Ollie wants to win soon

[gtcam]

I would not say its blind faith...its just not freaking out. Things can always go a couple of ways....I do not have the ability to see what our roster will be like come November. We were pretty bad this year in quite a few games. We needed some drastic measures. The obvious issues with going this route is that, we may be relying on some players who were injured last year, and some chemistry issues. But by all means, get rid of people who cannot or will not give their all on the defensive end. All of our championship teams, had great defense. I do however have faith that Ollie is going to try his hardest to revitalize our roster...and I am hoping he will...we will see.

You Bet
Also, if was the dumpster fire that a few on this board claim, would you not think someone like JA, who seems to have an opinion and says what's on his mind, would not have said something negative by now? Also, there are a lot of former players who are very close to the program, Ray and Rip, if they sensed something was bad I think would have opined something by now.
I have no idea, but being a coach myself, I think KO has come to realize that he can't win with what he had with some of these players. I really don't think KO foresaw the injuries and when forced to play SE, VJ and JD he saw that some/most of their weaknesses were just too much to allow them any significant time (less so in the case of VJ but some of us knew in December he was not returning). He had the heart to hearts with all the kids and the outcome was this result. If it were JA, Larrier and CV leaving, I would have a huge question mark but the 3 that packed their bags - I see no huge loss - it's a cruel thing to say but this is high level D1 sports and it is a cut throat business, especially in basketball where the numbers of those on a team are so small.
Is KO responsible? To some extent yes because he did recruit and got caught up in the lets recruit some guys to break in slowly and develop some role over an extended period of time. This was thrown aside via the injuries and now KO is faced with telling some that although they saw more time than they ever dream of getting this past season, PT next year may have to be earned through off season development, attitude and work ethic.
I say, lets wait and see what happens during the next few months

 

[UConn990411]

At some point, the excuses for a guy making $3 million/year will start to grow old. If recruiting sanctions aren't to blame, it's Ollie needing to get his own rexruits for his system to thrive. And if that doesn't pan out, it becomes injuries, or youth, or players inexplicably declaring for the NBA before they're ready.

The fact of the matter is three guys who likely would've gotten significant playing time next season all bolted. And UConn's best recruit, who also would've played big minutes, did the same. Sure, transfers happen to all programs, but not to this extent. (And I'm not buying that this is all related to Miller - who commits to a school to play for an assistant?)

Ollie deserves a chance to turn things around, but it needs to happen sooner rather than later.

 

[pj]

I have a feeling all this turnover is to bring in guys that can have a greater impact than the ones leaving in an immediate fashion. He needs to have a big year next year, and probably felt that those guys were not ready to take it to the next level. So he probably will bring in some seasoned transfers, maybe a solid international and maybe another freshman or two, that are willing to play some D. It is a little unsettling, with all of this turnover...but again, I am taking the wait and see approach. Lets see what we have come November 1st. The one thing that we do have going for us is that we might, once again, have one of the best point guards in the country next year in Jalen adams....that is a recipe for Husky success. A great guard with some solid d, and some great role players. I think for me the big question mark will be how gilbert and Larrier return....will they have a long adjustment period.

Let's be real, the chances of winning soon are slim. Depth is so important and we don't have any. Nor is it likely that the open spots will be filled with ready-to-play talent, given that only a few top-200 2017 recruits remain on the board, mostly former U of Washington commits.

If Ollie was purging the roster, it's not to win soon. It's to fix a broken culture. If he had bad-attitude players and that was infecting the whole team -- why work when everyone else is lazy? why be a team player when others are selfish? -- then he needed to take action, even if it's a temporary step backward in terms of on-court results.

 

[BlueMAB]

He's one of the best guards in the country. Period.

Okay fine. But my point was more about the team. Because of injuries and a lack of depth/talent, we had guys playing out of position. We lost a lot of depth at positions that were already thin.

I think Adams is going to get even better playing off the ball with Gilbert back. Similar to the way Shabazz took some pressure off of Kemba by running the point, even though Kemba was the better player (and had been the point guard). He's a hell of a player, he's got the potential to be an NBA point guard, but he's got work to do to get there.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I have a feeling all this turnover is to bring in guys that can have a greater impact than the ones leaving in an immediate fashion. He needs to have a big year next year, and probably felt that those guys were not ready to take it to the next level. So he probably will bring in some seasoned transfers, maybe a solid international and maybe another freshman or two, that are willing to play some D. It is a little unsettling, with all of this turnover...but again, I am taking the wait and see approach. Lets see what we have come November 1st. The one thing that we do have going for us is that we might, once again, have one of the best point guards in the country next year in Jalen adams....that is a recipe for Husky success. A great guard with some solid d, and some great role players. I think for me the big question mark will be how gilbert and Larrier return....will they have a long adjustment period.

If this is what KO is doing (and i don't believe it is) it would be very irrational. Push out all the young recruits for unknown 5th yr players and other transfers. Again, i dont agree with the original post, but if it were accurate i would be very disappointed in KO. It would be a KO initiated fire sale of our program.

 

[ctchamps]

Here's the thing: I'm on record as thinking that--providing we fill our roster out a bit (not a guarantee) and that Gilbert and Larrier (and Diarra to a lesser extent) stay health--I think this team can actually be sneaky good. We'd have a true PG, a dynamite combo guard who can run the point, a sniper in CV, and an all around stud scorer in Larrier. That team can win games when it jells and the injured get their legs.

But without a post player I'm confident in, or back-ups (and I think MAL would have gotten good minutes off the bench), I'm much less confident.

I felt the post was a weakness even if Durham and Steve played next season. But I was hoping something went off with one or both of them and they would have made a leap from this season. Now there isn't even this hope.

And the pickings are slim.

Now if we get Harris and Mamaoudou, I think there is some damage control with guards/wings but I still would have preferred MAL and Vance.

REALLY REALLY REALLY want Sandro. I think he's the piece that gives the core players (assuming all the injured are fully recovered) the best chance to make some noise.

 

[RUSS56]

He's one of the best guards in the country. Period.

Adams is not even close to being one of the best guards in the country, he had 99 turnovers, shot 43%, and had too many dead games. He is talented for sure, and could turn into one of the top guards in the country, but he is distant in that conversation. He is not even on the draft board for 2017, and also 2018, that could certainly change.

 

[BlueMAB]

I believe Enoch should have played more than Brimah the last 1/3 of the year - to see what he could do before this type of thing happened. We weren't going anywhere last season.
Let's keep in mind you need to score baskets to win games and not turn the ball over.. Brimah had a 0.1 assist to turnover ratio - I have never seen one so bad in all my years of basketball. He was not the efficient player some built him up to be.

Chief, I respect your ability to be completely full of and still pretend to have serious things to say.

Let's pretend the turnover to assist ratio actually mattered for centers (since we already know that Brimah's numbers were better for the stats that matter at his position).

Per 24 minutes:
Brimah averaged .2 assists, and 1.5 turnovers.
Enoch averaged .2 assists and 2.2 turnovers.

As I said the other day. Even when you move the goal posts, you still miss the mark. Kudos.

 

[superjohn]

Of course he wants to win soon, he wants to keep his job.

 

[BlueMAB]

I understand that but statistically our problem was an offense which would not score for many minutes at a time.

So the solution is to play the 6'11" center who shoots 41% from the field? Got it.

 

[intlzncster]

Here's the thing: I'm on record as thinking that--providing we fill our roster out a bit (not a guarantee) and that Gilbert and Larrier (and Diarra to a lesser extent) stay health--I think this team can actually be sneaky good. We'd have a true PG, a dynamite combo guard who can run the point, a sniper in CV, and an all around stud scorer in Larrier. That team can win games when it jells and the injured get their legs.

Actually, as of right now, we really need Diarra.

 

[Chief00]

So the solution is to play the 6'11" center who shoots 41% from the field? Got it.

Young fellow - Bigs you have to let play and wTch them improve - they are different than wings or guards. Brimah failed to improve in 4 years - Enoch deserved a chance but with better coaching.

 

[maineuconnfan]

thats true

 

[BlueMAB]

Young fellow - Bigs you have to let play and wTch them improve - they are different than wings or guards. Brimah failed to improve in 4 years - Enoch deserved a chance but with better coaching.

We would have lost even more games if Enoch played those minutes over Brimah. That's not fair to anyone on the team, but especially the seniors. "You play. To win. The game."

Old fella.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I have a feeling all this turnover is to bring in guys that can have a greater impact than the ones leaving in an immediate fashion. He needs to have a big year next year, and probably felt that those guys were not ready to take it to the next level. So he probably will bring in some seasoned transfers, maybe a solid international and maybe another freshman or two, that are willing to play some D. It is a little unsettling, with all of this turnover...but again, I am taking the wait and see approach. Lets see what we have come November 1st. The one thing that we do have going for us is that we might, once again, have one of the best point guards in the country next year in Jalen adams....that is a recipe for Husky success. A great guard with some solid d, and some great role players. I think for me the big question mark will be how gilbert and Larrier return....will they have a long adjustment period.

Problem with this analysis: there aren't players he can realistically bring in that are better than those we lost.

 

[Jaker]

Our front court has been terrible for the past 3 years, maybe ollie has said-enough is enough.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Our front court has been terrible for the past 3 years, maybe ollie has said-enough is enough.

So the solution is to have no front court players at all?

 

[Walker11]

Let's be real, the chances of winning soon are slim. Depth is so important and we don't have any.

Depth is overrated, unless you have injuries. At least for 1 season. You definitely want to develop your depth so that they are good in the future and that's where we may get screwed. But next years team could be pretty good.

Most good teams have rotations with 7 or 8 guys. With a few complementary pickups, we should have a very nice rotation. But we will be watching every game in absolute terror that either our kid with a degenerative knee issue gets hurt, or the guy returning from an ACL gets hurt, or as Fishy said, the kid whose "arm has fallen off in 2 of his last 4 games" re-injures his shoulder.

We are due for some good luck. Not only on the injury front. We have ranked as one of the unluckiest teams in the country 2 out of the last 3 years in KenPom's luck rating, whatever the hell that measures.

And some of you guys are going to be very surprised by JA next year, it seems. I am only slightly lower on him than @champs99and04.

 

[Jaker]

So the solution is to have no front court players at all?

yeah, 5 guard hydrid offense.

He is freeing up scholly's to get some bigs that can score and rebound?

 

[intlzncster]

We would have lost even more games if Enoch played those minutes over Brimah. That's not fair to anyone on the team, but especially the seniors. "You play. To win. The game."

Old fella.

You also earn it in practice. Without that, you got nothing.

 

[Hugo]

If this is what KO is doing (and i don't believe it is) it would be very irrational. Push out all the young recruits for unknown 5th yr players and other transfers. Again, i dont agree with the original post, but if it were accurate i would be very disappointed in KO. It would be a KO initiated fire sale of our program.

And, maybe an acknowledgement by KO that his recruiting over the past few years was not as good as many here believed. The one that doesn't fit into this paradigm is MAL, unless KO initiated the de-commit after re-evaluating his skill set and MAL's ability to fit in and play in his system.

 

[4UConn]

Maybe Henefeld has a son...

 

[Towney007]

He's got next year to at least take a step forward. If he doesn't, there's no way he's still here. None.

 

[TheDude]

He's got next year to at least take a step forward. If he doesn't, there's no way he's still here. None.

well I think that there is a lot of things that we don't know. But with hiring of Chill I think KO is pretty confident
he can get some help for next year. I think Blake Harris is a done deal almost for UConn, especially when he sees the tradition rich guard to the NBA from UCONN. I do however think that he is going to target grad transfers and JUCOs. He need players with game experience that can step in right away. He doesn't care ionr
and done. Then he can go after the good players for 2018 from High School. With what happened this year he doesn't have time to rebuild over 3 or 4 years. I think he knows that. I also think that a lot of people are getting nervous for nothing. I think KO, Chill and Kill have a plan.

 

[Towney007]

Oh they have a plan now, but it wasn't the plan a year ago. The first attempt at a rebuild was a total, umitigated disaster. There's no other way to paint it.

They painted themselves into this plan. They mis-recruited a lot of last year's class - they found talented kids, but not kids that meshed with their system, kids that lacked maturity and kids that seemingly lacked chemistry with their peers. I really don't care how good these kids look on mixtapes or what list they were on - they really weren't *that* good. It was a bust, a whiff, everything. Even if they go elsewhere and succeed - for Uconn- it's a bust.

And with half those guys gone - it's just more bodies to throw on a whole stack of misses who haven't been as good as advertised, not good at all or in some cases, totally over their heads here. This year wasn't the first of these kinds of things. You could go on and on. They're not executing on this plan because they want to be. To me - it's a big of a miss to have Ollie in the hot seat already. I'm not ready to see him get fired, but this is pretty much rock bottom. For a program with the reputation UConn does in the realignment situation they're in, they don't have 3-4 years for Ollie to rediscover himself.

The flip side of it is - that rebuilds are painful. And Ollie's ripping all the crap out by the roots. He's ripping it down to the studs. Soft kids, me-me kids, kids who don't really want to listen to their coaches, etc; see ya later. Good bye. Go be 'talented' somewhere else. There's enough raw talent for them to be decent this year, but a lot of stuff has to come together. Basically this year has to be a monster recruiting year for them. Not only do they need to put next year's team together, but they've gotta completely run the table next year, too. And if we don't see results or progress next year - there's not a single, solitary reason to keep Ollie around. If this teams' as bad next year as they were this year - he's gone. You don't get paid $3 million year to be absolutely atrocious.

So again - I'm sure he's got a plan and so far I like what i'm seeing; but the rubber's gotta hit the road. I know there's a lot of fanny-pack wearing remember the 90's homers around here that'd let him burn their houses down with them in it, but I don't care where he came from. ya gotta win.