Coach Ollie

[David 76]

Early Season:
We need more rebounds/these guys can't rebound
We need a "bigs" coach
Giffey doesn't get enough minutes, is ignored by teammates/coach
LK needs more minutes
OC needs less minutes
Brimah should be on the bench
We should have continued Wolf's scholarship.
Too much passing around the perimeter until there are 10 seconds left
We should not have "settled" for Ollie

Those that were very critical of Ollie and/or the team have been very quiet. I think he has done a great job of turning this team around, improving the rebounding, improving the defense and offense and developing players.

I was wrong about AB. He has developed much quicker than I thought possible. I think I was right about KO. We are lucky to have him as a coach and as a role model.

What do you think?

 

[Husky Dynasty]

Early Season:
We need more rebounds/these guys can't rebound
We need a "bigs" coach
Giffey doesn't get enough minutes, is ignored by teammates/coach
LK needs more minutes
OC needs less minutes
Brimah should be on the bench
We should have continued Wolf's scholarship.
Too much passing around the perimeter until there are 10 seconds left
We should not have "settled" for Ollie

Those that were very critical of Ollie and/or the team have been very quiet. I think he has done a great job of turning this team around, improving the rebounding, improving the defense and offense and developing players.

I was wrong about AB. He has developed much quicker than I thought possible. I think I was right about KO. We are lucky to have him as a coach and as a role model.

What do you think?

I concur wholeheartedly.

 

[CTBasketball]

We really haven't seen much from the bigs, for they are inconsistent. But I am interested to see how we play against Cincinnati and Louisville.

Every time we play a really good team we forget everything about rebounding, post-scoring, defense, and running a fluent offense. When this team panics, we start launching 3's.

 

[SubbaBub]

We still need more rebounds/these guys can't rebound
We still need a "bigs" coach
Giffey is now getting enough minutes, but is sometimes ignored by teammates/coach. All his production is off broken or effort plays. Getting him 3-4 open looks from 3 should be in the game plan.
LK has received more minutes
OC still needs less minutes, he really is bringing very little right now.
Brimah should be on the bench, was said by no one ever. The context was he shouldn't start if he's going to pick up early fouls. He has improved this in the last few games.
We should have continued Wolf's scholarship was a desperation plea by people who overrated his talent.
Too much passing around the perimeter until there are 10 seconds left is still a problem against good teams or anyone playing zone.
We should not have "settled" for Ollie, was said by no one. All the talk was about WM not giving him a contract sooner.

KO has been rightly lauded by just about everyone it was the players taking heat. He clearly has the ear of his team and this team is improving. However, we are talking about a stretch that includes the worst of the AAC. Had a key player dissappear in a critical game against UL and relies too heavily on one player to hit a high percentage of contested shots. This stretch since the loss to SMU has been as hoped, which is good considering how bad we looked in TX, but hardly a guarantee we end up near the top of the conference. We have 5 of 10 games left vs. the projected NCAA teams. It's unlikely we win out, but I'd like to win 4/5 and 8/10. 25-6 (9-4) is a good way to enter the post season as a 2-3 seed in Memphis and a 5-7 seed in the tourney depending on the AAC result.

 

[pj]

We still need more rebounds/these guys can't rebound
We still need a "bigs" coach
Giffey is now getting enough minutes, but is sometimes ignored by teammates/coach. All his production is off broken or effort plays. Getting him 3-4 open looks from 3 should be in the game plan.
LK has received more minutes
OC still needs less minutes, he really is bringing very little right now.
Brimah should be on the bench, was said by no one ever. The context was he shouldn't start if he's going to pick up early fouls. He has improved this in the last few games.
We should have continued Wolf's scholarship was a desperation plea by people who overrated his talent.
Too much passing around the perimeter until there are 10 seconds left is still a problem against good teams or anyone playing zone.
We should not have "settled" for Ollie, was said by no one. All the talk was about WM not giving him a contract sooner.

KO has been rightly lauded by just about everyone it was the players taking heat. He clearly has the ear of his team and this team is improving. However, we are talking about a stretch that includes the worst of the AAC. Had a key player dissappear in a critical game against UL and relies too heavily on one player to hit a high percentage of contested shots. This stretch since the loss to SMU has been as hoped, which is good considering how bad we looked in TX, but hardly a guarantee we end up near the top of the conference. We have 5 of 10 games left vs. the projected NCAA teams. It's unlikely we win out, but I'd like to win 4/5 and 8/10. 25-6 (9-4) is a good way to enter the post season as a 2-3 seed in Memphis and a 5-7 seed in the tourney depending on the AAC result.

Remains to be seen about the "bigs" coach. If we fail to recruit a big this year, then I think you have to look at whether that is hurting recruiting. If they continue to have difficulty rebounding, then you have to look at the coaching. But for my part, I am sure the coaches know how to coach big men, and we'll continue to see improvements in the play of the big men as the season goes on. The rebounding against Houston was heartening.

I expect the rotation will tighten up as the season progresses and we'll see less of Omar.

The interest in Wolf was not out of desperation, it was just a simple observation that Wolf would have helped this team more than Olander has, more than Calhoun has, and about as much as Nolan has. But, he helps it less than Kromah has, so the trade was a good one for the team. Realistically, it's now clear there was no way to improve the team by keeping Wolf.

The team has to learn how to play better offense now that defenses are taking away individual strengths. They are doing it. Clearly Ollie places more emphasis on offense, less on defense, than Calhoun. I think he wants his players to have fun.

I'd be quite pleased to go 8-2 in the last 10, as long as they continue to show a trajectory of improvement. They will have to continue to improve defense and rebounding.

 

[aceboon]

Remains to be seen about the "bigs" coach. If we fail to recruit a big this year, then I think you have to look at whether that is hurting recruiting. If they continue to have difficulty rebounding, then you have to look at the coaching. But for my part, I am sure the coaches know how to coach big men, and we'll continue to see improvements in the play of the big men as the season goes on. The rebounding against Houston was heartening.

I expect the rotation will tighten up as the season progresses and we'll see less of Omar.

The interest in Wolf was not out of desperation, it was just a simple observation that Wolf would have helped this team more than Olander has, more than Calhoun has, and about as much as Nolan has. But, he helps it less than Kromah has, so the trade was a good one for the team. Realistically, it's now clear there was no way to improve the team by keeping Wolf.

The team has to learn how to play better offense now that defenses are taking away individual strengths. They are doing it. Clearly Ollie places more emphasis on offense, less on defense, than Calhoun. I think he wants his players to have fun.

I'd be quite pleased to go 8-2 in the last 10, as long as they continue to show a trajectory of improvement. They will have to continue to improve defense and rebounding.

I don't get how one could make this observation, I bet if you told KO that he would make the same screwface you often see from him on the bench

 

[mcs333]

We have a bigs coach in miller. Our bigs are making improvements game by game.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Clearly Ollie places more emphasis on offense, less on defense, than Calhoun. I think he wants his players to have fun.

STORRS – After the Huskies lost both games on their Texas trip, coach Kevin Ollie had plenty to criticize. But one thing stood out: defense.

Houston shot 49.1 percent in its victory over UConn on New Year's Eve and Southern Methodist shot 47.2 percent in its Jan. 4 win. "We're not good enough to do that," Ollie said as the Huskies left Dallas on Jan. 4. "One thing we're going to do, we're going to play defense. That's what I hang my hat on."

 

[jdb50]

The past couple of weeks the players have been quoted about the emphasis on defense. Prior to that it was to improve our rebounding which was a real issue and now is showing some consistent improvement.

 

[CTBasketball]

Our defense still sucks at times...

 

[David 76]

Defensive much? People were complaining about not having Wolf, people were complaining about Ollie as coach. I believe someone waned Wolf even after it was explained that with Wolf we have no Brimah. A few of you should really be a little less certain of your infallibility.
Our offense, defense and rebounding are much improved. Do I wish they were better? Yes. Especially rebounding against a good, big team. But I don't think we will excel there with this group. Goal is to make it less of a deficit.

 

[SubbaBub]

Defensive much? People were complaining about not having Wolf, people were complaining about Ollie as coach. I believe someone waned Wolf even after it was explained that with Wolf we have no Brimah. A few of you should really be a little less certain of your infallibility.
Our offense, defense and rebounding are much improved. Do I wish they were better? Yes. Especially rebounding against a good, big team. But I don't think we will excel there with this group. Goal is to make it less of a deficit.

You're the one who started this trolling tread. If stats over Houston and RU fill you with pride, then you'll enjoy the AAC.

The front court at the beginning of the season was horrible. Being better that they were isn't that difficult. They got killed vs. UL. Performing against the better teams is the measuring stick. I hope they measure up well.

 

[Husky68]

We still need more rebounds/these guys can't rebound

We should not have "settled" for Ollie, was said by no one. All the talk was about WM not giving him a contract sooner.

.

How many Freesco0ter posts do you want me to find which said EXACTLY THAT.

 

[David 76]

The voice of God has spoken!

 

[David 76]

There are a few people in this forum that can't express an opinion and talk like they have all the truth. It ruins a lot of threads because everything has to be an argument rather than people offering opinions.
I can't imagine why you think it was a troll thread. You did not have to join it or steal it.
I realize you feel you are much smarter than the rest of us and maybe you are. But I would appreciate if you either ignored me or made an effort to sound less condescending

 

[SubbaBub]

The only thing you can blame Ollie for is a fan base that doesn't know how the internet works.

 

[SubbaBub]

There are a few people in this forum that can't express an opinion and talk like they have all the truth. It ruins a lot of threads because everything has to be an argument rather than people offering opinions.
I can't imagine why you think it was a troll thread. You did not have to join it or steal it.
I realize you feel you are much smarter than the rest of us and maybe you are. But I would appreciate if you either ignored me or made an effort to sound less condescending

Fine, your premise that a significant portion of the posters here incorrectly criticized our big man play or were questioning the choice of KO as coach. You appear to be of the opinion that the recent stretch of play makes the opinions of those people foolish to have held them.

You asked for thoughts on the subject. My thoughts are these:

The big man play, particularly the interior defense was sub-Division 1 through the SMU game, has improved since but was exposed by UL. The games since have not provided a real test, though I was surprised they out muscled UCF. Cincy will be a true test, but consistency will be important going forward.

The number of people questioning KO was very low and most of those who were are amongst the known fools around here.

When posting things on a fan board that are intended to stir the pot and ask for an argument, don't be slighted when people take you up on it.

 

[David 76]

I still don't know why you think I was trying to stir the pot. I was listing concerns I heard, including mine.
But I greatly appreciate the conversational tone.
Thanks

 

[mauconnfan]

I was actually waiting for free's input on this one…..?

 

[ColoradoUCFan]

It's frustrating being a lifelong diehard husky fan and realizing that so many other husky "fans" are total fair weather fans who know nothing about basketball. I root for my Huskies regardless of the situation. A huge chunk of the BY membership seemingly celebrates their struggles. In sum, this can be a very depressing place for someone who loves UConn basketball.