Ollie Withdrawing from OKC Consideration | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Ollie Withdrawing from OKC Consideration

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The Viking said:
You don't thing that withdrawing one's name is more Of a final resolution than "no plans to pursue"?
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No, it's the same exact thing. The only reason he didn't specifically refer to OKC in yesterday's statement was because Brooks hadn't even been canned yet.

Zags and Woj just trolled you guys.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
This is what I don't really get about this thread, and I suppose it's because I don't buy what I guess is now conventional wisdom on here, that the Ollie to OKC rumors were the coordinated efforts of a group of writers (or coaches, maybe, I can't keep track) to damage UConn's recruiting.

Sportswriters get these things wrong all the time. All. The. Time. It's part of the gig. When have you ever seen a reporter then write an article about how he was wrong about the rumor he was reporting or, even crazier, apologize to the subject of the rumor?
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Not coordinated just a couple of guys who have clearly had an axe to grind with UConn for years.
 
"The story was made up ..."

Adrian Woj, Adam Zagoria and host of others ... making things up & many targeting our fine University with scurrilous lies? Ain't like we haven't seen this before.
 
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HooperScooper said:
Meantime, Bovada has installed Florida coach Billy Donovan as an 11/10 favorite to be the next Thunder coach. Ollie was listed at 9/4.

Is it just me or is it strange that Zagoria likes to list Bovada odds a lot on likely outcomes of something happening?
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It's not strange when you consider the fact that he has no sources.
 
Pudge said:
"The story was made up ..."

Adrian Woj, Adam Zagoria and host of others ... making things up & many targeting our fine University with scurrilous lies? Ain't like we haven't seen this before.
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Some of us fans knew this was the case, next time these "journalists" spread some rumors about Ollie or write a hatchet job on UConn, we will point to this and once again there will be some fans that say these guys are just doing their jobs and there is no ill will towards UConn.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
This is what I don't really get about this thread, and I suppose it's because I don't buy what I guess is now conventional wisdom on here, that the Ollie to OKC rumors were the coordinated efforts of a group of writers (or coaches, maybe, I can't keep track) to damage UConn's recruiting.

Sportswriters get these things wrong all the time. All. The. Time. It's part of the gig. When have you ever seen a reporter then write an article about how he was wrong about the rumor he was reporting or, even crazier, apologize to the subject of the rumor?
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It is a cabal ...

Recently (within the last month), I had a tweet/email exchange with a certain NYT sports-reporter. The threshold essence of the string of correspondence was that Jim Calhoun was hated in the world of coaches & sports-reporters (and this guy loves Geno). And, he consistently repeats a pet Statistics - 8% of UConn MBB have graduated in the Calhoun/Ollie era. Demonstrably false I told him. How many guys came through the program since 1987? Start with 4 guys with degrees last year & 3 this year. It just gets repeated BECAUSE they didn't like a crusty Irishman verbally pushing back. (and frankly, I get some of that ... but I am subtle enough intellectually to also to see Calhoun's brilliance in narrative of the game of BB and facing life challenges).

The further conversation was about the swath of writers who line up with other coaches ... and happily toss grenades; and the coaches who are connected.

Like many things, when something feels like it is happening ... there is truth there.
 
Jimmy Serrano said:
No, it's the same exact thing. The only reason he didn't specifically refer to OKC in yesterday's statement was because Brooks hadn't even been canned yet.

Zags and Woj just trolled you guys.
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Fine what if he said he was withdrawing his name from any NBA consideration?
Let's not pretend that coaches can only get jobs in the NBA if THEY are the pursuer.
Hell his agents email today of having no intention of leaving his great position at UConn could have been the one KO used yesterday.
All I'm saying is his words yesterday weren't as bulletproof as the ones today - intentionally or unintentionally.
 
The problem is there is absolutely no integrity among these 24/7 social media types. They run with anything they pick up having a latte at McDonald's. They get it off by beating each other with so-called scoops, and trust that their audience forgets all their flops as they jump to the next hot story.

What we know is that in Kevin Ollie we have somebody who represents UConn exceptionalism. The man has integrity, and that is only the beginning.
 
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My heart dropped while watching ESPN and seeing Breaking News!: Sources close to Kevin Ollie....(heart drops) have said Kevin Ollie will remain the coach for the UConn Huskies. WHY THEY GOT TO MAKE THAT BREAKING NEWS?!?
 
Wise2 said:
Why does he have to withdraw if he already stated he was not interested in another job. Is he just telling OKC to leave him alone, he's not taking it, before they offer it to him
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He is talking to recruits and media talking heads.
 
tower1 said:
He should of done this from the beginning. All this does is hurt our recruiting and it is bad enough without this going on.
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It didn't hurt our recruiting one iota. Nobody that was making a decision who committed to another school in the last week was considering UCONN. Not one recruit decommitted or wavered on their decision. If anything all it did was put his name in "great college coaches who are NBA caliber and highly sought after" category as well as "extremely loyal, and has a passion a love for UCONN basketball" and makes those recruits probably think "UCONN basketball must really be something special". All it did was give our coach 1 week of great publicity and recognition for his talent. Not to mention he made a statement a few days ago.
 
kcc1442 said:
It didn't hurt our recruiting one iota. Nobody that was making a decision who committed to another school in the last week was considering UCONN. Not one recruit decommitted or wavered on their decision. If anything all it did was put his name in "great college coaches who are NBA caliber and highly sought after" category as well as "extremely loyal, and has a passion a love for UCONN basketball" and makes those recruits probably think "UCONN basketball must really be something special". All it did was give our coach 1 week of great publicity and recognition for his talent. Not to mention he made a statement a few days ago.
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Agreed. Now lets figure out how to get some recruits instead of how to be recruited.
 
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Man, if he didn't take this job its really hard to figure what job he would take. You have to feel really good as a UCONN fan today. This would have been a perfect fit for KO with a solid team with star players and he said, NO.
 
Ollie has now turned down jobs from the most storied NBA franchise of all-time which also happened to be in the area he grew up (Lakers), and a gig with two top 5 talents in the world (Thunder).

I think it's safe to say that he's going to be at UConn for a long, long time.
 
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CAHUSKY said:
Man, if he didn't take this job its really hard to figure what job he would take. You have to feel really good as a UCONN fan today. This would have been a perfect fit for KO with a solid team with star players and he said, NO.
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Good question, who knows? Could still be more of a timing thing though. But maybe just maybe he can build on JC's great dynasty and create a legacy he never wants to bail on. Become a UCONN lifer!
 
kcc1442 said:
It didn't hurt our recruiting one iota. Nobody that was making a decision who committed to another school in the last week was considering UCONN. Not one recruit decommitted or wavered on their decision. If anything all it did was put his name in "great college coaches who are NBA caliber and highly sought after" category as well as "extremely loyal, and has a passion a love for UCONN basketball" and makes those recruits probably think "UCONN basketball must really be something special". All it did was give our coach 1 week of great publicity and recognition for his talent. Not to mention he made a statement a few days ago.
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Yeah I see it as a good thing long-run too, I mean maybe in the back of a few recruits' minds, they're thinking... "this Kevin ollie guy seems like he will eventually go to the NBA, wouldn't hurt to have a wise head coach who knows me down the line"
 
Stairmaster said:
I'm surprised that we didn't see that peanut gallery jumping for joy yesterday.
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Where is Freescooter? I thought he would have been happy about the possibility of KO leaving.
 
BigErnMcCracken said:
This is what I don't really get about this thread, and I suppose it's because I don't buy what I guess is now conventional wisdom on here, that the Ollie to OKC rumors were the coordinated efforts of a group of writers (or coaches, maybe, I can't keep track) to damage UConn's recruiting.

Sportswriters get these things wrong all the time. All. The. Time. It's part of the gig. When have you ever seen a reporter then write an article about how he was wrong about the rumor he was reporting or, even crazier, apologize to the subject of the rumor?
Expand ...

What bothers me - and I suppose this is a commentary on the way these things tend to be reported rather than any reporter specifically - is the lack of transparency.

I get that there are going to be unnamed sources, but when you tweet something as provocative as "Despite Ollie's statement, he actually does have a lot of interest in the OKC job," you had better be sure that it's a good source. If it's somebody Kevin Ollie had coffee with one time, it would probably be best to resist the urge to press send.

And yes, I know it is technically still possible that Ollie was interested in the job - and in fact, that is what I believed as recently as yesterday - but if he was ever a serious candidate, you have to think I takes longer than 24 hours for the rumor to be squashed, especially when by the sources own admission, there has been no direct contact between the two parties.

Meanwhile, Ollie twice in the span of 24 hours stated that he would not be pursuing any other jobs, the one this morning being more definitive. So, apparently if we are to believe the narrative they will soon begin spinning (that Ollie "withdrew" because he wasn't getting the job), Ollie was contacted about, expressed interest in, and was turned down within that span, likely without ever being interviewed. I find this hard to believe unless I am completely off on the timetable.

I don't think any of these reporters are tossing and turning at night worrying about UConn, but could some of them be quicker on the trigger than others when it comes to passing along negative information? I think so, especially a guy like Woj, who as recently as last season reported on Calhoun being rejected by BC with the same amount of non-verifiable sources.

Reporters definitely get this stuff wrong, but that doesn't mean your credibility doesn't take a hit when you do.
 
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I don't disagree with any of that. I just don't think it reflects some malicious intent vis-a-vis UConn like the tin foil hat brigade. It's amazing that I'm the outlier for laughing at the idea that media stories are being pushed with the express purpose of damaging UConn's recruiting. Somehow, when this kind of stuff comes up concerning - oh, I don't know, any other coach in America - no one here fires up the conspiracy machine.

Good reporting in the age of the 24 hour news cycle is a lost art, and people "breaking" stories aren't incentivized to be accurate or penalized when they're not.
 
Good to see he nipped this in the bud today and didn't let it get drawn out. I hope this didn't impact any recruits' decisions.

I was thinking about this the other day, how this has a very positive spin for our program. The fact that UConn has a head coach that is so highly regarded in NBA circles has to be an attractive thing for many recruits. Wouldn't you rather be coached up by one who has won a NC and has such a strong rep at the highest level than being coached by others who have neither or aren't as highly regarded?

I hope the assistance coaches are pointing that out to the recruits. It would be sort of strange for KO to say such, but I'm sure the assistant coaches can mention how they could have the opportunity to be coached up by KO who is so highly regarded by many in the NBA.
 
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3rdbass said:
Where is Freescooter? I thought he would have been happy about the possibility of KO leaving.
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I think he's still celebrating UConn getting knocked out the 1st round of the NIT.
 
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