Ollie on Amida Brimah, Sam Cassell, Jr., transfers, recruiting

[HooperScooper]

(on how recruiting has been going)

“It’s been going well. We’ve been making some good contacts with a lot of great players. Just sitting down and making sure your staff is getting seen -- that’s pretty much what it is. We’ve already evaluated the guys we like. It’s pretty much just making sure they see us. With social media, it’s a different environment now with recruiting. With all the different tournaments, it’s kind of hard sometimes. But that’s why we get down i the ‘situation room’ and prioritize and go after the guys we really want. Sometimes we win some, sometimes we lose some, but eventually it works out if you have the same creed in mind -- getting great UConn student-athletes, not just athletes.”

http://borgesblognhr.blogspot.com/2015/08/kevin-ollie-spoke-with-media-today.html

 

[mauconnfan]

"self professed hacker" got the hole in one. Dave, are you a BYer? Congrats on the ace!

Driver? Really? LOL

 

[Eskapeesto]

(on whether UConn has definite plans for its 13th scholarship)

“Not yet. Hopefully a 7-footer parachutes down, and I’ll be right there to catch him. But I don’t know if that’s gonna happen. I look up all the time, hopefully he’s coming down soon. But if he doesn’t come down, we’ll have that extra scholarship, and I’ll look at possibly a walk-on filling it. But it’s still open, there are still some activities around there. We’ve still got our antennae up, like always, checking and seeing what’s happening through the wire. So if you all hear something, make sure you put it on your Twitter account, OK?”

Keep your eyes peeled Boneyard brothers!

 

[CL82]

Courant article - LINK

 

[aceboon]

Courant article - LINK

"Brimah, who had 24 points, 12 rebounds and 15 blocks in a Greater Hartford Pro-Am game last week, is at the Adidas Nations Camp in Long Beach, Calif., with freshman Jalen Adams."

*audible groan*

 

[AstarIsBorn31]

Pretty good listen today.. Ollie ended it with giving the fans recognition for supporting the team all the way through last year, even with some tough losses early on. He said the players remember the support and it wasn't an unsuccessful year because it prepared the guys for the 15-16 season...

Les gooo!

 

[BKLYN]

"self professed hacker" got the hole in one. Dave, are you a BYer? Congrats on the ace!

Driver? Really? LOL

Dave also has a mean fist pump. (@0:28 second mark)

 

[The Viking]

Ollie really is incredible.

His comments on Casell are my big takeaways from the article. I don't see how any kid who is approached by Ollie doesn't want to sign up with him on day 1.

Not to be a UConn homer but I don't know that there's any coach that is more down to earth and "real" like KO is.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

"Hopefully a 7-footer parachutes down, and I’ll be right there to catch him."

If they do get a backup center, even a foreign stiff who is an extra 5 fouls (Enosch Wolf), I can safely say I have never seen a more complete and deep UConn team.

 

[intlzncster]

"self professed hacker" got the hole in one. Dave, are you a BYer? Congrats ngrats on the ace!

Driver? Really? LOL

Guy went a little light on the sun block too.

 

[ctchamps]

(on how recruiting has been going)

“It’s been going well. We’ve been making some good contacts with a lot of great players. Just sitting down and making sure your staff is getting seen -- that’s pretty much what it is. We’ve already evaluated the guys we like. It’s pretty much just making sure they see us. With social media, it’s a different environment now with recruiting. With all the different tournaments, it’s kind of hard sometimes. But that’s why we get down i the ‘situation room’ and prioritize and go after the guys we really want. Sometimes we win some, sometimes we lose some, but eventually it works out if you have the same creed in mind -- getting great UConn student-athletes, not just athletes.”

http://borgesblognhr.blogspot.com/2015/08/kevin-ollie-spoke-with-media-today.html

Might be the explanation why UConn backed off some recruits.

 

[HooperScooper]

David Borges wrote an article on all this in the Register today.

Ollie confident Sam Cassell Jr. will contribute much this season

 

[OkaForPrez]

"Hopefully a 7-footer parachutes down, and I’ll be right there to catch him."

If they do get a backup center, even a foreign stiff who is an extra 5 fouls (Enosch Wolf), I can safely say I have never seen a more complete and deep UConn team.

Aren't we assuming some foul trouble run for Enoch at the 5?

 

[mauconnfan]

Aren't we assuming some foul trouble run for Enoch at the 5?

Multiple line ups - yes Steve and Phil can fill in for 10 fouls also. Plenty to go around and playing small will happen.

 

[intlzncster]

Multiple line ups - yes Steve and Phil can fill in for 10 fouls also. Plenty to go around and playing small will happen.

And let's be honest, Enoch is not exactly small. 6'10 right? I've no idea how he'll play this year, but if he provides/develops some low post game, I see no problem with him and Miller manning the post together.

 

[mauconnfan]

And let's be honest, Enoch is not exactly small. 6'10 right? I've no idea how he'll play this year, but if he provides/develops some low post game, I see no problem with him and Miller manning the post together.

Facey too for that matter with a smallish but still plenty big lineup. I mean Miller, Facey, Brimah, Nolan and Enoch is pretty deep and you're not mentioning how big DHam plays on the boards.

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

Aren't we assuming some foul trouble run for Enoch at the 5?

Yeah, but Enoch feels like more of a p-forward, not necessarily a rim protector. Maybe find a guy who can stand down low with his hands up, maybe do some cleanup, commit some fouls, and be a physical presence. Might as well use that last scholarship for something potentially useful as opposed to a walk-on.

If this UConn team is to be a legit championship contender, we need some sort of answer for legit big men (as I don't think either Adams or Gibbs will go on a Shabazz-esque run where the big men don't really matter because the guard play is so elite). I know it's a new year (and a better team now) and a better offseason for Brimah, but we played 2 teams last year that I thought had truly legit NBA big men-Texas and Duke. How did Brimah perform in those 2 games? 4 pts, 2 boards, 3 PF and 0 pts, 1 board, 5 PF, both losses.

Just saying this is going to be a deeper, more complete team, and more balanced than Kemba's year and Shabazz's year, which means we will have to rely on Brimah a little more than the big men of the last 2 title years.

A little Center insurance would be nice, because Brimah is our only true Center on the roster. Sure, I'm nitpicking, but it's what we do on the 'Yard.