In Face of Adversity, Kevin Ollie is Having Perhaps Best Season on Sidelines

[UConn07]

In Face of Adversity, Kevin Ollie Having Perhaps His Best Year As Head Coach – This is UConn Country

 

[Huskybass]

I enjoyed KO's first season nearly as much as the Championship run.

This season has certainly been trying, but will likely pay dividends next season.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Yes, Ollie's 13-13 record will stand up right next to Diaco's 6-7 in the pantheon of coaching masterpieces. Along with 2012 depending who you ask.

 

[tcf15]

So great that it's worth asking this question

 

[Tenspro2002]

KO can coach through adversity just fine. What remains to be seen is whether he can coach consistently great teams that are relevant more often than not.

Obviously you're not going to get rid of him after this year. But the next 1-2 years are put up or shut up. We'll have cleared out the recruiting chaff from the sanctions years. These teams will be entirely the teams that KO is capable of putting together. We'll see if they're good enough.

 

[gtcam]

In Face of Adversity, Kevin Ollie Having Perhaps His Best Year As Head Coach – This is UConn Country

Really wish you hadn't opened up the eyes, attitudes/ire and fingers of the KO bashers, They were in great force Wednesday night and yesterday - now this
Thanks for the article and reflects my feelings and attitude - but to each their own
Already started with the Diaco comparatives
its so sorry but I'm used to dealing with downers at work and in my 26 years as a coach myself
to each their own

 

[gtcam]

KO can coach through adversity just fine. What remains to be seen is whether he can coach consistently great teams that are relevant more often than not.

Obviously you're not going to get rid of him after this year. But the next 1-2 years are put up or shut up. We'll have cleared out the recruiting chaff from the sanctions years. These teams will be entirely the teams that KO is capable of putting together. We'll see if they're good enough.

Not sure if the sanction chaff is gone but he still has the conference image issues so things aren't crystal clear

 

[Travelman6]

mmm....Okay, but next year is the put up or shut up year. Top 3 finish in the aac, 12 wins in the aac at least, 20+ wins in the regular season and 22 or so is more or less the actual expectation, top 6 seed (even a 5) and at least a win, if not two in March.

 

[JSM1970]

I agree, I think they are hopefully developing some confidence for next season, but this year is terrible.

0 top 75 wins, 3 top 100

Duke & Cuse both played 7 players the other night

KU and UK play 7 players like 90%+ of the minutes except blowouts

Yes, Ollie's 13-13 record will stand up right next to Diaco's 6-7 in the pantheon of coaching masterpieces. Along with 2012 depending who you ask.

 

[tykurez]

I agree, I think they are hopefully developing some confidence for next season, but this year is terrible.

0 top 75 wins, 3 top 100

Duke & Cuse both played 7 players the other night

KU and UK play 7 players like 90%+ of the minutes except blowouts

I hope you at least have a hotkey saved on your computer that automatically generates "[team] plays 7 players" to save you some time. It must be exhausting.

Can you really not see the difference between Duke, KU and UK playing 7 vs. the 7 that UConn plays this season?

 

[Waquoit]

Top 5, without a doubt.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

On the subject of fatigue, we have one player on the team who can create shots. One...

When that one player gets tired or is hurting, then the offense grinds to a hault. Our already predictable offense falls apart, we give up live ball turnovers and take bad shots, and the other team runs up the score until that one player can create something again.

I'm sure Purvis, Brimah, and Facey had fresh legs, but then again, it's easy to have fresh legs when you're making your sophomore teammate carry the entire load.

 

[ctchamps]

On the subject of fatigue, we have one player on the team who can create shots. One...

When that one player gets tired or is hurting, then the offense grinds to a hault. Our already predictable offense falls apart, we give up live ball turnovers and take bad shots, and the other team runs up the score until that one player can create something again.

I'm sure Purvis, Brimah, and Facey had fresh legs, but then again, it's easy to have fresh legs when you're making your sophomore teammate carry the entire load.

Disagree about Rodney and Kentan. Rodney is constantly assigned the opposing teams best perimeter player and Kentan has been a warrior logging big minutes. Only Amida has figured out how to get rest during games.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Disagree about Rodney and Kentan. Rodney is constantly assigned the opposing teams best perimeter player and Kentan has been a warrior logging big minutes. Only Amida has figured out how to get rest during games.

It was metaphorical more than literal.

But the point stands. It's possible the next four games are the last games of consequence our seniors will ever play on American soil. It's now or never.

 

[Paesano]

Not sure if the sanction chaff is gone but he still has the conference image issues so things aren't crystal clear

Excuses. Sanctions are well in the rear view mirror. It is a stretch to blame this season on them. Next season is a MAJOR stretch. As for conference, I present to you Gonzaga, Wichita State and Villanova. None of them are from P5 conferences and this idea of a P6 conference is just a flawed construct to avoid the comparison.

 

[AntG168]

mmm....Okay, but next year is the put up or shut up year. Top 3 finish in the aac, 12 wins in the aac at least, 20+ wins in the regular season and 22 or so is more or less the actual expectation, top 6 seed (even a 5) and at least a win, if not two in March.

12 wins is a low expectation in this conference. We could have gotten 12 this year. Lol

 

[Travelman6]

12 wins is a low expectation in this conference. We could have gotten 12 this year. Lol

Sure man, they should have had 12 this year. They will probably have 10 but should have had 12. Maybe next year they can go for 13 or 14. I figure at least one loss to smu, cincy and Houston and maybe another 1 or 2 somewhere else, maybe memphis or if ucf improves. Maybe 13-5 or 14-4 is not outside of the realm of possibility but now I am afraid to have expectations that are too high. I should, but I am afraid. 9-2 or something outside of conference play is possible. That would put them around 22-7 or 23-6. 2-1 in aacT (at least a finals loss to cincy or smu) would put them at 24-8 or 25-7. That is where they should be, actually. So for next year they should be hovering around 25 wins by selection sunday...so maybe 22 is actually to low an estimate so I retract my 20 win statement earlier. Fans expecting any less than 20 wins for next year are not demanding enough.

 

[ctchamps]

Excuses. Sanctions are well in the rear view mirror. It is a stretch to blame this season on them. Next season is a MAJOR stretch. As for conference, I present to you Gonzaga, Wichita State and Villanova. None of them are from P5 conferences and this idea of a P6 conference is just a flawed construct to avoid the comparison.

I'm sure you don't say to a patient the reason you have lung cancer is because you started coughing when you came to my office. That it has nothing to do with smoking 2-3 packs a day for thirty years. And to follow up with the parallel I'm making regarding your post I doubt you will ever say to a patient that their treatment will only take one pill and that the one pill is guaranteed to provide a complete recovery.

Do you apply the same reasoning as you do in your post and call it excuses if a physician says to a patient there could be extensive treatments required which may take years, treatments for which there are no guarantees and which could result in that patient still dying even after trying everything?! You know very well that some illnesses develop well before symptoms are expressed, that the greater the impact to cells by carcinogens the longer the treatments may take and the worse the prognosis. And in spite of the best efforts and the most capable physicians there are no guarantees they can overcome the original abuse to the body.

Amida, Kentan and Steve are players that KO was forced to recruit because of those APR sanctions. Last I've observed they are still in uniform. The sanction are still in play as long as these three players are playing. Furthermore @Matrim55 has described in detail how the past three classes were forced to be unbalanced because of those restrictions. He's pointed out how KO has had to bandage last season with 5th years because of that imbalance. And that it will take one more class to get that balance. He's also described how injuries and the need to withdraw Zach's scholarship are still in play delaying this balance even further.

One thing we can agree on. Conference affiliation is a non factor at the moment. It could become a significant factor. Currently there are significant numbers of non P5 schools still making noise. And a significant number of P5 schools who completely stink and have so for a long time.

 

[tykurez]

Sanctions are well in the rear view mirror.

This is the most damaging part of the sanctions in the flesh. There is a lasting, trailing affect on a reduction of scholarships and recruiting restrictions that don't necessarily show up right away. The 2015 class was the first Ollie recruited for without some level of restrictions in place. @fleudslipcon has it right, but we're talking about Jalen Adams' class here. We are only now just getting out of that mess, and it was evidenced by a pretty darn good 2016 class.

 

[Paesano]

I'm sure you don't say to a patient the reason you have lung cancer is because you started coughing when you came to my office. That it has nothing to do with smoking 2-3 packs a day for thirty years. And to follow up with the parallel I'm making regarding your post I doubt you will ever say to a patient that their treatment will only take one pill and that the one pill is guaranteed to provide a complete recovery.

Do you apply the same reasoning as you do in your post and call it excuses if a physician says to a patient there could be extensive treatments required which may take years, treatments for which there are no guarantees and which could result in that patient still dying even after trying everything?! You know very well that some illnesses develop well before symptoms are expressed, that the greater the impact to cells by carcinogens the longer the treatments may take and the worse the prognosis. And in spite of the best efforts and the most capable physicians there are no guarantees they can overcome the original abuse to the body.

Amida, Kentan and Steve are players that KO was forced to recruit because of those APR sanctions. Last I've observed they are still in uniform. The sanction are still in play as long as these three players are playing. Furthermore @Matrim55 has described in detail how the past three classes were forced to be unbalanced because of those restrictions. He's pointed out how KO has had to bandage last season with 5th years because of that imbalance. And that it will take one more class to get that balance. He's also described how injuries and the need to withdraw Zach's scholarship are still in play delaying this balance even further.

One thing we can agree on. Conference affiliation is a non factor at the moment. It could become a significant factor. Currently there are significant numbers of non P5 schools still making noise. And a significant number of P5 schools who completely stink and have so for a long time.

If you follow this particular thread back, it leads to a post by tenspro2002 where he said "the next 1-2 years are put up or shut up. We'll have cleared out the recruiting chaff from the sanctions years." So I am not talking about this year as much as I am about next year. Yes, Brimah is a result of the sanctions so, yes, the sanctions are somewhat responsible for this debacle. But neither our freshman nor or sophomore classes were affected. Look at Duke. Look at Kentucky. Look at Kansas. Look at UNC. They have freshman and sophomores that are way better than Brimah. We are still affected by having to use Brimah because we haven't been able to recruit over him in three years where two of those years were completely unaffected by sanctions. That is why I say it is a stretch to use sanctions as an excuse even for this season. Technically, yes, it has an impact but, practically, a "great recruiter" should have been able to recruit over him by now.

But, again, most of us are already looking ahead to next year. VERY few people are calling for Ollie's head this year. Most people are saying we need to see a major turn around either next year or, if you are generous, the year after. I think it is a major stretch to use sanctions as an excuse next year. Only our seniors will be from a class even remotely affected by sanctions. If we don't have 7-8 really good players from the freshman to junior classes, it is on Ollie. That is enough time to build a really good team if you are a really good coach (recruiting, developing, etc.). Next year had better be really good or more than a couple people will be calling for his head. We should finish both the regular season and the post-season in the Top 25. That should be a piece of cake for a championship caliber coach who is a great recruiter with three unhindered classes in the fold.

 

[huskymagic]

If we are not where SMU and Cincinnati are today next year as it relates to the standings then Ollie needs to go ASAP. There is no more excuses, if we are feeling the effects of sanctions what have Houston and SMU and Cinci been feeling when they get maybe 1 guy in the top 100 instead of 4 like we did. We need to have a SMU/Cinci type of regular season next year or its time to look to a new direction less we want to end up as Georgetown. No more Olliesms or excuses about this or that. If he can't get it done next year with nearly everyone back and the addition of Terry, Gilbert, Makai, Mamadou, Polley and Carlton, then that would be a massive indictment of Kevin Ollie. Incorporating new pieces isn't an excuses as every good program has to do it before the next apologists come with that ready-made platitude.

 

[Jaker]

Will Larrier and AG come back and be healthy?? They will be huge factors in how our season goes next year.

 

[BUConn10]

Yes, Ollie's 13-13 record will stand up right next to Diaco's 6-7 in the pantheon of coaching masterpieces. Along with 2012 depending who you ask.

Reducing our own standards for the sake of feeling better.

 

[Matrim55]

But neither our freshman nor or sophomore classes were affected.

Our sophomore class was, indeed, affected. We weren't allowed to send out a full battery of assistants until those players were juniors, which greatly limited our options & our ability to ID the talent we wanted (hence Turtle Jackson).

2016 is the first class we've had that wasn't affected.

Look at Duke. Look at Kentucky. Look at Kansas. Look at UNC.

Look at Indiana. Look at Syracuse, with their worst incoming class in more than two decades. Look at Illinois and Michigan, two schools that have yet to become what they once were, pre-sanctions.

IDK man, maybe sanctions are tough to come back from?

Only our seniors will be from a class even remotely affected by sanctions.

Next year's team will have literally zero seniors, so this is a non-sensical statement. And again: Our junior class was heavily affected by sanctions. We got our top target (Adams) and then a project big fell into our laps (Enoch), and other than that we missed on every other recruit. Same with 2014.

 

[intlzncster]

This is the most damaging part of the sanctions in the flesh. There is a lasting, trailing affect on a reduction of scholarships and recruiting restrictions that don't necessarily show up right away. The 2015 class was the first Ollie recruited for without some level of restrictions in place.

Consider the poster tho