Durham transferring

[Fishy]

The pessimistic view is that KO has made a lot of mistakes, and the recent changes are more mistakes.

The optimistic view is that KO made a lot of recruiting mistakes, and the recent departures are purging them and creating room for something better.

We'll see which it is. Either way, we have a young coach, I guess we were bound to have a learning curve.

The "optimistic view", as you present it, is insanity.

It's like MetroNorth crashing all their trains because they're thinking about buying new ones.

At this moment, we don't have enough players to have a blue-white game. Four players in the past have decided not to play for UConn next year and right now, it doesn't look like they're going to replace them with players of similar ability. That staff has to pull more than one rabbit out of a hat or they're going to bury themselves.

 

[Danzz]

We will have a BB team next year
If Gilbert and Larrier are healthy
It's going to be a good one.
In 2012
We lost
Lamb
Drummond
AO
Roscoe
JC was gone ,we were suspended ,and life as we knew it was over

Compare that to The fearsome group
SE
Jackson
and a guy that couldn't get on the floor when we only had six healthy players
Listen you bunch of wimps
Was it over when the Germans Bonmded Pearl Harbor ?

PS We won 20 games going 10-8 in the BE and the year after that we even did better.

Next year is my 63 season as a UConn fan and I look forward to a great year.

I don't believe that the Germans ever bombed Pearl Harbor. But since you are an old fart like me you are forgiven.

 

[Towney007]

PG is the absolute biggest scam in HS sports. It made me cringe when some of my teammates who were 4th outfielders/pinch runners parents would spend oodles of money on batting practice and a youtube video.

It's brutal. It's happening everywhere though and in every sport. You get these pay-to-play schemes where kids can play for guys with a little background who know some guys politically and they sell them on skill show bullshit. It's always amazed me - but that kind of stuff is like taking players based off of their dunk contest performance. And a lot of that is BS too. That whole site is staffed with guys who want to play Theo Epstein dress-up and barf out scouting lingo on a glorified baseball FB page. It's just bad information. It can kind of give you a run down of their peak raw skills, but that's about it.

Again - my recruiting is a lot lower level - but I've always relied on data, track record, coaches opinion, opposing coaches opinion's and then former players. In baseball I guess it's a little different, but at the end of the day - it's all relationship-based, ultimately. I say 'yes' a lot more to .290-ish hitters who are good kids, learn and their life is nothing but baseball than I do to studs in waiting from big schools. I guess my point in my me-centric baseball rant is that it's not about the best players so much as it's about the right players. There are certain recruiters at mid majors who have a really well defined culture, go after specific kinds of kids - and they have to totally bust their backsides to get decent players. So everything they do impacts their reputations as coaches, so I know when i"m getting a call on that particular guy - I can trust the tip or give them the benefit of the doubt. Funny enough - Buffalo is shuttering it's baseball program and announced it today -and they were a pretty good feeder for us. One of our major leaguers came out of there. But when I call - if he's got dudes, I get the dudes and they're dudes. If I call and he doesn't have any dudes, he won't just send someone for the sake of it.

I mean Ollie knows more about his sport in the tip of his pinkie finger than I probably do in mine - but I guess as my marginally informed opinion is concerned - I notices he really likes athletic tool boxes and kind of hopes for the best - in spite of having a rather extensive of not developing guys like that all that well. And guys with pro backgrounds in my league do the same thing. They recruit based on pure physicality as opposed to actual, developed ability. I mean when you're peeling off the absolute top... there's no question those guys are monsters. But after that, you get into pretty nuancey stuff. And i've noticed that can be a problem with more pro-based background coaches. They go for that super high upside project and hope the physical tools just work quickly and expect their background to be enough to develop it and they're rarely well equipped to do it. Primarily because when they've gotten those guys in the past - or played with them or coached them at the highest level - they're more developed. So building that bridge to success is a lot shorter. I guess what i'm saying is - they're sensational at getting guys over the finish line, but forget their ability to get them off to a spectacular start and pace themselves. And when you look at Ollie's track record, i've seen a lot of that. I guess i'd rather see him chase somewhat highly rated, skilled, but clearly flawed players who have a precise purpose than I would watching him paint the wall with Top tier-ish tool boxes. Just less worrying about OH WHAT ARE MY MINUTES and MY NBA CLOCK IS TICKING type stuff. And when you look at what's historically worked here and/or been useful, those are the guys who've always developed into real difference makers when put around 2 or 3 stars.

 

[Danzz]

The "optimistic view", as you present it, is insanity.

It's like MetroNorth crashing all their trains because they're thinking about buying new ones.

At this moment, we don't have enough players to have a blue-white game. Four players in the past have decided not to play for UConn next year and right now, it doesn't look like they're going to replace them with players of similar ability. That staff has to pull more than one rabbit out of a hat or they're going to bury themselves.

Except for Mal and we don't even know for sure about him, we lost depth and no stars. There is no way to put a positive spin on this. We were under .500 with these guys so how much worse will it be without them? On second thought it could be a lot worse.

 

[uconNYC]

Our best hope next season is to have a season like 2010-11 with Kemba and the kids. Adams doing Kemba like things. Just getting to the second weekend of the tournament (ie Sweet 16) would be massive success in my eyes.

 

[Deadrody]

This UConn off season is one of the record books. Unreal.

It's more than just the offseason. The season began as one for the record books and only went pretty much downhill from there.

 

[willie99]

why are we getting upset about someone who showed us nothing to date and honored our loyalty by transferring? Another kid evidently unhappy with playing time.

does anyone think he's going to a better program? I don't, he's more likely he;s going to the A-10 than a P5

moving on, hard for me to pretend I'm going to miss him, He must think he's blue blood, we're blue collar

 

[JSM1970]

Yes, Vital was better than Fultz, Fox, Ball and Smith. How was he rated lower? Makes no sense.

I recruit for summer college baseball (not the same, but still) - and while I don't want to talk about myself that much and recognizing it's not anywhere near the same - but I can tell you from having spent more time than any human should have to ever spend on top 100 recruiting lists - they're usually steaming piles of crap. Go through any of them the last four years and tell me how accurate they are. In some cases (Perfect Game), they're almost paid services with some goofball high school sophomore just regurgitating scouting lingo that can be gobbled up by people who want to know, but don't know what they're talking about.

You can watch 60 videos with stop watch on your own and know a kid doesn't run a 6.5 60. Or they'll take his best 60 time or his top velocity and put that on the report page. They overreport height, weight... They mess up handedness, etc. And you'd be surprised - college coaches spend plenty of time getting burned by them all the time.

Given the number of complete and total idiots circling like buzzards around the AAU scene and the like these days, I would actually expect hoops to be substantially worse.

 

[djct1999]

The "optimistic view", as you present it, is insanity.

It's like MetroNorth crashing all their trains because they're thinking about buying new ones.

At this moment, we don't have enough players to have a blue-white game. Four players in the past have decided not to play for UConn next year and right now, it doesn't look like they're going to replace them with players of similar ability. That staff has to pull more than one rabbit out of a hat or they're going to bury themselves.

No it's not. To use your analogy, metro north decided to crash the trains prematurely because they knew that in a few months time the trains will crash anyway, maybe with people on it. This exodus isn't about filling a roster next year. It's about looking into the future and valuing the open scholarship more than marginal talent. Vance played to his ceiling, Durham- hurt or not, showed very little, and Enoch was flat out bad. You don't hire Chillious to coach up recruiting misses. You open as many scholarships as possible and let him get to work. It's obvious that is what's going on here. Who knows what next year brings. I know that if we kept the same roster, the team wouldn't have been as good as people on here thought. We need to be realistic. Why waste a year or possibly three to rebuild?

 

[3rdbass]

No it's not. To use your analogy, metro north decided to crash the trains prematurely because they knew that in a few months time the trains will crash anyway, maybe with people on it. This exodus isn't about filling a roster next year. It's about looking into the future and valuing the open scholarship more than marginal talent. Vance played to his ceiling, Durham- hurt or not, showed very little, and Enoch was flat out bad. You don't hire Chillious to coach up recruiting misses. You open as many scholarships as possible and let him get to work. It's obvious that is what's going on here. Who knows what next year brings. I know that if we kept the same roster, the team wouldn't have been as good as people on here thought. We need to be realistic. Why waste a year or possibly three to rebuild?

The nonsense people on this board spew to rationalize when the program is at a serious crossroads. Vance was a top 100 recruit who was acc American first team and becoming a really good shooter with some nifty post moves. You really honestly think he wouldn't improve and was at his ceiling? Lol!

 

[Horatio]

why are we getting upset about someone who showed us nothing to date and honored our loyalty by transferring? Another kid evidently unhappy with playing time.

does anyone think he's going to a better program? I don't, he's more likely he;s going to the A-10 than a P5

moving on, hard for me to pretend I'm going to miss him, He must think he's blue blood, we're blue collar

Thank you again. We gotta stop sniffing and crying about these young unaccomplished, ungrateful kids. We are still Uconn.

 

[polycom]

If MAL decommitted because of Miller, then I hope KO and Chillious are re-recruiting him. MAL isn't going to play for Miller regardless so he could still find KO, Chillious, Killings, and Moore his best bet.

You hope someone who wanted to leave because an assistant coach left the school is being recruited by the new staff? Do you think KO doesn't talk to his recruits when these things are happening? Do you think these players find out when we find out? If so, then you must also think that KO is extremely unqualified to lead a major basketball program....

 

[Huskyforlife]

This thread reminds me of the Randy Edsall return thread. People either loved it or hated it. Here it is Ollie good people vs those who think this is a dumpster fire.

If this was a dumpster fire, would Chillious have come here? Why go to a dumpster fire when you were fired from a dumpster fire? That sounds like career suicide. So no, I don't believe the program is on its way down. Is it concerning right now? Yes.

Durham has upside- if he wants to be closer to home, if he wants a reset to his career, it is his prerogative. Do I think he owed KO a little bit more for standing by him? Yes. But in today's world, people are in kids ears and they I wish him luck.

Let's see who comes in and what they look like before we reserve judgment. I still think a 3 guard lineup with Gilbert at Point, Vital and Adams as wings can pressure and run. Larrier at the 4 and Cobb/Carlton at the 5 and Diarra as a change up. This team needs to up tempo and run. We will need more depth and better rebounding from the 4 and 5 spot, and if we do we will finish Top 3 in the conference(including Wichita St) and will make the NCAA Tourney next year. Book it!!

If chillious was as good as people here think one of the blue blood schools would've made him a better offer than us. He's a good assistant, not some superstar.

 

[mauconnfan]

If chillious was as good as people here think one of the blue blood schools would've made him a better offer than us. He's a good assistant, not some superstar.

Of course this is the answer we were all looking for. He's overrated too, the program blows and we should all find someone else to root for.

Nothing anyone says will take that taste out of your mouth so leave some of it alone maybe?

 

[BaZZnBOAT]

Of course this is the answer we were all looking for. He's overrated too, the program blows and we should all find someone else to root for.

Nothing anyone says will take that taste out of your mouth so leave some of it alone maybe?

Agreed. That is just unbelievable. "Well, he's obviously not that good, Duke didn't get him." This is JUST after a ton of posters were babbling about how there are competent head coaches everywhere and that we should try to hire the head coach of MONMOUTH if we fired KO. Which one is it? Which one will make the critics happy? None, because they obviously just love to complain.

 

[Dove]

The "optimistic view", as you present it, is insanity.

It's like MetroNorth crashing all their trains because they're thinking about buying new ones.

At this moment, we don't have enough players to have a blue-white game. Four players in the past have decided not to play for UConn next year and right now, it doesn't look like they're going to replace them with players of similar ability. That staff has to pull more than one rabbit out of a hat or they're going to bury themselves.

So, you don't think KO and Chill and Kill can assemble the best available walk-ons?

 

[Huskyforlife]

Of course this is the answer we were all looking for. He's overrated too, the program blows and we should all find someone else to root for.

Nothing anyone says will take that taste out of your mouth so leave some of it alone maybe?

He doesn't blow, it was a great hire. That being said, using him choosing us as a barometer for the current state of the program doesn't make sense. My point was he didn't turn down elite schools to come here.

 

[3rdbass]

Of course this is the answer we were all looking for. He's overrated too, the program blows and we should all find someone else to root for.

Nothing anyone says will take that taste out of your mouth so leave some of it alone maybe?

I have no opinion on Chillous besides excited that he is supposed to be a top notch recruiter. Still I won't be sold on him until I see results. There more than one side to this and for fans who are doubting the future under KO. It is a legitimate concern by our recent results the last 3 years and what has transpired this off season(VJ was talented and Mal has the change to be next year). Especially with VJ you would think it is a no brainer with all the open playing time and KO's liking to go small. Just because it seems to us we are a rudderless ship doesn't mean we are jumping out. I will go down with this sinking ship as I'm a diehard no matter what. Hopefully we have good times ahead starting with next season but there is reason to doubt for sure. I still have optimism but it definitely going away with each bad season.

 

[QDOG5]

Anybody miss Brimah yet?

Nope. Four years was enough.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Wow giving the kid the "quitter tag"

 

[3rdbass]

Nope. Four years was enough.

I will miss the blocks but the rest of the game was that of a backup center.

 

[djct1999]

The nonsense people on this board spew to rationalize when the program is at a serious crossroads. Vance was a top 100 recruit who was acc American first team and becoming a really good shooter with some nifty post moves. You really honestly think he wouldn't improve and was at his ceiling? Lol!

Yep. I honestly think Vance saw the minutes he saw because of circumstance. With a healthy team, his minutes were surely going to be eaten in to. He is too slow on his feet to play quality defense and he doesn't create off the dribble. Those things won't change too much over time.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

Yep. I honestly think Vance saw the minutes he saw because of circumstance. With a healthy team, his minutes were surely going to be eaten in to. He is too slow on his feet to play quality defense and he doesn't create off the dribble. Those things won't change too much over time.

Defense? Yes. But as a freshman, he showed the ability to create off the dribble. It wasn't blow-by's and relied more on footwork and fakes to get the shot off but it was effective nonetheless.

 

[3rdbass]

Yep. I honestly think Vance saw the minutes he saw because of circumstance. With a healthy team, his minutes were surely going to be eaten in to. He is too slow on his feet to play quality defense and he doesn't create off the dribble. Those things won't change too much over time.

He actually does create off the dribble at times as he has a good pump fake and very good handle for someone his size. His defense was his deficiency. He also rebounds well and would have gotten time in a smaller lineup with him at PF. It was obvious his father influenced his decision. They want VJ to be more of SG/SF than a PF/SF. It is a loss no matter what. I mean look at what we are left with now.

 

[Husky25]

He actually does create off the dribble at times as he has a good pump fake and very good handle for someone his size. His defense was his deficiency. He also rebounds well and would have gotten time in a smaller lineup with him at PF. It was obvious his father influenced his decision. They want VJ to be more of SG/SF than a PF/SF. It is a loss no matter what. I mean look at what we are left with now.

My observation was too many pump fakes. He was not a catch-and-shooter. He needed to be wide open and could not hit a shot with someone guarding him, let alone someone in his face.