KO: "can he coach his own players?"

[James]

@SethOnHoops: Kevin Ollie will have options but he has unfinished business.The challenge now: rebuild the Huskies with his players.recruit recruit recruit

This sentiment has been echoed ad nauseum everywhere by many blowhards. Am I missing something, hasn't he already developed a draft pick in Daniels ? First the roster was empty of talent before the chip , now they weren't even his players...

 

[UCONNfan1]

"Can he coach his own players"?

Is that question for real? Because it's so much easier to coach a bunch of guys who were recruited by a former HC with a different style of coaching, different style of play, and who got those kids to come based on Calhoun's assessment of their play and how they would fit in???

And then they (the "experts") can go back in 5 years if Ollie doesn't win another NC in that time frame and say "see - he can't coach his own kids". Yeah, because winning a NC is so f*(king easy.

 

[James]

I'm guessing we need a serious recruiting splash , that junior playing for spiece Indy might be it. I doubt we land stone/Newman package

 

[CL82]

Just win the damn thing again. Figure after a year or two of that, they can ask if KO is bad for college basketball.

 

[Go_Huskies]

Wow, they can't admit there wrong when they are wrong and give KO credit.

• He didn't have one Mcdonald's AA and he beat a team with 9.
  
• He didn't have one undisputed lottery pick on his team.
  
• He took over a team that was on probation
  
• He had his two most talented players Roscoe and AO transfer.
  
• He was given a seven month contract but didn't lose one recruit and still got DH and Purvis
• He out coached Izzo, St. Joesph's coach, Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donovan, John Calamari
• He changed conferences from the Big East to the AAC
• He took over from a legendary coach

They look at all that and can only say "He won with Calhoun's recruits"

These are the same people that said UCONN was done without Calhoun, didn't have that much talent, would never be the same because they were no longer in the Big East, etc. When KO overcomes all these obstacles they say "So what, It was Calhoun's players"

What are they going to say when he wins with his players. So what. He has Calhoun to give him advice.

 

[Yonick]

Lot's of negativity towards a team that won 4 NC's over the past 15 years. Both in New England teams fans, former BE teams fans, and writers
who attended rival colleges.
Let em' eat our dust!!!

 

[Huskies4ever]

Wow, they can't admit there wrong when they are wrong and give KO credit.

• 
  [ ]He didn't have one Mcdonald's AA and he beat a team with 9.
  
  [ ]He didn't have one undisputed lottery pick on his team.
  
  [ ]He took over a team that was on probation
  
  [ ]He had his two most talented players Roscoe and AO transfer.
  
  [ ]He was given a seven month contract but didn't lose one recruit and still got DH and Purvis
  [ ]He out coached Izzo, St. Joesph's coach, Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donovan, John Calamari
  [ ]He changed conferences from the Big East to the AAC
  [ ]He took over from a legendary coach

They look at all that and can only say "He won with Calhoun's recruits"

These are the same people that said UCONN was done without Calhoun, didn't have that much talent, would never be the same because they were no longer in the Big East, etc. When KO overcomes all these obstacles they say "So what, It was Calhoun's players"

What are they going to say when he wins with his players. So what. He has Calhoun to give him advice.

Excellent post, except I would call Roscoe and AO key players. Not most talented.

 

[mcs333]

Not a real issue. It is said of every new coach or when a coach changes jobs. When Roy Williams won first first NC in 2005 they said the same about him. He won with another coaches recruits. He finally won with all his recruits in 2009. KO did a hell of a job with less individual talent then some of the other teams. However he proved he coached his players to be the best team. Let the talking heads talk, that is their job. What was said was expected.

 

[James]

Not a real issue. It is said of every new coach or when a coach changes jobs. When Roy Williams won first first NC in 2005 they said the same about him. He won with another coaches recruits. He finally won with all his recruits in 2009. KO did a hell of a job with less individual talent then some of the other teams. However he proved he coached his players to be the best team. Let the talking heads talk, that is their job. What was said was expected.

thats true to an extent but Williams was inheriting a lineup of nba players. The narrative that Napier was our everything just sounds a bit myopic and disrespectful to a coaching staff, a staff that had their team ready to go with intricate schemes that allowed personnel to flourish. I can't think of another college coach who could turn Nolan into quick aware, and tough defensive mind, or even develop a kid like samuel into a better prospect that alot of top100 kids from his class (kasey hill mainly). To quote the great Perk

Kendrick Perkins ‏@KendrickPerkins Apr 5
UCONN are very well coached. Very impressive

 

[SubbaBub]

Morons. KO has been with the program 4 years. Every player has said what a great influence he's been. He had a hand in recruiting just about everyone on that roster except the seniors, who he coached during their freshman year to a national title. There must be a random headline generator somewhere that spits out these malaprops.

 

[ASweet3781]

This is college basketball "analysis" in the year 2014.

Today's blowhards and know nothings almost make me miss Billy Packer.

 

[aceboon]

I could halfway understand the "not his own players" talk if KO had walked right in off the street when he took over as HC, but KO came into the program at the same time as the departing seniors and obviously has coached everyone else that was part of the NC longer than JC has, they're his guys. When KO first took over on the 1 year basis Boat even commented that it wasn't a big deal because the players dealt with him more directly than JC anyway.

 

[Peacefrog]

Circumventing the matter as to whether or not this is a legitimate question we're still in a better position than the vast majority of programs whose head coaches have PROVEN they can't win with their own players.

 

[elduderino]

Excellent post, except I would call Roscoe and AO key players. Not most talented.

Yeah, I think they also could be considered two of the most poisonous players in the locker room.

 

[Gurleyman]

The way I look at it, the question right now isn't whether he can win a title with his players - the question is whether any other coaches can beat him in the NCAA Tournament with their players.

Six have tried so far, and six have failed.

 

[Kurt]

Yeah, I think they also could be considered two of the most poisonous players in the locker room.

How was Roscoe a poison?

 

[mauconnfan]

How was Roscoe a poison?

He wasn't but he unfortunately took some that was offered by Alex……….

 

[elduderino]

How was Roscoe a poison?

Yeah, you're right, poisonous is too strong a word for him. From what I understand the division in the locker room stemmed from AO believing that his Championship team role entitled him to starter's minutes automatically. Obviously that wasn't going to fly w/ the coaching staff, 'Bazz, etc, but Roscoe bought into AO's side, probably b/c it would have meant more minutes for him as well. 2011-2012 was a disaster on the whole, as everybody knows, and I believe at least the internal division and total lack of chemistry born of it killed one of our most talented teams. If AO had stayed his senior year, I don't think we would have been 20-10, because I don't think Bazz would have been able to develop his leadership as well as he did. If Roscoe had stayed throughout, who knows. Ironically, when Roscoe left UCONN, and AO, he broke his A in his transfer year and became one of the best rebounders in college basketball. If he had done that w/ us his sophomore year, he never would of had to worry about playing time. Pretty weird, I thought he was a follower at UCONN, but when he got out on his own, he was the man.

 

[Danzz]

2 things (plenty of others) come to mind when I think f KO's coaching:
1. His kids play hard all the time
2. Usually something good happens after a time out.
KO was the best game coach in the NCAA tourney.

 

[elduderino]

2 things (plenty of others) come to mind when I think f KO's coaching:
1. His kids play hard all the time
2. Usually something good happens after a time out.
KO was the best game coach in the NCAA tourney.

what? sorry, all I could think about was being sandwiched between you and mauconnfan.

 

[Huskies4ever]

thats true to an extent but Williams was inheriting a lineup of nba players. The narrative that Napier was our everything just sounds a bit myopic and disrespectful to a coaching staff, a staff that had their team ready to go with intricate schemes that allowed personnel to flourish. I can't think of another college coach who could turn Nolan into quick aware, and tough defensive mind, or even develop a kid like samuel into a better prospect that alot of top100 kids from his class (kasey hill mainly). To quote the great Perk

Kendrick Perkins ‏@KendrickPerkins Apr 5
UCONN are very well coached. Very impressive

Perk needs to work his grammar.

 

[jrazz12]

How many times do we have to rehash this conversation? College basketball analysts are fycking morons. That's why they became college basketball analysts.

Let it feed the fire. Meanwhile KO is telling the team that everyone is still hating, and next April we'll be dancing. Again.

 

[Kitaman]

Its a common and legitimate question. Personally I can't wait to see what he does with 'his team'. Its evident that he can achieve buy-in with this team and next years team. The good thing is when its 'his team', they come in already brought in (Uconn ready).

The big difference (to other new coaches) is that Ollie is 100% UConn. Its all he preaches. Just like JC who infected the Husky blue blood to Bazz, Giffey, Tyler, Boat and DD. Therefore the culture (blue blood) has not changed making the question rhetorical in some ways. The same beat just goes on.

Anyway, I see it as the media desperately looking for a story line.

 

[diggerfoot]

Perk needs to work his grammar.

Yeah, let's give Mushnick a heads up on this.

 

[Pudge]

Let's look at the flip side of this coin.

I can't wait to see the FULL Kevin Ollie construction of a Team. He took a disparate group and formed a great group that won against an imposing lineup of Programs. When this guy KO fully puts together his vision ... I think we are looking at something very Powerful.