It hurts.

[noeynox]

We were never really in that game in the sense that it felt like we had a run in us to take the lead.

We have no identity. Can't shoot, can't defend, don't get the loose balls. Watching them dominate the boards the way they did was particularly frustrating.

At the moment this looks nothing like the program we grew up watching add to it the frustration of hearing the announcers talk about our recruiting sucking and it just doesn't feel good about our future.

 

[Milo65]

We were never really in that game in the sense that it felt like we had a run in us to take the lead.

We have no identity. Can't shoot, can't defend, don't get the loose balls. Watching them dominate the boards the way they did was particularly frustrating.

At the moment this looks nothing like the program we grew up watching add to it the frustration of hearing the announcers talk about our recruiting sucking and it just doesn't feel good about our future.

Well said, so many emotions right now. The worst part about it for me is that this program lacks all of the trademarks that were the hallmarks of UConn Basketball. Grit, toughness, swagger, athleticism, lockdown defense. I’m watching some alien team in UConn uniforms.

 

[EBonz30]

Not sure what everyone expected going into the season, I thought it was pretty obvious going into the year we weren’t going to be very good. The bigs have no experience & not much talent, which I all thought we knew going into this season?

Sounds like so many people are surprised in the yard, which is very confusing to me?

 

[Milo65]

Not sure what everyone expected going into the season, I thought it was pretty obvious going into the year we weren’t going to be very good. The bigs have no experience & not much talent, which I all thought we knew going into this season?

Sounds like so many people are surprised in the yard, which is very confusing to me?

Not surprised about the outcome. I’m surprised about the excuses. In my mind this falls on Ollie. 4 years after a NC and this program is on the level of Monmouth and Columbia.

 

[jibsey]

Size, athleticism, talent. Our play design and coaching stinks but no coach can overcome that. The announcers said UConn is not getting the talent in the AAC, but I want to know why Wichita, Cincy, SMU, Houston, and others are getting players? In fact I watched Houston destroy Arkansas and their players are real power athletes not like ours.

 

[GuardU]

Size, athleticism, talent. Our play design and coaching stinks but no coach can overcome that. The announcers said UConn is not getting the talent in the AAC, but I want to know why Wichita, Cincy, SMU, Houston, and others are getting players? In fact I watched Houston destroy Arkansas and their players are real power athletes not like ours.

Well said. Sounded like Ollie prepped Greenberg well to help save his job. Except the rationale doesn't make much sense. It's not like we're running away with the AAC and then unable to compete with the P5 schools. We're having trouble beating UCF and Tulsa, let alone SMU and Cincy. You look at the athletes we've rolled out the last few years vs. SMU, Cincy and even Houston it looks like they are recruiting men vs. our boys. They're in the same conf. - how are they able to recruit these men with much less historic success to sell? Time for Chill to earn his check. Need MORE for next year!

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Not sure what everyone expected going into the season, I thought it was pretty obvious going into the year we weren’t going to be very good. The bigs have no experience & not much talent, which I all thought we knew going into this season?

Sounds like so many people are surprised in the yard, which is very confusing to me?

Four years after a NC, it is sad (inexcusable) that this post sounds like something from the football thread. You are correct . . . about everything that is lacking.

 

[noeynox]

Size, athleticism, talent. Our play design and coaching stinks but no coach can overcome that. The announcers said UConn is not getting the talent in the AAC, but I want to know why Wichita, Cincy, SMU, Houston, and others are getting players? In fact I watched Houston destroy Arkansas and their players are real power athletes not like ours.

This. Graduate transfers, jucos are stop gaps to mask the ugly reality that Ollies recruiting has sucked. Almost none of his freshmen are ready to have a meaningful impact on day one.

 

[Balker]

Player turnover has given us a weakened roster, even with a great coach, it'll be tough to compete with teams that are much larger, stronger, and experienced. Where are we if DHam was here last year? Enoch, Jackson, and Durham are here this year? MAL? You can't build a power program with 3-4 star players if they aren't on the roster more than 2 years, and most of them aren't there for 4. For 3 years we've been coming up short on how long players need to stay for us to turn rebuilding years into deep tourney run years.

Understanding why the player turnover happened over the last two years, and whether that's something that has been stopped, to me, is the most important thing to deciding the fate of the current coaching staff and whether this program can be successful again long term without major shakeups. Whatever the reason those particular players left is, doesn't matter what it was, that has to be resolved. Bad luck? Bad attitudes? Bad coaching? Lack of player development? I don't know for sure why we've bled recruits and players since winning a title, but that flow has to be a trickle.

There are obvious preparedness and coaching issues, but to me, those are worth fixing if the previous issue has been resolved. We need talent. Coaching strategy and preparation are fixable, and Ollie is worth working through those issues with. If he can't create an environment where we can prevent critical player turnover year after year then that isn't fixable.

 

[auror]

This. Graduate transfers, jucos are stop gaps to mask the ugly reality that Ollies recruiting has sucked. Almost none of his freshmen are ready to have a meaningful impact on day one.

Recruiting has been fine. We're pulling in decent classes. It's retention and development that has been the issue, which forces the stop gap transfers. @Balker just put it way better above, though.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Recruiting has been fine. We're pulling in decent classes. It's retention and development that has been the issue, which forces the stop gap transfers. @Balker just put it way better above, though.

The recruiting rankings are highly misleading.

Adams and Gilbert were both thought to be impact players from Day 1. I don't love Adams game but he's been contributor and Gilbert, when healthy, has been good as well.

As far as everyone else? Not a lot to show.

 

[auror]

The recruiting rankings are highly misleading.

Adams and Gilbert were both thought to be impact players from Day 1. I don't love Adams game but he's been contributor and Gilbert, when healthy, has been good as well.

As far as everyone else? Not a lot to show.

Other than Adams/Gilbert who you mentioned, Larrier, Vance, Durham, and Enoch were top 100 recruits and should have been contributors on this team.

Those 3 aren't here and never developed while they were here. And Larrier is coming off major season-ending surgery. That's 6 top 100 recruits in 3 years, which should be good enough for at least an NCAA bid. It's certainly better than any other AAC school. Recruiting rankings aren't perfect, but they're generally more reliable than 0/4 in the 30-100 ranks. Development and retention.

 

[JMick]

Player turnover has given us a weakened roster, even with a great coach, it'll be tough to compete with teams that are much larger, stronger, and experienced. Where are we if DHam was here last year? Enoch, Jackson, and Durham are here this year? MAL? You can't build a power program with 3-4 star players if they aren't on the roster more than 2 years, and most of them aren't there for 4. For 3 years we've been coming up short on how long players need to stay for us to turn rebuilding years into deep tourney run years.

Understanding why the player turnover happened over the last two years, and whether that's something that has been stopped, to me, is the most important thing to deciding the fate of the current coaching staff and whether this program can be successful again long term without major shakeups. Whatever the reason those particular players left is, doesn't matter what it was, that has to be resolved. Bad luck? Bad attitudes? Bad coaching? Lack of player development? I don't know for sure why we've bled recruits and players since winning a title, but that flow has to be a trickle.

There are obvious preparedness and coaching issues, but to me, those are worth fixing if the previous issue has been resolved. We need talent. Coaching strategy and preparation are fixable, and Ollie is worth working through those issues with. If he can't create an environment where we can prevent critical player turnover year after year then that isn't fixable.

Players leave because Ollie is a fraud that doesn't know how to coach and develop players. Everything you think you know about him is a facade