Looking Ahead

[huskymagic]

This game was over in the first 3 minutes and predictably as we trudged out there with a lineup of Facey and Brimah. Facey should not be starting or playing big minutes unless its to sub in for Brimah. Durham should be starting at the 4 and playing 20-25 minutes a game. He is not on minutes restrictions, and if he needs rest let him ask to be taken out. We can't keep rewarding mediocrity. Ollie needs to hold players accountable.

--If we don't make the tournament this year, Kevin Ollie's seat should be hot for next year. There is no excuse for this type of performances for the last 3 years. We need to be seriously looking at all options right now. I am not a fan of the Dwayne Killings hire as Ollie has hired his twin basically. Hobbs leaving does not look good in hindsight for us. We need some serious coaching strategy changes.

P.S. I think we need to be looking at the Big East for our basketball team if they will take us. If we need to go independent in football so be it. We need to be in a league that gives us opportunities for top 25 wins and incentive for guys to play at the highest level without thinking they will rely on the tournament to enter the NCAA tournament. We can't keep hoping for the carrot from the Power 5 to fall our way after 10 years with the next realignment. Our basketball program will not be the same UCONN that we know and love at that time with what we are seeing in the present.

 

[mauconnfan]

This game was over in the first 3 minutes and predictably as we trudged out there with a lineup of Facey and Brimah. Facey should not be starting or playing big minutes unless its to sub in for Brimah. Durham should be starting at the 4 and playing 20-25 minutes a game. He is not on minutes restrictions, and if he needs rest let him ask to be taken out. We can't keep rewarding mediocrity. Ollie needs to hold players accountable.

--If we don't make the tournament this year, Kevin Ollie's seat should be hot for next year. There is no excuse for this type of performances for the last 3 years. We need to be seriously looking at all options right now. I am not a fan of the Dwayne Killings hire as Ollie has hired his twin basically. Hobbs leaving does not look good in hindsight for us. We need some serious coaching strategy changes.

P.S. I think we need to be looking at the Big East for our basketball team if they will take us. If we need to go independent in football so be it. We need to be in a league that gives us opportunities for top 25 wins and incentive for guys to play at the highest level without thinking they will rely on the tournament to enter the NCAA tournament. We can't keep hoping for the carrot from the Power 5 to fall our way after 10 years with the next realignment. Our basketball program will not be the same UCONN that we know and love at that time with what we are seeing in the present.

Killings for Ollie? Hot seat?

You're whacked!

 

[upstater]

Killings for Ollie? Hot seat?

You're whacked!

I'm reading the craziest scat in ages on the Boneyard lately.

My lord, after years of complaints about lack of go-getter for recruiting, we now have a problem with the killer recruiter.

Those of you that really believe we wouldn't be a laughing stock if we let Ollie go, well... get ready.

The talent is still coming--we do need better coaching, but Ollie has shown that he can coach. Giving up on this now is like starting back in the Yankee conference years.

 

[djct1999]

I'm reading the craziest scat in ages on the Boneyard lately.

My lord, after years of complaints about lack of go-getter for recruiting, we now have a problem with the killer recruiter.

Those of you that really believe we wouldn't be a laughing stock if we let Ollie go, well... get ready.

The talent is still coming--we do need better coaching, but Ollie has shown that he can coach. Giving up on this now is like starting back in the Yankee conference years.

I am not sure Ollie can coach the college game. For certain, he can recruit. For sure, he can motivate. It just may be he is better suited for the pros. The college game is still very much about fundamentals. I am not so sure that is one of KOs strengths.

 

[UConnfan8]

P.S. I think we need to be looking at the Big East for our basketball team if they will take us. If we need to go independent in football so be it. We need to be in a league that gives us opportunities for top 25 wins and incentive for guys to play at the highest level without thinking they will rely on the tournament to enter the NCAA tournament. We can't keep hoping for the carrot from the Power 5 to fall our way after 10 years with the next realignment. Our basketball program will not be the same UCONN that we know and love at that time with what we are seeing in the present.

You will get crucified on here for suggesting this, although it is probably the right thing to do....

 

[jrazz12]

 

[Stainmaster]

You will get crucified on here for suggesting this, although it is probably the right thing to do....

Rightfully so, because it's a really stupid idea.

 

[joober jones]

This game was over in the first 3 minutes and predictably as we trudged out there with a lineup of Facey and Brimah. Facey should not be starting or playing big minutes unless its to sub in for Brimah. Durham should be starting at the 4 and playing 20-25 minutes a game. He is not on minutes restrictions, and if he needs rest let him ask to be taken out. We can't keep rewarding mediocrity. Ollie needs to hold players accountable.

--If we don't make the tournament this year, Kevin Ollie's seat should be hot for next year. There is no excuse for this type of performances for the last 3 years. We need to be seriously looking at all options right now. I am not a fan of the Dwayne Killings hire as Ollie has hired his twin basically. Hobbs leaving does not look good in hindsight for us. We need some serious coaching strategy changes.

P.S. I think we need to be looking at the Big East for our basketball team if they will take us. If we need to go independent in football so be it. We need to be in a league that gives us opportunities for top 25 wins and incentive for guys to play at the highest level without thinking they will rely on the tournament to enter the NCAA tournament. We can't keep hoping for the carrot from the Power 5 to fall our way after 10 years with the next realignment. Our basketball program will not be the same UCONN that we know and love at that time with what we are seeing in the present.

We wouldn't make the tournament this year if we had a coaching staff of Calhoun, Knight, Krzyzewski, Wooden, and John Thompson. The injuries to key players and inexperience of others is too much to overcome.

 

[WhiteDressWes]

We wouldn't make the tournament this year if we had a coaching staff of Calhoun, Knight, Krzyzewski, Wooden, and John Thompson. The injuries to key players and inexperience of others is too much to overcome.

We may not make the tourney based on the regular season, but the AAC Tourney at home should be better than 50-50. A team that is nowhere near its potential competed with 13th ranked, mostly Jrs and Srs, veterans. Who does the AAC have that compares?

 

[upstater]

We may not make the tourney based on the regular season, but the AAC Tourney at home should be better than 50-50. A team that is nowhere near its potential competed with 13th ranked, mostly Jrs and Srs, veterans. Who does the AAC have that compares?

The AAC is going to be good this year, better than in past years. SMU, Cincy, UCF and maybe Memphis.

Houston has a little more to go--I thought they'd be better, but they still have Rob Gray.

The only team that is down from previous years is Temple. UCF is way up from where they were.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The AAC is going to be good this year, better than in past years. SMU, Cincy, UCF and maybe Memphis.

Houston has a little more to go--I thought they'd be better, but they still have Rob Gray.

The only team that is down from previous years is Temple. UCF is way up from where they were.

To this point if UConn just handled their business the AAC wouldn't hold us back.

People still reference the SMU snub from a couple seasons ago but last season we even got Tulsa in.

 

[Jaker]

So exactly who could we get to replace Ollie?? No top tier coach is going to come to Uconn as long as we are in the American.

 

[mauconnfan]

You will get crucified on here for suggesting this, although it is probably the right thing to do....

This should make you feel better magic now if only JSM agrees you can then know you are onto something! LOL

 

[djct1999]

So exactly who could we get to replace Ollie?? No top tier coach is going to come to Uconn as long as we are in the American.

Sadly, this is very true. The UConn brand, the one time blue blood is no longer a destination job. This has gone downhill fast- faster than even the most pessimistic could expect. Worse yet, with the injuries to Larrier and Gilbert, the coaching staff will most likely get a free pass on the season. In other words, this hot mess will continue for the foreseeable future.

Lets not let Maui blind us. Ollie is a great motivator of men and thrives with their backs against the wall. I really applaud the effort put forth after Larrier went down. Even good fundamental coaches can lose a team when there seems to be very little to play for. This type of scenario plays into Ollie's strength as a person. Forget the results, this team will play hard. But I saw all I needed to see with Wagner and Northeastern. That simply should never happen at UConn. Nor should it be dismissed. Those two losses were a major red flag of where this program, from coaching on down, stands.

 

[huskymagic]

Some of you keep thinking that we have an eternity to correct these mistakes as though we play in a great conference. How many years have mauconn and others have said we just aren't very good this year we are going to be good next years(for the last 3 years). With the players we have there is no way we should ever be losing to Wagner and Northeastern I don't care how many new pieces we have. When it comes to Ollie being a great recruiter, the jury is still out on that. He is a good recruiter as he has gotten Hamilton and Adams, but a class of Makai, Polley, and Carlton doesn't signify excellent recruiter. Some of us need to get off the hyperbole train and look at things rationally. If we get Hamidou then we can say Ollie is a great recruiter. Our teams since 2014 lack any sort of toughness and attitude to win that we were accustomed to seeing with our program. That's also recruiting and coaching.

This is a problem when as a fanbase we are discussing moral victories going on 3 years now for a program that has won 4 titles since 1999. What I said about re-joining the Big East is true and most of us know this as it would help Ollie himself coaching wise and recruiting at an even higher level. The American Conference will lead us to a march of irrelevancy if we continue to wait for that carrot from the Big 10 or the ACC or the Big 12. We have to be proactive in several directions. This is exactly how empires fall by justifying weaknesses as an aberration or a glitch.

 

[pj]

I am not sure Ollie can coach the college game. For certain, he can recruit. For sure, he can motivate. It just may be he is better suited for the pros. The college game is still very much about fundamentals. I am not so sure that is one of KOs strengths.

This is crazy talk. Coaching is not a one man show. A head coach gets 3 assistants and other staff. Ollie doesn't have to be great at everything, he just has to have assistants who are strong where he is weak. There's no reason the staff as a whole can't cover every base.

But, I just don't believe Ollie can't teach fundamentals. The guy who spent 14 years in the NBA with minimal talent through hard work and executing every fundamental, can't teach what he himself did? Don't believe it.

 

[djct1999]

This is crazy talk. Coaching is not a one man show. A head coach gets 3 assistants and other staff. Ollie doesn't have to be great at everything, he just has to have assistants who are strong where he is weak. There's no reason the staff as a whole can't cover every base.

But, I just don't believe Ollie can't teach fundamentals. The guy who spent 14 years in the NBA with minimal talent through hard work and executing every fundamental, can't teach what he himself did? Don't believe it.

Really? Explain to me then in five years, why we still struggle getting the ball in on set plays. While you are at it, explain to me one in game adjustment that he has made that changed the outcome of the game. Or why we run the same motion offense all the time. Its clear, from substitution patterns to time outs, he coaches as if its the nba. Its not.

 

[mauconnfan]

Really? Explain to me then in five years, why we still struggle getting the ball in on set plays. While you are at it, explain to me one in game adjustment that he has made that changed the outcome of the game. Or why we run the same motion offense all the time. Its clear, from substitution patterns to time outs, he coaches as if its the nba. Its not.

No one can deny the in bounds plays, they are awful. From the baseline if your best drawn up play is to throw a lob over people to Brimah who we are unsure will even catch it and can't pass, then you're awful. Teams score from OOB's plays the baseline if the other team is in man, this is a glaring problem. And substitution patterns, they're not great at all either. Again, he's not perfect or close but I'm guessing he's also not a finished product as a young coach. Would like to see these things change, important stuff.

 

[jibsey]

Some of you keep thinking that we have an eternity to correct these mistakes as though we play in a great conference. How many years have mauconn and others have said we just aren't very good this year we are going to be good next years(for the last 3 years). With the players we have there is no way we should ever be losing to Wagner and Northeastern I don't care how many new pieces we have. When it comes to Ollie being a great recruiter, the jury is still out on that. He is a good recruiter as he has gotten Hamilton and Adams, but a class of Makai, Polley, and Carlton doesn't signify excellent recruiter. Some of us need to get off the hyperbole train and look at things rationally. If we get Hamidou then we can say Ollie is a great recruiter. Our teams since 2014 lack any sort of toughness and attitude to win that we were accustomed to seeing with our program. That's also recruiting and coaching.

This is a problem when as a fanbase we are discussing moral victories going on 3 years now for a program that has won 4 titles since 1999. What I said about re-joining the Big East is true and most of us know this as it would help Ollie himself coaching wise and recruiting at an even higher level. The American Conference will lead us to a march of irrelevancy if we continue to wait for that carrot from the Big 10 or the ACC or the Big 12. We have to be proactive in several directions. This is exactly how empires fall by justifying weaknesses as an aberration or a glitch.

I think this is true. Just take a look at most of the teams that will be in the hunt every year now. The top teams are stacked with top 10 players. What if Duke or Kentucky's best player was a top 25? Last nite I watched Michigan State who gets a guy like Bridges to go with Ward and they can compete all year on the glass even if they don't shoot well. KO has done a good job recruiting but there's another level.

 

[mauconnfan]

Some of you keep thinking that we have an eternity to correct these mistakes as though we play in a great conference. How many years have mauconn and others have said we just aren't very good this year we are going to be good next years(for the last 3 years). With the players we have there is no way we should ever be losing to Wagner and Northeastern I don't care how many new pieces we have. When it comes to Ollie being a great recruiter, the jury is still out on that. He is a good recruiter as he has gotten Hamilton and Adams, but a class of Makai, Polley, and Carlton doesn't signify excellent recruiter. Some of us need to get off the hyperbole train and look at things rationally. If we get Hamidou then we can say Ollie is a great recruiter. Our teams since 2014 lack any sort of toughness and attitude to win that we were accustomed to seeing with our program. That's also recruiting and coaching.

This is a problem when as a fanbase we are discussing moral victories going on 3 years now for a program that has won 4 titles since 1999. What I said about re-joining the Big East is true and most of us know this as it would help Ollie himself coaching wise and recruiting at an even higher level. The American Conference will lead us to a march of irrelevancy if we continue to wait for that carrot from the Big 10 or the ACC or the Big 12. We have to be proactive in several directions. This is exactly how empires fall by justifying weaknesses as an aberration or a glitch.

He has a McD AA who is out and will most likely be out for the year, would have been a huge impact. A kid who he recruited originally and left another school to come here because he loved KO, was our leading scorer and is OUT. Diarra is likely out and he would've helped on the boards. Yeah KO should have seen this was going to happen and had back up plans, maybe better walk ons. What was he thinking?

 

[selles]

This has gone downhill fast- faster than even the most pessimistic could expect.

You seriously underrate our pessimists.

 

[7774]

This game was over in the first 3 minutes and predictably as we trudged out there with a lineup of Facey and Brimah. Facey should not be starting or playing big minutes unless its to sub in for Brimah. Durham should be starting at the 4 and playing 20-25 minutes a game. He is not on minutes restrictions, and if he needs rest let him ask to be taken out. We can't keep rewarding mediocrity. Ollie needs to hold players accountable.

--If we don't make the tournament this year, Kevin Ollie's seat should be hot for next year. There is no excuse for this type of performances for the last 3 years. We need to be seriously looking at all options right now. I am not a fan of the Dwayne Killings hire as Ollie has hired his twin basically. Hobbs leaving does not look good in hindsight for us. We need some serious coaching strategy changes.

P.S. I think we need to be looking at the Big East for our basketball team if they will take us. If we need to go independent in football so be it. We need to be in a league that gives us opportunities for top 25 wins and incentive for guys to play at the highest level without thinking they will rely on the tournament to enter the NCAA tournament. We can't keep hoping for the carrot from the Power 5 to fall our way after 10 years with the next realignment. Our basketball program will not be the same UCONN that we know and love at that time with what we are seeing in the present.

I guess in the spirit of Thanksgiving you decided to present a cornucopia of terrible ideas?

 

[pnow15]

Bullshit.

Even with our injuries we have a good roster. Jalen Adams has to be a scoring point guard. Purvis needs more consistency.
We have two healthy freshman, Durham and Jackson who can play well at this level right now. We have a backup point guard who is not without talent We have three centers, one of them Brimah is playing his best ball of his career.

Guys have to play harder and smarter. We have had teams with a lot less talent than this and have won.
No excuses.

We need to play more zone, especially when Enoch is in the game. He gets lost and needs to stay in box around the basket.
Zones also prevent some foul trouble. But if we do not win it is not because we don't have enough talent.

 

[mauconnfan]

Stop.

Even with our injuries we have a good roster. Jalen Adams has to be a scoring point guard. Purvis needs more consistency.
We have two healthy freshman, Durham and Jackson who can play well at this level right now. We have a backup point guard who is not without talent We have three centers, one of them Brimah is playing his best ball of his career.

Guys have to play harder and smarter. We have had teams with a lot less talent than this and have won.
No excuses.

We need to play more zone, especially when Enoch is in the game. He gets lost and needs to stay in box around the basket.
Zones also prevent some foul trouble. But if we do not win it is not because we don't have enough talent.

Sounds good doesn't it?

Jalen is a scoring guard, doesn't have a PG to play with. Purvis needs to be more consistent, he's a 5th year senior will that change? 2 healthy freshman? I see one Jackson he's playing pretty well. The other is slow to overcome the mental requirements of playing all out and who can blame him.

Guys do need to play smarter I agree. But how are Brimah, Facey and Rodney suddenly going to become smarter after their full carriers are close to closing?

Agree this team, especially now with injuries to key players, needs to play more zone they actually look more active and rotate better in it.

A lot of teams have talent, but most aren't depending on 1st and 2nd year guys to be The Man immediately (minus Duke, UK and UK). These kids played against teams with upper class men leading the way, even Chaminade. It makes a difference and our upper class men don't have the ability to lead the way. Talented but not smart doesn't work all that well.

 

[pnow15]

Sounds good doesn't it?

Jalen is a scoring guard, doesn't have a PG to play with. Purvis needs to be more consistent, he's a 5th year senior will that change? 2 healthy freshman? I see one Jackson he's playing pretty well. The other is slow to overcome the mental requirements of playing all out and who can blame him.

Guys do need to play smarter I agree. But how are Brimah, Facey and Rodney suddenly going to become smarter after their full carriers are close to closing?

Agree this team, especially now with injuries to key players, needs to play more zone they actually look more active and rotate better in it.

A lot of teams have talent, but most aren't depending on 1st and 2nd year guys to be The Man immediately (minus Duke, UK and UK). These kids played against teams with upper class men leading the way, even Chaminade. It makes a difference and our upper class men don't have the ability to lead the way. Talented but not smart doesn't work all that well.

Jalen needs to be the new Iverson.