Defending k Ollie

[upstater]

Awesome post.

Except it's totally wrong.

Again, I have a post here taking a look at the play-by-play. It is a massive twisting of what happened.

 

[businesslawyer]

1. We have to get better offensively in the last four minutes of games. If the players can't execute what KO thinks they should be able to execute, then KO has to keep trying something else until something works. He is not blameless for this.

2. Everything was more than good in this game for 35 minutes or so. It wasn't the coaches who collapsed.

3. It would be great if we were the women's team and were so good that we were always so far ahead that bad luck couldn't turn a win into a loss, but the fact of the matter is we don't lose that game if Brimah holds onto the ball to make an uncontested dunk and Bond gets called for a foul for just taking out Gibbs with the body on a play that is called a foul 99 out of 100 times (and that the refs won't pretend was anything other than a blown call when they see the replay).

Both better luck and more mental toughness down the stretch of games far more than KO coming up with the right offense to change to with 5 minutes left even when the old one is working.

 

[KingOPancakes]

You are good at totally twisting stats.

That's for sure.

I was responding to your idea that UConn was inefficient on offense prior to the meltdown from the 5:40 mark on.

They converted on 11-20 trips.

This despite the fact they missed two bunnies and a slam dunk (not Ollie's fault), despite 2 offensive fouls (not his fault), despite 2 drives to the hoop that should have resulted in fouls.

The offense did not stall until the 6 minute mark.

There's no way you can twist this into saying it did.

I don't recall saying they were inefficient, 7 for 17 isn't horrible. And I certainly didn't twist any stats. I was responding to the claim that before the meltdown, KO was coaching at an "elite" level. I guess we just have different definitions of the word "elite".

 

[upstater]

I don't recall saying they were inefficient, 7 for 17 isn't horrible. And I certainly didn't twist any stats. I was responding to the claim that before the meltdown, KO was coaching at an "elite" level. I guess we just have different definitions of the word "elite".

It's a total twisting of stats when they converted on more than half of their trips.

For instance, take the Rodney Purvis/Nolan missed bunnies sequence. They went 0-4 on shooting that sequence. 3 offensive rebounds and four missed shots. But when you look at efficiency, you want to count trips down the court. It only counted for a 0-1.

As I said, they went 7-10 for the first 8 minutes, should have been 9-10 with 2 easy layups.

 

[Jaker]

I remember when we blew a 21 point lead to Pitt, in Storrs, with a team that had more NBA talent than this current team and Calhoun was on the bench.

It happens.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

By the way to posters claiming it's our lack of a go to guy at the end or not having a point guard.

What's your excuse for last year? Boat was both of those things and we still managed to lose these types of games.

And if it's all on the players then how does that explain last year when we had no miller, no Adams, no Gibbs, a freshman Hamilton, and rusty purvis who sat out a year.


were 2-12 in the last two years in games decided by 3 points or less. New players. Different types of players. More experienced players.

Same crap.

The only thing that's remained completely constant over that time is the coaching staff....

 

[KingOPancakes]

But when you look at efficiency, you want to count trips down the court. It only counted for a 0-1.

Again, I'm not saying they weren't efficient. But as usual, Shonn showed he was our best offensive option early in that 2nd half, and as usual they stopped going to him down low. That's either a coaching mistake, or a player mistake that the coaches didn't correct.

An easy argument can be made that they were highly efficient if not for the absurd and inexplicable. Purvis hits two layups, Brimah makes an easy dunk, Gibbs picks up at least one of the foul calls on drives, and then doesn't lose his head with some weird offensive foul I've never seen before, and we are talking about going 16 for 20 trips up until the 15th minute. That's not efficiency? I am not saying Adams should not be running the offense. But I am saying that he wouldn't have done any better for the first 15 minutes of the half. Which is what you seem to be saying in your post above.

We shoot 39% for the game, only score 58 points and you actually make the statement "An easy argument can be made that they were highly efficient if not for the absurd and inexplicable." But yea. I'm the one twisting stats.

 

[CTBasketball]

@upstater the call to have Adams back in the game was primarily to bolster perimeter defense.

 

[pnow15]

We have had two top tier players in the last two years: Boat and Miller.
A top tier player mostly makes winning positive plays against stiff opposition,
If Boat and Miller were on the same team we could have made a run.
Everyone who handles the ball on this team is very flawed, either from lack of talent or youth.
Everyone, other than Miller or Adams, who touches the ball around the offense basket is a liability - minus a lob dunk.
Ollie is coaching a team of flawed role players with limited basketball IQ,.
We have yet to have a bad loss all season.
Ollie is doing well.

 

[gtcam]

Is KO an elite coach?
ho the hell ever said he was
I love the statement he looked like one the first 35 minutes. The team implodes and all of a sudden he goes from elite to a bum.
If UConn won by 25 last night would he have been an elite coach and would anyone beat him up for not playing JA? The answer to both parts is NO.
I don't think anyone would consider KO an elite coach, hell I really can't see anyone out there now as an elite coach outside of K. (sorry but I had to say that).
KO doesn't have an effective point guard and you ain't winning shtz without one - JA may become one but even when he plays 30 minutes he isn't the point guard ala KO, TB, KEA, etc. - this year
He doesn't have that go to player like KEA, Rip, Ben, Bazz, Kemba
UConn fans have been spoiled and I include myself.
The penalty that the NCAA dealt has played a larger part than most realize
KO has his flaws but he doesn't lace of the kicks and mixes it up during the games
As I've said many times - its soooooooooo easy to blame KO - if that's how you get your jollys I just SMH

 

[upstater]

We shoot 39% for the game, only score 58 points and you actually make the statement "An easy argument can be made that they were highly efficient if not for the absurd and inexplicable." But yea. I'm the one twisting stats.

We were discussing the first 15 minutes of the second half without Jalen Adams. Stop changing the subject.

 

[upstater]

@upstater the call to have Adams back in the game was primarily to bolster perimeter defense.

No, he's pretty clearly talking about offense.

 

[SixRings]

If you do your math, you'll find that holding a team that's shooting 3s primarily to 22% rather than their normal 40-42% over 14 minutes is going to give you a 10-12 point bump. They went from down 2 to up 12.

I see your emphasis here is on UConn's offense

To start the second half, they scored on 6 of 7 trips. Good for 12 points.

During the Purvis missed layup sequence (ie Purvis missed layups on 2 separate trips), they went 1 for 3.

This all happened 7 minutes into the game.

If Purvis hits 2 easy layups (how can you blame this on Ollie?) then they go 9 of 10 trips for scores, for a total of 18 points to Temple's 5.

In other words, the offense is not sputtering for most of the 3rd qtr. of the game. It did score on 7 of 10 trips, and it should have bee 9 of 10 trips with 2 easy layups made.

What happens after that?

1. Missed DHam 3 pointer
2. 2 Miller free throws made
3. Brimah dunk
4. Miller missed 3
5. Omar Calhoun offensive foul on drive
6. DHam 3 pointer made
7. Gibbs 2 free throws made.
8. Non-call on Sterling Gibbs drive to basket
9. Sterling Gibbs offensive foul
10. Rodney misses a wide open 3 that goes in and out.

That takes them to 5:40 minutes left when Temple hits 4 three pointers in a row.

So, we are talking about a sequence from 12 minutes left in the half to 6 minutes in which they went 4-10 on offensive trips.

So, until the meltdown, the offense went a total of 11 for 20 trips total.

Those stats included 2 trips with missed layups by Purvis, 2 offensive fouls (one deserved on Calhoun, the other a question on Gibbs), 2 non-calls on Gibbs's drives to the basket, a missed Brimah dunk/fumble, and 2 missed 3s (one of which, Rodney's, was wide open).

How anyone can blame Ollie for offensive inefficiency up to the 15th minute of the second half is beyond me.

An easy argument can be made that they were highly efficient if not for the absurd and inexplicable. Purvis hits two layups, Brimah makes an easy dunk, Gibbs picks up at least one of the foul calls on drives, and then doesn't lose his head with some weird offensive foul I've never seen before, and we are talking about going 16 for 20 trips up until the 15th minute. That's not efficiency? I am not saying Adams should not be running the offense. But I am saying that he wouldn't have done any better for the first 15 minutes of the half. Which is what you seem to be saying in your post above.

Do you want Ollie to make the layups and dunks for these kids?

Excellent post @upstater. So many overreaction post in the last day I'm glad to see some posters can remain rational and work with facts.

 

[Marty Jackson]

1. We have to get better offensively in the last four minutes of games. If the players can't execute what KO thinks they should be able to execute, then KO has to keep trying something else until something works. He is not blameless for this.

2. Everything was more than good in this game for 35 minutes or so. It wasn't the coaches who collapsed.

3. It would be great if we were the women's team and were so good that we were always so far ahead that bad luck couldn't turn a win into a loss, but the fact of the matter is we don't lose that game if Brimah holds onto the ball to make an uncontested dunk and Bond gets called for a foul for just taking out Gibbs with the body on a play that is called a foul 99 out of 100 times (and that the refs won't pretend was anything other than a blown call when they see the replay).

Both better luck and more mental toughness down the stretch of games far more than KO coming up with the right offense to change to with 5 minutes left even when the old one is working.

Luck you can argue was one or two baskets. Being out scored 23-2 AGAIN suggests something different. This team finds a way to lose.

 

[UCFan1513]

This is a random pet peeve, and not something I ever thought worthy of starting a thread. But, at this point, I figure I may as well gripe a bit.

Is it only me, or does UConn just not have a single in-bounds play? Going back to even 2014, I remember on just about half of in-bounds, there would be no movement, and then they'd just throw it over the top into the backcourt to a PG. This has been a problem every single year resulting in turnovers and wasted timeouts. Not a single other team that I've watched UConn play has ever had trouble in-bounding the ball. This just baffles me, and I honestly have no idea how it continues at this level, especially for a team like this. Please tell me someone else has realized this atrocity.

 

[intlzncster]

By the way to posters claiming it's our lack of a go to guy at the end or not having a point guard.

What's your excuse for last year? Boat was both of those things and we still managed to lose these types of games.

And if it's all on the players then how does that explain last year when we had no miller, no Adams, no Gibbs, a freshman Hamilton, and rusty purvis who sat out a year.


were 2-12 in the last two years in games decided by 3 points or less. New players. Different types of players. More experienced players.

Same crap.

The only thing that's remained completely constant over that time is the coaching staff....

Pretty simple, we had a bunch of other players who just weren't ready. Also, Boat was still learning how to be a true point. More importantly, we lost Shabazz. Every year a great player leaves, we see a pretty big drop off the next. That's life. UK didn't make the dance after Davis left.

By the same token, JC must be crap for losing with more talent than anyone in 2006. The real issue there is we didn't have a secondary ball handler to break down the D and take pressure of MW.

We have a personnel deficiency this year, you have to accept that. Does that mean Ollie is completely blameless for what has happened this year? No. But it is only one factor.

 

[intlzncster]

Everyone, other than Miller or Adams, who touches the ball around the offense basket is a liability - minus a lob dunk.
Ollie is coaching a team of flawed role players with limited basketball IQ,.
We have yet to have a bad loss all season.
Ollie is doing well.

While your point is a valid one, that statement is going to far. It's clear Ollie has struggled in-game this year. But unlike others, I don't see this as a permanent state for his career. He'll grow.

 

[huskyharry]

As others have pointed out, our players have deficiencies in their game that unfortunately can be negatively synergistic. You look at a team like Virginia, these players are not necessarily more highly recruited, but every player can rebound pass, set screens, make hard cuts, shoot 15 foot shots… They have all the fundamentals. UConn's players have some glaring deficiencies but some outstanding skills. Amida is a great shotblocker, but struggles in pursuing the basketball, is improving but still not even average in defense of positioning and has a very limited offensive game. Kentan is great at pursuing the ball on the offensive boards, but struggles with defense of positioning and anytime there is a 50-50 ball he is sure to lose ( it seems like he can have two hands on the ball and the other player only get a finger and he loses it every time ), he is also a good shooter but lacks confidence in his shot which very much limits his game on offense. Steve has some good moves on offense and is a strong rebounder, but is often lost in defensive positioning. Shonn is our most balanced and complete player, but also tends to make silly fouls. Daniel is a very good ball handler and passer, particularly for someone his size, but his outside shooting touch is streaky at best and he tends to have lapses in judgment which are somewhat related to his youth. He also is had multiple defensive lapses in concentration that have cost us big time.Rodney is a streaky outside shooter, who when he is on is a dangerous weapon that can almost single-handedly win you the game, and he is also a strong defender. However, he is also a blow average ballhandler is only really good at dribbling straightahead and really struggles to finish against any sort of defense at the rim however. He is also a below average passer for a guard and tends to have lapses in concentration that lead to junior high level turnovers (stepping out of bounds, double dribble etc. ). Omar is a good rebounder and a average defender who is a streaky outside shooter and has a good floater, but is also a below average ballhandler & passer. Sterling is only an average ballhandler for a guard and average pastor. He does have a very effective outside shot, but can also be stinky, but is below average to poor at finishing in the lane and has also had lapses in defensive concentration. Jalen is a very talented, athletic guard who is a good passer but has lapses in judgment consistent with his age and has not been proficient in outside shooting.
Getting this collection of eclectic players to play effectively in situations where opposing coaches make adjustments is extremely challenging and over the past three games and for 35 minutes of this game, Coach Ollie did a great job. However, one chang in the equation, notably disciplining Jalen, contributed to the wheels falling off.