OT: Pikiell's doing good work | Page 3 | The Boneyard

OT: Pikiell's doing good work

Matrim55 said:
While "keep it in the family" was a big reason KO got the job, "keep it in the family" is not the reason he's struggling with it. Right now it just looks like he's not that good a head coach and is probably better cut out to be an assistant.

Hiring Pikiell would be a totally different proposition. If he gets the job he'll have been a head coach for 13 years, the last 2 at a P5 school that heavily recruits the northeast. He has 225ish career wins, multiple postseason appearances, built a program from scratch and looks like he's in the process of resurrecting another from the dead. There is no question he can lead a program.

Hiring Donyell as his associate head coach would address a clear need – we haven't successfully developed our big men for a decade, right? And while there would be questions about his ability to recruit high-level talent (he's never done it), he's put in the work as an assistant for more than half a decade, and as a head coach for two years. And his team (traditionally one of the worst in the country) is improving.

Beyond that, "keep it in the family" could actually be an asset on the recruiting trail. UConn, as it stands, is not going to be a 15-20 year "destination school" for most coaches at this point, so every recruit would hear "yeah, he's after you but he'll be coaching at Michigan/Maryland/Virginia/Tennessee next year." The idea of UConn as a stepping stone would be a weapon.

Not against Pikiell, though. If he comes here, he's here to stay.

Is that a good enough reason to hire him, should the need arise? Not if there are better candidates out there.

But at the same time the fact that he's definitely part of the UConn family should not be a strike against him at all.

EDIT: And just to be clear, I'm still hoping KO figures this out. From what I've seen and heard, though, I seriously doubt that's going to happen.
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Why would Pikiell come here when he is already in the Big Ten at a state university with better resources?
 
8893 said:
Why would Pikiell come here when he is already in the Big Ten at a state university with better resources?
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This is what I don't understand. Expectations are so low at Rutgers, he's got zero risk of failure. The facilities are poor but they'll get better. If Ollie is fired then you not only have the AAC baggage, and the athletic department losing $30 mn per year in a state with terrible budget problems creating an expectation of athletic funding cut problems baggage, but also the perception that even a national championship is not enough to buy a coach 5 years of job security. I can understand loyalty to past employers or one's alma mater, but when millions of dollars are at stake, you tend to take the certain millions. I'd expect Pikiell to be interested in a UConn opening mainly as a way to leverage a sizable raise out of Rutgers.
 
pj said:
This is what I don't understand. Expectations are so low at Rutgers, he's got zero risk of failure. The facilities are poor but they'll get better. If Ollie is fired then you not only have the AAC baggage, and the athletic department losing $30 mn per year in a state with terrible budget problems creating an expectation of athletic funding cut problems baggage, but also the perception that even a national championship is not enough to buy a coach 5 years of job security. I can understand loyalty to past employers or one's alma mater, but when millions of dollars are at stake, you tend to take the certain millions. I'd expect Pikiell to be interested in a UConn opening mainly as a way to leverage a sizable raise out of Rutgers.
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You'd be wrong.
 
B1GEast said:
What Pikiell has done at Rutgers is akin to Moses parting the Red Sea or Jesus walking on water.

I'm a believer, and if KO moves on we need to pry him loose from them.

Pikiell will have bigger schools offering top dollar for his services.

Rutgers will miss him when he's gone. I wonder how far he takes them, he's special.
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Why when looking at other teams are the expectations so low.?

He was 15–18 last year. 3–15 in conference for 14th place.

This year, he's beaten Seton Hall. Nice win, but if you're looking at Rutgers performance only, that's a pretty low bar for the next 'great' head coach. Now if he were to win the Big Ten, that would be Moses parting the red sea.

Obviously, Pikiell context includes Stony Brook et al.
 
intlzncster said:
Why when looking at other teams are the expectations so low.?

He was 15–18 last year. 3–15 in conference for 14th place.

This year, he's beaten Seton Hall. Nice win, but if you're looking at Rutgers performance only, that's a pretty low bar for the next 'great' head coach. Now if he were to win the Big Ten, that would be Moses parting the red sea.

Obviously, Pikiell context includes Stony Brook et al.
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And we've got posters here saying Pikiell is too big for UConn. This is a really strange place.
 
Huskymagic said:
Pikiell is a good coach there is no denying that, and he is doing it at places that are hard to win at. Pikiell knows how to coach, motivate, and has an identity that he wants his to play with. I'm sure that AD Dave is monitoring the situation and the next 2 games against Arizona and Auburn will tell him everything he needs to know about Ollie and the program moving forward.
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These next 3 games will tell us nothing. We have a punchers chance against Auburn. That's it. The regular season in the AAC is what will determine KO's fate.
 
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intlzncster said:
These next 3 games will tell us nothing. We have a punchers chance against Auburn. That's it. The regular season in the AAC is what will determine KO's fate.
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If we lose by 30 again, it will tell us quite a bit.
 
Matrim55 said:
If we lose by 30 again, it will tell us quite a bit.
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Against Auburn yes, but if Zona comes out hot, they will steam roll. JMO. Honestly, for me, it'll depend how they fight back. If they are playing all out, and get rolled, well, c'est la vie.
 
superjohn said:
And we've got posters here saying Pikiell is too big for UConn. This is a really strange place.
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No, what I’m saying is that he may have the opportunity to do there what Calhoun did here. Here, the expectations are much higher, and we eat our young.
 
8893 said:
No, what I’m saying is that he may have the opportunity to do there what Calhoun did here. Here, the expectations are much higher, and we eat our young.
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How so? KO has never won the conference, just had the first losing season in 30 years here, has missed the tourney two out of the last three years, had a raft of 4-star players transfer/decommit, forced out a top, long-time assistant in ugly fashion, and just guided the team to their biggest loss in 40 years... and he's fine. There are no protests, most commentaries have been rational, and the expectation is "hey, just make the tourney and you're still our guy." People aren't chanting "Fire Ollie!" at games, they're not hurling abuse at him and his players, etc etc etc. The bar is not unreasonably high.

So in no possible sense can that be considered "eating our young." And I'm happy about that! We shouldn't be s to him or these kids. But we should expect winning seasons near the top of the conference, some stability and in-game improvement. None of that's happened, but there are still tons of folks out there defending him.

It's a good job and the fanbase will rally around anybody who gets us to the top of the AAC and into the second weekend of the tourney every other year.
 
8893 said:
No, what I’m saying is that he may have the opportunity to do there what Calhoun did here. Here, the expectations are much higher, and we eat our young.
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What makes you say this though? When was the last time the program even had a young coach? And are you insinuating KO isn’t being given enough of a chance? If so I’d argue most reasonable posters agreed to give him this year to prove what he can do with a full roster. If the team doesn’t show significant progress, 4 straight bad years would be a large enough body of evidence to rightfully dismiss any coach.
 
8893 said:
Why would Pikiell come here when he is already in the Big Ten at a state university with better resources?
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He would come here because he is a UConn guy and this is a much better job than the Rutgers job.
 
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8893 said:
Why would Pikiell come here when he is already in the Big Ten at a state university with better resources?
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Here’s 1 - $3.1M. Uconn values and pays a Top 10 coach’s salary. And maybe because there’s just a TON more history here in Connecticut than Rutgers, and don’t even begin to compare their facilities compared to Uconn. Lastly, there’s also his personal history, allegiance and connection to the school. It seems ridiculous to hear these why would they come here arguments. We’re still a brand and we’re still a school that values and will pay top salary for its coaches.
 
8893 said:
No, what I’m saying is that he may have the opportunity to do there what Calhoun did here. Here, the expectations are much higher, and we eat our young.
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That's what family does, eat their own.

I honestly would rather go outside if for some reason HCKO isn't here after this season or sometime in the near future.
 
Matrim55 said:
How so? KO has never won the conference, just had the first losing season in 30 years here, has missed the tourney two out of the last three years, had a raft of 4-star players transfer/decommit, forced out a top, long-time assistant in ugly fashion, and just guided the team to their biggest loss in 40 years... and he's fine. There are no protests, most commentaries have been rational, and the expectation is "hey, just make the tourney and you're still our guy." People aren't chanting "Fire Ollie!" at games, they're not hurling abuse at him and his players, etc etc etc. The bar is not unreasonably high.

So in no possible sense can that be considered "eating our young." And I'm happy about that! We shouldn't be s to him or these kids. But we should expect winning seasons near the top of the conference, some stability and in-game improvement. None of that's happened, but there are still tons of folks out there defending him.

It's a good job and the fanbase will rally around anybody who gets us to the top of the AAC and into the second weekend of the tourney every other year.
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tentoes4rings said:
What makes you say this though? When was the last time the program even had a young coach? And are you insinuating KO isn’t being given enough of a chance? If so I’d argue most reasonable posters agreed to give him this year to prove what he can do with a full roster. If the team doesn’t show significant progress, 4 straight bad years would be a large enough body of evidence to rightfully dismiss any coach.
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I read this bored much differently. I am not saying that the criticism is unfair, and maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I feel like it's become the equivalent of lining his route to work with billboards advertising for his job or pitching a better destination for his players. Yes, there are a lot of people more reasoned here, but that doesn't erase the spectacle that the vocal mob has become.

I suppose it's also a reflection of the times. Hot takes go viral because they are published instantly, tweeted, posted, etc.; and civility is at an all-time low (add old man yelling at clouds or "said every generation ever" here).

No one is happy with where we are, but UConn hoops has always been a happy place for me, even when we sucked. As silly as it seems, it's like family to me; like we're married to the coach (and the players) until we are divorced. The open pining for replacements and envisioning of entirely different staff is hard for me to reconcile with hoping KO and this team can succeed.

I don't know Pikiell or what he's thinking. I like him. If I was him, it would be hard not to consider how high the bar is here compared to where he is now; how it turned out here for the last beloved former player turned coach; how Calhoun was able to sell a lowly UConn program to recruits because of the reputation of the conference in which we played and the chance to play against the best; how that mirrors his situation at Rutgers much more than what's going on here.
 
8893 said:
I don't know Pikiell or what he's thinking. I like him. If I was him, it would be hard not to consider how high the bar is here compared to where he is now; how it turned out here for the last beloved former player turned coach; how Calhoun was able to sell a lowly UConn program to recruits because of the reputation of the conference in which we played and the chance to play against the best; how that mirrors his situation at Rutgers much more than what's going on here.
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I'm sure he'd consider all of that, and much of it is compelling.
 
I took in two NBA games in the last month. My conclusion is KO runs much of the same stuff but he just doesn’t have the talent to make it work. He needs shooters and scorers, which the Blaze strategy is designed to obtain. He either has to stick with Blaze or change his scheme. If you insert talented players into his current scheme it will look very different.
 
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Chief00 said:
I took in two NBA games in the last month. My conclusion is KO runs much of the same stuff but he just doesn’t have the talent to make it work. He needs shooters and scores, which the Blaze strategy is designed to obtain. He either has to stick with Blaze or change his scheme. If you insert talented players into his current scheme it will look very different.
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Sorry, Chief. You coach the players you have, not the players you wish you had. Doing otherwise is a recipe for failure.
 
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8893 said:
Why would Pikiell come here when he is already in the Big Ten at a state university with better resources?
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Better facilities.
Better pay.
Better history and brand.
More nationally televised games.
Better OOC schedule ( since you seem to be playing the conference argument, which has literally NEVER worked for RU ).
Better track record of players in NBA.
Bigger recruiting footprint.

Other than that who knows why a coach would prefer UCONN over RU.
 
auggie22 said:
Better facilities.
Better pay.
Better history and brand.
More nationally televised games.
Better OOC schedule ( since you seem to be playing the conference argument, which has literally NEVER worked for RU ).
Better track record of players in NBA.
Bigger recruiting footprint.

Other than that who knows why a coach would prefer UCONN over RU.
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Also UCONN is his alma mater.
 
History and tradition are being way oversold here...people do not realize how little it matters outside of the fanbase. The brand is incredibly weak right now, and a new coaching hire won't undo all of the hits it's taken the past few years.

Pollyanna optimism at its worst.
 
Chief00 said:
I took in two NBA games in the last month. My conclusion is KO runs much of the same stuff but he just doesn’t have the talent to make it work. He needs shooters and scores, which the Blaze strategy is designed to obtain. He either has to stick with Blaze or change his scheme. If you insert talented players into his current scheme it will look very different.
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This is not insightful. You could say this about essentially any coach in America. Everyone's system would work better with players we where better at the sport they were coaching.
 
Huskybass said:
Sorry, Chief. You coach the players you have, not the players you wish you had. Doing otherwise is a recipe for failure.
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I don’t disagree, the point I was trying to make was that KO can successfully play the offense he wants to use but he needs maybe 2-3 NBA caliber scorers to pull it off. We don’t currently have that and it will take Blaze 2-3 years to get us there. Quite frankly, my personal preference would be college style offense. KO believes his offense prepares guys for the NBA and is a recruiting tool.
 
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auggie22 said:
Better facilities.
Better pay.
Better history and brand.
More nationally televised games.
Better OOC schedule ( since you seem to be playing the conference argument, which has literally NEVER worked for RU ).
Better track record of players in NBA.
Bigger recruiting footprint.

Other than that who knows why a coach would prefer UCONN over RU.
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Looks like Pikiell's salary is $1.2M per year compared to Ollie's $1.3M per year. Not sure how their media appearance or bonus pay differs, but I am guessing that if UConn comes calling Rutgers will be able to match, especially with Connecticut's current fiscal problems. Again, I don't know if NJ has similar problems, but I know CT has them and it will be an issue both in terms of salary and in terms of potential growth.

I'm not saying UConn doesn't have some advantages, but I don't think it's nearly as clear that it would be a no-brainer for Pikiell if UConn was an option as many here seem to believe. I mean, if the national, regional and local consensus about UConn is that we are "stuck," don't you think that would be a factor in his decision? And if it is widely accepted--as it should be--that the continued suckage of our football program is likely to exile us to this purgatory for the foreseeable future no matter what our basketball team does, isn't Rutgers better positioned?
 
polycom said:
This is not insightful. You could say this about essentially any coach in America. Everyone's system would work better with players we where better at the sport they were coaching.
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LOL - to play a pro style offense, you need pro style scorers who can shoot and break dudes down 1x1.
A college type offense doesn’t need that athleticism or contested shooting ability - you can have guys who can catch and shoot while open. Guys who work to get open without the ball or know the open holes in a zone.
 
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8893 said:
Looks like Pikiell's salary is $1.2M per year compared to Ollie's $1.3M per year. Not sure how their media appearance or bonus pay differs, but I am guessing that if UConn comes calling Rutgers will be able to match, especially with Connecticut's current fiscal problems. Again, I don't know if NJ has similar problems, but I know CT has them and it will be an issue both in terms of salary and in terms of potential growth.

I'm not saying UConn doesn't have some advantages, but I don't think it's nearly as clear that it would be a no-brainer for Pikiell if UConn was an option as many here seem to believe. I mean, if the national, regional and local consensus about UConn is that we are "stuck," don't you think that would be a factor in his decision? And if it is widely accepted--as it should be--that the continued suckage of our football program is likely to exile us to this purgatory for the foreseeable future no matter what our basketball team does, isn't Rutgers better positioned?
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Ollie's salary is $3.1M this year. Kevin Ollie Signs New Five-Year Contract
 
8893 said:
I'm gonna guess that if Pikiell is offered, it won't be in that range.
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Probably not when you consider UConn AD is tightening the belt and would have to pay an Ollie buyout but it would be well north of $1.2.
 
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