Ollie can not be fired.

[huskyrob1]

the FBI/NCAA investigation will take years, how patient are people?? LOL I know the answer.

Tell that to Louisville and Pitino. Lol

 

[huskyrob1]

True enough. Since one of the articles said Benedict was not allowed to discuss the investigation...it would appear he knows what the allegations are, and if not whether they are true or not.
That would factor in the decision. They know, we do not.

The allegations were not originally made by the NCAA, they were made by another entity. That's why this might take a while.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

You use this as leverage when you negotiate the buyout - saying if you don’t agree you run the risk of zero buyout.

You could also amortized the payout
Presuming a new coach will be making less you could come close to break even

 

[Sonova]

You use this as leverage when you negotiate the buyout - saying if you don’t agree you run the risk of zero buyout.

Chief, you know very little. The NCAA doesn’t really have anything on UConn. A few minor, secondary violations maybe. Like Ollie paying for a guy to work out the players in the offseason. A few alums/ex NBA guys contacting recruits, Boo Willingham doing dumb, Boo Willingham things, etc. Not much. Some stupidity. But the idiots in Indy have bigger issues to deal with. So the “cause” relief doesn’t appear to be coming to fruition for Benedict.

And...the university does NOT have the money to pay Ollie $10m AND hire a coach that they’d want. So old Davey boy is scrambling to figure out a plan now that Plan A (a negotiated/cause-based buyout) is vanishing. Will be interesting to see what he comes up with in order to avoid having to answer the question, “so tell me again...why did you give him a FULLY guaranteed contract extension in December 2016?”

Stay tuned. The university mortgaging its athletically funded future in the hopes of getting a P5 invite is about to hit a brick wall going 10,000,000 mph.

 

[SECONN]

Chief, you know very little. The NCAA doesn’t really have anything on UConn. A few minor, secondary violations maybe. Like Ollie paying for a guy to work out the players in the offseason. A few alums/ex NBA guys contacting recruits, Boo Willingham doing dumb, Boo Willingham things, etc. Not much. Some stupidity. But the idiots in Indy have bigger issues to deal with. So the “cause” relief doesn’t appear to be coming to fruition for Benedict.

And...the university does NOT have the money to pay Ollie $10m AND hire a coach that they’d want. So old Davey boy is scrambling to figure out a plan now that Plan A (a negotiated/cause-based buyout) is vanishing. Will be interesting to see what he comes up with in order to avoid having to answer the question, “so tell me again...why did you give him a FULLY guaranteed contract extension in December 2016?”

Stay tuned. The university mortgaging its athletically funded future in the hopes of getting a P5 invite is about to hit a brick wall going 10,000,000 mph.

Its not often I agree with Chief, but when I do it hurts.

 

[my2cents]

I think its very fair to question the effort when you see the difference between a stretch where we fall behind by 21 points then come back to cut it by 4. If we made the same effort BEFORE we got behind by so much we would blow these teams away.
Also, last time I looked ,this team was last or next to last in assists per game. Is there any other way to say we have some selfish players?
Bad players/Bad coaching....nothing positive to look forward to...oh yeah Gilbert's 4-5 games next year.

 

[Pmac923]

Nobody's in a good mood today, but this is just a dumb thing to say. These guys sacrifice a heck of a lot for the program. The results aren't what we want, but most of the guys that have worn UConn on their chests have done it the right way.

It was an indictment on the coach. When Shabazz Napier comes out and says it then maybe we should stop and look at our leadership. When you have no accountability from the top it's not a surprise to see the players playing the way they do. Some coaches are able to groom an on court general but this team wasn't one of them. We were young and lacked the reps at the college level. We needed a leader on the sideline to mold this group into a respectable, proud team. How many times did we hear the term "hero" ball with this group? Like I said, we lacked the leadership at the top.

 

[microfich]

Benedict will negotiate a buyout.
Big donors bear responsibility to pay for the better of the program.

 

[Pmac923]

We used to have a culture that promoted winning. Winning was the main goal. It wasn't about "good vibes" and making people feel good.

 

[Madmannsucks]

The allegations were not originally made by the NCAA, they were made by another entity. That's why this might take a while.

I get that. My point was KO and DB know what the allegations are. We do not.

 

[CTrefugee]

If KO is not gone this year, I don't expect to see another good men's team in my lifetime (I am 76 and impatient.).
Every day the administration diddles makes it tougher for a new coach to rebuild. Go to the NCAA and admit guilt and
then offer KO a buy-out.

UCONN: "We did it."
NCAA: "Did what?"
UCONN: "We don't know, but whatever it is, we did it."

See here some sage advice on this sort of thing:

 

[Ewekon]

Really? Yeah Carlton Diarra Whaley Anderson Vital Polley they're all clearly just in it for the payday, getting all their highlight reel footage and sports center top 10 plays while they run our program into the ground...

I agree we need rebounding, and the defections last year are a big reason why our front court was abysmal, but this name on the front of the jersey statement is kind of misguided

I kinda get what you are saying. But this program has taken an unprecedented fall from grace. So I am more agreeing than not BUT none of the guys you list above sniff the floor at any blueblood program save Indiana. UConn was the outsider that earned, not wanted blue blood status including 2 rings for Ollie as assistant and HC.

The squandering of the brand is mind blowing. His reasons don't matter but the facts do.
The cupboard is bare with recruits. Indiana will still be in the B1G. UConn not so much.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Only takes about 40 bucks from every living alumni

Or 40 bucks a year from 1/3 of them for each of three years

Thanks, I’ll be here all night.

 

[Alum86]

Only takes about 40 bucks from every living alumni

I’m in.

 

[gtcam]

It's one thing when you're losing and producing lottery picks like West Coast Huskies

Please amuse me how that is a better place? With the lottery picks I would be expecting so much more

 

[gtcam]

Really? Yeah Carlton Diarra Whaley Anderson Vital Polley they're all clearly just in it for the payday, getting all their highlight reel footage and sports center top 10 plays while they run our program into the ground...

I agree we need rebounding, and the defections last year are a big reason why our front court was abysmal, but this name on the front of the jersey statement is kind of misguided

Who of the defections from last year would have made a big difference? Enoch was a highlight film?
VJ never wanted to be a big and never was going to stay on the east coast

 

[jimva]

Sorry but the $10m is not the right concern. This needs to be thought of as present value of future dollars.

If we think another coach can bring back the fan base, get us back to NCAA and grow the program we need to think about those revenues and discount them back to today and compare this to what we think KO can bring in.

If you look out 5-7 years I think the $10m is irrelevant.

 

[Storrs South]

Who of the defections from last year would have made a big difference? Enoch was a highlight film?
VJ never wanted to be a big and never was going to stay on the east coast

UConn is ranked #292 in the country in 3 point shooting percentage at 32.8%

VJ shot 39.7% his freshmen year at UConn.

The three biggest 3 point shooters on this year's Huskies (Larrier, Vital, Adams) shot 38.9%, 31.6%, and 32.9%.

I don't understand how KO couldn't find some middle ground to utilize VJ's incredible shooting with other things that he or even his dad may have asked of him. He would have been a huge asset on this year's team to help spread the defense and open up more lanes for Adams to exploit in the lane.

This would have been particularly helpful when teams threw a 2-3 zone at UConn as it would leave VJ & CV open at the top of the zone for 3s and force defenses to overplay.

 

[UConnNick]

Benedict will negotiate a buyout.
Big donors bear responsibility to pay for the better of the program.

Part of the problem is likely the 800 lb. gorilla in the room. It has been discussed that some or most of the big donors have been and may continue to be Ollie supporters. Why would this be? Maybe partly because they're pissed that Benedict handed Ollie the ridiculous buyout terms on his contract?

Right now, AD Dave isn't likely the best friend of many UCONN donors. He's stuck now having to grovel, hat in hand, for whatever dinero they're willing to part with, hopefully ending this snowshow that AD Dave is partially responsible for creating in the first place.

Yeah, he may be successful in strong arming enough of them to make something work, but this time there will be strings attached to punish him for his prior idiocy. This time they're gonna get their say as to whom our next HC is gonna be. Remember Bobby Burton and the Pasqualoni hire? Benedict won't have the same luxury that lame duck Hathaway had when he pissed in Burton's Cheerios and hired whomever he damn wanted to. Our donors may end up selecting our next head coach, and the school administration will have no one to blame but themselves for their incredible mismanagement of the AD.

 

[UConnNick]

It's one thing when you're losing and producing lottery picks like West Coast Huskies

Please amuse me how that is a better place? With the lottery picks I would be expecting so much more

Not to mention that I'm pretty sure the West Coast Huskies are 0-fer two centuries against us head-to-head.

 

[blue93]

It was an indictment on the coach. When Shabazz Napier comes out and says it then maybe we should stop and look at our leadership. When you have no accountability from the top it's not a surprise to see the players playing the way they do. Some coaches are able to groom an on court general but this team wasn't one of them. We were young and lacked the reps at the college level. We needed a leader on the sideline to mold this group into a respectable, proud team. How many times did we hear the term "hero" ball with this group? Like I said, we lacked the leadership at the top.

This is a different argument than saying that there haven't been any players who care about the program in the past few years.

I agree with a lot of what you said above. Yes there has been some hero ball played and that falls those players and Ollie for not holding them accountable. I just don't think that means the kids are selfish. I'll be the first to tell you that there were countless times this year that I wish guys were getting yanked from the floor and getting an earful like Calhoun did. We need our coach to do a better job of getting 110% out of our guys from start to finish.

 

[Palatine]

Sometimes you just have to make a decision and move forward if the present is unacceptable.

That statement is true. Been there. Done that. But folks on this message board look at the basketball program though a magnifying glass. The administration is a little further back. What they think is unacceptable may not be the same things that the athletic department thinks are unacceptable. Cooler heads. Cutting Ollie loose too soon may makes the situation more uncertain and rudderless. They lose nothing by waiting a while. And may gain some clarity by waiting. When you have clear direction, act swiftly.

 

[blue93]

Part of the problem is likely the 800 lb. gorilla in the room. It has been discussed that some or most of the big donors have been and may continue to be Ollie supporters. Why would this be? Maybe partly because they're pissed that Benedict handed Ollie the ridiculous buyout terms on his contract?

Right now, AD Dave isn't likely the best friend of many UCONN donors. He's stuck now having to grovel, hat in hand, for whatever dinero they're willing to part with, hopefully ending this snowshow that AD Dave is partially responsible for creating in the first place.

Yeah, he may be successful in strong arming enough of them to make something work, but this time there will be strings attached to punish him for his prior idiocy. This time they're gonna get their say as to whom our next HC is gonna be. Remember Bobby Burton and the Pasqualoni hire? Benedict won't have the same luxury that lame duck Hathaway had when he pissed in Burton's Cheerios and hired whomever he damn wanted to. Our donors may end up selecting our next head coach, and the school administration will have no one to blame but themselves for their incredible mismanagement of the AD.

Hindsight is 20/20 though. I don't know if big donors had a huge issue with the buyout terms when NBA teams were sniffing around Jim Calhoun's hand picked successor. It feels like a lifetime ago, but things were different when the extension was signed.

 

[SouthBayHusky]

But then we have to watch terrible basketball for another season and still owe him something like $7 mil. We'd be cutting off our nose to spite our already ugly face

But of course there will be a few left watching. Financially keeping him will cost more monetarily.

 

[Pmac923]

This is a different argument than saying that there haven't been any players who care about the program in the past few years.

I agree with a lot of what you said above. Yes there has been some hero ball played and that falls those players and Ollie for not holding them accountable. I just don't think that means the kids are selfish. I'll be the first to tell you that there were countless times this year that I wish guys were getting yanked from the floor and getting an earful like Calhoun did. We need our coach to do a better job of getting 110% out of our guys from start to finish.

I didn't say they didn't care about the program. Read it again. I said they were putting themselves first which in a losing culture is human nature. A winning culture promoted by a leader at the top could help that mentality.