not for a 70-foot Jalen Adams miracle that saved the Huskies in the 2016 AAC tournament."

They're still holding onto this take huh

 

[Mano]

Still irks me every time I read how we left the Big East...

 

[Marat]

"it probably would have been 0-for-4 were it not for a 70-foot Jalen Adams miracle that saved the Huskies in the 2016 AAC tournament."

They're still holding onto this take huh

Yeah it makes it more dramatic ....

 

[Marat]

Quite the quote from KO in 2014. Damn.

"I don't know if you've been around our program but I'm my own man. [Calhoun] has been a great resource for us. He's an ambassador. He built this program. So I'd be a fool not to use him. But at the end of the day I have to make my decision on what I think is best." -- Kevin Ollie in 2014.

The quote that defined his Rise & Fall .

 

[Guapo]

How did that work out for KO

 

[HooperScooper]

Really a glowing report!

If y’all have been following this series, the general vibe has been very pessimistic.

If you look at the teams that were in this series the only ones who won a national championship after "the ghost" left are UConn, UNC and UCLA. Most of the other teams have been a wreck for a long period of time after the iconic coach left. So UConn seems to be in much better shape than most of these programs.

 

[gwhuskyfan]

Like this bit from Lundardi:

Lunardi: All due respect to Rhode Island, but Hurley wasn't selling four NCAA titles and the overall UConn legacy in Kingston. He's going to get good players, they're going to play hard, and Hurley will be a thorn in the side of his new Big East brethren. The move back to the Big East is also a return to roots for Hurley, who managed a 1,000-point career of his own at Seton Hall. UConn can be a bubble team as quickly as this coming March, and a Bracketology fixture after that.

 

[Wordbomar]

To be honest, this is pretty well done. I think the consensus is that we are about to turn the corner heading into Hurley Year 3/Entering the Big East Year 1. Hopefully this truly is the start of our rise again

 

[Nebraskan18]

When we land Cam and Andre then Cliff, this will be pushed into..

 

[Chief00]

Quite the quote from KO in 2014. Damn.

"I don't know if you've been around our program but I'm my own man. [Calhoun] has been a great resource for us. He's an ambassador. He built this program. So I'd be a fool not to use him. But at the end of the day I have to make my decision on what I think is best." -- Kevin Ollie in 2014.

Just curious - when in 2014 was that quote? I literally felt the Earth moving under my feet at the F4 that year. It seemed like JC was getting a lot of credit and interviews and KO started to resent it. Perhaps he resented it before but did not feel he had the standing to show it - after all JC got him the job. But, no doubt, from that point forward things changed.
The other thing is he absolutely 100% stopped using him for the 2014/2015 season.

 

[CL82]

Just curious - when in 2014 was that quote? I literally felt the Earth moving under my feet at the F4 that year. It seemed like JC was getting a lot of credit and interviews and KO started to resent it. Perhaps he resented it before but did not feel he had the standing to show it - after all JC got him the job. But, no doubt, from that point forward things changed.

Sad really. I think KO could have been our coach for as long as he wanted if he continued to work hard and be engaged... and if he continued to use JC as a resource. Most coaches would be grateful to have access to that level of wisdom and expertise. Hurley is. He just had Calhoun come in and address the team.

I've said this before but I truly believe that from 2012 - 2014 no one could have done a better job than Kevin. From 2014 on, pretty much anyone could have.

 

[tcf15]

Just curious - when in 2014 was that quote? I literally felt the Earth moving under my feet at the F4 that year. It seemed like JC was getting a lot of credit and interviews and KO started to resent it. Perhaps he resented it before but did not feel he had the standing to show it - after all JC got him the job. But, no doubt, from that point forward things changed.
The other thing is he absolutely 100% stopped using him for the 2014/2015 season.

Guess the quote was from the Monday after the Elite Eight win over Michigan State:

Despite Jim Calhoun's presence, Kevin Ollie insists this is his UConn team
One of the more enduring images of the NCAA Tournament took place Sunday following UConn's win over Michigan State. In the chaos of another Garden win for UConn, Huskies coach Kevin Ollie waved Jim Calhoun down from the stands. Together they embraced at midcourt, a joyous image that conveyed endless harmony in the ongoing relationship between mentor and pupil.

But a day later, Ollie wanted to make it clear the team that will play in the Final Four Saturday in Texas is his team, and his team alone.

"I don't know if you've been around our program but I'm my own man," Ollie said in a conference call with the national media. "(Calhoun) has been a great resource for us. He's an ambassador. He built this program. So I'd be a fool not to use him. But at the end of the day I have to make my decision on what I think is best."

 

[mauconnfan]

The quote that defined his Rise & Fall .

Pretty much it Marat I agree. Not too many words to explain where he lost his way right there.

 

[mauconnfan]

Sad really. I think KO could have been our coach for as long as he wanted if he continued to work hard and be engaged... and if he continue to use JC as a resource. Most coaches would be grateful to have access to that level of wisdom and expertise. Hurley is. He just had Calhoun come in and address the team.

I've said this before by I truly believe that from 2012 - 2014 no one could have done a better job than Kevin. From 2014 on, pretty much anyone could have.

^^^ Spot on ^^^

Sad as hell!

 

[HuskyHawk]

Sad really. I think KO could have been our coach for as long as he wanted if he continued to work hard and be engaged... and if he continue to use JC as a resource. Most coaches would be grateful to have access to that level of wisdom and expertise. Hurley is. He just had Calhoun come in and address the team.

I've said this before by I truly believe that from 2012 - 2014 no one could have done a better job than Kevin. From 2014 on, pretty much anyone could have.

I don't agree that nobody could have done a better job, he wasn't quite that good. But he did a perfectly fine job. I don't think it was just KO distancing himself from Calhoun either. He had George Blaney at the beginning, a very experienced, capable former head coach. Once Kevin committed fully to his own staff and his own way of running a program it went downhill quickly. I'm sure he got tired of JC and GB questioning his approach, which of course is what any good leader needs. Surrounding yourself with yes-men will get you fired every time. Kevin is not the sharpest knife in the box, not by a long-shot. He needed the help.

Edit: forgot to mention Hobbs, another experienced HC, who he had on the bench in 2014.