Our Fanbase Is Still Conflicted

[Ewekon]

You see the attendance this year? There's a bigger financial reality if UConn keeps him.

They'll be renting out sections at XL games to local high schools for archery practice next year if Ollie is still the coach.

That last line is one for the ages. I lmao. Well played sir.

 

[Waquoit]

The kids that ran out on him would now be sophomores.

You make it sound that Ollie is a victim here.

 

[notthestuff]

You are one of many brand new posters that seem to be defending KO. Well, maybe you aren't "brand new" but when I see a pro-Ollie post and it isn't August, Dan or Mau, it is usually someone with 5 posts.

That’s right because clearly anyone who doesn’t post here all the time and supports the coach can’t be a fan. They have to be on the staff or a friend of the staff.

Some of you are pushing this beyond rational thought to the point where some of us feel compelled to join the discussion for the first time. It’s not crazy to be of the belief that a new coach might not do any better. Despite all of those pushing their fire the coach agenda refusing to acknowledge it can get get worse, it absolutely can and no one can say with any more certainty it won’t get worse than I can say it will get better if Ollie stays.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Im convinced were the weirdest team in the country. Great players, terrible play but for whatever reason some games they play good. Its Ollies fault but not 100% His players still need to put up on their end

Great players???????? Good players maybe, and even that is a stretch.

 

[ivrytontusker]

Current D1 coaches to have won a title: Izzo, K, Williams, Calipari, Ollie, Wright, Self, Boeheim. So that's 8 out of 351.

Of course the fanbase is still conflicted. And I don't buy the "winning with Calhoun's guys" argument. Urban Meyer's first title at UF was with Ron Zook's guys. So what?

 

[Huskymagic]

Im convinced were the weirdest team in the country. Great players, terrible play but for whatever reason some games they play good. Its Ollies fault but not 100% His players still need to put up on their end

What great players? Our players with the exception of Adams and Larrier are not worthy of being on a roster for any top 25 team. Our players lack of talent is a big part of our problems as is Ollie being head coach.

Ollie has brought UCONN from the mountaintop to Tulsa. That will be his legacy.

PS: No one on the fanbase is conflicted anymore. Even the Pollyannas know this.

 

[PAHusky]

Again, you're not being serious. Because if you were being serious, you would be able to recognize the fact that even those 5th year players that we have on our squad have only been on Ollie's team for 4 months. And even after having said that, we do rely on Anderson to play a lot of minutes. But besides Anderson and Jalen (and DO), there wasn't a single upperclassmen on the floor in a UConn jersey. Furthermore, 5 of the 9 basketball players for UConn last night have only been playing college basketball for 4 months. I'm including Diarra in that calculation because he didn't play last year.

So yeah, that is what it is. The flip side to that is the fact that I believe that Carlton, Whaley, Williams, Polley, and Vital will be MUCH better next year than they are this year. You can see most of those players getting better already. And that's what the sign of a good coach is. Whaley and Carlton look like different level players from the first games that they played...

Memphis' starting lineup last night featured one freshman and three dudes who have only been on Memphis for four months. All told it looks like they have nine kids on their roster who have played for another team prior to Memphis. So yes, I'm being serious. You're going to need a different excuse for last night's loss.

 

[UConnDan97]

You make it sound that Ollie is a victim here.

Why? I didn't say he was a victim. Go see my first post...

 

[UConnDan97]

Memphis' starting lineup last night featured one freshman and three dudes who have only been on Memphis for four months. All told it looks like they have nine kids on their roster who have played for another team prior to Memphis. So yes, I'm being serious. You're going to need a different excuse for last night's loss.

Then you also missed the part where I said our guys have also only played college ball for four months.

If you don't think there's a difference between playing freshmen and playing juniors, then that's a "you" thing. I'm done arguing about this, though. I see many of our players improving and that tells me what I need to know at this point.

I never thought I would say the following sentence, but I hope to God we beat Villanova so that the UConn fans can shut up...

 

[methodology]

After 3 straight wins half the "fire Ollie posters" were "back on the wagon"

Now after Memphis waxes the court with a Terry-less UConn team they are back on the fire Ollie rampage

Let the season play out see how the young players continue to develop and what the team ends the season looking like then make a decision.

I think Ollie deserves next year but I'm not the AD

 

[mauconnfan]

I'm still on the Ollie train. Sorry. And I'm on the train because of the same reason that I was on it last year. Last night, there was exactly 1 UConn-trained upperclassman (Adams), and it showed. I'm not going to include Anderson and Onuorah in that list, because they are stop-gap players to fill a void.

Yes, we can go on and on about how the void is Ollie's fault. But the void is the void. Whaley is playing much better now. Carlton is playing much better now. Vital as a sophomore has sporadic games where he can rattle off 20 points. But we have no UConn-trained seniors and only 2 UConn-trained juniors, one of whom couldn't play last night. And again, it showed. And my opinion is that it would be difficult to squeeze out a lot more from this group as constructed with any other coach.

So I hope to see continued growth and hopefully things come together for post-season play. And next year, if Jalen stays especially, we will have a much different looking team than the one we have today...

If anyone thought they were going to score over 50 last night they were nuts. No options other than Jalen, no passers, ball handlers etc etc.. When Larrier was reported out I said to my brother they're lucky to get 4o tonight, well thanks to Tubby we got 9 more than that. Also said the cronies will be back out in droves, well 1 for 2 isn't bad.

 

[mauconnfan]

That "solid upper-class memphis team" replaced six players from last year and just waxed us. Losing Gilbert is a huge blow, no doubt, and last year that excuse held up especially well. This season? Gilbert came into the year having not played for a long time and off multiple surgeries. KO knew that. KO failed to land a kid (MAL) to replace him and filled the hole with Anderson instead, and we all know how that's turned out.

Saying "when at full strength uconn is easy to guard" is a huge indictment of how bad this team is constructed. When you ask "why don't people get that" the answer is - we do. A college coach is responsible for both a. constructing their team and b. coaching it, unlike in the NBA. KO has been pretty awful at constructing a balanced team the last few years, and the jury is out but likely coming back with the wrong verdict soon on his in game coaching.

If you think we're easy to guard this year, I've got some bad news for you about next season.....

You've got bad news about everything, that is't exactly newsworthy here! LOL

 

[Woof 101]

Is it possible for AD to demote Ollie to Assistant Coach without generating the buyout? We could hire someone new and keep Ollie to just focus on recruiting?

NO ATTACK Uconn77Duke74...This is silly at best, this for at the minimum two reasons. First being contract and second and just as important, Ollie to focus on recruiting???? So far that is his main problem, he won the big one with JC's men. No coach, not Jim or Geno were really successful until they started getting better players. Yes Jim will always be a legend for being able to will a team on to victory, but even those as rare as he did not get to the top without special recruits. Sad but true, and most in victory or acceptance of merits all say, "I could have not done it without the players".....

 

[temery]

Devil’s Advocate: It takes time for new players to buy into and execute a coach's system. The problem as I see it is Ollie doesn’t seem to have a system outside of, “go play.”

Again, you're not being serious. Because if you were being serious, you would be able to recognize the fact that even those 5th year players that we have on our squad have only been on Ollie's team for 4 months. And even after having said that, we do rely on Anderson to play a lot of minutes. But besides Anderson and Jalen (and DO), there wasn't a single upperclassmen on the floor in a UConn jersey. Furthermore, 5 of the 9 basketball players for UConn last night have only been playing college basketball for 4 months. I'm including Diarra in that calculation because he didn't play last year.

So yeah, that is what it is. The flip side to that is the fact that I believe that Carlton, Whaley, Williams, Polley, and Vital will be MUCH better next year than they are this year. You can see most of those players getting better already. And that's what the sign of a good coach is. Whaley and Carlton look like different level players from the first games that they played...

 

[UConnDan97]

Devil’s Advocate: It takes time for new players to buy into and execute a coach's system. The problem as I see it is Ollie doesn’t seem to have a system outside of, “go play.”

You devil!

But seriously, any team under any philosophy needs time to play together in order to establish roles. Not just offensive roles, but defensive as well. How to play the 2-3, the 1-3-1, the three quarter court, etc. And all the fundamentals that go along with it.

Many folks here think that someone who was a star in high school just comes here and does all that. They don't. In fact, they get into bad habits they need to break because they went against much inferior competition. That's why the transition from freshman to sophomore year is normally the biggest improvement a player will have...

 

[Jaker]

Here is the deal, with the new coaches salary and Ollie's buyout, it will cost the program about 12 million dollars to hire a new coach/ So unless AD knows he is going to hit a home run with a "proven" coach, I suspect Ollie will be on the bench for us next season.

 

[JeepCSC]

Current D1 coaches to have won a title: Izzo, K, Williams, Calipari, Ollie, Wright, Self, Boeheim. So that's 8 out of 351.

Of course the fanbase is still conflicted. And I don't buy the "winning with Calhoun's guys" argument. Urban Meyer's first title at UF was with Ron Zook's guys. So what?

Seems weird to be forgetting Tubby here.

And of course having to state which of Urban’s titles were won with Zook’s guys kind of defeats the point.

 

[Waquoit]

Why?

"The kids that ran out on him?"

 

[PAHusky]

Then you also missed the part where I said our guys have also only played college ball for four months.

If you don't think there's a difference between playing freshmen and playing juniors, then that's a "you" thing. I'm done arguing about this, though. I see many of our players improving and that tells me what I need to know at this point.

I never thought I would say the following sentence, but I hope to God we beat Villanova so that the UConn fans can shut up...

I do think there is a huge difference between freshman and juniors. My point remains that KO is responsible for the construction of the roster. We don't have a ton of upperclassmen because he built the roster that way and he had trouble retaining kids in the offseason. Again, holes in the roster are KO's responsibility.

To address your last point - everyone on this board save for an incredibly small and deluded minority want UConn to win on Saturday and then again every game they play for the rest of the year. The insinuation that the "fire Ollie" crowd are somehow lesser fans of the program because we don't "support" KO is laughable and insulting. It's the opposite - I think many of us feel that he's a great guy, and appreciate what he's done for the program, but think that going forward what's best for UConn basketball is a change in leadership.

 

[sportsmatter1]

So I’ve been reading through the threads and am surprised to realize that a significant % are not yet convinced that KO must go. It’s going to take more 20-30 point blowouts to drag over those keep KO’ers. Cincy, Temple and Wichita are all possibilities for those. What’s more important is what our AD and school president need to be convinced? Will there still be a question by season end or is this pretty much a done deal now? After our win the other day I thought Tim Welch was President of the KO fan club which I do not understand.

I was watching the game and not sure if anyone else noticed that Pete G, sighed or said "Oh My, or My Gosh" each time UCONN did something bad or inconsistent.. he might have well said, "Geesh, these guys are horrible!" He didn't but kept saying, "kevin is a great coach, he will figure this out and fix it." Oh boy!

 

[Towney007]

Here is the deal, with the new coaches salary and Ollie's buyout, it will cost the program about 12 million dollars to hire a new coach/ So unless AD knows he is going to hit a home run with a "proven" coach, I suspect Ollie will be on the bench for us next season.

I'm not singling you out, but I can't honestly believe people think this. That when faced to make a choice between deep sixing their program and any and all money making potential it'd have going forward and actively avoiding a buy out - that they'd completely flush it all down the drain on $9 million. The school had no national reputation before the hoops program became big time. Now it's among the best schools in the country.

And people do realize institutions and teams take insurances out on contracts, right? That procurement laws basically dictate that they can't sign these kinds of deals without an ability to pay them, right?

Of course no one WANTS to spend $9 million so that someone doesn't coach your team next year; but when you have to - you have to. And they will and they'll find the money if they don't already have it. It's been one of the best state-funded educational institutions in the entire country even with deep funding cuts and people think they're going to have trouble coming up with $9 million.

And that's all assuming Ollie just doesn't walk away. Or negotiate a settlement. Both of which are possible. So that actual figure might not be anywhere near that much.But if they want to buy him out.. they'll buy him out.

 

[3rdbass]

I'm not singling you out, but I can't honestly believe people think this. That when faced to make a choice between deep sixing their program and any and all money making potential it'd have going forward and actively avoiding a buy out - that they'd completely flush it all down the drain on $9 million. The school had no national reputation before the hoops program became big time. Now it's among the best schools in the country.

And people do realize institutions and teams take insurances out on contracts, right? That procurement laws basically dictate that they can't sign these kinds of deals without an ability to pay them, right?

Of course no one WANTS to spend $9 million so that someone doesn't coach your team next year; but when you have to - you have to. And they will and they'll find the money if they don't already have it. It's been one of the best state-funded educational institutions in the entire country even with deep funding cuts and people think they're going to have trouble coming up with $9 million.

And that's all assuming Ollie just doesn't walk away. Or negotiate a settlement. Both of which are possible. So that actual figure might not be anywhere near that much.But if they want to buy him out.. they'll buy him out.

I really hope KO accepts a buyout so he can hang with Drake and become the true baller he always wanted to be. LOL!

 

[David 76]

It is a lot of money, but if things continue as they are the rest of the season, can UConn afford to keep keep Ollie?
A ton of money has been spent to make us attractive to a P5 conference. Way more than $10 million.
We can't let a decade of work and money go down the toilet.

 

[uconngb]

It is a lot of money, but if things continue as they are the rest of the season, can UConn afford to keep keep Ollie?
A ton of money has been spent to make us attractive to a P5 conference. Way more than $10 million.
We can't let a decade of work and money go down the toilet.

Why people don't see this is beyond me. I guess no one in this board was a business major. Franchise value is WAY more important than short term cost. I think the body of evidence is clear. KO is not a program builder. Time to cut losses and move on. It's very basic. Coca Cola realized they made a major mistake with "new Coke". Were they supposed to stay with it because of all the production costs and advertising dollars they had sunk into it?? No, they realized they made a mistake, took their pain, and moved on. And their franchise remained as strong as ever. This is pretty basic people.

 

[Jaker]

I'm not singling you out, but I can't honestly believe people think this. That when faced to make a choice between deep sixing their program and any and all money making potential it'd have going forward and actively avoiding a buy out - that they'd completely flush it all down the drain on $9 million. The school had no national reputation before the hoops program became big time. Now it's among the best schools in the country.

And people do realize institutions and teams take insurances out on contracts, right? That procurement laws basically dictate that they can't sign these kinds of deals without an ability to pay them, right?

Of course no one WANTS to spend $9 million so that someone doesn't coach your team next year; but when you have to - you have to. And they will and they'll find the money if they don't already have it. It's been one of the best state-funded educational institutions in the entire country even with deep funding cuts and people think they're going to have trouble coming up with $9 million.

And that's all assuming Ollie just doesn't walk away. Or negotiate a settlement. Both of which are possible. So that actual figure might not be anywhere near that much.But if they want to buy him out.. they'll buy him out.

Hey, don't get me wrong, I am all for spending the money. I was never on board with making Ollie the head coach in the first place.

 

[John]

Why people don't see this is beyond me. I guess no one in this board was a business major. Franchise value is WAY more important than short term cost. I think the body of evidence is clear. KO is not a program builder. Time to cut losses and move on. It's very basic. Coca Cola realized they made a major mistake with "new Coke". Were they supposed to stay with it because of all the production costs and advertising dollars they had sunk into it?? No, they realized they made a mistake, took their pain, and moved on. And their franchise remained as strong as ever. This is pretty basic people.

except you're talking about soda and this is an athletic brand......

 

[BlueDogs]

Benedict likely isn’t as conflicted as he is frantically running around looking for $10M.

Benedict has gone mostly dark over the last month. I suspect he is on his way to greener pastures soon.

 

[BlueDogs]

I'm IN those crowds, and you're high if you think we've lost 10M worth of value.

You have to look at lost media coverage and exposure, which is huge. It's free marketing dollars. UConn's rise in academic standing is due in large part to huge increases in applications and greater selectivity statistics. Don't think for second the national championships and tournament exposure hasnt been a key in that rise. Students love associating with brand name and success. There is 10MM in lost coverage easily. Once it starts hitting applications, maybe the admin will wake up and realize the strangled the golden goose.

 

[Hoophound]

Benedict has gone mostly dark over the last month. I suspect he is on his way to greener pastures soon.

Or maybe he's avoiding conversation because he doesn't want the barrage of KO questions that he can't answer.

 

[whaler11]

The kids that ran out on him would now be sophomores. You understand that, right? And it's not speculation to believe that teams perform better with players that are upperclassmen generally speaking. That's pretty much true of most basketball teams not named Kentucky (one-and-dones). So a player like Daniel Hamilton being a senior this year (or a junior last year) changes the complexion of the team. Hell, Larrier playing last night would have changed the complexion of the team.

Looking at this roster, it is easy for me to be excited for next year under at least one assumption; that we have at least one of AG, Adams, or Larrier back. If we get two of the three back, that would be awesome. If we get none of them back, then we battle with a bunch of sophomores and hopefully Akinjo can run the point; the most important spot on a college team...

That era of college basketball is gone.

There is no long term roster planning.

It’s who can you get now and how fast can you get them to produce together.

The final nail in the idea of upper-classmen developing together is the transfer rule.

It’s AAU for 18-23 year olds.