Kevin Ollie

[selles]

Recruit loves UConn and the Cuse during the year moving forward, Top 20? He thinks I know I like Hoppy and JB but love KO...........but if I need to make a decision I beter take the Cuse because I know one of those guys will be there but KO only has one year guaranteed........thanks but no thanks KO have to move on...........

yeah that works for a guy on the trails!!

If I love KO, I wait to see what happens. The length of KO's contract right now is not a significant enough recruiting issue to merit locking ourselves into a long-term deal before we see KO's bona fides as a head coach.

My guess is that he'll be awesome as a head coach. But there's nothing worse than being stuck with a coach who ain't all that (hi PP!).

 

[upstater]

The AD has doubts about the coach, but the recruit shouldn't!?

Way to go!

 

[upstater]

If I love KO, I wait to see what happens. The length of KO's contract right now is not a significant enough recruiting issue to merit locking ourselves into a long-term deal before we see KO's bona fides as a head coach.

My guess is that he'll be awesome as a head coach. But there's nothing worse than being stuck with a coach who ain't all that (hi PP!).

NEWSFLASH: UConn is going to lose a lot of games this year. It won't be pretty. They will be outtoughed, outrebounded.

What the hell does Manuel know about basketball anyway? Who is he consulting with? Digger Phelps?

 

[selles]

NEWSFLASH: UConn is going to lose a lot of games this year. It won't be pretty. They will be outtoughed, outrebounded.

What the hell does Manuel know about basketball anyway? Who is he consulting with? Digger Phelps?

Why do you assume Manuel will make a judgement based on W/L? Why wouldn't he judge based on how the team improves from November to February?

If he takes the former approach over the latter, hey, fire away...but it's a bit early for that, don't you think?

 

[huskyniner]

For what it's worth, I don't trust Manuel. I realize he just got on the job, but he hasn't done anything to earn my trust yet. And honestly, President Herbst is in the same boat in my opinion.

 

[DogMania]

Congrats, KO.

I'm excited to see what he can do as JC's successor. He's a class guy and one who commands respect by all.

 

[upstater]

Why do you assume Manuel will make a judgement based on W/L? Why wouldn't he judge based on how the team improves from November to February?

If he takes the former approach over the latter, hey, fire away...but it's a bit early for that, don't you think?

Like Manuel can judge that...
What's his expertise?

 

[selles]

Like Manuel can judge that...
What's his expertise?

Don't overcomplicate it. It's not nuclear physics we're talking about. If you love sports, you'll have a general sense of whether a team is on the right track or not.

 

[upstater]

Don't overcomplicate it. It's not nuclear physics we're talking about. If you love sports, you'll have a general sense of whether a team is on the right track or not.

By that standard, Calhoun should have hung things up after the horrid 2010 season.

Any time a school gives a coach barely a shot at success, they create failure.

 

[selles]

By that standard, Calhoun should have hung things up after the horrid 2010 season.

Any time a school gives a coach barely a shot at success, they create failure.

And any time a school gives a coach who turns out to be lousy a 4 year deal they risk descending into irrelevance. Or at least having a horrid 4 years.

A 1 year deal with the low expectations we have coming into this year is not "barely a shot at success". It's a pretty darn good shot at success as far as I can see.

I firmly believe KO's going to get this thing done, but let's see him coach an actual game before he gets a multi-year contract.

Honestly, I can't believe this point is being debated.

 

[Danzz]

That's bs. Give the guy four years with the first two guaranteed. It shows recruits that Ollie will be here. Also, I suspect Herbst told Manuel he had to give Ollie the job.

1 year makes no sense especially with a team that is probably not going to be very good. The players we are recruiting have multiple choices and a 1 year contract creates coaching instability questions in the minds of the recruits. If a recruit is on the fence this could push him off into somebody else yard. Facey and Samuel have not signed letters of intent and we could lose 1 or both of them.
I get the feeling Manuel would like someone else and the 1 year contract was a compromise he had to accept. A 1 year contract is setting Ollie up to fail.

 

[Huskymaniac]

I like you guys and I like Ollie but stop ducking whining and crying already. YES, the recruits should have doubts about a guy with zero head coaching experience, just like the AD should. And stop it with the doom and gloom crap. If Ollie is as good as you think he is and we all hope he is, it will be OBVIOUS that he should get a contract extension. This team does NOT suck. It HAS talent, lots of it. It is way better than the team Calhoun took to the elite eight in 1990. If Ollie can coach, we will know and know quickly. No one is expecting this team to perform like the 1999 or 2004 championship teams. All the recruits know, all Manuel knows and all that we know is that we all like Ollie and will be pulling for him to succeed. A one year trial by fire is by far the most logical thing to do in this situation. Support the new coach without creating a negative environment. People are watching and it matters.

 

[The Funster]

KO is a stretch. I hope he's a homerun though, obviously. If JC was to retire, this is probably the best season to turn over the reins. There are no expectations, and Ollie has a lot of latitude to rebuild the team his way. He has my support but Ollie has to produce. With the school in conference-flux, men's hoops has to continue to excel in the post-Calhoun era.

 

[Waquoit]

1 year makes no sense especially with a team that is probably not going to be very good. The players we are recruiting have multiple choices and a 1 year contract creates coaching instability questions in the minds of the recruits. If a recruit is on the fence this could push him off into somebody else yard. Facey and Samuel have not signed letters of intent and we could lose 1 or both of them.
I get the feeling Manuel would like someone else and the 1 year contract was a compromise he had to accept. A 1 year contract is setting Ollie up to fail.

One year is enough to see if has a clue in the head seat. Can he run a program soup to nuts? It's more than just the W-L's. This gives UConn some protection against an unmitigated disaster.

 

[huskyjawz]

Huskymaniac: This team does NOT suck. It HAS talent, lots of it. It is way better than the team Calhoun took to the elite eight in 1990.


Whatever you say, GUY.

 

[mauconnfan]

KO is a stretch. I hope he's a homerun though, obviously. If JC was to retire, this is probably the best season to turn over the reins. There are no expectations, and Ollie has a lot of latitude to rebuild the team his way. He has my support but Ollie has to produce. With the school in conference-flux, men's hoops has to continue to excel in the post-Calhoun era.

There's no doubt he HAS TO PRODUCE no matter who he is....everyone get's that.....

But 1 year with Olander as your go-to big guy and Nolan, Tolksdorf, Wolf the others...?? Either start looking now or give him the chance to prove himself with "his team" next year as the recruits are still out there........the one year deal is not fair but hey, I get the big man Warde throwing his weight around. I'm okay with it, it's on him.......just of the opinion he has KO set up for failure!!

 

[mauconnfan]

Huskymaniac: This team does NOT suck. It HAS talent, lots of it. It is way better than the team Calhoun took to the elite eight in 1990.


Whatever you say, GUY.[/q


Better than the team KC took to the Elite 8??? Boy are you screwed up...........Show me the Henefeld, hell show me the Rod Sellers??? How about Smitty and Tate....we have a ton of 6'2 and 6'5 guards huh? And wjhile Omar may end up being Scotty Burrell, that was a special 6'5 kid who played in the NBA and won rings.........you still in for that comparison GUY?? LOL

 

[The Funster]

There's no doubt he HAS TO PRODUCE no matter who he is....everyone get's that.....

But 1 year with Olander as your go-to big guy and Nolan, Tolksdorf, Wolf the others...?? Either start looking now or give him the chance to prove himself with "his team" next year as the recruits are still out there........the one year deal is not fair but hey, I get the big man Warde throwing his weight around. I'm okay with it, it's on him.......just of the opinion he has KO set up for failure!!

I guess the question has to be: how does Warde evaluate Ollie versus, say, Smart. Ollie doesn't have a totally free ride but it is an opportunity to evaluate how he runs practices, how he manages the game and what kind of effort the players give him. Looking at Ollie, you have a guy who stayed around the Game for 13 years with less talent than a lot of other guys who stuck around for far less. He mentored younger players and was a very respected teammate. Those are great tools to bring into a recruit's home. He'll probably close the deal more often than not with his experience at the next level and his presence.

The metrics to evaluate Ollie this year will be very subjective. Things like attitude, execution and cohesiveness should get far more scrutiny than wins and losses.

 

[Waquoit]

Huskymaniac: This team does NOT suck. It HAS talent, lots of it. It is way better than the team Calhoun took to the elite eight in 1990.


Whatever you say, GUY.

Agree. That alone makes everything he has said or will say, suspect.

 

[mauconnfan]

I like Shaka Smart and he has shown an ability to get his teams to show up on the big stage and compete.......having said that is he willing to come here? Can he live in the shadow and survive yet? These are as much of an unknown as KO I believe.........and Shaka may well be on his own if he comes here......no one knows how the fraternity will react especially the big man........we know how they will consistently react with KO!!

 

[CTHUSKY74]

I've always said that while Calhoun was one of a kind, and not easy to replace. The program that he built is light years different from what he took over and therefore the choices to replace him are far different than before he came. This is a huge job opportunity for most of the basketball coaching world. I love Ollie and what he espouses (hard work and perseverence). I don't know if he can coach at this level but I hope that he can. I don't feel that he has demonstrated this ability yet at any level and therefore the admin has to be cautious. If he proves he can handle the X's and O's and can handle the administrative challenges that the head coach has to handle, then we should commit to him long-term. For him or Calhoun to demand a long term deal prior to any demonstration of these skills is not reasonable. I believe that the university will give him a fair chance to win this job long-term. And I hope that he shows us enough to do that. I always hoped that if Calhoun left we would go out and get one of the top young coaches to replace him. If KO can be that guy I would love it. However, lets not make a mistake and use emotion in making this HUGE decision. There should be a middle ground here and I don't think being cautious will result in disaster in recruiting as some have indicated here. Some of the decisions Calhoun made based on recruiting were big mistakes for the program. If we make our decision based on what we think will appeal to top recruits, that's not the correct analysis. If we make our decision based on who can best run the program in all aspects, including recruiting we will be well served. I don't believe Susan will let us down and I also think that Warde will not make a poor decision on the most important hire he has ever made. Hopefully we will get some pleasant surprises in the press conference.

 

[mauconnfan]

I've always said that while Calhoun was one of a kind, and not easy to replace. The program that he built is light years different from what he took over and therefore the choices to replace him are far different than before he came. This is a huge job opportunity for most of the basketball coaching world. I love Ollie and what he espouses (hard work and perseverence). I don't know if he can coach at this level but I hope that he can. I don't feel that he has demonstrated this ability yet at any level and therefore the admin has to be cautious. If he proves he can handle the X's and O's and can handle the administrative challenges that the head coach has to handle, then we should commit to him long-term. For him or Calhoun to demand a long term deal prior to any demonstration of these skills is not reasonable. I believe that the university will give him a fair chance to win this job long-term. And I hope that he shows us enough to do that. I always hoped that if Calhoun left we would go out and get one of the top young coaches to replace him. If KO can be that guy I would love it. However, lets not make a mistake and use emotion in making this HUGE decision. There should be a middle ground here and I don't think being cautious will result in disaster in recruiting as some have indicated here. Some of the decisions Calhoun made based on recruiting were big mistakes for the program. If we make our decision based on what we think will appeal to top recruits, that's not the correct analysis. If we make our decision based on who can best run the program in all aspects, including recruiting we will be well served. I don't believe Susan will let us down and I also think that Warde will not make a poor decision on the most important hire he has ever made. Hopefully we will get some pleasant surprises in the press conference.

Well stated and thought out.....

Always remember the family which was created........It may not be KO to keep it that feel while winning in Storrs but it needs to be consistent I believe in order to maintain the program's success. If Ray, Rudy, Caron, Emeka, Rip, KEA, Scotty, Smitty, Kemba and the so many others are not around then is it really UConn basketball any more? Not saying we NEED to make JC happy with KO, just trying to help everyone understand how this was built and maintained....that's important!!!!

 

[HuskyHawk]

They cannot go "all in" on a guy who has never coached a game at any level. That would be stupid. The alternative is to give the job to Hobbs for one year, who at least has a resume and body of work. Make Ollie the #2 and please God, no matter what, send Blaney out to pasture. Instead they are giving KO a shot. Is it a fair shot? No. But it is more than he could reasonably expect. I doubt any other decent D1 program would hire him, and he's the coach at UConn?

I think they run a search in the spring unless KO hits a home run and the team overachieves. KO will be included as a candidate and if they can't find anyone they like better, he gets an extension. This is a long term decision, it can't be made based on JC's gut feeling that KO will be great.

 

[NHUConnfan]

For what it's worth, I don't trust Manuel. I realize he just got on the job, but he hasn't done anything to earn my trust yet. And honestly, President Herbst is in the same boat in my opinion.

Listen up buddy, President Herbst wasn't hired to freaking run the athletic program and what she has done thus far with UConn has been nothing short of amazing.

No one should call for Herbst retirement due to anything athletically related unless it's something on the scale of PSU or other NCAA sanctions that goes over multi-sports.

I understand how important athletics is for the university, but the university is first and foremost an institution of education and that's what she should focus on and that's what she has been focusing on.

 

[upstater]

They cannot go "all in" on a guy who has never coached a game at any level. That would be stupid. The alternative is to give the job to Hobbs for one year, who at least has a resume and body of work. Make Ollie the #2 and please God, no matter what, send Blaney out to pasture. Instead they are giving KO a shot. Is it a fair shot? No. But it is more than he could reasonably expect. I doubt any other decent D1 program would hire him, and he's the coach at UConn?

I think they run a search in the spring unless KO hits a home run and the team overachieves. KO will be included as a candidate and if they can't find anyone they like better, he gets an extension. This is a long term decision, it can't be made based on JC's gut feeling that KO will be great.

A person who does not want Ollie as the coach said it best already in this thread. Either you go all in, or you get out. Half measures WILL result in failure.

Recruits can sniff this situation out from a mile away. The AD is not sold on the coach.

Good luck to UConn basketball.