Kevin Freeman to be Named New Assistant Coach

[Kemba Time]

Leaving the mighty Big 10 with all those deep pockets to coach at UConn. Whatever happened to big boy basketball?

 

[6xChamps]

For what it’s worth Hawkins retweeted the announcement that Freeman was joining the UConn staff.

 

[huskymedic]

... but is he “DMV connected“?

 

[kansashusky]

While not my first choice either, hopefully this helps bring the family back together a bit.

The 2021 class is in good shape so Freeman won’t need to do a lot in the immediate (except make sure Hawkins doesn’t leave).

Hopefully he was cheap so we can up Kimani’s salary to make him stay even longer.

 

[8893]

A move made to try and appease the vocal alum who remain loyal to the last head coach.

Is this fact or speculation?

 

[Kembacity]

Happy for one of our Mount Rushmore of UConn's toughest warriors.

Hoping for the best that he learned some lessons under the unmitigated disaster of the KO reign. I expect he has. Can he pull his weight in recruiting? That is the big ?, but the staff has recruiters so not a huge worry .

LOVE IT for stability, tying to our past players + former players who may still be a bit butthurt about KO. Kevin knows the effort and intensity it takes to cut down the nets and what it takes here. That's HUGE!

**He will also add on to the Toughness our program has shown mentally under the Hurley regime and the tremendous strides in the weight room** I think this is understated!!!

Kind of similar to last year when the one UConn women's assistant quit/couldn't coach and they brought in a former player to fill her spot who sounds like she was like a KFree herself and the team immediately got tougher physically.

This point you hit here is one I agree strongly with. Like others said I believe Kevin can improve as a recruiter here working with the existing staff, and we have been killing it (to me) on the recruiting trail as of late. As long as these kids can win (if we play), the clout will only go up and make recruiting easier. Having a guy who played here, won a championship as a big, and as a slightly undersized big who had to work his tail off is huge! I hope his work ethic and grit rubs off on the boys and the culture as a whole.

 

[Waquoit]

Is this fact or speculation?

Let's hope it was a mutual understanding based on the current circumstances.

 

[UCDaveD]

Is this fact or speculation?

Speculation

 

[Jbirdp5]

A move made to try and appease the vocal alum who remain loyal to the last head coach. I suspect there was some pressure on Danny from above on this one. Regardless, while not my first, second, or third choice, I hope Kevin crushes it and serves me a doody sando on a plater.

Your saying Danny hurley who is singularly focused on bringing this program back to the the top of the mountain didn’t hire who he wanted because people in administration wanted an alum to be hired to possibly soothe tensions? I can’t see Danny going for that at all.

 

[uconnfan68]

... but is he “DMV connected“?

Who cares? He played with Tim Thomas!

 

[Dove]

Who cares? He played with Tim Thomas!

THE(!!) Tim Thomas?

 

[CL82]

Welcome back KFree! Looking forward to an immediate toughness upgrade.

 

[Ajs120102]

 

[8893]

KFree is the first UConn player I recall Calhoun calling a "lunch-pail" guy. I always loved that term since then.

 

[CL82]

A move made to try and appease the vocal alum who remain loyal to the last head coach. I suspect there was some pressure on Danny from above on this one.

No.

 

[Ajs120102]

Rodney Purvis:

 

[CL82]

... but is he “DMV connected“?

If he is, I have an old set of license plates I need to return. Maybe he could help me out?

 

[OkaForPrez]

Happy for one of our Mount Rushmore of UConn's toughest warriors.

Jeff Adrien, Caron Butler, Jerome Dyson?

 

[CallMeBruce]

I was hoping for a splashier pick, but it's hard to argue when every former player who knows Freeman is adamant about how deserved this is

 

[superjohn]

Watch "UConn Men's Basketball 1999 National Championship Celebration - Kevin Freeman" on YouTube

 

[djct1999]

Really happy for KFree. Makes me sad to think about Rickey Moore. Crazy how different these two paths have been.

 

[Lynyrd]

Jeff Adrien, Caron Butler, Jerome Dyson?

Don't forget Lyman DePriest

 

[UCDaveD]

Is there anything you’ve observed in Hurley that would lead you to believe he’d tolerate interference in what he’s trying to do? He’s on a mission here, and this hire checks all the boxes- developing coaches and creating deserved opportunities, building and maintain a rock solid program, and, most importantly, winning. Not everyone has to love the hire (I still stand by the 90%). You can disagree with the choice, but the motives behind it don’t go much farther than he thinks it makes the team and program better.

I find that to be a rather myopic view, but we can agree to disagree.

 

[UConnKev]

Is there anything you’ve observed in Hurley that would lead you to believe he’d tolerate interference in what he’s trying to do? He’s on a mission here, and this hire checks all the boxes- developing coaches and creating deserved opportunities, building and maintain a rock solid program, and, most importantly, winning. Not everyone has to love the hire (I still stand by the 90%). You can disagree with the choice, but the motives behind it don’t go much farther than he thinks it makes the team and program better.

Easily the best post I’ve read here in the past week or so.

 

[CL82]

I find that to be a rather myopic view, but we can agree to disagree.

Lol... SMH