Not good.

[ConnHuskBask]

I don't care how many times you guys say this, it will never be true and it will never stop being an assinine assertion.

It may be unlikely that we get another great coach but it has happened here before and it happened at Gonzaga and Wichita State and Butler and many other non P5 teams in the past. Guys like Calhoun may be incredibly rare but guys better than Ollie are not quite as rare.

People who tirelessly recycle excuses are forgetting that next year will be his sixth year at UConn. Yes, there have been great coaches who have taken a few years to "hit their stride" and, yes, even great coaches can have a bad year now and then. But next year will he year 6. Not two, not three, not four. While he deserves credit for that miraculous run in 2014, he also deserves criticism for not being abke to dominate a crappy conference even once. Calhouns don't grow on trees but neither do miraculous seasons. The best way to go deep in March is to have a team that looks like they will go deep in March, just about every year. It isn't happening.

Great post.

I hope KO can succeed but the past three seasons have made me question if we can still be UConn with Ollie in charge.

The idea the program is dead without Ollie is patently ridiculous. When you are paying a Top 15 National salary you can still get a very good coach.

Look I want KO to be the guy here, but I'm not going to be blindly loyal to him.

 

[champs99and04]

Couple things:

1. Today was bad. Really bad. Incidentally, if you were in the pro-Ollie camp, I think this does as much or more to help your case. This was a complete players loss and I haven't said that about many games the last couple years. Just completely outclassed from the jump.

2. Nobody has had their value inflated with this season more than Gilbert and Larrier. Gilbert would have helped and I'm skeptical on Larrier, but neither of these guys have proven anything as college players and them not being here does far less than people believe in regards to exonerating KO.

3. It's obvious Adams isn't near 100%. I've been critical of him, but I don't know if it's fair to take anything away from these last two.

 

[Tenspro2002]

What should the bar for success be next year? What kind of season would be constitute a failure for KO? Going 500 next year would be a catastrophic failure that would dwarf this turd of a season.

I am not predicting any level of success for next season but the team is loaded on paper in the 1-3 spots. We have enough big wings that the 1-4 spots are technically "loaded," provided we play an adequate amount of small ball. It shouldn't be that hard to find a single big who can do a decent job rebounding and defending. IMO, a very good coach should have a roster like this in the top 20 all season, easily. If the team isn't top 30ish for the majority of the season, the season will be a failure in my eyes.

Assuming nobody is lost to injury:

If we're .500, KO should be fired immediately next year.

If we're in that 19-11, 20-10 sort of range, fringe bubble team, KO stays but is unequivocally on the hot seat, with similar results the year after not enough to keep his job.

Expectations should be something like 25-6, #6 seed, ranked most of the year, top 2 in AAC.

 

[yukonyc212]

Oh, Indiana. You mean the B1G team that makes $50m a year? That's the example you're giving me?

By the way, Ollie won the national championship. Davis didn't.

So he won the final game and Davis didn't. Situation is exactly the same. 2 horrible years and 1 mediocre year later and Davis was out. Ollie will get 1 more year because he won that game instead of lost it... that's it.

 

[Towney007]

I don't care how many times you guys say this, it will never be true and it will never stop being an assinine assertion.

It may be unlikely that we get another great coach but it has happened here before and it happened at Gonzaga and Wichita State and Butler and many other non P5 teams in the past. Guys like Calhoun may be incredibly rare but guys better than Ollie are not quite as rare.

People who tirelessly recycle excuses are forgetting that next year will be his sixth year at UConn. Yes, there have been great coaches who have taken a few years to "hit their stride" and, yes, even great coaches can have a bad year now and then. But next year will he year 6. Not two, not three, not four. While he deserves credit for that miraculous run in 2014, he also deserves criticism for not being abke to dominate a crappy conference even once. Calhouns don't grow on trees but neither do miraculous seasons. The best way to go deep in March is to have a team that looks like they will go deep in March, just about every year. It isn't happening.

That's where i'm at with all this.

What's been most worrisome to me is just the lack of development on this team this year in spite of these kids getting a lot of playing time. I mean I think to anyone with somewhat of a level-headed worldview of this knew that once they stumbled out of the gate and THEN lost Gilbert and Larrier, that the season was objectively over. The flip side of that to me was that this was - at best - a tournament team; but not a major contender and hey - the young kids can play this season and just work on getting better without loads of pressure heaped on top of them. IN that way - seasons like this one can kind of go from being a curse to a blessing and you reap the dividends the next season.

But I don't think anyone outside of Adams really did...

I hate saying that - but outside of Adams, I'm not sold on a single player that they have on the roster for next year. Not one of them. I like that Vital is so scrappy. Jackson is interesting, but he seems like more of a bit player to me, too. Enoch is a little better to the point where he can pick up minutes, but you can't depend on him for long stretches. Durham just doesn't wow me on any real level. Gilbert will be back and that's nice, but he missed his entire freshman year so who knows wtf that is next year. Larrier has played what - 8 games in his college career? Diarra will be nice I guess - but I don't really know what to expect out of that, either. MAL should be a fun addition, but freshman are still freshman....

I mean this team is an entire roster full of question marks *everywhere.* And if Adams is gone - do they have a single player who can shoot or score at will? Who's the dominant post threat or the guy who can protect the rim? If you want a chuckle - think about what this team does on the glass next year... Freshman years are Freshman years, so I don't want to get TOO carried away here - but this wasn't a team that did anything particularly well this year and you could make a case that they got *worse* as the year wore on. Maybe they gassed, i'm sure they were banged up (and I'm sure there were plenty of dings we didn't even hear about), but the development hasn't been there in as safe an environment TO develop as you could ask for.

And that's entirely on Ollie. All of it. Got dealt some bum cards, too; but the cards he had he played incredibly poorly. I just don't know. I don't know how anyone can look at this through rose colored glasses.

 

[superjohn]

It doesn't matter. Without Ollie, UConn basketball is OVER.

This is so over the top stupid.

 

[upstater]

This is so over the top stupid.

You guys can't even see what's coming.

 

[yukonyc212]

That's where i'm at with all this.

What's been most worrisome to me is just the lack of development on this team this year in spite of these kids getting a lot of playing time. I mean I think to anyone with somewhat of a level-headed worldview of this knew that once they stumbled out of the gate and THEN lost Gilbert and Larrier, that the season was objectively over. The flip side of that to me was that this was - at best - a tournament team; but not a major contender and hey - the young kids can play this season and just work on getting better without loads of pressure heaped on top of them. IN that way - seasons like this one can kind of go from being a curse to a blessing and you reap the dividends the next season.

But I don't think anyone outside of Adams really did...

I hate saying that - but outside of Adams, I'm not sold on a single player that they have on the roster for next year. Not one of them. I like that Vital is so scrappy. Jackson is interesting, but he seems like more of a bit player to me, too. Enoch is a little better to the point where he can pick up minutes, but you can't depend on him for long stretches. Durham just doesn't wow me on any real level. Gilbert will be back and that's nice, but he missed his entire freshman year so who knows wtf that is next year. Larrier has played what - 8 games in his college career? Diarra will be nice I guess - but I don't really know what to expect out of that, either. MAL should be a fun addition, but freshman are still freshman....

I mean this team is an entire roster full of question marks *everywhere.* And if Adams is gone - do they have a single player who can shoot or score at will? Who's the dominant post threat or the guy who can protect the rim? If you want a chuckle - think about what this team does on the glass next year... Freshman years are Freshman years, so I don't want to get TOO carried away here - but this wasn't a team that did anything particularly well this year and you could make a case that they got *worse* as the year wore on. Maybe they gassed, i'm sure they were banged up (and I'm sure there were plenty of dings we didn't even hear about), but the development hasn't been there in as safe an environment TO develop as you could ask for.

And that's entirely on Ollie. All of it. Got dealt some bum cards, too; but the cards he had he played incredibly poorly. I just don't know. I don't know how anyone can look at this through rose colored glasses.

Well there are many of them here. Posters like Mauconnfan and Uconndan69 call you names if you disagree with their apologist propaganda. It's funny though you don't seem to see them today after yet another embarrassment.

 

[upstater]

So he won the final game and Davis didn't. Situation is exactly the same. 2 horrible years and 1 mediocre year later and Davis was out. Ollie will get 1 more year because he won that game instead of lost it... that's it.

You missed the whole point. Indiana is in the B1G! UConn isn't.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Does he? I'm sure the phone is ringing off the hook right now.

He does and it is.

 

[upstater]

Well there are many of them here. Posters like Mauconnfan and Uconndan69 call you names if you disagree with their apologist propaganda. It's funny though you don't seem to see them today after yet another embarrassment.

Maybe they went to the game instead of being keyboard warriors like you.

 

[BFieldHusky]

Disagree on your assessment of Vital and Jackson @Towney007. Vital was supposed to be our #4 guard this year. I like him a lot going forward. He is a glue guy who teams need to have in order to win. This team has been missing that the last couple of years.

Jackson needs to improve his D, but as a freshman he is shooting over 50% from 3 in conference play. If that doesn't impress you than I don't know what to tell you. And these are two guys who may not start next year.

I agree with you on Enoch. I don't know what to make of Durham, but I think the plan all along was to bring him around slowly. Lets give him an offseason where he can actually practice and get stronger before we fully evaluate him.

 

[yukonyc212]

You missed the whole point. Indiana is in the B1G! UConn isn't.

Well Indiana is considered a "blue blood." And I have always thought of us in that category as well. So your saying we're not a "blue blood?" So just because Indiana is in the B1G means our blue blood fan base should put up with the last 3 seasons as the norm?!

 

[yukonyc212]

Maybe they went to the game instead of being keyboard warriors like you.

No I live in New York City. I don't get to many home games. My sister uses our season tickets. I watched it firmly on my couch and was as disgusted as most of you. Except for you I guess.

 

[donyell34]

Reading these posts and various other threads is torture. Not being even close to competitive in so many games. Really have no clue what we have for next year because I never expected this to happen this year. Being compared to Umass is a killer and there better than us. Time for a highball.

 

[Towney007]

Disagree on your assessment of Vital and Jackson @Towney007. Vital was supposed to be our #4 guard this year. I like him a lot going forward. He is a glue guy who teams need to have in order to win. This team has been missing that the last couple of years.

Jackson needs to improve his D, but as a freshman he is shooting over 50% from 3 in conference play. If that doesn't impress you than I don't know what to tell you. And these are two guys who may not start next year.

I agree with you on Enoch. I don't know what to make of Durham, but I think the plan all along was to bring him around slowly. Lets give him an offseason where he can actually practice and get stronger before we fully evaluate him.

Fair. And yeah - I like both. Like... I can see what people see in them. I've just gotta see it. Also didn't know Jackson's shooting% was so high, that's fantastic for a freshman. I like Vital - I think he'll be an important part of something later down the line. I'm just not sure he's a front line kind of guy.

And fair enough on Durham.

 

[upstater]

Well Indiana is considered a "blue blood." And I have always thought of us in that category as well. So your saying we're not a "blue blood?" So just because Indiana is in the B1G means our blue blood fan base should put up with the last 3 seasons as the norm?!

Holy cow--you may not have noticed, but UConn is in the AAC!!! NOT the B1G.

I thought this was obvious to everyone.

 

[yukonyc212]

Reading these posts and various other threads is torture. Not being even close to competitive in so many games. Really have no clue what we have for next year because I never expected this to happen this year. Being compared to Umass is a killer and there better than us. Time for a highball.

I just don't get the people defending this . We get blown out by almost ever decent team we play. We aren't even competitive in most of those games. We haven't beaten a "good" team the entire season. This just sucks.

 

[upstater]

No I live in New York City. I don't get to many home games. My sister uses our season tickets. I watched it firmly on my couch and was as disgusted as most of you. Except for you I guess.

You're calling out posters who go t0 games for not getting on the Boneyard 2 hours after the game. Hilarious!!

 

[BFieldHusky]

Fair. And yeah - I like both. Like... I can see what people see in them. I've just gotta see it. Also didn't know Jackson's shooting% was so high, that's fantastic for a freshman. I like Vital - I think he'll be an important part of something later down the line. I'm just not sure he's a front line kind of guy.

And fair enough on Durham.

What you hope for next year is that you bring along a guy like Gilbert (and MAL) along slowly by playing Vital early. Guy played 30+ minutes a game as a freshman so he should be polished for a sophomore. Same thing with Larrier as you have Jackson.

Its obvious, but KO HAS to get a grad transfer big in to play. Enoch is a total unknown, Carlton will be a freshman, Durham is an unknown, and Diarra (if healthy) is a freshman. That is scary.

 

[yukonyc212]

Holy cow--you may not have noticed, but UConn is in the AAC!!! NOT the B1G.

I thought this was obvious to everyone.

That's all you can say? Is that they're in the B1G and we're in the AAC. So do you consider us a "blue blood" program or not. Yes or no?

 

[yukonyc212]

You're calling out posters who go t0 games for not getting on the Boneyard 2 hours after the game. Hilarious!!

How do you know they were at the games? They were posting and liking all day.

 

[weyuo]

Arrggghh! They got hit by the injury bug..hard this season plain and simple. If they had the services of Larrier, Gilbert and Diarra things would be completely different right now. I am still very disappointed in the development(or lack there of) of Brimah. That was a failed mission on the part of the coaches and never would have happened under Calhoun. Brimah would have sat on the bench untill he learned how to carve out space in the paint and rebound. To their credit they did do a good job with Facey. He developed into a better ball player than I expected. It's not time to boot Ollie but I'm not sure how much Freeman really brings to the table.

 

[tcf15]

Arrggghh! They got hit by the injury bug..hard this season plain and simple. If they had the services of Larrier, Gilbert and Diarra things would be completely different right now. I am still very disappointed in the development(or lack there of) of Brimah. That was a failed mission on the part of the coaches and never would have happened under Calhoun. Brimah would have sat on the bench untill he learned how to carve out space in the paint and rebound. To their credit they did do a good job with Facey. He developed into a better ball player than I expected. It's not time to boot Ollie but I'm not sure how much Freeman really brings to the table.

Freeman is the director of basketball operations, not a coach.

Important Piece Of Puzzle: Old Pal Kevin Freeman Still Force With UConn Men

“My job has to be visualization,” Freeman said. “I look for the problem that's going to happen.”

“It could be a hundred different things,” he said. “Travel, I might be dealing with the business office on budget issues. I do a lot of academics also. There are days when basketball is the smallest part of my day.”

Freeman can't participate in coaching activities with players. During practices, he sits on the sideline and observes. He has a passion for scouting and studying video. And when he does advise players, he is more of a life coach.

 

[DaveHuskiesFan]

Here we go... the nobody will come to UConn mantra...unreal. It's the top basketball program in the country over the last 20 years. I'm sure we can find some poor sap to come here and suffer through unlimited administrative and fan support and big pay check.

Where did I mention that no coach would come to UConn? I mentioned Gregg Marshall because he makes $3.4 million dollars a year (more than Ollie), and is a top 10 paid coach in college basketball. He's not coming to UConn for a slight raise, same pay, or decrease in pay, when he can go to a Indiana, Kentucky, etc that has the money to pay him $5M a year, which UConn in their current non p-5 status, does not have the ability to do.