In a nutshell...

[intlzncster]

Yup .
" Brand of basketball"

This " brand of basketball" won us a natty 4 years ago. It's no different.

The difference is the players. Now buck stops with coach there too. Not making excuse. Absolutely. But I still believe this is a winning "brand of basketball"

I mean I just watched the game on DVR a couple hours ago. Jalen Adams deserves a better supporting cast around him. I want to cry for him. We simply don't have anyone on our squad besides Jalen that belongs on the floor with Nova. Not one. Early in the game Jalen was playing a masterful floor general game . Our brand of hoops got us some great looks . But no one can do anything even when put in spots to succeed. Larrier was a disaster. Vital is maddening. And it gets worse from there. Anderson has to play, but good grief. Carlton coming along well. Next year he will belong the floor with Nova. So will Jalen so will Alterique. Those are a nice foundation to work with.

KO fails a lot of tests. But the players are failing too.

I agree that the players are a part of the problem. But this brand of basketball requires certain types of players. A few clutch studs who can shoot.

The guys coming in aren't program changers. They might help, but we are not talking a bunch of impact players. And in terms of younger guys developing...this is the same staff that hasn't managed to do much of that for a few years now. I don't know how much better kids are going to get better under him. Carlton is coming along, yes, but that could simply be from getting more experience under his belt.

If we play this brand of basketball with this same group, plus the additions, is it really going to be that much better? idk

I will be more than happy to see Wilson on the court over Larrier.

 

[tentoes4rings]

W

Yup .
" Brand of basketball"

This " brand of basketball" won us a natty 4 years ago. It's no different.

The difference is the players. Now buck stops with coach there too. Not making excuse. Absolutely. But I still believe this is a winning "brand of basketball"

I mean I just watched the game on DVR a couple hours ago. Jalen Adams deserves a better supporting cast around him. I want to cry for him. We simply don't have anyone on our squad besides Jalen that belongs on the floor with Nova. Not one. Early in the game Jalen was playing a masterful floor general game . Our brand of hoops got us some great looks . But no one can do anything even when put in spots to succeed. Larrier was a disaster. Vital is maddening. And it gets worse from there. Anderson has to play, but good grief. Carlton coming along well. Next year he will belong the floor with Nova. So will Jalen so will Alterique. Those are a nice foundation to work with.

KO fails a lot of tests. But the players are failing too.

But these are his guys August. He’s the one who thought Larrier would be special, that Anderson had NBA potential, that Polley was a good recruit, that Durham could be the same guy after two torn acls, that Alterique would be healthy enough to run the team, that Vance, Durham, Enoch etc were UConn tough players, that Cobb was worth the risk etc... If he wasn’t so stubborn and would be willing to bring in an assistant to run the offense, I might be willing to give him that final chance as coach. The problem is he’s also the GM, responsible for stocking the cupboard for the coach, a role he’s proven to be poor at. He’s just not up to the task and not equipped to handle all the responsibilities of a head coach of a major D1 basketball program.

 

[August_West]

The guys coming in aren't program changers. They might help, but we are not talking a bunch of impact players

Who were the impact players on 14?

It wasn't freshmen . It was a fully mature Napier and a real pest in boat.

Giffey was nothing until senior year. We played Nolan and Brimah up front.

Don't ever underestimate how different a healthy alterique Gilbert and a mature Jalen Adams can all of a sudden make Ollie ( or any coach) look like a genius instead of a clueless idiot.

 

[jibsey]

I don’t know what kind of shooters we have coming in next year but while I realize basketball is more than shooting, have you watched the teams that have destroyed us? It’s been the 3. They can shoot it, we can’t. Nova had 5 guys 40-45%. If the guards and small forwards can’t shoot, don’t take them. KO was not a 3 point shooter either but he made it work but the game is not that way now.

 

[Captbluefin]

New Coach and everyone will be blaming Ollie for years and years when keep on sucking..

A top tier coach who can recruit is not walking thru the door folks. Ollie needs to go but your not getting any heavy hitter.. Dan Hurley will BOMB here big time !!!

 

[sportsmatter1]

Because Kevin Ollie refuses to recruit those kids. He’d rather have super skinny kids who can’t shoot. He was right on Vance Jackson, but lost him after a year.

Noted, but I mean like a mad bomber like that Villanova kid. That shot was sweet as honey in a hot cup of tea!

 

[KodiacKemba]

UConn colossally botches four-on-one - ESPN Video

 

[sportsmatter1]

UConn colossally botches four-on-one - ESPN Video

#sigh

 

[Towney007]

I actually do. I'm willing to give another year to him because the potential returns far outweigh the risks in my mind. You have a guy that is fully vested in the program. If he can figure it out we will be in an enviable spot for years. Don't get me wrong, he is definitely an underdog right now. I think he will have to do some major soul searching this off season and next year because the writing is on the wall. He has to improve and he knows it.

Look at Jay Wright's first couple of years. I'm sure you can look at a whole bunch of different coaches' early records and you'll see the same thing. If Kevin Ollie can succeed here then the program is set for 20+ years. If we bring someone with no allegiance to the program we could be facing a turnstile head coaching spot and I feel that is just as bad as what we're going through now.

Some people may think that another year of these results will somehow bury the program forever. I just don't see it that way. If UCONN beat mich st and unc out in oregon the media would have been all over them. I don't get the feeling that we're on the brink of total anhilation because we aren't. If they win they will be instantly "relevant" again.

I understand where you're coming from and you have every right to be calling for KO's head. You can rightfully ask how will anything change next year. People grow and change, especially when faced with adversity. Maybe it's a long shot, but for the long run I think giving KO one more chance is worth the risk.

Do you honestly understand how indescribably far away we are from competing with programs like that or have the last five blowouts just not clicked yet? Or the last 2-3 years of losing to those programs badly and consistently?

That is literally, actually delusional.

Don't get me wrong, I wanted the guy to succeed. I mean write a better script? Alum turned hard knocks, perservering NBA player comes home to learn under his mentor, walks them through the wildnerness of probation to a miraculous national championship... young, committed to the school forever... not that it matters, but a diversity hire to boot is a nice cherry on top... Everything you could POSSIBLY want.

But since that title it's been a total and complete disaster. There's no getting around it. And it's even harder to defend when you see the rest of the conference getting better and passing you.

 

[NCHusky91]

Who do I want to coach? Someone who can do a better job recruiting, developing, retaining, and in-game coaching better than Kevin Ollie currently does. It's not too tall an order.

 

[UConnNick]

The BE has been consistently ranked in the top conferences in the country since the reboot. P5 is a football term. The Big East is projected to finish as the 2nd best conference this year.

P5 is not just a football term when you consider it's the difference between making a $20-30 million TV payout per school vs. a few million or much less per school. By that standard, no matter how well regarded the NBE may be as a purely BB league, they are still decidedly a mid major conference money wise, and that's all that matters. Also, check out their woeful TV ratings for their only major sport. They routinely get beat out by women's BB games in the same time slots. Almost nobody cares about a league full of small catholic and private schools.

 

[intlzncster]

A top tier coach who can recruit is not walking thru the door folks. Ollie needs to go but your not getting any heavy hitter.. Dan Hurley will BOMB here big time !!!

Why? He hasn't bombed anywhere else. URI is on the cusp of the Top 25.

 

[WestHartHusk]

New Coach and everyone will be blaming Ollie for years and years when keep on sucking..

A top tier coach who can recruit is not walking thru the door folks. Ollie needs to go but your not getting any heavy hitter.. Dan Hurley will BOMB here big time !!!

Yeah, if only we would pay top 10 money maybe we can get a coach. Great take.

 

[djct1999]

Zion Williamson just committed to Duke unexpectedly. Let's just take all the bad that comes with Jeff Capel. At worst, atleast he will recruit UConn athletes.

 

[intlzncster]

Zion Williamson just committed to Duke unexpectedly. Let's just take all the bad that comes with Jeff Capel. At worst, atleast he will recruit UConn athletes.

His methods are protected there. Would not be the case here.

 

[KodiacKemba]

Zion Williamson just committed to Duke unexpectedly. Let's just take all the bad that comes with Jeff Capel. At worst, atleast he will recruit UConn athletes.

Not hard to get top recruits to come to duke , now if capel could get the same recruits to go to Wofford I’ll be very impressed

 

[djct1999]

Not hard to get top recruits to come to duke , now if capel could get the same recruits to go to Wofford I’ll be very impressed

You sound very naive.

 

[djct1999]

His methods are protected there. Would not be the case here.

Probably right.

 

[KodiacKemba]

You sound very naive.

So you don’t think coach k can get recruits to come to duke ?? Better yet do you feel duke would not get top recruits if capel left ??

 

[tentoes4rings]

Noted, but I mean like a mad bomber like that Villanova kid. That shot was sweet as honey in a hot cup of tea!

Which kid? The one with the Italian name?

 

[g_smith]

Heard it was taken away. Are there really rules against that sort of thing?

I’m not sure how it went down and I had the same question - is there a rule? Or maybe the kid knew it would be taken and didn’t try to fight it/ didn’t care if it’s a real rule or not.

 

[Pudge]

No, not a fluke, but only attributable to Ollie in the sense that he didn't screw it up. Shabazz was the coach of that team. If we didn't know it then, we know it now.
[Hashtag]
.com

Frigging ridiculous

Nobody with any sense is in this Camp. Kevin Ollie did a brilliant job in winning MM in 2014. Kids don’t coach. But ... here’s the CLUE ... it takes far more to be a top Program. Ollie hasn’t recruited a group that fits; he’s proven to not develop kids over the arc of college eligibility; his game coaching has been exposed as the specific talents prove lacking.

UConn did Win the 2014 National Championship. How we are now a mess is a really instructive story.

 

[sportsmatter1]

Which kid? The one with the Italian name?

Sorry don't remember his name, every time I got up and came back he was banging a three in from like every spot on the floor.

 

[MadDogRevival]

Frigging ridiculous. Nobody with any sense is in this Camp.

I love it when the opposition starts with, "If you disagree with me, you have no sense." Brilliant counter point.
KO had ZERO to do with making Shabazz the player he became. Or Giffey, or DD, or Boatright. Calhoun chose the players. Calhoun broke them in and trained them. Ollie had them for 1 year prior to the championship season. Not long enough to infect them, apparently. Believe what you want. If AB doesn't hit that 3, there is ZERO doubt that Ollie was a complete bust. He didn't out coach St. Joes - he got lucky that he didn't cost us the game. The players won the NC. Not Ollie. He was along for the ride. I didn't want to believe it at first, but it's clear as day in the rear view mirror - the 2014 squad won in spite of Ollie, not because of him. He's awful. He's been awful from day one. The Calhoun momentum earned the 4th natty, not Ollie's coaching. When the momentum ran out, so did the success.

In short, if you haven't been paying attention - immediately upon the exhaustion of the Calhoun momentum the program tanked and has sucked since.

It's Ollie. It's always been Ollie. He may be the worst coach in Div. 1. Completely serious when I say that.

That makes the 2014 team's achievement even more impressive.
Shabazz said, "this is what happens what you ban us." The motivation came from within.

Ollie is not a head coach. At any level. Period.
This is business. Let's get on with it.

 

[SouthBayHusky]

New Coach and everyone will be blaming Ollie for years and years when keep on sucking..

A top tier coach who can recruit is not walking thru the door folks. Ollie needs to go but your not getting any heavy hitter.. Dan Hurley will BOMB here big time !!!

What makes you believe Danny Hurley would bomb here? Look what he’s done at Rhode Island, in a lesser conference, at a lesser school with less history, less $, and greater recruiting challenges. His brother is doing well too.