Just heard on WFAN

[Chin Diesel]

Digging in to some of the quotes, hearing Adams say he "kinda notices that trend" about UConn starting out slow and playing to level of competition is horse manure. Be honest with yourself Jalen. Own it and say you are practicing to make it better. Saying you "kinda notice" is really saying you're "kinda pregnant".

 

[Confident Carl]

You are double-counting. AD Benedict knew the situation, knew the unhappiness of the players and interviewed all of them, must have known several were considering transferring and why. You can't count the transfers and the decommit as post-retention decision events.

As for this year, what is surprising about it? With Gilbert there was some hope to become an NCAA bubble team, but without him we're a kenpom #100 team at best and can hope to reach .500 and make the NIT. The team is playing to expectations so far. Unevenly, to be sure, but about as expected. How many teams finish above .500 that lack a center, lack a point guard, lack 3 point shooters, have all-freshman forwards, and lack experience playing together?

As you say, the team has to show cohesion, heart, progress, and signs of good coaching. Another post-season of discontent would be unacceptable. But if the team progresses like a normal basketball team and returns like a basketball team, then I think Ollie gets another year.

Bottom line for me: Ollie has shown once before that he can coach a complete roster with good players to the highest success; and he's shown that with his Chillious-led coaching staff he can recruit effectively. Thus there's reason to hope that we'll in time once again have a complete roster with good players, and we may see them then attain high levels of success. But, it's all dependent on player development and building a team. Let's watch and root for him.

Well said and well done!

Remember what Kevin Durant said about KO? Hoping with the right players he can mold them into a winner.
The current team is too much of a work in progress. No identity. Injuries hurt last year but this year too many young kids and lack of playing time together. I want UCONN to do the best they can this year and hope for a major turnaround next year.

Kevin Durant Credits UConn Coach Kevin Ollie for Helping OKC Thunder Be Winners

Ollie will be given another opportunity to bounce back next year.

 

[AdamaNation]

Lol yeah. firing Ollie will bring better than mediocrity? Have you spent some time thinking about what a program that fires their head coach looks like? it certainty won't be better than mediocrity. and when the new coach comes in and he has the same amount of time to win a NC and not suck a couple years later. What has it been 6years? Fire him and do it again. Foolish!
By the way we are not Mediocre right now. we suck! It kills me. and I blame Ollie as well. but.... the last thing we should do is fire Ollie!!!!! If anything we need Ollie supported more(maybe the nba will come calling again because he is so highly liked?) Our programs history will hold with a couple of losing seasons because of our NC's and we will be back and better than before. = Patience and support! Find some positives you'll be happier.Low expectations the key to happiness.
Questioned to ponder. If Ollie is here for 2 more years and turns next years team into conference runner up and a sweet 16 team. DO you hate yourself for hating Ollie or still hate Ollie and want him fired?

He is also a handpicked alumni national champion coach. If we thought he had a tough act to follow imagine the guy filling kos shoes. Won’t be a lot of suitors chasing down that opportunity especially in this conference. Calhoun has made a new mold in college sports where hockey may be the only other sport similar. If you can build a powerful program why would you leave? And I’m talking about building one. Mark few. Marshall. Bobby Hurley. Danny Hurley? They aren’t coming here to adopt someone else’s kid when they have one of their own. They may move conferences but not from schools. Brad Stevens and billy Donavan are the exceptions but who could say no to Durant and Westbrook at the time, and Brad is a prodigy.

 

[UCweCONN]

Well said and well done!

Remember what Kevin Durant said about KO? Hoping with the right players he can mold them into a winner.
The current team is too much of a work in progress. No identity. Injuries hurt last year but his year to many young kids and lack of playing time together.
I want UCONN to do the best they can this year and hope for a major turnaround next year.

Kevin Durant Credits UConn Coach Kevin Ollie for Helping OKC Thunder Be Winners

Ollie will be given another opportunity to bounce back next year.

Why? You mean like the opportunity he was given the last 4 years? Sure, what the hell. Maybe he'll have a good year and that'll give in the right to the 4 after that to be in the shitter. We used to have pride in our program, now we only have 'next year'.

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

My great uncle...ah, nevermind...probably shouldn't post it on the internet......

We know ...

 

[UCweCONN]

He is also a handpicked alumni national champion coach. If we thought he had a tough act to follow imagine the guy filling kos shoes. Won’t be a lot of suitors chasing down that opportunity especially in this conference. Calhoun has made a new mold in college sports where hockey may be the only other sport similar. If you can build a powerful program why would you leave? And I’m talking about building one. Mark few. Marshall. Bobby Hurley. Danny Hurley? They aren’t coming here to adopt someone else’s kid when they have one of their own. They may move conferences but not from schools. Brad Stevens and billy Donavan are the exceptions but who could say no to Durant and Westbrook at the time, and Brad is a prodigy.

Following the guy with two straight losing seasons for the first time in 35 years will actually be a great situation. You never want to follow a coaching genius and the next guy surely doesn't have to worry about that.

 

[TheDude]

Following the guy with two straight losing seasons for the first time in 35 years will actually be a great situation. You never want to follow a coaching genius and the next guy surely doesn't have to worry about that.

I 've been following this fire Ollie crap for three weeks. We will get an idiot to coach, with all the decommits and transfers, we will be like Memphis USF and Tulsa. For years to come, you'll be all screaming to fire the next guy, After two years of the idiot that follows KO that guy will get fired, then they'll call KO and he'll be like Edsal following Diaco. You heard it here first. Most of you guys don't know what you are wishing for.

 

[LIuconn]

We aren't going to the tournament, again. I'll take my chances on a new coach.

 

[amory]

I mean this is hardly a surprise.

He's been at the helm while the program has done its best impression of the Hindenburg

I'm not the crazy fan some of you are, but I literally never missed a game of UConn basketball growing up, throughout my time in Storrs, and up until about 2 years ago. Now I just don't give a crap. They're boring. They lose to mid majors and SEC schools not named Kentucky or Florida. They haven't won the AAC regular season crown yet!

Ollie may not be the whole problem but he's a significant part of it. It's time for him to go, in my opinion. His ceiling these days is just leading us to the tournament, forget leading us to a title.

 

[superjohn]

He is also a handpicked alumni national champion coach. If we thought he had a tough act to follow imagine the guy filling kos shoes. Won’t be a lot of suitors chasing down that opportunity especially in this conference. Calhoun has made a new mold in college sports where hockey may be the only other sport similar. If you can build a powerful program why would you leave? And I’m talking about building one. Mark few. Marshall. Bobby Hurley. Danny Hurley? They aren’t coming here to adopt someone else’s kid when they have one of their own. They may move conferences but not from schools. Brad Stevens and billy Donavan are the exceptions but who could say no to Durant and Westbrook at the time, and Brad is a prodigy.

What a load of nonsense.

 

[metsfan2323]

I 've been following this fire Ollie crap for three weeks. We will get an idiot to coach, with all the decommits and transfers,.

We had decommits and transfers with Ollie last year. Right now we are likely to finish 7th in the AAC and assuming Larrier and Adams are gone next year won't be any better. Get a clue or change your name to The DUD.

 

[UCDaveD]

I 've been following this fire Ollie crap for three weeks. We will get an idiot to coach, with all the decommits and transfers, we will be like Memphis USF and Tulsa. For years to come, you'll be all screaming to fire the next guy, After two years of the idiot that follows KO that guy will get fired, then they'll call KO and he'll be like Edsal following Diaco. You heard it here first. Most of you guys don't know what you are wishing for.

Wait, wait, wait. Just to clarify, in your bizzaro fantasy world, when UConn fires the next coach and is looking to turn back to the guy who originally built the program up from nothing ala Edsall, Kevin Ollie is the guy you think of?

 

[CL82]

I heard the same thing. I checked the Courant Web site and twitter and nothing is being reported. Sounds like the caller (who supposedly was from Storrs, Ct) just wanted to create some fake news and start a little media/social media storm.

Man, Chillious is a pretty smooth operator.

 

[jdb50]

I 've been following this fire Ollie crap for three weeks. We will get an idiot to coach, with all the decommits and transfers, we will be like Memphis USF and Tulsa. For years to come, you'll be all screaming to fire the next guy, After two years of the idiot that follows KO that guy will get fired, then they'll call KO and he'll be like Edsal following Diaco. You heard it here first. Most of you guys don't know what you are wishing for.

Time to start mainlining the White Russians, just drinking them is not working anymore Dude.

 

[Storrs South]

 

[ASweet3781]

These new worst of stats still leave me stunned. Even though I am becoming numb to all of the awful.

 

[August_West]

These new worst of stats still leave me stunned. Even though I am becoming numb to all of the awful.

Yeah I mean it’s easy to see on the court. We simply can’t score. Like ever.

But it’s still incredibly sobering to see the hard stats that come out of it.

 

[Stainmaster]

"What it takes to be a UConn fan" = tolerance of mediocrity

However much level of mediocrity you do or don't tolerate has absolutely zero bearing on the status of the program.

No disrespect, but so many people here think they matter much more than they do.

 

[Stainmaster]

"Low expectations the key to happiness" gives it away.

Maybe a program like UMass or Central is more your speed.

If UConn became UMass or Central, would you still consider yourself a fan/follow the team/watch games?

 

[champs99and04]

However much level of mediocrity you do or don't tolerate has absolutely zero bearing on the status of the program.

No disrespect, but so many people here think they matter much more than they do.

Every paying customer matters, but the tenspro's of the world are already factored into the calculus when a decision like this needs to be made. When a product declines the expectation is always that less people will pay for it. In this case, that number might not be enough to offset the buyout, so they'll lean on the die-hard's in the meantime and trust that the others will return when the product is up to their standards.

I think the tug-of-war that is going on right now within the fan base is very much undecided, though. If people from this site are genuine about not supporting the program going forward with Ollie in charge, then there is a chance that the AD may act desperately, especially if that sentiment is popular enough to urge donor's to act.

In short, I don't blame those who are dissatisfied for making their voices heard. I'm just not one of them, and I think this board - comprised almost entirely of people who care a lot about UConn basketball - causes the overall numbers to be skewed. Most people are like me. They're unhappy with the current situation, but they're mellow enough after everything the program has accomplished to tolerate mediocrity for the foreseeable future. Honest to God, 2014 was enough for me. I haven't gotten mad watching a college basketball game one time since then and I'm not sure I will again. Kevin Ollie can have a lifetime contract for all I care and go .500 in the AAC every year and I'll be content. If that makes me culpable in the destruction of the program then so be it, but I'll also caution that things could be a lot worse than they are now.

Every fan is not me and so Ollie will be dismissed within a year or two if things don't turn around and the world will go on. I just don't get the sense that the mob is as fierce as this board portrays it to be.

 

[temery]

I just don't get the sense that the mob is as fierce as this board portrays it to be.

It’s not.

 

[metsfan2323]

ammunition to justify a coaching change right here. A totally believable stat to anybody who watches our games.

 

[Ewekon]

Unless they're Kentucky caliber freshmen. Ours aren't.

Bingo

 

[Sea Goat]

I really hope this is misinformation. If this team doesn’t significantly improve its play and finishes below or at .500 he has to go. The program can’t afford another year like this.

KO is not going to leave because of some off the court crisis. However, he is gone if he continues to be uninspiring and not creative or strategic on the bench. That has been the problem. I have never seen so many blank stares on a coaching staff at critical points during a game. You can't coach by slogan only - we need substance! Our brand has taken a hit, but we could normally withstand that. Being in this conference, however, exacerbates such problems.

 

[whaler11]

It’s not.

Yeah the mob’s not fierce at all.

There just isn’t any mob at all. Most people stopped caring or paying attention some time back.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The biggest problem with firing Ollie is that his successor is probably going to be a nobody. It is going to be hard to recruit even a second tier coaching candidate to a remote northern outpost in a southern mid major conference.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Isn't it about time that people acknowledge that Ollie's offense is the problem. These players were able to score in high school, that's how they got scholarships. I had slim hope that Ollie himself would recognize this, but he's filled his bench with yes men assistants.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Ollie isn't getting fired midseason unless he does something terrible off the court.
He isn't getting fired at the end of the year in all likelihood, because we can't afford it.

The most likely scenario (if he is not back) is that Kevin finds another job, maybe an assistant position with the Thunder, and we negotiate a much lower buyout. He saves face, and can continue his career. I am fairly sure that Ollie does not need or want to be fired for non-performance. It's not a resume builder. I also think that he probably needs a change of scenery, and to get the hell away from Connecticut.

 

[djct1999]

The biggest problem with firing Ollie is that his successor is probably going to be a nobody. It is going to be hard to recruit even a second tier coaching candidate to a remote northern outpost in a southern mid major conference.

Thats a separate problem. Without hesitation, Ollie needs to go. That being said, he has destroyed the brand so badly that yes, UConn is in no way a destination job. Our best bet is trying to sell our elite history. Ollie has clearly shown the floor of the program and this conference which is why guys like Hurley(who may have once coveted the job) will no longer consider it. We will need to take a chance on a rising star or an unemployed big name. Either way, who ever it is will surely underwhelm the fan base and media. Still, that doesn't mean Ollie deserves to stay. This program has to start over.

 

[UConnStats]

The general public believes Ollie is a bad coach now. KO’s brand is what is ruined.

A lot of UConn fans would still give him another year because he won a NC and they’ve stayed loyal to him. His buyout is huge too. I’m fairly sure that Benedict wants him out, but it’s a ton of money to raise. At the same rate, UConn is losing a lot of money because of the product (not that it offsets, but losing like this is a big opportunity cost).

I love KO, but I look at the data we have on him and I can’t find any way to skew it to make him look like a decent coach. We consistently get the highest ranked recruiting class in the AAC, and do nothing with them. Chillious is a great recruiter, but did that translate to Romar winning in Washington? No.

I don’t know if firing him will be possible, but I don’t realistically see Ollie turning things around in Storrs next year.