Durham transferring

[Lefty2one]

"We arent going to be very good next year, regardless of who we sign in the next 2 months"
Is an absolute false statement.

Adding a couple of low 4-star and 3-star guys isn't turning this into a tournament team. I guess we'll see though. Are we even targeting any of the highest rated unsigned kids?

 

[WrenchFan69]

Adding a couple of low 4-star and 3-star guys isn't turning this into a tournament team. I guess we'll see though. Are we even targeting any of the highest rated unsigned kids?

The highest rated unsigned kids who are still considering us, yes

 

[BaZZnBOAT]

Adding a couple of low 4-star and 3-star guys isn't turning this into a tournament team. I guess we'll see though. Are we even targeting any of the highest rated unsigned kids?

You don't know that. 2014 showed this could be exactly the case and we'd be fine.

 

[Eskapeesto]

 

[Jimdish255]

It's impossible to run a productive practice with these numbers. No amount of magic will fix that. Also wondering if anyone will address the issue now. It's not a trickle anymore it's a flood.

 

[businesslawyer]

So the entire Durham situation was incredibly, incredibly, strange. It would not have been odd at all to see him having redshirted this year before we lost our three players to injuries. But he was playing before Larrier and Gilbert got hurt, so he was not going to be redshirted. But as thin as we were, KO simply would not play him more than 8 minutes a game, even though you could see there were basketball skills underneath all that rust and we played some games with 7 players and he still wouldn't get more than token minutes.

It would not surprise me if they were just not a fit together. That's not blaming either one of them, but he should have redshirted or have had a chance to play. We played this season as if we had to give him a few minutes a game but he was never going to earn a real chance. It was just very strange.

Good luck to him whether he was pushed out or not. I'm not one who cares to receive an explanation. What I need to see are more bodies. Larrier, Gilbert, Adams and Vital are enough to get us to the tournament if we can come up with minutes in the middle and depth on the perimeter, and everyone goes back to being hungry Huskies.

 

[Coach J]

Well if he was asked to leave then, there must be an even better avalanche of good news coming.
A. Hopefully soon
B. Hopefully it brings better results then we have seen.

You have to assume KO has a plan and is working it through. This can't be all coincidental - especially with Chill coming on board and all they kids he was involved with still out there.

 

[UChusky916]

Everyone who's saying that Oz should shut up needs to just shut up themselves. He's just hearing what he's hearing and putting that information out there. TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT as the great @husky99 likes to say!

OZ has NO OFFICIAL capacity with KO or the program. The guy is a well-connected fan, and he hears things. He has freedom of speech. He can say and do what he wants. He's no official 'mouthpiece' of the program or KO, he's only become popular here because WE LIVE ON EVERY POST HE MAKES. We're the ones that built him up into this 'mouthpiece' of the program. What he says isn't gospel. Just take him for what he's worth and quit complaining.

The reaction all of you are having to OZ is why you see so many of those plugged-in insiders stop posting (i.e.: @3uconn, @chevtheman ) and some are intentionally vague (@Zionn ) but then get called out for not providing more information. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Just take the information for what you hear, and shut up.

He needs to shut up

Not sure he should be saying stuff like this.

Oz needs to shut the hell up.

He shouldn't be really saying anything, at least for a while. These clichés about players not being this or that are getting old

No, these tweets are inexcusable. Honestly they're bad enough that the athletic department should be made aware. If we're cleaning house then oz should be gone too. He's been a psychopath lately.

Someone needs to let UConn athletics know about Oz. It is absolutely NOT a good look for this program, it's coaches and its fans. You think Durham isn't going to see those tweets?? It's COMPLETE dirty laundry airing. Someone needs to tell administration, who hopefully will then tell KO to get his boy to STF U.

 

[Coach J]

semi-jokingly though is there a college basketball forum on the web thats popping off like the Boneyard has been the last few weeks? If drama and shots to the nuts at regular intervals get your rocks off then this place is basically the leading bdsm community on the web.

Lol

 

[ctchamps]

KO should care. Either Oz is getting info from him, or is making stuff up. At this point he has established a persona and people believe what he is saying is true. If I was running a program and someone was doing this I would nip it in the bud. Either stop giving him info or tell him to shut up

We don't know if Oz has the cred he claims. My feeling is he has ties, maybe even good ones, but like a lot of people with inside information it's limited. I'd take @Zionn info more than Oz at this point.
And if Oz is legitimate we will never know if KO took the steps you imply.

FWIW it appears he's toned down his rhetoric. My real concern with Oz was the thread about contacting recruits. That was poison no matter how people want to spin it.

 

[JMick]

EVERYONE saying that Oz should shut up needs to shut up themselves. He's just hearing what he's hearing and putting that information out there. TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT as the great @husky99 likes to say!

OZ has NO OFFICIAL capacity with KO or the program. The guy is a well-connected fan, and he hears things. He has freedom of speech. He can say and do what he wants. He's no official 'mouthpiece' of the program or KO, he's only what WE ON THIS BOARD make him. So take him for what he's worth and quit complaining.

The reaction all of you are having to OZ is why you see so many of those plugged-in insiders stop posting (i.e.: @3uconn, @chevtheman ) and some are intentionally vague (@Zionn ) but then get called out for not providing more information. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Just take the information for what you hear, and shut up.

no, you can go piss off

 

[Lefty2one]

You think this is KO's choice and was signed off on by AD Dave? Wake up man.

We're already going down and quickly. This isn't some master rebuild that we can sit on for years.

KO owns it - he better have his ass in gear.

If that's the case KO is a dead man walking unless he and Coach Chill put together a monster class for 2018.

 

[BUConn10]

Not a real judge of talent, but is Cobb a pro potential? Thought Durham had more upside

See, I dont want to think about it too much but thats where all of Oz's stuff falls apart, despite how much I want it to be the true narrative.

If asking JD to leave because he wasnt "pro caliber", then what are we doing bringing in Cobb, Carlton, and Polley? Are they going to be asked to leave during orientation week? These types of words come from someoe who has one and dones or something knocking on his door and lining up to play, doesnt feel like the case here necessarily.

 

[businesslawyer]

no, you can go piss off

So apparently, shockingly, some people are better at criticizing then being criticized.

 

[TopDogs]

maybe pro-caliberdoesn't mean professional basketball player potential. maybe we're looking for "pros" who want to get into the gym and bust their balls to get better and act like professionals. I don't know anything, just a shot.

 

[FartMan69]

This OZ dude is nothing more than a creepy man child fan boy. There's nothing worse than people who act like knowing someone in power is an accomplishment of their own.

 

[BUConn10]

maybe pro-caliberdoesn't mean professional basketball player potential. maybe we're looking for "pros" who want to get into the gym and bust their balls to get better and act like professionals. I don't know anything, just a shot.

nah I hope he means the other type of "pros" honestly..

 

[UConnStats]

Really anxious to see who Ollie adds. They must have at least a couple signings ligned up. All the other stuff is just noise.

 

[TopDogs]

I'm with you. I'd hope for that as well but judging by the rankings of some of the guys coming in, maybe its the other?

 

[intlzncster]

EVERYONE saying that Oz should shut up needs to shut up themselves. He's just hearing what he's hearing and putting that information out there. TAKE IT WITH A GRAIN OF SALT as the great @husky99 likes to say!

OZ has NO OFFICIAL capacity with KO or the program. The guy is a well-connected fan, and he hears things. He has freedom of speech. He can say and do what he wants. He's no official 'mouthpiece' of the program or KO, he's only what WE ON THIS BOARD make him. So take him for what he's worth and quit complaining.

The reaction all of you are having to OZ is why you see so many of those plugged-in insiders stop posting (i.e.: @3uconn, @chevtheman ) and some are intentionally vague (@Zionn ) but then get called out for not providing more information. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Just take the information for what you hear, and shut up.

Nah, I'm cool with insider info. Just don't like pot shots at guys on their way out. Bad taste in the mouth.

And I'll happily keep posting about it as I'm not an insider. Keep on keepin on.

FWIW, I am totally cool with @chevtheman, @Zionn, @3uconn, and even Oz. Except when he's posting like a middle school girl.

 

[UConn76]

Asked to leave, like stop. Haven't said a bad word about Oz on here, but like really?

This is really crazy. Ollie & Benedict have to come
out with some kind of statement.

 

[UConnDan97]

This is the worst episode of "Punk'd" that I've ever seen...

 

[ConnHuskBask]

If that's the case KO is a dead man walking unless he and Coach Chill put together a monster class for 2018.

As they should be. We haven't had a losing season in 30 years.

I don't expect to be in the Final 4 every season, hell I don't expect to make the Tournament every single season.

What I do expect is a better product than we've seen the last three seasons and now the roof has caved in.

 

[intlzncster]

Would love. Along with Harris. Could right a lot of wrongs.

 

[UConNation]

Well then

Two things. @UConNation had inside information that Juwan was contemplating leaving even after Oz made his post. It's policy not to disclose this but he pm'd me last week so this announcement was not surprising to me
Second, if KO is using Oz as a mouthpiece he would never have told Oz to make a statement there were no more transfers if he was in the process to tell the kid to leave.

Alright, let me shed some light that will hopefully calm everyone down. As @fleudslipcon said, I've known this was coming for over a week, but because of speculation rules I couldn't say anything on the board. Here's some info from the same source that told me Juwan was leaving that I hope will calm everyone down.

1) There is no team chemistry/hate KO mentality in the locker room
2) Both Vance and Juwan leaving were PRIMARILY because of being homesick. I know that a lot of us don't want to believe that because of what VJ Sr was tweeting.
3) Admittedly, there was some griping by the players that left over playing time (more so by Enoch and some by Vance I would assume), but it was mostly playing time. I know I know I know - "but there was going to be so much time open." That's true, but between a perceived lack of 'proper use' and missing home, 2 of these guys wanted to head back closer to home for that 'home cooked meal.'
4) MAL leaving was primarily because of Miller being let go - not because he was nervous about stepping foot onto a sinking ship
5) This is it. There isn't anyone else leaving. If I end up being wrong on this, I'll take whatever heat you guys can throw at me.
6) Morale is VERY high with the players that are left

This isn't a great look for the UConn Men's BB program right now, but it's not nearly is chaotic up in Storrs as many seem to think it is. Ollie has not lost control of this team.

 

[navery12]

See, I dont want to think about it too much but thats where all of Oz's stuff falls apart, despite how much I want it to be the true narrative.

If asking JD to leave because he wasnt "pro caliber", then what are we doing bringing in Cobb, Carlton, and Polley? Are they going to be asked to leave during orientation week? These types of words come from someoe who has one and dones or something knocking on his door and lining up to play, doesnt feel like the case here necessarily.

Maybe I just misinterpreted it, but I didn't think he was talking about Pros as in professional caliber NBA players but Pros in the sense that he wants guys who are gonna work hard and want to be here

 

[Penfield]

We don't know if Oz has the cred he claims. My feeling is he has ties, maybe even good ones, but like a lot of people with inside information it's limited. I'd take @Zionn info more than Oz at this point.
And if Oz is legitimate we will never know if KO took the steps you imply.

FWIW it appears he's toned down his rhetoric. My real concern with Oz was the thread about contacting recruits. That was poison no matter how people want to spin it.

Yes that thread crossed the line for me. It's the athletic departments job to monitor social media. I don't really know what Oz's connections are, but I assume the NCAA would consider him a booster. The athletic department should intervene for that reason.

He can talk smack about Miller and the strength coach all he wants, they are grown men that were paid to work for Ollie. However, when you claim a student-athlete was asked to leave and call him soft, I not only question his decision making skills, but also his integrity.

 

[intlzncster]

We don't know if Oz has the cred he claims.
And if Oz is legitimate we will never know if KO took the steps you imply.

All that matters is people believe it. The reality of the situation doesn't matter.

 

[JMick]

So apparently, shockingly, some people are better at criticizing then being criticized.

you really want to get into this, too? Oz has pictures all over his Twitter with KO. Then he goes and calls Glen Miller lazy and tells people that Durham was asked to leave? For what advantage? To make KO look better?

It's completely different when it's an anonymous person on a message board compared to a real twitter account tied to a message board account that has pictures of him hanging out and laughing with the head coach of the program.

 

[Uconnfanatic]

I hope Oz is not Ollie's mouthpiece and releasing these statements with Ollie's blessing. If he is just a clown that happens to have a good source that's one thing, but if this is Ollie's way of getting the message out, it is classless and inappropriate. I am hoping this isn't coming from Ollie.

I have to say that it seems strange that we would give up on Durham now given his potential and the fact that we are so thin at the 4/5. Unless, they decided Durham was never going to be the same player he had been prior to the ACLs. I was surprised that we saw so little growth through the year. Maybe both mentally and physically two ACLs took their toll. Still we had the room on the roster so you would have thought they would have given him the benefit of the doubt, had they thought he still had potential. I'm still not sold on the Cobb signing. I'd rather have athletes like Durham unless there's a problem.

In the end, the question we should all want answered is are kids bailing on Ollie & the program because they don't believe in the coach or his methods or is Ollie cleaning house and looking to bring in a different caliber of recruit who he feels will better fit his philosophy and approach. I hope it is the latter because otherwise this program is in big trouble.