Ollie could learn from Jay Wright

[UConnSportsGuy]

I just read the new ESPN piece on Villanova and Jay Wright (I know, I am a glutton for punishment).

But if Ollie does end up coming back next year (which is unlikely at this point), he can learn a lot from Jay Wrights experiences at Villanova and how he had to take a look at himself and his program after having some early success. There are definitely some parallels to Ollie's time at UConn. Specifically, here is an interesting portion which Ollie could learn from:

The Wildcats earned a 1-seed in the 2006 and then reached the Final Four in 2009. They also were finally making their mark on the recruiting trail...finishing with the No 3 recruiting class in the country in '09....

Instead, what followed was the worst stretch of Wrights tenure at Villanova since his opening three seasons....Everyone in the program knew something was wrong.

It went back to recruiting and suddenly trying to outgun the established blue bloods for highly ranked prospects...

Wright had early success at Villanova by getting tough-minded, hard-nosed kids...But once the Wildcats had success on a national scale, the expectations grew.

"I got sloppy," Wright said. "After we went to the Final Four, it was easy to get guys. So rather than sit down with them and explain, 'Look, I know you want to come, but this is what we do,' I said, 'All right good, he's a great player? All right good.'

And then they got her, we starting talking about it and they're like, 'Whoa, no one told me about that.' And they were right. We didn't explain to them what this was. Some of them, when they got here, they got it. Some of them were like, 'Wait, that's not what I signed up for."

The 13-19 season in which Villanova finished 5-13 in the big East was uncharted waters for Wright. He had finished below .500 just once during his time with the Wildcats and that was his second year in charge.

We had hit rock bottom after that season," he said. "What are we doing? We're not helping these kids. We're not true to our culture. This is on me. This is a decision I made. This is the culture I've created since the Final Four. These are the guys I brought in. I've got to change."....

Since then, Villanova has become the most successful program in college basketball.

Inside Villanova's epic five-year run

Ollie hasn't shown the ability to take a step back and look introspectively and humbly at himself and his program-- like Wright was able to do. So call me skeptical. But when reading the above article, I found it eerily similar to Ollies experiences in the last couple of years. Can he turn the corner and make the necessary changes and corrections? I don't believe so. But this article is a blueprint for Ollie to turn the corner if you believe it is possible.

 

[SubbaBub]

KO's biggest mistake was abandoning the culture that made UConn, UConn. He had this vision of an NBA positionless basketball and I have no doubt that the NC colored his view of himself and recruiting. In that way, this article rings very true. OTOH, you could literally see the talent of the players Wright brought in for his NC the minute they stepped on the floor as freshman. None of this ignoring their inability to shoot the ball, defend or rebound.

KO is playing zone as his best defensive set. That should be incredibly embarrassing to a UConn head coach.

 

[Austin316]

I just read the new ESPN piece on Villanova and Jay Wright (I know, I am a glutton for punishment).

But if Ollie does end up coming back next year (which is unlikely at this point), he can learn a lot from Jay Wrights experiences at Villanova and how he had to take a look at himself and his program after having some early success. There are definitely some parallels to Ollie's time at UConn. Specifically, here is an interesting portion which Ollie could learn from:

The Wildcats earned a 1-seed in the 2006 and then reached the Final Four in 2009. They also were finally making their mark on the recruiting trail...finishing with the No 3 recruiting class in the country in '09....

Instead, what followed was the worst stretch of Wrights tenure at Villanova since his opening three seasons....Everyone in the program knew something was wrong.

It went back to recruiting and suddenly trying to outgun the established blue bloods for highly ranked prospects...

Wright had early success at Villanova by getting tough-minded, hard-nosed kids...But once the Wildcats had success on a national scale, the expectations grew.

"I got sloppy," Wright said. "After we went to the Final Four, it was easy to get guys. So rather than sit down with them and explain, 'Look, I know you want to come, but this is what we do,' I said, 'All right good, he's a great player? All right good.'

And then they got her, we starting talking about it and they're like, 'Whoa, no one told me about that.' And they were right. We didn't explain to them what this was. Some of them, when they got here, they got it. Some of them were like, 'Wait, that's not what I signed up for."

The 13-19 season in which Villanova finished 5-13 in the big East was uncharted waters for Wright. He had finished below .500 just once during his time with the Wildcats and that was his second year in charge.

We had hit rock bottom after that season," he said. "What are we doing? We're not helping these kids. We're not true to our culture. This is on me. This is a decision I made. This is the culture I've created since the Final Four. These are the guys I brought in. I've got to change."....

Since then, Villanova has become the most successful program in college basketball.

Inside Villanova's epic five-year run

Ollie hasn't shown the ability to take a step back and look introspectively and humbly at himself and his program-- like Wright was able to do. So call me skeptical. But when reading the above article, I found it eerily similar to Ollies experiences in the last couple of years. Can he turn the corner and make the necessary changes and corrections? I don't believe so. But this article is a blueprint for Ollie to turn the corner if you believe it is possible.

I was just reading this article. Glad someone posted it before me. Couldn’t agree more. It’s hard to re-establish ourselves especially with the scrutiny that comes with being the head coach of Connecticut Men’s Basketball, 4x national champions. The thing about KO is he really needs time to re-establish himself and the whole damn program while managing to give the people what they want. We as fans expect 20-25 win seasons every year. That hasn’t happened and yet we want his head on a platter come season end. I feel bad for the guy. I hope like hell if he returns the recruits he’s bringing in are exactly what he needs to sail this ship back on course. Lots of work to do.

 

[UConn990411]

Ollie could learn from a number of coaches, but you have to be willing to learn for that to happen.

He doesn’t seem to take much advice from Calhoun these days, so hoping he’ll take a page out of Jay Wright’s book sounds like wishful thinking.

 

[Mr. French]

A lot of coaches could learn from jay wright. He’s great. But I definitely agree with the sentiment and the parallels.

That’s something that is discussed a lot: Ollie getting the wrong kinds of players. Maybe he didn’t recognize what truly is needed for a successful core.

If he doesn’t do enough to turn that around, that’s on him. Hopefully he can make the same changes as Wright did, but right now it’s tough to see that happening, much less predict it.

But I don’t think it’s impossible.

 

[Madmannsucks]

Ollie could learn from a number of coaches, but you have to be willing to learn for that to happen.

He doesn’t seem to take much advice from Calhoun these days, so hoping he’ll take a page out of Jay Wright’s book sounds like wishful thinking.

Let's be honest about the Ollie/Calhoun rift. Miller probably has as much to do with that as anyone thing. And it would not surprise me if JC took the high road. I mean we all know he typically takes the high road, doesn't get involved with pettiness or squabbles, and is not know to lose his temper.

 

[The Funster]

Jay Wright got away from recruiting his kind of players to recruit the top tier kids.

Kevin Ollie got away from recruiting his kind of players to playing catch up and recruiting who ever.

 

[gtcam]

What did anyone learn from that read about Jay Wright?
Most know KO's biggest drawback has been in the area of recruitment
If you swing and miss at the top too many times you need to get back to basics

 

[UC313]

Ive been sayin it to my old man all along. KO got caught up in the numbers of recruiting want top 10, 20, 50 kids, whatever. He got away from those guys with chips on their shoulders and somethin to prove. I dont know if everythings too far gone for a Jay Wright style come back but id love to see it if its still possible. This story really echoes what i thought. Our program has always been at its best with our back to the wall. I hope we've got a couple more punches left to throw.

 

[UConnDan97]

Ollie hasn't shown the ability to take a step back and look introspectively and humbly at himself and his program-- like Wright was able to do. So call me skeptical. But when reading the above article, I found it eerily similar to Ollies experiences in the last couple of years. Can he turn the corner and make the necessary changes and corrections? I don't believe so. But this article is a blueprint for Ollie to turn the corner if you believe it is possible.

If I can play "Devil's Advocate" here, it's possible that Ollie has indeed taken that step back like Jay Wright did, hence the new assistant coaches here who are focused on recruiting. That is reportedly the reason why "Kill and Chill" are here. It is entirely possible that Ollie came to this same conclusion and is currently trying to address it...

 

[Huskybass]

If I can play "Devil's Advocate" here, it's possible that Ollie has indeed taken that step back like Jay Wright did, hence the new assistant coaches here who are focused on recruiting. That is reportedly the reason why "Kill and Chill" are here. It is entirely possible that Ollie came to this same conclusion and is currently trying to address it...

Ok, then who is going to address in game coaching? I don't see a single guy on that bench that can fill the shoes of a Hobbs, Blaney or Miller. Those assistants played a huge part in KO's early success.

 

[Travelman6]

Or maybe Ollie can take a page from Andy Kennedy and...
Kennedy decides not to delay Ole Miss exit

"It has become readily apparent to me that my continued presence as the head coach is proving detrimental to these players finishing the season in a fashion that is representative of The Standard for this program that has been clearly established and maintained for over a decade," Kennedy said

I mean, wow.

"Therefore, I believe it is in everyone's best interest that I exit my role as head coach effective immediately. We all know that 'clean breaks' are always best, and I should have realized this last Monday."

Kudos to AK. It is not even like he was that bad either. "Kennedy ends his Ole Miss career as the winningest coach in program history, making two NCAA tournament appearances and posting nine 20-win seasons." But he realized the writing was on the wall.

 

[UConnDan97]

Ok, then who is going to address in game coaching? I don't see a single guy on that bench that can fill the shoes of a Hobbs, Blaney or Miller. Those assistants played a huge part in KO's early success.

This argument is based on the premise that the recruiting has gone wrong and that Ollie needs to become aware that it's gone wrong. To that premise, there is actually visible change going on there that we can look to.

If you think that the problem is not the recruiting, but rather the x's and o's, feel free to make that argument. I actually tend to put more stock in the former rather than the latter in terms of what our current problems are, but it doesn't mean that I'm right. I think that a few of the freshmen now are very much in line with the type of UConn recruit that we've had success with (Whaley, Polley, Carlton, etc.).

But in order to see it come to fruition, they need to be allowed to make it to sophomore year like every other successful UConn recruit. The biggest question is whether or not folks are willing to let Ollie see them through next year; a question that most folks on this board have already answered for themselves...

 

[Austin316]

Calhoun did something similar to Jay Wright where he grabbed players that bought into the program that were in close location to UConn. I don’t understand why we don’t snag every prospect in NYC, CT and New England area that are well aware of our successes and culture. Not saying recruiting outside of the region is bad but it’s not working. We have a hot bed right here in our region. Just recruit the heck out of local talent!!!

 

[Huskybass]

I think you are kidding yourself if you think the issues are limited to recruiting. Roster management is a huge problem as evidenced by only having 3 healthy guards on the roster. And many believe that in game substitutions and use of personnel are lacking as well.

 

[Madmannsucks]

Or maybe Ollie can take a page from Andy Kennedy and...
Kennedy decides not to delay Ole Miss exit

"It has become readily apparent to me that my continued presence as the head coach is proving detrimental to these players finishing the season in a fashion that is representative of The Standard for this program that has been clearly established and maintained for over a decade," Kennedy said

I mean, wow.

"Therefore, I believe it is in everyone's best interest that I exit my role as head coach effective immediately. We all know that 'clean breaks' are always best, and I should have realized this last Monday."

Kudos to AK. It is not even like he was that bad either. "Kennedy ends his Ole Miss career as the winningest coach in program history, making two NCAA tournament appearances and posting nine 20-win seasons." But he realized the writing was on the wall.

He was notified he would not be coming back. I do not believe that has happened with Ollie. His payout whatever it is has not changed by leaving now.

 

[Chief00]

I just read the new ESPN piece on Villanova and Jay Wright (I know, I am a glutton for punishment).

But if Ollie does end up coming back next year (which is unlikely at this point), he can learn a lot from Jay Wrights experiences at Villanova and how he had to take a look at himself and his program after having some early success. There are definitely some parallels to Ollie's time at UConn. Specifically, here is an interesting portion which Ollie could learn from:

The Wildcats earned a 1-seed in the 2006 and then reached the Final Four in 2009. They also were finally making their mark on the recruiting trail...finishing with the No 3 recruiting class in the country in '09....

Instead, what followed was the worst stretch of Wrights tenure at Villanova since his opening three seasons....Everyone in the program knew something was wrong.

It went back to recruiting and suddenly trying to outgun the established blue bloods for highly ranked prospects...

Wright had early success at Villanova by getting tough-minded, hard-nosed kids...But once the Wildcats had success on a national scale, the expectations grew.

"I got sloppy," Wright said. "After we went to the Final Four, it was easy to get guys. So rather than sit down with them and explain, 'Look, I know you want to come, but this is what we do,' I said, 'All right good, he's a great player? All right good.'

And then they got her, we starting talking about it and they're like, 'Whoa, no one told me about that.' And they were right. We didn't explain to them what this was. Some of them, when they got here, they got it. Some of them were like, 'Wait, that's not what I signed up for."

The 13-19 season in which Villanova finished 5-13 in the big East was uncharted waters for Wright. He had finished below .500 just once during his time with the Wildcats and that was his second year in charge.

We had hit rock bottom after that season," he said. "What are we doing? We're not helping these kids. We're not true to our culture. This is on me. This is a decision I made. This is the culture I've created since the Final Four. These are the guys I brought in. I've got to change."....

Since then, Villanova has become the most successful program in college basketball.

Inside Villanova's epic five-year run

Ollie hasn't shown the ability to take a step back and look introspectively and humbly at himself and his program-- like Wright was able to do. So call me skeptical. But when reading the above article, I found it eerily similar to Ollies experiences in the last couple of years. Can he turn the corner and make the necessary changes and corrections? I don't believe so. But this article is a blueprint for Ollie to turn the corner if you believe it is possible.

In many respects, excellent and thoughtful post. I do think this year we did take a different approach to recruiting for some of the very reasons you mentioned. That was the birth of the Blaze Recruiting strategy. I do have some insight on this and I personally believe Akinjo, Mathews, Sid and the Big Lithuanian kid all would have helped this year. Akinjo is a better passer than anyone on the current team and can shoot and score. Matthews is a big time shooter and has the height to shoot over zones. Sid consistently outplays everyone but maybe Adams in practice. He is only 6-4 though and skinny. The Lithuanian kid is a Chief old school type fundamental player who will box out, screen without fouling and catch/pass type. I remember a big Texan Freshman walk across Guyer gym and soon we were in a pick up game - my man ran me off him - not even sure if it was actually a screen but I felt it - an immovable object. The great Tim Higgins paid Jake respect in the F4. By then Jake had proven himself in Tim’s eyes to do the fundamentals the right way - so he could be a lot more physical against Duke than any UConn Big up to that time without fouling. Unfortunately, Rod Sellers wasn’t given that privilege earlier but Jake building a fundamental resume in high profile games with Tim made all the difference in my opinion.
Today our Bigs are so far away from getting that respect from the refs. They need to work harder and play more fundamentally sound.

 

[Travelman6]

He was notified he would not be coming back. I do not believe that has happened with Ollie. His payout whatever it is has not changed by leaving now.

The situation is not the same, of course, but Ollie could still learn a few things from it as the season, and hopefully his tenure (sans any kind of legal fight one would hope) come to a close. The humility expressed in the departure serves as a good example for Ollie, was my point. Ollie could say something similar but that fits his situation..or at least I hope so.

 

[Chief00]

Ok, then who is going to address in game coaching? I don't see a single guy on that bench that can fill the shoes of a Hobbs, Blaney or Miller. Those assistants played a huge part in KO's early success.

Very true - to me Chill can recruit better than the three coaches mentioned - but I would pick Blaney and Hobbs to assist on the bench. Miller would be my scouting report guy except for Big games in which I would have George do the scouting report. I would have Miller keep track of minutes, fouls and timeouts during games.

 

[Edward Sargent]

KO's biggest mistake was abandoning the culture that made UConn, UConn. He had this vision of an NBA positionless basketball and I have no doubt that the NC colored his view of himself and recruiting. In that way, this article rings very true. OTOH, you could literally see the talent of the players Wright brought in for his NC the minute they stepped on the floor as freshman. None of this ignoring their inability to shoot the ball, defend or rebound.

KO is playing zone as his best defensive set. That should be incredibly embarrassing to a UConn head coach.

I think the problem is these kids from high school need to learn to play a position before they learn to play positionless. Positionless means you are able to play 1-5. Our guards rebounding is an indicator that they get it but geez Tyler is just learning how to shoot and defend the wing

 

[UconnFanDC]

Lol. Do any of you know for sure that he hasn't reached out, hasn't been counseled, hasn't watched other coaches? Maybe he just can not teach/coach or get through to his players. Either way we'll continue to stress and get grey hair til this season ends and hope 2019 brings happy fans again. #newcoach or #newcoachingstyle

 

[MadDogRevival]

Recruiting. Xs and Os.
Meh.
What Ollie lacks and what Ollie has always lacked is an ability to teach/develop players and to motivate them to play the best they can. Simple as that.
Calhoun had some crap teams, for sure. And some of those crap teams had chemistry issues. True. But all but maybe one or two played hard nosed basketball every time on the floor. They respected and feared the head coach.
Ollie has never had that and never will.
Jay won with his own guys and his own system. So "returning" to his roots was simple.

What has Ollie to return to? Jim Calhoun's team of Giffey, Shabazz, Boatright, Daniels? With Miller on the bench?

I don't agree that Ollie showed phenomenal coaching chops during the NCAA run. The entire starting team had a chip on their shoulders from the ban year. Shabazz was an on-the-floor coach whose NPY type play down the stretch carried us - not great offensive coaching. Lots of poised seniority. Guys who improved over 4 years at UConn.

There were dozens of coaches who would have been able to ride that wave all the way to shore.

Since then - nada. Year after year of undeveloped players, guys not playing hard, guys bailing, guys de- committing.

It's too easy to claim that the NC made Ollie soft. Nonsense.

Guys don't want to play hard for him, and they never have. That simple. He can't develop, and he can't motivate. No amount of recruiting or X and O prowess can counter that double fatal flaw.

The concept that Ollie might pull a Jay Wright and "return to what got him the 1st NC" is Simple Jack level thinking.

I stopped watching after the game after MSU, and I won't watch again until he's gone.

He was never good, but at least he didn't stall the last momentum JC left with the program. Now he's toxic.

Just shocked at the remaining contingent of Ollie supporters who think that the problem isn't simply that the guy is an awful coach who lucked into a NC ready team.

 

[Huskybass]

MadDog,

Hard hitting post, but 100% true. Being a college head coach is a very complex position.He is responsible for so many facets that all have to come together in order to do well. And the margin of error is thin enough that a head coach that is lacking in several of those categories is going to get throttled.

 

[Huskybass]

In many respects, excellent and thoughtful post. I do think this year we did take a different approach to recruiting for some of the very reasons you mentioned. That was the birth of the Blaze Recruiting strategy. I do have some insight on this and I personally believe Akinjo, Mathews, Sid and the Big Lithuanian kid all would have helped this year. Akinjo is a better passer than anyone on the current team and can shoot and score. Matthews is a big time shooter and has the height to shoot over zones. Sid consistently outplays everyone but maybe Adams in practice. He is only 6-4 though and skinny. The Lithuanian kid is a Chief old school type fundamental player who will box out, screen without fouling and catch/pass type. I remember a big Texan Freshman walk across Guyer gym and soon we were in a pick up game - my man ran me off him - not even sure if it was actually a screen but I felt it - an immovable object. The great Tim Higgins paid Jake respect in the F4. By then Jake had proven himself in Tim’s eyes to do the fundamentals the right way - so he could be a lot more physical against Duke than any UConn Big up to that time without fouling. Unfortunately, Rod Sellers wasn’t given that privilege earlier but Jake building a fundamental resume in high profile games with Tim made all the difference in my opinion.
Today our Bigs are so far away from getting that respect from the refs. They need to work harder and play more fundamentally sound.

Chief ballin' with Jake. A thing of beauty.

 

[Chief00]

Chief ballin' with Jake. A thing of beauty.

Today that collision would put me into concussion protocol. I know some posters are thinking - that explains it! LOL