My run down of the Ollie years.

[mike012]

I think Ollie is posting on the boneyard now.....You tell them Ollie

 

[RoderickSpode]

I can do whatever I want to do...

I can compare apples to horses, frogs to alligators, hell I can compare pogo sticks to the Empire State Building if I want.

You certainly have the constitutional right to make such comparisons, but I’m not sure they support your argument as much as you think they do.

 

[uconnfan68]

Ollie, pre-national championship, was the man we needed. He wasn’t a great bench coach, but he worked and kids played for him.

Ollie, post-national championship, is Godzilla and our hopes and expectations are Tokyo.

It’s a shame - he blew what could have been a terrific career here.

I still feel his divorce sucked the life out of him. And we’re paying for it.

 

[uconnfan68]

Come for the misreading of OP as Mau, stay for the ouch .

Me too. ;^)

 

[boog204]

I can do whatever I want to do...

I can compare apples to horses, frogs to alligators, hell I can compare pogo sticks to the Empire State Building if I want.

The fact of the matter is this, every coach has a down year or 2 before rebounding.

Awesome... I'd say the number of coaches fired following a down year or two greatly exceeds the amount given an opportunity to rebuild. Many schools realize that it just isn't working and try to stop bleeding.

Wright's one down year followed 7 straight NCAA tournament appearances. Even though his job was questioned, he earned another year to rebound and reassess. And he did, bringing in Archidiacano, Echefu, and Dylan Ennis to complement the young talent (Pinkston, Hilliard, Cheek) who cut their teeth during the down year. The "rebound" year was a 20 win season and tourney appearance and he's on pace to win 29+ games for the 5th straight year.

KO has had two straight losing seasons and four of his top recruits have left the program. Two or three of those guys would have been likely starters this year but instead opted to sit out a year rather than playing for KO or being a part of his "system." Tells me all I need to know...

 

[mauconnfan]

Come for the misreading of OP as Mau, stay for the ouch .

LOL I feel some of maine's pain but not to the full extent.

I've been out of touch and not at all in the mood to argue or reply all that much, that pup in my avatar seems to be down to her last days and UConn basketball has taken a back seat for the past few days, it makes me sadder than I already am by watching them.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

LOL I feel some of maine's pain but not to the full extent.

I've been out of touch and not at all in the mood to argue or reply all that much, that pup in my avatar seems to be down to her last days and UConn basketball has taken a back seat for the past few days, it makes me sadder than I already am by watching them.

So sorry to hear this. I sensed your absence. Hang in there.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Read what you wrote about coming into this year. Lost a good chunk of their best recruiting class in a few years. Your solid core of Adams, Larrier, and Gilbert lost one, the ball handler. Your "good supporting cast" was clearly not based on seeing all of the newcomers play, but based on hope, I guess. Throw in a very tough schedule and your expectations were way too optimistic coming into the season.

I disagree. I had similar feelings coming in. When you have new players, you project. Same with returning players. Otherwise, how would Kentucky be ranked, since they play half freshmen almost every year?

Based on what we had coming in, we had a stud PG in Gilbert coming off of injury. A guy in Larrier who looked very good before getting hurt last year. Adams, who played almost by himself last year and still got us to 18 wins. Vital who showed promise and who should take a step up. Diallo, a highly regarded recruit with a very solid body, and a year in the program (although he didn't play). Some nice pieces coming in with Carlton, Cobb, Polley, Whaley, and I expected a couple to emerge as key contributors (which they have). Add Anderson and DO for veteran depth.

Did it pan out? No. But not due to the freshmen, but because:

• Gilbert was lost again
• Larrier has played very tentatively around the basket on offense, shying away from contact
• Adams had to once again shift from SG mentality to PG, and is running an offense that doesn't properly direct him. Defenses are keying on him and our system relies too much on him to create.
• Diallo has either disappointed or Ollie is too dumb to let him play through the young player mistakes. Probably some of both
• Vital decided that his contributions late last season meant that he was the second coming of Michael Jordan. He has regressed.
• Cobb showed flashes of skill, but got himself suspended