Kevin Ollie, UConn ready to rebound after rough season | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Kevin Ollie, UConn ready to rebound after rough season

There is plenty of room for optimism. I like the roster for the most part. Larrier, Gilbert and Adams are going to be superb. Vital is solid. I think Anderson is a great addition. Cobb looks much better than I expected, and I have high hopes that Diarra won't play like a freshman, since he's been with us a year. They absolutely can win 20+ games and get to the tournament. Few teams have three players better than our three best players.

That said, they need to do it. I was excited to start the season last year too, with a ranked team that proceeded to play in a very rank fashion indeed. While we had many other issues all year, those two losses were because KO didn't do his damned job last summer. He sounds different now. Recruiting has been more positive too. I hope he has turned the corner and has rediscovered himself. We need the real Kevin Ollie.

So I am full of optimism about what the season can be, and fully aware that it may be misplaced. Show me the Ws.
 
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There will be pessimists about everything in life
This board is full of folks who - think its funny to be a hater, think it will get them likes for being negative or maybe, and I hope not, are like this in life
I appreciate stating faults but to beat a dead horse like several on here do gets to be a bit too much
Thank God for the ignore option but I hate to not see people's opinions but some are just plain, IMHO, dolts
The program is starting to see some sunlight - so lets make hay while the sun is shining..............

And FYI - it's not just KO who has a lot to prove but he's the easiest to point a finger at right now
He was/is not the seed of all the problems/obstacles that have sprouted in/for the program
 
husky429 said:
I doubt it swayed hin much. He knows the pitches and has established relationships by now. Also Jalen had class, but each coach did get to talk with him.
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Ahh, I was assuming he got to see them go about it on the court. Teaching style etc...
 
HuskyHawk said:
There is plenty of room for optimism. I like the roster for the most part. Larrier, Gilbert and Adams are going to be superb. Vital is solid. I think Anderson is a great addition. Cobb looks much better than I expected, and I have high hopes that Diarra won't play like a freshman, since he's been with us a year. They absolutely can win 20+ games and get to the tournament. Few teams have three players better than our three best players.

That said, they need to do it. I was excited to start the season last year too, with a ranked team that proceeded to play in a very rank fashion indeed. While we had many other issues all year, those two losses were because KO didn't do his damned job last summer. He sounds different now. Recruiting has been more positive too. I hope he has turned the corner and has rediscovered himself. We need the real Kevin Ollie.

So I am full of optimism about what the season can be, and fully aware that it may be misplaced. Show me the Ws.
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How is getting Wilson and Akinjo better than getting Zach Brown and MAL? The 2017 class was an outstanding class that imploded. I don't buy the narrative that KO was MIA last year and suddenly rediscovered himself.
 
fleudslipcon said:
How is getting Wilson and Akinjo better than getting Zach Brown and MAL? The 2017 class was an outstanding class that imploded. I don't buy the narrative that KO was MIA last year and suddenly rediscovered himself.
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Wilson has more promise than a guy whose best skill is armed robbery. Akinjo has the heart of a Husky, there's no quit in him; and he's a creator and you can never have enough of those. MAL, maybe he'll be good, but we didn't really need him this year with Adams/Gilbert/Vital/Anderson and we might be better without him in 2018-19 if his absence allows us to reel in Carey.
 
fleudslipcon said:
How is getting Wilson and Akinjo better than getting Zach Brown and MAL? The 2017 class was an outstanding class that imploded. I don't buy the narrative that KO was MIA last year and suddenly rediscovered himself.
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I'm not giving him credit for two guys who never enrolled. And the rediscovery comment wasn't targeted at recruiting anyway.
 
Wordbomar said:
Took a shot at the Cuse with the pro style comment, pushed the Sixth Borough presence, talked uconn brand and importance. This is a great sounding interview. KO sounds like he's ready to rumble this year, let's get it
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Blaze strategy playing out - mixing positive with negative now
 
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fleudslipcon said:
How is getting Wilson and Akinjo better than getting Zach Brown and MAL? The 2017 class was an outstanding class that imploded. I don't buy the narrative that KO was MIA last year and suddenly rediscovered himself.
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Ummm, because Zach Brown never had a prayer of playing college ball.
 
superjohn said:
Ummm, because Zach Brown never had a prayer of playing college ball.
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Don't care about the original argument, but was there significant question marks when he committed?
 
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superjohn said:
Yes.
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Like Cobb and Whaley?

Which poster offered an alarm when Zach verballed? He was a top five center and I recall nothing but excitement about his commitment and a couple of feel good articles were posted about his difficult life. Link me one alarm you made that differed from the prevailing attitude in this forum at that time. I bet you can't.

The point I was making is that once the sanctions ended KO and the coaches had stellar recruiting successes that for various reasons ended in failure. The narrative that some poster goes to Blaze and that fixed recruiting is pure BS.
 
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intlzncster said:
Don't care about the original argument, but was there significant question marks when he committed?
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Anyone who watched those videos of him could tell that his path would not be a conventional one. Despite his size and talent, it was clear that he would have struggles off the court. Just being honest.
 
fleudslipcon said:
Like Cobb and Whaley?

Which poster offered an alarm when Zach verballed? He was a top five center and I recall nothing but excitement about his commitment and a couple of feel good articles were posted about his difficult life. Link me one alarm you made that differed from the prevailing attitude in this forum at that time. I bet you can't.

The point I was making is that Once the sanctions ended KO and the coaches had stellar recruiting successes that for various reasons ended in failure. The narrative that some poster goes to Blaze and that fixed recruiting is pure BS.
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LOL
 
intlzncster said:
Don't care about the original argument, but was there significant question marks when he committed?
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Ask them to show you their comments or comments by any poster that red flagged Zach at the time of his verbal. There were none.

It's a narrative after events played out. Alter the narrative and you reduce blame on the individual they're targeting - KO. This same thing occurred after the abysmal season Dyson's senior year with a significant number of posters targeting Jerome. People forget that there were many posters who not only blamed JD for that bad season but threw him under the bus several years afterwards arguing the same thing as Chief how JD was an awful player because he never won a NCAA championship.
You build better negative support if every facet of the target subject is questioned or demeaned. That is why several posters reduce or negate KO's role in the NC.
 
Great interview, but I'm tired of getting sucked into preseason hype every year. I will forever back UConn basketball, but I'd love the W-L column to do the talking. Go 2-0 in the first two games and I'm happy.

Prove it KO. Prove that UConn basketball can still get it done. Win games and the fans will show up and support the squad.
 
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3-0 going into PK80 with 3 comfortable wins against lesser comp and I think people will feel better
 
Wordbomar said:
3-0 going into PK80 with 3 comfortable wins against lesser comp and I think people will feel better
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Lose to Oregon and that happiness will be short lived for some. Quite a lot of fans in this forum with different takes on what qualifies as success.

I think the predominant viewpoint for a successful season is finishing no lower than fourth in the AAC and at least getting to the second round in the NCAA tournament.

Given that only two players have played significant minutes and given the need to band aid the front court, I would be ecstatic if one or both of those events happened.
 
fleudslipcon said:
Lose to Oregon and that happiness will be short lived for some. Quite a lot of fans in this forum with different takes on what qualifies as success.

I think the predominant viewpoint for a successful season is finishing no lower than fourth in the AAC and at least getting to the second round in the NCAA tournament.

Given that only two players have played significant minutes and given the need to band aid the front court, I would be ecstatic if one or both of those events happened.
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Completely agree Fleuds
 
temery said:
That has the makings of a great t-shirt theme, but who plays Sisyphus?
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come on man, this is UConn, the whole team needs to be pushing that boulder

or just Jonathan
 
HungryHuskies said:
Great interview, but I'm tired of getting sucked into preseason hype every year. I will forever back UConn basketball, but I'd love the W-L column to do the talking. Go 2-0 in the first two games and I'm happy.

Prove it KO. Prove that UConn basketball can still get it done. Win games and the fans will show up and support the squad.
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Very true but he's been the same positive upbeat guy from day one so it's not like he's saying anything different. The 04, 11 and 14 teams all experienced low points during the season as this team will also. They'll get through it by staying positive and mentally tough and giving themselves a chance to make a run in the postseason. It all starts with their leader.
 
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