Give Kevin a Chance

[Huskybass]

I am an Alum and know many others. Most have totally lost interest in the program. Then there are a relative handful who still have an active interest. I don't know anyone who expected the program to have fallen off a cliff like this.

 

[Towney007]

Best troll thread.

 

[bazzketball13]

When I’m talking alumni I’m talking basketball alumni. Not students. Former players aren’t happy with the way Kevin has been treated by the fans.

 

[UCDaveD]

That’s funny, because your side of the aisle has been pretty consistent in excoriating people who weren’t calling for a change as loudly as you were for holding the program back. “Low fan expectations are resulting in poor performance” is multiple posters’ entire shticks.

Why dish it out if you can’t take it?

Take it up with those posters. Has nothing to do with me.

 

[UCDaveD]

Never said we are holding it back?? We aren’t helping because moving forward Kevin will Be coach.

Of where? Glastonbury YMCA?

 

[Stainmaster]

Take it up with those posters. Has nothing to do with me.

Great, I’ll tell you the same next time you claim I don’t want Ollie fired.

 

[UCDaveD]

Great, I’ll tell you the same next time you claim I don’t want Ollie fired.

Please don't misrepresent my position. I don't doubt that you want Ollie fired. I just doubt that you want the next coach to succeed.

 

[sammydabiz]

When I’m talking alumni I’m talking basketball alumni. Not students. Former players aren’t happy with the way Kevin has been treated by the fans.

Then they must have loved those 20+ pt blowouts.... I think we broke the record this year, what an accomplishment.
Let's keep Ollie another 3 years, maybe they can pay for all the empty seats in the future

 

[Stainmaster]

Please don't misrepresent my position. I don't doubt that you want Ollie fired. I just doubt that you want the next coach to succeed.

Nope. I’m not like Tenspro or BUconn running around and crowing about how their initial read on Ollie was correct as the program burns.

Pessimists can hope that they’re wrong. When you posted about how Ollie should be fired after the Kansas game, were you actively rooting for him to prove your point in the two years that followed.

 

[UCDaveD]

Nope. I’m not like Tenspro or BUconn running around and crowing about how their initial read on Ollie was correct as the program burns.

Pessimists can hope that they’re wrong. When you posted about how Ollie should be fired after the Kansas game, were you actively rooting for him to prove your point in the two years that followed.

I root for UConn every single time they step onto the floor regardless of who the head coach is. That has been the case and will continue to be the case even if Ollie is retained. To me, the team succeeding is more important than my ego. That's just me though...

 

[Huskybass]

Then they may have loved those 20+ pt blowouts.... I think we broke the record this year, what an accomplishment.
Let's keep Ollie another 3 years, maybe they can pay for all the empty seats in the future

The previous record was 5. This is 8 and counting. Houston could very well be number 9. They throttled ECU by over 50 this weekend.

 

[Paesano]

Considering there will be pitchforks if our 5 year trajectory matches any school in that list below Villanova, I’d venture to say that being outside the P5 is a problem that transcends coaching.

Stop being a drama queen. And you should change your name to Strawmaster. Not only is your imaginary UConn fan not real, you have nothing to base this fictional character on besides your own hatred of people that don't love Ollie. You probably think any criticism is "pitchforks". Look, if we are not back in the Top 25 in three years, people will grumble. If we are not Top 25 in 5 years, people will moan and whine. Neither are pitchforks. But, good god, we are well below GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY right now! People holding up pitchforks NOW in no way translates to pitchforks if we are not Villanova in 5 years. There is a...CANYON...between those two levels.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Knowing what some of us know (and won't be repeated publically)...

Yeah, why bother when you've got innuendo?

Truly, how necessary is to diverge from what's before our eyes in order to make the case that contradicts the OP.

When the strongest pushback comments are Liked by the usual suspects who pepper my Ignore list and I'm more in agreement with them than OP, there's no need to gild the turd.

 

[Sonova]

When I’m talking alumni I’m talking basketball alumni. Not students. Former players aren’t happy with the way Kevin has been treated by the fans.

You don’t know many former players then. Most of them are furious about how and where the program has fallen. Notice how few attend the games....

 

[BlueDogs]

Easy when it's not my money or yours
When did you become the spoke person for all of us?
Even if KO doesn't walk away without a "UConn friendly" buyout, he will have my support because I know the man and he is an honorable person.

Talk about being spoiled by expectations. $3 Million per year is a lot of money by any objective standard. It's a ton of money to coach a kid's game. This isn't brain surgery, curing cancer or even putting your life on the line to protect others. If you want to make obscene amounts of money, then you better perform at levels commensurate with ridiculous compensation you're earning. We owe him exactly nothing.

He owes the school everything from a free education, to affiliation with a hall of fame coach and being entrusted the keys to the kingdom with no head coach experience, to being handed a loaded program. Sorry, not falling for the guilt trip.

 

[UConn Do It4]

When I’m talking alumni I’m talking basketball alumni. Not students. Former players aren’t happy with the way Kevin has been treated by the fans.

Please elaborate. How has he been mistreated? Have I missed something? Aside from bitching on this forum and a confiscated fire Ollie sign, how has he been mistreated?

Did I totally miss threats or something? The only people who even give a crap about this team at this point are on this board. Have former players even come to his defense at this point? Again maybe I missed it, but I don't think any former player is happy with the way Kevin has treated this program. Back to back losing seasons in this conference is inexcusable.

 

[intlzncster]

Talk about being spoiled by expectations. $3 Million per year is a lot of money by any objective standard. It's a ton of money to coach a kid's game. This isn't brain surgery, curing cancer or even putting your life on the line to protect others. If you want to make obscene amounts of money, then you better perform at levels commensurate with ridiculous compensation you're earning. We owe him exactly nothing.

He owes the school everything from a free education, to affiliation with a hall of fame coach and being entrusted the keys to the kingdom with no head coach experience, to being handed a loaded program. Sorry, not falling for the guilt trip.

Agree with most of that, but not the free education bit. He was offered a free education in return for his 4 years of blood sweat and tears on the basketball court. He fulfilled that obligation and then some (was an outstanding representative of the school in the NBA). That debt was paid.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Of course, now that I've reread the comments showing Ignored Content, I can see yet again why I Ignore these posters, and I could understand why former players could dislike the fans if these are the ones they're referring to, and I can still wonder what visible performance or news media report or press conference communication leads the OP to haveconfidence that turnaround is possible under KO.

On several grounds, an additional season remains plausible, but I'd place any such season totally in the category of "Show me," and I'd be disappointed if KO himself didn't frame it that way if he is somehow given an additional chance.

 

[temery]

Easy when it's not my money or yours
When did you become the spoke person for all of us?
Even if KO doesn't walk away without a "UConn friendly" buyout, he will have my support because I know the man and he is an honorable person.

Not one person here would walk away from ten million dollars. None. The only compromise would be to spread it out over 10 to 20 years.

I hope he is able to leave on his own terms this year, get a fresh start somewhere else, and return to the coach he was in 2014. If this isn't in the cards, he'll be back next year, and we'll see progress, but I doubt it'll be enough to please many here.

 

[Stainmaster]

Stop being a drama queen. And you should change your name to Strawmaster. Not only is your imaginary UConn fan not real, you have nothing to base this fictional character on besides your own hatred of people that don't love Ollie. You probably think any criticism is "pitchforks". Look, if we are not back in the Top 25 in three years, people will grumble. If we are not Top 25 in 5 years, people will moan and whine. Neither are pitchforks. But, good god, we are well below GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY right now! People holding up pitchforks NOW in no way translates to pitchforks if we are not Villanova in 5 years. There is a...CANYON...between those two levels.

I'm sorry, this fan is very real and based on many people. It mainly draws from yourself, Tenspro, and BUconn, but also the dozens who stupidly couch legitimate criticism of Ollie in comparisons to Calhoun -- "Calhoun was a master at this! Calhoun would have never done/stood for this!" -- and complain about being removed from the glory days of JC's prime in the Big East (high tourney seedings, deep runs/championships, churning out pros). These are the expectations of many people who deny it when pressed, because they know it makes them looks foolish.

Cincy, Wichita, and SMU (at least save for this year) have been "Top 25" consistently since we've shared a conference with them. How many combined trips past the second weekend do they have past five years? Zero. How many first round draft picks? Zero. How many draft picks in total? 3. How many top 50 recruits who actually made it to campus? Two - Jermaine Lawrence (bolted Cincy after one season) and Keith Frazier. That's an average of 0 S16 or higher berths, 0 1st rounders, <1 draft picks, and <1 Top 50 recruits over a 5 year span.

Your magic "Top 25" litmus test is far from it; the only teams in this conference that fit that mold share a conspicuous inability to advance in the tournament, develop impact NBA players, and recruit at a high level. All three of those things are of vital importance to this fan base. Someone can fix Ollie's in-game coaching and player development mess to the point where we can consistently be ranked in the Top 25 and contend for the tourney yearly, and still choke when it comes to those areas. Given the numerous examples of coaches currently at the top of the conference doing just that, I fail to understand how I am the only one who even thinks that's possible.

 

[UConnDan97]

This season sucks. But the thing that gives me hope is seeing players like Polley improve his game. The kid in the beginning of the season looked like a deer in front of a mack truck at night. Now, he looks like he belongs one the court and can stroke it.

Or Williams, who struggled in most of his early chances, but yesterday had the feel of a bona fide double-double guy.

Or Carlton, who couldn't last 5 minutes without fouling out early in the season, but now looks like he has a real future at the position.

Or Vital, who although is often out of control on a fast break, looks to have grown into a player that can rattle off 20+ points on any given night. Even though last year he often looked like someone who would be no better than a sixth man.

Or Jalen, who has developed into a top level player.

If someone asks me why I'm crazy enough to give Ollie one more year, it's because of all off the above. It's because although it may be painful as hell for me to be in the arena and watch those kids suffer, I know that most of the first year players are getting better. Hell, even Anderson got better. And that's what I expect a coach to do. The top level recruiter coach is now on board, and I'm willing to see another year and spend my money again...

 

[SouthBayHusky]

I have been a UCONN Men’s season ticket holder for 33 years and Woman’s 24 years, I looked up at the banners last night 15 and realized how spoiled we are as UCONN fans. We are not entitled to championships or NCAA tournament selections. We should be ashamed of how we are treating Kevin, he who played for us and coached us to a NC in 2014. It wasn’t just a few years ago that we were worried sick that Kevin would leave for the NBA. In his short coaching tenure Kevin has replaced a HOF coach, cleaned up the fall out of a academic progress probation and still won a NC. He deserves a chance to turn this around with his new coaching staff. Kevin has 3 years left on his contract, give him a chance to succeed, get off his back, he deserves our support.

Kevin is a great guy but the past 4 seasons have been terrible with no sign of improvement. Unfortunately the majority of fans have lost interest with record declines in attendance. At the end of the day our allegiance is to Uconn, not one man. Kevin has been paid handsomely in fact among the top 10 in the country. But unfortunately it’s not working out. We need to get back to being at least relevant and making a tournament more than once in once four years.

 

[temery]

This season sucks. But the thing that gives me hope is seeing players like Polley improve his game. The kid in the beginning of the season looked like a deer in front of a mack truck at night. Now, he looks like he belongs one the court and can stroke it.

Or Williams, who struggled in most of his early chances, but yesterday had the feel of a bona fide double-double guy.

Or Carlton, who couldn't last 5 minutes without fouling out early in the season, but now looks like he has a real future at the position.

Or Vital, who although is often out of control on a fast break, looks to have grown into a player that can rattle off 20+ points on any given night. Even though last year he often looked like someone who would be no better than a sixth man.

Or Jalen, who has developed into a top level player.

If someone asks me why I'm crazy enough to give Ollie one more year, it's because of all off the above. It's because although it may be painful as hell for me to be in the arena and watch those kids suffer, I know that most of the first year players are getting better. Hell, even Anderson got better. And that's what I expect a coach to do. The top level recruiter coach is now on board, and I'm willing to see another year and spend my money again...

If he got out of his seat and showed some passion, he'd improve his image dramatically, and the players would at least have an oportunity to feed off the energy. Calhoun got a lot of miles out of his game day attitude, and it was genuine.

If Ollie has to fake it, so be it. But he's not doing himself any favors by just sitting there like he's waiting for church to get out.

 

[Fishy]

If he got out of his seat and showed some passion, he'd improve his image dramatically, and the players would at least have an oportunity to feed off the energy. Calhoun got a lot of miles out of his game day attitude, and it was genuine.

If Ollie has to fake it, so be it. But he's not doing himself any favors by just sitting there like he's waiting for church to get out.

This is the absolute least of his problems.

He could do Red Panda’s routine on the sideline and the team’s deficiencies in nearly every imaginable area, save the free throw line, would still murder us almost nightly.

 

[intlzncster]

If he got out of his seat and showed some passion, he'd improve his image dramatically, and the players would at least have an oportunity to feed off the energy. Calhoun got a lot of miles out of his game day attitude, and it was genuine.

If Ollie has to fake it, so be it. But he's not doing himself any favors by just sitting there like he's waiting for church to get out.

Somehow, someway, he needs to get these kids to play hard. Consistently. Maybe there's some who just won't do so no matter what. If that's the case, go with the guys who put forth max effort (Vital, Williams, Diarra), results be damned. When you see guys battling from the opening tip until the final whistle, you can look past some of the less attractive warts. Probably not enough to get another season, but still.