If you care about Uconn basketball

[Guapo]

Nobody quit against Michigan State. A much better team played perfectly for the last 10 minutes.

There is a case to be made against KO. But you'll find that you won't change anyone's mind by exaggerating it.

Nobody quit against Michigan State.

I thought I may have seen some quit against Arkansas though...

 

[QDOG5]

The first five pages have been a pleasant read.

 

[microfich]

Nobody quit against Michigan State. A much better team played perfectly for the last 10 minutes.

There is a case to be made against KO. But you'll find that you won't change anyone's mind by exaggerating it.

My point was leadership.
If you need to ignore that by picking out parts of sentences, I'll give you Mich St. re: quitting. They were awesome but would've been nice to have at least one defender.
I'm not pimping for KO's firing either. He can improve, though.

 

[businesslawyer]

Nobody quit against Michigan State.

I thought I may have seen some quit against Arkansas though...

It's absolutely fair to say they quit against Arkansas. Again, I'm not defending KO. But making a rational case against him among UConn fans is not helped by idiotic hyperbole.

Personally, a lot of this crap about psychologically how into it he is strikes me as crap. I think we have learned fairly definitively at this point, however, that he is not going to put in an offense that will work for the level of talent that we have or play to their strengths. Let's look at Larrier for example. He is not a good enough ball handler or passer to be a star if he has to make one on one plays against a set defense. On the other hand, he is a talented enough scorer that if you run plays to get him open looks -- or even space to put the ball on the floor where the D is already out of position and moving to have stopped a previous attack -- he can be a really good player.

What adds to this frustration is that we see this issue with his coaching while, at the same time, we've moved career x and o guys like Blaney and Miller out of the program.

Again, a case can be made. But throwing in lines like we quit against MSU just weakens it.

 

[Guapo]

It's absolutely fair to say they quit against Arkansas. Again, I'm not defending KO. But making a rational case against him among UConn fans is not helped by idiotic hyperbole.

Oh yeah, totally agree.

People saying they want Ollie fired now and claiming they won't watch another game till it happens is the hieght of hyperbole.

 

[Jerry1714]

They didn’t play with 6 guys so just stop! There was a 3 game stretch or so when two of his soft recruits who later transferred out sat out, but otherwise it was an 8 man team. Yes, Larrier, Gilbert and Mamadou were lost early, but KO inexplicably left the roster with two unfilled scholarships! He deserved a mulligan due to injuries but he also shares in the blame for the lack of depth.

So you cry about the hyperbole and then agree with my overall point. Cool.

 

[businesslawyer]

Oh yeah, totally agree.

People saying they want Ollie fired now and claiming they won't watch another game till it happens is the hieght of hyperbole.

So I'll make one other point, and since people have thrown the name Mike Davis in on this thread let's use IU to make it. IU fans were beyond frustrated towards the end of the Davis years. Did they ever have less than 4k for a home game at 4-2 when both of the losses were to good teams? Whether KO stays or goes, a coaches ability to recruit players, and an AD's ability to get a good coach, are directly tied in to the support of the fanbase. We had more loyal, ticket buying fans in the last days of the Yankee Conference playing at a much lower level, and the Perno and early JC years in the Big East where we were so outmatched it was hard to see us ever being the best team in the conference, than we do now. It is not a one on one correlation, but the more fans keep buying tickets during the painful periods, the better the odds we come out of that period sooner and better.

Don't mind passionate fans questioning if we have the right leadership for the program. Mind people who don't ever buy tickets thinking they are passionate fans.

 

[Guapo]

So I'll make one other point, and since people have thrown the name Mike Davis in on this thread let's use IU to make it. IU fans were beyond frustrated towards the end of the Davis years. Did they ever have less than 4k for a home game at 4-2 when both of the losses were to good teams? Whether KO stays or goes, a coaches ability to recruit players, and an AD's ability to get a good coach, are directly tied in to the support of the fanbase. We had loyal, ticket buying fans in the last days of the Yankee Conference playing at a much lower level, and the Perno and early JC years in the Big East where we were so outmatched it was hard to see us ever being the best team in the conference, when we do now. It is not a one on one correlation, but the more fans keep buying tickets during the painful periods, the better the odds we come out of that period sooner and better.

Don't mind passionate fans questioning if we have the right leadership for the program. Mind people who don't ever buy tickets thinking they are passionate fans.

You are preaching to the choir!

 

[TheRealKBuks]

Our big men suck this year, a year in which we needed someone to develop and work with them. For whatever knock there was on Miller, at least the guy had 2 championships under his belt.

Don't forget about the lack of development our big men had under the former regime. We watched as Brimah and Facey returned basically the same exact player year after year.

 

[RipCity]

The copypasta potential from this thread is absolutely incredible. Instant bookmark.

 

[intlzncster]

That's correct. We won't magically learn how to play better if Ollie is still the coach. However, if admin stays with Ollie, then maybe, just maybe recruiting will get better if we are back in the Big East.

Recruiting isn't terrible right now. It's not great, but it's largely an effect of the product. The product stinks right now, and that comes down to coaching. If you are a recruit who tunes in to the UCONN game, are you really gonna be motivated to play in that system?

 

[Bagel&Cheese]

Recruiting isn't terrible right now. It's not great, but it's largely an effect of the product. The product stinks right now, and that comes down to coaching. If you are a recruit who tunes in to the UCONN game, are you really gonna be motivated to play in that system?

Not only does the system stink but these kids want to make it into the NBA and the pipeline stopped with Ollie's recruits.

 

[huskiesnyc]

Tom Crean, Dan Hurley and Steve Pikiell are realistic names that come to mind. I’m not worried about a coach leaving here for Duke or UNC after a successful run here. Let’s just get back to being successful.

 

[tjc1888]

Interesting to me that our best player hasn’t been a leader since Shabazz (someone who JC played a large part in grooming). Since 2014 our best players have lacked the leadership qualities they needed to make their teammates thrive. Boat in 2015, Hamilton, Adams. That starts from the top.

You seem to equate winning to good leadership. Just because Boat didn't make the tournament his senior year, doesn't make him not a good leader. People complained about Bazz's leadership early on in his career, but suddenly he became a leader his Junior/Senior year? Your lines are blurred between leadership and winning.

 

[huskiesnyc]

I’ve really wanted things to work out with Ollie especially after his first two seasons. He’s been a disaster since. I was listening to Francesca interview Calhoun a couple weeks ago and JC alluded to the fact that he wishes he was more involved with the UConn program but respects Ollie’s decision. I instantly became done with Ollie after hearing that. He has one of the top 5 college coaches of all time down the hall and he’s too prideful to ask for a little help.

 

[tjc1888]

Just a laughable thread that could have gone without posting, you could have just disappeared and not been such a sensationalist.

How much is it killing him right now, reading this thread and not being able to respond because of his "stance"

 

[Bagel&Cheese]

Tom Crean, Dan Hurley and Steve Pikiell are realistic names that come to mind. I’m not worried about a coach leaving here for Duke or UNC after a successful run here. Let’s just get back to being successful.

Hurley or Pikiell or good choices...

 

[tentoes4rings]

Not only does the system stink but these kids want to make it into the NBA and the pipeline stopped with Ollie's recruits.

He’s produced one NBA player since he took over, Shabazz, and Bazz was JC’s recruit. JC developed guys like Hilton, Hasheem, Donny, Tate , Jake and several others into NBA players.

 

[Saab04]

Good, see ya.

Your that one fan sitting in the arena by yourself enjoying garbage. Trying to convince yourself that Ollie is the guy.

 

[Jerry1714]

Why? We will probably have a losing record at half way point. Only a couple more wins on the schedule. I could see KO out by mid-season unless something drastic happens. He is running this team like he is coaching the Harlem Globetrotters and playing the Washington generals.

halfway there to those couple wins....so we only have 1 more win on the schedule?

 

[tower1]

Not looking for any arguments and pissing matches, I'm done. If you at all care about Uconn basketball and ever want the program to be relevant again I urge you to email, write, call athletic director David Benedict and school president Susan Herbst.

I've beaten this horse dead for the past year and I'm so upset about what's happened that it makes me phyically ill. Kevin Ollie is so far in over his head and isn't the guy many of you think he is. If you care about Uconn basketball you cannot accept this, let the people who run this school know the coach needs to be fired. You may not think it has an effect but it can only help. I won't be posting nearly as much anymore because it angers me too much. I'll be back once Ollie is no longer our coach.

I agree with you he is not the coach for this team. But remember they rewarded him with a huge contract for having terrible seasons back to back just like Diaco. Our Administrators have to go too.

 

[superjohn]

I agree with you he is not the coach for this team. But remember they rewarded him with a huge contract for having terrible seasons back to back just like Diaco. Our Administrators have to go too.

Buyout not nearly as bad as some on the board have reported. We will get a good coach.

 

[JMick]

Buyout not nearly as bad as some on the board have reported. We will get a good coach.

how is it not the $10mm+? the language seems pretty clear

 

[navery12]

how is it not the $10mm+? the language seems pretty clear

Just curious where you see the language about the $10M+? I'm looking at a PDF of his contract right now and see the $600K language written in there

 

[JMick]

Just curious where you see the language about the $10M+? I'm looking at a PDF of his contract right now and see the $600K language written in there

the contract differentiates between the salary and the media appearance payout, but his buyout says that he's entitled to the sum of both through the life of the contract