Okay I’m off the Ollie train

[Towney007]

Well, I didn’t want to hire him. Thought we could get a guy with much more experience. But Calhoun screwed us with his late announcement to ensure his guy got the job. Then we was ok initially and won a title in 2014. But he’s done nothing since.

The truth is, I don’t think he understands college basketball very well and is better suited to the NBA. The reverse of guys like Pitino. He’s terrible at game planning, and runs the same non offense all the time. Any decent coach who watched us against Oregon could see how we could easily be defended.

That being said, who is replacing him? I opposed firing him in the off-season because the program was in rough shape and I didn’t have confidence that his replacement would be an upgrade. If we could lure Amaker from Harvard I’d do it tomorrow.

Amaker, Hurley... Pat Kelsey - the guy who ran out on UMass is actually a really great coach. He'd be in the mix. Matt Lottich at Valpo would probably be in the mix, Eric Konkel at Louisiana Tech is out there potentially.... Nick McDevitt at UNC Asheville is a total sleeper and I can't believe someone hasn't poached him yet... Earl Grant is at College of Charleston and he far from sucks..

I mean acting like no one's out there is flipping crazy and that we wouldn't have a great shot at landing any of those guys is freaking crackers.

 

[Towney007]

Hopefully our next coach isn’t interested in partying with players on the weekend.

I'm not going to get into that more than this - but you're not the first person I've heard that from and two people I know who work/coach at UConn have told me as much that the hoops program behind the scenes is an actual, legitimate, bonafide mess. I take everything I hear with a grain of salt, but Ollie's inability to be more of coach than a pal is the worst kept secret in the world it seems.

 

[NC_Uconn_Fan]

I'm not going to get into that more than this - but you're not the first person I've heard that from and two people I know who work/coach at UConn have told me as much that the hoops program behind the scenes is an actual, legitimate, bonafide mess. I take everything I hear with a grain of salt, but Ollie's inability to be more of coach than a pal is the worst kept secret in the world it seems.

Great

 

[Matrim55]

Amaker, Hurley... Pat Kelsey - the guy who ran out on UMass is actually a really great coach. He'd be in the mix. Matt Lottich at Valpo would probably be in the mix, Eric Konkel at Louisiana Tech is out there potentially.... Nick McDevitt at UNC Asheville is a total sleeper and I can't believe someone hasn't poached him yet... Earl Grant is at College of Charleston and he far from sucks..

McDevitt & Lottich have never recruited blue chippers, though. Kelsey, Konkel and Grant have (as assistants).

I mean acting like no one's out there is flipping crazy and that we wouldn't have a great shot at landing any of those guys is freaking crackers.

Agreed.

 

[Hamms30]

Agree but the defense was lackluster at best. Only a couple of guys working to switch or fight through screens and 2 of them were NOT Jalen and Terry who should be leading this team. They aren't I don't care how many points they score they work harder on that end that's the only reason.

Can't argue that. Regardless of if the ball is dropping for you or not, defense and hustle should always be a constant. And there were a lot of uncontested shots, but still those percentages are pretty impressive and certainly not the norm. Those are basically end of practice shoot around percentages where you take the same shot 10 times in a row and can get a rhythm. Agree though, the lazy defense is always nauseating to watch and if you score 25 and your man scores 27, you hurt the team that night. It was just a perfect storm of things tonight. We couldn't hit a shot, they couldn't miss and it seemed like every time the refs blew the whistle it was another nail in our coffin. Diarra went up for a rebound and got undercut and went to the floor and got whistled for travelling, lots of push off's by Ark. Not 40 points worth, but still doesn't help.

 

[Towney007]

McDevitt & Lottich have never recruited blue chippers, though. Kelsey, Konkel and Grant have (as assistants).

Well I'm sure being at UNC Asheville and Valpo hasn't helped them.

 

[JMick]

I'm not going to get into that more than this - but you're not the first person I've heard that from and two people I know who work/coach at UConn have told me as much that the hoops program behind the scenes is an actual, legitimate, bonafide mess. I take everything I hear with a grain of salt, but Ollie's inability to be more of coach than a pal is the worst kept secret in the world it seems.

it's a complete dumpster fire

 

[Matrim55]

Well I'm sure being at UNC Asheville and Valpo hasn't helped them.

Right. But what I'm saying is that guys who started as assistants at P5/NBE schools, then went on to become successful coaches at mid-majors are more appealing than successful mid-major lifers.

McDevitt might be the next John Wooden for all I know. But hiring him would be a bigger risk than someone like Kelsey, who's recruited McDonald's all-americans in the past. He's shown he has that skillset, as have Konkel and Grant. Given our needs & aspirations, that matters.

Some mid-major coaches are great on the sidelines, but not so great on the recruiting trail.

 

[Towney007]

Right. But what I'm saying is that guys who started as assistants at P5/NBE schools, then went on to become successful coaches at mid-majors are more appealing than successful mid-major lifers.

McDevitt might be the next John Wooden for all I know. But hiring him would be a bigger risk than someone like Kelsey, who's recruited McDonald's all-americans in the past. He's shown he has that skillset, as have Konkel and Grant. Given our needs & aspirations, that matters.

Some mid-major coaches are great on the sidelines, but not so great on the recruiting trail.

Oh for sure, absolutely. Like I said - I like Kelsey a lot provided he doesn't leave last minute lol....

 

[HuskyHawk]

Right. But what I'm saying is that guys who started as assistants at P5/NBE schools, then went on to become successful coaches at mid-majors are more appealing than successful mid-major lifers.

McDevitt might be the next John Wooden for all I know. But hiring him would be a bigger risk than someone like Kelsey, who's recruited McDonald's all-americans in the past. He's shown he has that skillset, as have Konkel and Grant. Given our needs & aspirations, that matters.

Some mid-major coaches are great on the sidelines, but not so great on the recruiting trail.

So hire those guys some assistants who are proven recruiters. Our prior HC didn’t have a stint as an assistant at a big school, and he worked out.

 

[Matrim55]

So hire those guys some assistants who are proven recruiters.

I wouldn't rule this path out, but I'd personally prefer fewer variables.

Our prior HC didn’t have a stint as an assistant at a big school, and he worked out.

Calhoun was a one-in-a-million hire. I hope folks don't think we can replicate that.

 

[Glastonhusky]

it's a complete dumpster fire

I thought that stuff was behind us?

 

[AntG168]

I'm not going to get into that more than this - but you're not the first person I've heard that from and two people I know who work/coach at UConn have told me as much that the hoops program behind the scenes is an actual, legitimate, bonafide mess. I take everything I hear with a grain of salt, but Ollie's inability to be more of coach than a pal is the worst kept secret in the world it seems.

That’s disturbing

 

[Mr. French]

I'm in no way defending Ollie as far as the job he's doing right now by saying this, but:

I hate the take about him just sitting there in the games. I've coached a lot of games and played a lot, and sometimes that's something you have to do. People sort of assume that means he's not trying to coach them.

If you do things in practice, and harp on them time and again, sometimes in games while the players AREN'T doing them, you sit there, let them play how they want, get torched, and then in film session you point out how YOUR way is what works.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes on the sidelines, he absolutely should rip into a guy. But a lot of times, you literally can't just keep repeating the same thing. You sit there, let them bask in getting pummeled by playing crappy, then reevaluate next practice.

Him screaming down 30 at a crap shot isn't going to do much.

 

[Waquoit]

What happened to these guys since Thursday? I don't get it.

 

[uconnfan68]

We’ll see what happens, but watching this team is painful right now.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I'm in no way defending Ollie as far as the job he's doing right now by saying this, but:

I hate the take about him just sitting there in the games. I've coached a lot of games and played a lot, and sometimes that's something you have to do. People sort of assume that means he's not trying to coach them.

If you do things in practice, and harp on them time and again, sometimes in games while the players AREN'T doing them, you sit there, let them play how they want, get torched, and then in film session you point out how YOUR way is what works.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes on the sidelines, he absolutely should rip into a guy. But a lot of times, you literally can't just keep repeating the same thing. You sit there, let them bask in getting pummeled by playing crappy, then reevaluate next practice.

Him screaming down 30 at a crap shot isn't going to do much.

But he doesn’t yank players and then talk to them the way Calhoun and most coaches do. Years ago I watched Roy Williams at KU pull his whole starting five, when they began a game like we did today. He sat them for nearly 10 minutes. The subs did their best to keep KU in the game. Starters came back and anihilated the other team.

Where are those messages? The guy almost never takes time outs to stop bad runs, or he does it way too late.

We can’t fire him now and if he makes the tournament he will be back. But he’s not a very good basketball coach. I think that much is clear.

 

[imno1]

I'm in no way defending Ollie as far as the job he's doing right now by saying this, but:

I hate the take about him just sitting there in the games. I've coached a lot of games and played a lot, and sometimes that's something you have to do. People sort of assume that means he's not trying to coach them.

If you do things in practice, and harp on them time and again, sometimes in games while the players AREN'T doing them, you sit there, let them play how they want, get torched, and then in film session you point out how YOUR way is what works.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes on the sidelines, he absolutely should rip into a guy. But a lot of times, you literally can't just keep repeating the same thing. You sit there, let them bask in getting pummeled by playing crappy, then reevaluate next practice.

Him screaming down 30 at a crap shot isn't going to do much.

How about coaching them then?

 

[imno1]

I’ve been giving KO the benefit of the doubt but

 

[UConn990411]

Not excusing Ollie, but the American has been a drain on recruiting. None of the top teams in the conference are killing it on the recruting trail.

If they were winning the American but coming up short in the tourney, this would be a valid point.

 

[ASweet3781]

What happened to these guys since Thursday? I don't get it.

Well Oregon was taken to OT by DePaul and lost to Oklahoma so maybe nothing happened.

 

[CTBasketball]

You can’t keep firing asssitants claiming they’re the problem when you lose by 30 to Arkansas.

Someone’s gotta wake up here.

 

[Lefty2one]

I'm not going to get into that more than this - but you're not the first person I've heard that from and two people I know who work/coach at UConn have told me as much that the hoops program behind the scenes is an actual, legitimate, bonafide mess. I take everything I hear with a grain of salt, but Ollie's inability to be more of coach than a pal is the worst kept secret in the world it seems.

Good grief someone please tell me this isn't true.

 

[Matrim55]

Good grief someone please tell me this isn't true.

I've heard the same from a bunch of people. Thought it had gotten better this offseason but... perhaps not.

Anyway, there's a reason we have to re-recruit our guys every year, and it's not because of the assistants.

 

[Towney007]

Good grief someone please tell me this isn't true.

I’ve heard some pretty wild stuff from I think mostly reputable people for a while now. I wouldn’t drag it through the board, but a few folks have DM’d me to the point where I know I’m not the only guy on the board hearing this stuff.