Give Kevin a Chance

[mauconnfan]

Sorry but I look at the coaching staff during games and I am thoroughly unimpressed. Chillious has a reputation as a great recruiter, but between Washington and here, his team has a combined record of 22 and 38 over the past 2 seasons. As to Killings and Moore, I can't tell what positive impact they are having over the past 2 very disappointing seasons.
UConn never even challenges for the AAC regular season title, and this season UConn is in the BOTTOM 1/3 of the AAC standings.



No the chests are not being pounded. Those who realize that a change is going to be made (and rightfully so) can now have legitimate hope that the program can return to being relevant. That's all. Very simple.

I didn't point you out did I? No need to explain.

 

[mauconnfan]

Honestly reading some of these posts reminds me of a bunch of jr. high girls who just found out the math teacher they all have a crush on is marrying the English teacher they all hate. Ollie is getting paid $3 million per year make g him one of the highest paid coaches in the country. He is getting that kings ransom to coach winning basketball teams. He has basically failed at that for 4 years. He isn’t being fired for being a bad player back in the 1990s or for being a bad guy or a bad UConn alumnus. He is a really bad basketball coach. Nothing more and nothing less. If he was a Syracuse grad or a Duke grad it would make no difference. He is still a bad basketball coach and for that reason needs to go.

Reading this tells me you think you know everything and I'm guessing there are Jr High girls who know as much. Relax people have opinions and while you think yours are so precious they aren't.

This isn't about the guy doing a crappy job because he has it's just about stopping the BS. Let it happen, talk about replacements that's fine but to continuously go over how bad he's been every other post is ridiculous. We get it WTF

 

[mauconnfan]

We owe Kevin for his contributions to the UCONN program starting with his decision to come across the country to go to school and become a UCONN player. He is a big boy and whatever happens, happens and certainly goes with the territory however there are certain lines that shouldn’t be crossed. As frustrating as the last few years have been, our UCONN brother deserves our respect; opinions of the blocking and tackling of the role aside.

Agree but there are some here who believe they are owed more than him and it's too late for respecting him. I mean there were many who were disrespectful prior to the season. When he's gone they will feel victorious others will feel sad about the events, there's the difference in this whole thing.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

KO was great and now KO is bad. The only person to blame is himself.

I don't understand why some people have undo loyalty to a coach that has absolutely tanked the program.

Is it too much to ask to take the court against a halfway decent team and not get beat by 20?

Contrary to people beating the drum of unrealistic expectations going forward, I think most UConn fans recognize the league hurts us to an extent and that the Calhoun days of being a top 5 program are over.

However, there is a whole hell of a lot of in between space from being a 1 seed and being a bottom of the pack AAC team.

Oh, and we're under investigation from the NCAA. So all the "I'm just happy our kids take 100 level classes and get C's and clean program crowd!" may want to pipe down.

 

[Huskybass]

This isn't about the guy doing a crappy job because he has it's just about stopping the BS. Let it happen, talk about replacements that's fine but to continuously go over how bad he's been every other post is ridiculous. We get it WTF

While I understand what you are saying, it is the unrealistic, overly positive posts that have no correlation to actual results and/or real signs of improvement that trigger guys like me to respond with facts which clearly demonstrate the substandard performance over the past four seasons.

While the intent of these posts may be to suppport the head coach, they inevitably evolve into a debate between the "apologists" and "detractors" (not my terms but ones that have been used here, so I will use them) and quite honestly the "detractors" have almost all the ammunition given the body of work over the past 2 to 4 seasons.

 

[BlueandOG]

KO may be the best guy on Earth - but he is not a great head college hoops coach. Maybe he will be. Bill Belichick had 4 out of 5 losing seasons as head coach of the Browns before the Pats.

Our players may be great (debatable), but they are not well coach. The stats bear that out and you can see it when they play.

How he is treated by fans, and how former players feel about that treatment, is irrelevant. He knew critical fan assessment was part of the job.

The only thing staying AD Dave's hand is $. However, if I was in his shoes, I would make it happen. Men's hoops is a crown jewel for the university. It is worth the cost to correct the program. KO has got to GO!

 

[SubbaBub]

This is the same thing that happened to the FB program. Everyone waiting for a turnaround that wasn't coming under the leadership at the time.

This KO isn't 2014 KO. We are now on our second straight group of underperforming players that don't listen to him. Can't blame the APR or even CR any longer.

You can care about what's best for the program or the best for your memories of him and the staff. I don't think you can do both any longer.

That doesn't make the next move any easier. Who do you bring in and who can you get? I'm not on the Hurley train and this is a tough spot because you are basically demanding AD Dave find the next HoF level coach without the BE resources.

 

[uconnever]

If KO wants our support, he walks away with a UConn friendly buyout. There is no shame in admitting you are in over your head. If he does that he will always be welcomed back a champion and 2014 is what we all will remember.

You sound crazy. Leave millions on the table lol.

 

[hoopsknowitall]

Most will admit Ollie’s done a lousy job the past few years. Only question I have is if it’s worth ten million or not to get rid of him this year or wait and save the cash to pay for a better coach next year.

I’m inclined to wait and pay top dollar to get what we need. This thing is not turning around next year or the next....

 

[JMick]

Any threads from now on either supporting or against KO's job security should be banned. The same things have been said a million times and quite frankly we are sick of reading about it. A middle ground will never be reached. Everyone has their own opinions. No point in discussing this any further. Its a topic with a dead end street.

You aren't forced to read the threads

 

[djct1999]

You sound crazy. Leave millions on the table lol.

You assume he is leaving money on the table. What if the NCAA comes back hard on violations UConn committed under his watch. He leaves with 0. Its called negotiation for a reason. Leave now, get something. Leave later, potentially get fired for cause and leave with 0. Please, for the sanctity of the boneyard, think before you post. It may be hard, but give it a try.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

You sound crazy. Leave millions on the table lol.

The support of the Boneyard has to at least account for at least leaving $4M on the table...at least!

 

[Waquoit]

That's what a good head coach does; makes tough decisions for the betterment of the team. I honestly think he understands the problem and is trying to deal with it as quickly as possible...

A good head coach should typically coach good. Did you watch the Tulsa game? Did you watch the Memphis game?

 

[JMick]

If Ollie leaves
Jalen dosent return
Akinjo dosent come
Ty polley leaves
Josh leaves
Emit leves unless chills is hired

My guess is Cobb and Isaiah are most likely already leaving. Cobb and Ollie’s relationship is gone and isiah is far to over his head at a program of this level.

Yeah let's wait until the season is over and we go through the process before we start speculating on transfers and decommits

 

[BlueDogs]

Are you taking a paycut at your job if they don't fire you?

The vast majority of employees don't have employment contracts and are fired at will... few have multi million dollar severance packages.

 

[The Funster]

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Blah, blah, blah!

 

[polycom]

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Blah, blah, blah!

So you are a child?

 

[NYC_HUSKY22]

View attachment 28945

Peru !

 

[Stainmaster]

You assume he is leaving money on the table. What if the NCAA comes back hard on violations UConn committed under his watch. He leaves with 0. Its called negotiation for a reason. Leave now, get something. Leave later, potentially get fired for cause and leave with 0. Please, for the sanctity of the boneyard, think before you post. It may be hard, but give it a try.

This is wishful thinking and a big leap considering nobody knows exactly how this investigation will play out. To act like this is anything beyond a mere possibility of uncertain likelihood is foolishness.

Any sane fan wants the buyout to be lessened by any means necessary. Wanting something doesn’t increase the chances it will happen.

 

[Pudge]

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.

I totally agree with this ... sentiment.

However, then I watch the product on the floor. There is something seriously wrong with what is going on in this Program ... and I think it is far deeper and longer in term than the 40 minutes we get to watch. Unlike many, I do not feel the same as Diaco. Ollie actually proved he can coach - the National Championship of 2014 is not a fluke. He is NOT Mike Davis. But, you have a fundamentally important part of our beloved University - and many of us do Bleed Blue - that needs fixing. I believe Kevin Ollie is confused as to what to do; and I believe he wants UConn Basketball to return to the top of the Sport. What to do? I think the answer is a new direction.

 

[Waquoit]

He is to blame more than even you would like to acknowledge Top Dog but mostly I agree with much of what you say. I mean no matter how many question marks were there heading into the season there so many who already gave up instead hoping they'd have their day. Well they have it, it's here and. Hope they feel real good about that because it seems they're happy.

The above is a steaming pile of merde. Almost no one feels like that. Any feelings of celebration will not be "because [we] were right'", they will come from the fact that if KO leaves, we will have some hope. I can only speak for myself when I say I was hoping that season would prove me wrong. Everyone was saying that a program turnaround led by Ollie would have been the best thing that could have happened. I take no pleasure in being right about KO, I would much rather be taking my traditional seat on selection Sunday. And throughout this season on the Yard the frustration for me didn't come from Ollie, he is what he is, it came from the misguided folks here peeing on our legs and telling us it's raining. Anyone else remember the justification given for that bad game against horrible Columbia? "They are a pretty good team, they only lost to Colgate by 7." That nonsense went on all year. It still goes on in this thread.

 

[The Funster]

So you are a child?

At heart, yes. Nobody has brought, or can bring, anything new to the table. It's the same people posting the same rhetoric. I think my post was more enlightening than most I have read lately.

YMMV.

 

[freescooter]

I have multiple UConn degrees and I competed in a UConn uniform for 4 years on teams that won conference titles and New England titles. I’ll put my “blue blood” up ahgainst anyone’s. This academic year I’ve rooted in person for 7 different UConn teams and by year’s end will probably make 8-9. So I have just as much connection to this University and this athletic program as Kevin Ollie. And he is doing damage to this program and this institution. He needs to just go and let somebody competent take over.

 

[CL82]

UConn has made one NCAA tournament championship in the last 4 seasons and though the last 2 seasons have been awful by any objective standard. I don't see how anyone could advocate this continuing next season for dropping one of the 9 active coaches who have won a national championship.

I'm not actually advocating for Ollie to get another year, but I hate when people disregard the 2014 natty. It is part of the tapestry that is KO's tenure at UConn and a big part of it at that.

That said, KO looks lost. I don't think he sees a way out of the hole he's dug, except to keep right on digging. Ending KO's tenure at UConn is a mercy killing at this point. I appreciate all he's done for us as a player, an assistant and head coach, but it is time for him to go.

 

[Hi-Low]

It's not really up to me but...........I really haven't seen anything in the past 4 years to make me believe in KO going forward. He doesn't demonstrate that he is really up to the challenge to turn this around, so I think it's really time for all of us to move on.

 

[CL82]

It's not really up to me but......I really haven't seen anything in the past 4 years to make me believe in KO going forward. He doesn't demonstrate that he is really up to the challenge to turn this around, so I think it's really time for all of us to move on.

 

[August_West]

You aren't forced to read the threads

Jmick

 

[SeattleHoop]

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Blah, blah, blah!

Yeah but that solution has been driven home here again and again. It’s possible but funding the buyout is the real challenge.

PS: No need for the Ollie bashing. It’s insensitive.

 

[HuskyHawk]

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.

I agree with your conclusion. I would like for UConn and Kevin to find a way to part ways, where both win. Maybe Kevin gets a new NBA assistant job and partial buyout. If he is back, the team will probably be slightly better. As for real progress, I think it can only occur when Kevin realizes that he is in over his head. That his schemes don't work, the players don't buy in, he can't seem to evaluate talent (not just recruiting, but among the guys on the roster) and he doesn't prepare well for specific opponents or adjust in games. He has a lot to learn about being a head coach.

 

[Captbluefin]

If Ollie leaves
Jalen dosent return
Akinjo dosent come
Ty polley leaves
Josh leaves
Emit leves unless chills is hired

My guess is Cobb and Isaiah are most likely already leaving. Cobb and Ollie’s relationship is gone and isiah is far to over his head at a program of this level.

Yeah let's wait until the season is over and we go through the process before we start speculating on transfers and decommits

Reality Sucks and that’s pretty much Reality