Post Game Interview

[superjohn]

I've thought this for a while: we've had terrible strength and conditioning coaches the last few years.

There isn't some big secret to strength and conditioning. You run a ton and you build up endurance. You eat clean, eat a lot, and lift heavy you gain more muscle. We recruit string beans so the gaining muscle thing is challenging, most of what they gain in the offseason is burned off with all the practicing and playing during the season. There should be no excuse for our players ever being tired, we are built like Kenyans compared to most other teams.

 

[Travelman6]

The 3 games in 4 days thing is kind of a cop out IMHO. These are kids playing 40 minute games. If they are gassed, that is both unique in the college game (in that most solid teams do not get gassed like that) and concerning. We are not asking these kids to run marathons or even half marathons on back to back days...

 

[HuskyHawk]

The SEC is the best conference in basketball this year. All 14 teams are in the top 100 and 13/14 are in the top 70.

I doubt that will hold up, but we saw how much better they were last year, when SEC teams made strong runs. Bama brought in a huge recruiting class, and Georgia had a good one too. Mizzou obviously with Porter, even though they lost him to injury. The SEC isn't just UK and Florida now. They are much stronger and deeper than in recent years. Better than the Pac or Big East this year.

 

[dennismenace]

In the post game press conference, Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said twice that he felt UConn "ran out of gas" and attributed it to playing three games in four days but then also said his team is built to play under these conditions. He was very respectful in his comments but what is this saying about the physical (and mental) conditioning of UConn's team? I know KO didn't use it as an excuse, but I'm interested in getting feedback on this. Did the Huskies just "run out of gas" or was Anderson just being nice?

Probably both. It doesn't look like it takes a lot for some players to be winded and bent over. On the other hand, the way they were playing it wouldn't have made any difference. They were missing shots all game long from near and far.

 

[cheech63]

"We was looking to beat them with our athleticism."

You'd think he would've taken Summer classes to learn how to speak English correctly. I cringe when I listen to him speak.

 

[mauconnfan]

There isn't some big secret to strength and conditioning. You run a ton and you build up endurance. You eat clean, eat a lot, and lift heavy you gain more muscle. We recruit string beans so the gaining muscle thing is challenging, most of what they gain in the offseason is burned off with all the practicing and playing during the season. There should be no excuse for our players ever being tired, we are built like Kenyans compared to most other teams.

That's actually pretty funny sj and so damn obvious vs. all 3 of the opponents who had men on the front line.

 

[mauconnfan]

You'd think he would've taken Summer classes to learn how to speak English correctly. I cringe when I listen to him speak.

Cringe all you want it's him, and most loved it the year he won it all. To add your criticism for his use of vocabulary, well now isn't the time. He is who he is and for that we kind of were refreshed when we were thinking we had the right guy.

I hear ya but with everything else probably piling on for now right?

 

[CL82]

When you dont have the shooters, ISO's dont work. Gotta recruit for the plays you run.

Or maybe design plays for the players you have?

 

[willie99]

what I read about this interview made it sound a lot worse than it was

I have no problem with what was said or their body language

 

[mauconnfan]

what I read about this interview made it sound a lot worse than it was

I have no problem with what was said or their body language

Same body language as always, he looks at the game stats all the time and never looks all that happy. But what would we expect. Not happy with accepting that Arkansas was really good, but he may have his own agenda and maybe calling people out now is not his way who knows.

 

[CL82]

Well see what they make of this. If I was on the court for this debacle (full disclosure: I have no where near the athleticism needed to be a D1 major BB player), this crapfest would be burning in me. No one at any level wants to be on the receiving end of beat down like this.

So do they pack it in? Do they accept that this horrid performance is who they are? Do they sleep walk through games not caring about the outcome?

Or do they use this as a starting point and commit be all in on every possession? So they take smarter shots and square up on every one of them? Do they make defense a priority and take offense every time their guy scores?

I don't know how good this team can be yet, but I truly believe that they are not as bad as they looked against Arkansas. Yeah, I think Kevin's got to rethink what he's doing, but it in the end every single player has to step up and the best version of themselves every single play. It starts with Columbia tomorrow night. They should look to make a statement about who they are as individuals and as a team.

We'll see.

 

[Kembacity]

You people as always are friggin infuriating. We played horribly and Arkansas appeared to be playing out of their minds at times. To you dullards, is it literally never okay to say that the other team was playing in the zone and nothing we were doing was fazing them?

Their guy who hit like his first 5 3 pointers, a number of them came with a defender right in his face. I recall like the 4th where Anderson was right up on him and we played a full shot clock of tight D, to the point that as the shot went up I said "Nice D", and the shot slunk right thru the net without hitting rim, and then I said "oh *"

Was I watching a different game? You sad sacks seem to think that if a shot goes in, we played awful D. Have you not lived thru the eras of Shabazz and Kemba where a guy would play great D just to have our guy somehow find a way to make it in? This is basketball, the game, not an EA sports version of it where 0s and 1s decide if a shot goes in. You can do everything right and still get beat by 12 points when the other team simply refuses to be stopped.

 

[Kembacity]

You'd think he would've taken Summer classes to learn how to speak English correctly. I cringe when I listen to him speak.

Oh thanks for the analysis, main character from Gran Torino. I sometimes wince when I hear KO speak, not because his speaking embarrasses me, but because I know there are so many Connecticut fans who are as racist as you and believe that since he said "we was" he doesn't deserve respect as a human being.

 

[UConniki]

Oh thanks for the analysis, main character from Gran Torino. I sometimes wince when I hear KO speak, not because his speaking embarrasses me, but because I know there are so many Connecticut fans who are as racist as you and believe that since he said "we was" he doesn't deserve respect as a human being.

Man.... I live in the south and there are flaming in your face racists everywhere. Pointing out bad grammar in someones speech isn't racist. The man has a 4 year college degree, he's around 40? years old, plenty of time and opportunity to work and improve on ones grammar if one chooses to. Enough with the excuses and if you think the poster is being racist by pointing out KO's horrible grammar your delusional. He's paid 3 million to do a job and part of that job is to speak in public as a representative of the University of Connecticut. I try and politely correct my 5 year old when need be . " I dude it," is now " I did it". My 15 year old used to say " we was" and now says " we were". One is in high school, the other is in pre K. A good portion of the south generally referred to as trailer park trash are easily identified by their grammar, but their excuse is being under educated. Pointing out bad grammar used by KO isn't racist it's a valid criticism considering his education and his occupation. Correct use of English is sometimes a matter of pride and priorities. If our coach was white and used the same bad grammar I think the criticism would be even greater and there wouldn't be a discussion about race. Stop with the bullcr*p. Thanks

 

[MadDogRevival]

Is Kevin Ollie turning into Bob Diaco?

Get the man some cranberry pants.

 

[MadDogRevival]

but because I know there are so many Connecticut fans who are as racist as you and believe that since he said "we was" he doesn't deserve respect as a human being.

Wow. That escalated quickly.

How you are perceived is very strongly connected to how you speak. Simple as that, and it doesn't matter who the listener is.

If your cardiologist came in, chart in hand, and said, "we was lookin' at the results of your ECG and we has some concern about your mitral valve," and that doesn't scare the feces out of you, then I'm not sure what to tell you.

It would not make you a racist. It would make you a person who associates speaking ability with education.

Kevin Ollie regularly uses about 20 or fewer grammatically incorrect words/phrases/tenses. Perhaps it works on the recruiting trail, sitting in the kitchen. "We was" is the most glaring.

I'm surprised, however, that KO, as hard working as he is, has not taken the very little effort it would take to use standard English when speaking publicly. I don't know how it could be anything but good for his career.

 

[Kembacity]

Wow. That escalated quickly.

How you are perceived is very strongly connected to how you speak. Simple as that, and it doesn't matter who the listener is.

If your cardiologist came in, chart in hand, and said, "we was lookin' at the results of your ECG and we has some concern about your mitral valve," and that doesn't scare the feces out of you, then I'm not sure what to tell you.

It would not make you a racist. It would make you a person who associates speaking ability with education.

Kevin Ollie regularly uses about 20 or fewer grammatically incorrect words/phrases/tenses. Perhaps it works on the recruiting trail, sitting in the kitchen. "We was" is the most glaring.

I'm surprised, however, that KO, as hard working as he is, has not taken the very little effort it would take to use standard English when speaking publicly. I don't know how it could be anything but good for his career.

I get the over-arching idea, but the way some people treat it leads me to believe they're racist and see him saying "we was" as a reason to call him an idiot. It's a cultural thing, and I wish it weren't and that everyone spoke correctly, I just think a basketball coach maybe is held to different standards than your cardiologist. Personally, I've heard people who I respected intellectually drop an "aks" into conversation which made me hear a record scratch. I agree overall that in the business world, in certain circles, one should speak "well" or "correctly" as it is generally understood.

That being said, how many times have you all heard people use worse/worst incorrectly? That also gives me a record scratch, in addition to "I could care less" which infuriates me because if you spend 5 seconds thinking about the words you're saying, you realize you mean to say you couldn't care less. The thing is, I don't think could care less is a cultural thing, its just flat out wrong logically. I have a white coworker who is bright in programming/CRM management, and he's from the south, and will say things like "I seen that", and it doesn't make me think less of him.

Dom Amore is a writer and usually has misspellings in his articles and tweets. That, is despicable, you're a writer... hire a personal editor if you need it to write correctly. He recently tweeted about the Arkansas game and what an embarrassment it was on many levels, and in said tweet he wrote "UCon"... to me, that was more embarrassing

 

[Huskybass]

Oh thanks for the analysis, main character from Gran Torino. I sometimes wince when I hear KO speak, not because his speaking embarrasses me, but because I know there are so many Connecticut fans who are as racist as you and believe that since he said "we was" he doesn't deserve respect as a human being.

You can't actually think that it is acceptable for the head coach of a major D1 team to say things like "we was" or "they defense" or "we UConn". I don't care if he is white, black, green or purple. Saying things like that doesn't reflect well on the University that he has a Communications degree from.

 

[Stainmaster]

You can't actually think that it is acceptable for the head coach of a major D1 team to say things like "we was" or "they defense" or "we UConn". I don't care if he is white, black, green or purple. Saying things like that doesn't reflect well on the University that he has a Communications degree from.

AAVE is very acceptable.

 

[sammydabiz]

I know there are so many Connecticut fans who are as racist as you and believe that since he said "we was" he doesn't deserve respect as a human being.

@Kembacity
I understand your intention is honorable, but to throw out that someone is racist bc he "cringes" when KO uses improper english is not only inflammatory, but it's divisive and counterproductive bro. As a minority myself, I feel an obligation to speak up. This new trend of casually throwing out accusations of rasicm is problematic and worrisome. Mainly because it ultimately weakens the word, especially for when actual racism is purported and directed to those individuals who actually deserve it.

Just my opinion

 

[Kenny11]

Decent points about Ollie's grammar. It can make me cringe at times but at least we know that those who are criticizing his grammar haven't voted for or supported a certain somebody who can't write or speak above a 2nd grade level...right??

 

[MadDogRevival]

but at least we know that those who are criticizing his grammar haven't voted for or supported a certain somebody who can't write or speak above a 2nd grade level...right??

Mic Cronin?