KO, let us remember, is a phenomenon

[Sphinx]

No one hears KO speak and comes away thinking he is especially intelligent.

No one who saw him play basketball thinks he was a gifted player or even especially athletic.

No one who has witnessed his coaching thinks he is an exceptional teacher or recruiter or game-time tactician.

But although not especially intelligent, he is a university graduate. Although not a gifted player, he had a 13-year NBA career. Although not a great coach, he has compiled a 62% winning percentage in a 6-year Division I career. (127-78)

Perhaps even more impressive, in a world that does not gladly reward fools and incompetents, he has pocketed millions of dollars in compensation. If money is the measure, KO is rich, so he must be smart. He not only makes more money than us, but we line up to pay it to him.

And perhaps more to the point, he is a coach who has won a national championship. He has proved he can capture lightning in a bottle. He has done what scores of "more competent" coaches have never done, what the celebrated Tom Izzo has done no more times than KO and not in 18 years.

In a word, KO is a phenomenon. He is the plodding genius who is not smart enough to see the obstacles that stop the rest of us. He is a man who has conquered his own limitations and does not complicate the battle by taking on the limitations of his critics.

I am as frustrated by the past two years as anyone, but I am neither a genius nor a phenomenon, and I am certainly not rich. I am inclined to hitch my wagon to someone who is all three.

 

[BlueMAB]

No one hears KO speak and comes away thinking he is especially intelligent...

But although not especially intelligent...

If money is the measure, KO is rich, so he must be smart.

 

[Robertelamin]

There is no better way to convince people to hitch their wagon to Ollie than to call him dumb and a bad coach. Nicely done.

 

[TRest]

A shorter version would be KO stepped in dog doo in 2014. If we give him another ten years, maybe it happens again.

 

[BlueDogs]

No one hears KO speak and comes away thinking he is especially intelligent.

No one who saw him play basketball thinks he was a gifted player or even especially athletic.

No one who has witnessed his coaching thinks he is an exceptional teacher or recruiter or game-time tactician.

But although not especially intelligent, he is a university graduate. Although not a gifted player, he had a 13-year NBA career. Although not a great coach, he has compiled a 62% winning percentage in a 6-year Division I career. (127-78)

Perhaps even more impressive, in a world that does not gladly reward fools and incompetents, he has pocketed millions of dollars in compensation. If money is the measure, KO is rich, so he must be smart. He not only makes more money than us, but we line up to pay it to him.

And perhaps more to the point, he is a coach who has won a national championship. He has proved he can capture lightning in a bottle. He has done what scores of "more competent" coaches have never done, what the celebrated Tom Izzo has done no more times than KO and not in 18 years.

In a word, KO is a phenomenon. He is the plodding genius who is not smart enough to see the obstacles that stop the rest of us. He is a man who has conquered his own limitations and does not complicate the battle by taking on the limitations of his critics.

I am as frustrated by the past two years as anyone, but I am neither a genius nor a phenomenon, and I am certainly not rich. I am inclined to hitch my wagon to someone who is all three.

Sum up: Being not very good is genius if one makes a lot of money in mediocrity. Therefore, its really a form of greatness.

.... unbelievable... most call that a con job

 

[PAHusky]

"I have come to bury Ollie, not to praise him...."

 

[UConnDad]

A shorter version would be KO stepped in dog doo in 2014. If we give him another ten years, maybe it happens again.

If it happens again he will be in rare company! That would blow up a thread or two.

 

[Hoophound]

KO was an especially gifted player. That’s why he went to UConn and the NBA. He wasn’t the best, but he was elite by most measures.

To assume he isn’t particularly intelligent isn’t fair either. I have no idea if he is or not, but his dialect is not an indicator of intelligence. I’d say his strong ability to remember and repeat cool quotes and coin others himself shows some verbal intelligence at minimum. His ability to climb the ladder on professional levels also indicates some intelligence.

 

[Walker11]

There is no better way to convince people to hitch their wagon to Ollie than to call him dumb and a bad coach. Nicely done.

I'm struggling to figure out if this is some bizarre sarcasm that I simply don't get or if the post is just that dumb.

 

[djct1999]

KO used to stare down adversity and will he is way to succeed. For most of his career, he took the stairs. It is why you heard of stories of him driving down to Milford for a semi pro game. It why he lasted 13 years in the NBA. I wish we had that KO. If we did, we wouldn't be in this situation.

 

[CTMike]

 

[Austin316]

 

[BlueMAB]

I have no idea if he is or not, but his dialect is not an indicator of intelligence.

Dialect is not an indicator of intelligence. Dialect is a product of environment. Like an accent or another language it's nothing more than the way someone speaks based on the language they learned from their environment. There are cases where someone who is mentally challenged will have extremely poor speech, but this obviously isn't the case. Ollie speaks like where he's from, the hood. Plenty of intelligent people live in the ghettos, but they weren't afforded the same education or opportunity many of us were.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

16-17, 14-17, National Champs!

 

[Hoophound]

Dialect is not an indicator of intelligence. Dialect is a product of environment. Like an accent or another language it's nothing more than the way someone speaks based on the language they learned from their environment. There are cases where someone who is mentally challenged will have extremely poor speech, but this obviously isn't the case. Ollie speaks like where he's from, the hood. Plenty of intelligent people live in the ghettos, but they weren't afforded the same education or opportunity many of us were.

You were clear that this is what I said, right?

 

[hoopsknowitall]

I am inclined to hitch my wagon to someone who is all three.[/QUOTE]

I’m inclined to hitch my wagon to someone if it means a ten million dollar windfall for one more year.

 

[Travelman6]

But although not especially intelligent, he is a university graduate. .

How do you know he is not "especially intelligent"? It is very hard to grasp a persons true intelligence even after years of knowing them face to face! People are too complex to judge so easily and the ones who do judge so easily, well.....

 

[HuskyHawk]

Dialect is not an indicator of intelligence. Dialect is a product of environment. Like an accent or another language it's nothing more than the way someone speaks based on the language they learned from their environment. There are cases where someone who is mentally challenged will have extremely poor speech, but this obviously isn't the case. Ollie speaks like where he's from, the hood. Plenty of intelligent people live in the ghettos, but they weren't afforded the same education or opportunity many of us were.

Sort of. Many of the truly intelligent people from those places, once afforded an educational opportunity, as Ollie was, put that dialect behind them. There are many examples out there. Kevin didn’t. That may be because as an NBA player, it wasn’t a hindrance to his career. As a coach, I think it is (although not significantly so).

 

[Hoophound]

I think the NBA allows for players to speak as they please. There are a lot of NBA players that don’t lose the dialect and don’t need to. KO has a reputation as a professional and smart player.

Honestly, the biggest indicator I’ve seen from him supporting a lack of intelligence is the number of minutes Onurah gets.

 

[BlueMAB]

You were clear that this is what I said, right?

I am now. My bad.

 

[BlueMAB]

Sort of. Many of the truly intelligent people from those places, once afforded an educational opportunity, as Ollie was, put that dialect behind them. There are many examples out there. Kevin didn’t. That may be because as an NBA player, it wasn’t a hindrance to his career. As a coach, I think it is (although not significantly so).

No, not "sort of".

Some people choose to put in the effort to get rid of their dialect/slang, others have no desire, nor reason to. Most people don't think there is anything wrong with the way they speak, because that's their normal.

Regardless of his self-awareness, or his dialect, it's not an indicator of how intelligent he is or isn't. One literally has nothing to do with the other. The only thing we can conclude, is that people will perceive him differently, based on what they expect.

 

[Padutch5]

How do you know he is not "especially intelligent"? It is very hard to grasp a persons true intelligence even after years of knowing them face to face! People are too complex to judge so easily and the ones who do judge so easily, well.....

Unfortunately intelligence and drive are two very different things. Many of the real success stories I have seen combine those two qualities. Unfortunately it appears Ollie has lost the drive.

 

[jleves]

No one hears KO speak and comes away thinking he is especially intelligent.

No one who saw him play basketball thinks he was a gifted player or even especially athletic.

No one who has witnessed his coaching thinks he is an exceptional teacher or recruiter or game-time tactician.

But although not especially intelligent, he is a university graduate. Although not a gifted player, he had a 13-year NBA career. Although not a great coach, he has compiled a 62% winning percentage in a 6-year Division I career. (127-78)

Perhaps even more impressive, in a world that does not gladly reward fools and incompetents, he has pocketed millions of dollars in compensation. If money is the measure, KO is rich, so he must be smart. He not only makes more money than us, but we line up to pay it to him.

And perhaps more to the point, he is a coach who has won a national championship. He has proved he can capture lightning in a bottle. He has done what scores of "more competent" coaches have never done, what the celebrated Tom Izzo has done no more times than KO and not in 18 years.

In a word, KO is a phenomenon. He is the plodding genius who is not smart enough to see the obstacles that stop the rest of us. He is a man who has conquered his own limitations and does not complicate the battle by taking on the limitations of his critics.

I am as frustrated by the past two years as anyone, but I am neither a genius nor a phenomenon, and I am certainly not rich. I am inclined to hitch my wagon to someone who is all three.

So basically the Forest Gump of college coaches.