reason 63 to love k. ollie

[SubbaBub]

Are there better coaches out there than KO, probably. Are there better coaches out there for UConn, JC doesn't seem to think so.

That's good enough for me and if you read the latest interview with Katz, he makes a good case. KO can recruit, reports are that he can coach, he held the respect of everyone he played with and for during his NBA career, he is known to be a hard worker, he has contacts in the NBA to leverage. He's got a ring, and he knows the UConn way.

The most anyone else can can being is winning games somewhere else. Those guys are always available.

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2

 

[John Fryer]

I only highlighted one sentence, although I suppose I could have done every line. However the final sentence is the important one. His lack of head coaching experience is exactly the issue. Can he recruit? Clearly comments from current players signed under his time and comments from current recruits indicate he is important in the recruiting process, has good respect with recruits and is beneficial in the recruiting process.

Can he coach? No idea. None whatsoever. Can he headcoach (I just invented a new verb)? Again, no clue.

First of all, there is less than one chance in 10,000 that any coach we can get will be as good as JC. JC is arguably one of the top 5 coaches of all time. Certainly top 10 adjusted for games played, but when you readjust for the number of good teams you have to beat in today's game, I think top 5 is a pretty easy argument. To expect the next coach to be a top 5 coach all time is ludicrous - even top 10. Another way to look at it, no other coach has won 3 NCs in the last 15 years other than JC. Coach K hasn't. Roy Williams hasn't. Nobody but JC has 3 in the last 15 years. If you stretch it to 20 years, you can add Coach K. Expecting any coach to be even close to JC is foolish. Expect some sort of letdown. One or two in the next 15 years would be more than one could expect.

Now to the meat of the discussion. Saying that Smart or Stevens had no head coaching experience before they are what they are now is silly. There are 200, 300, how many coaches in the same time frame who didn't have head coaching experience who then got head coaching experience who you have never heard of.

The fact is they got head coaching experience and proved they could win. That's way more important than a guy who hasn't had the experience and we hope can win. Saying they didn't have head coaching experience as an argument that Ollie should get a shot is missing the point of experience. There are 300+ guys who got head coaching experience that we do not want. There are two or so that have proven they can coach who make good choices.

Extrapolating that Smart and Stevens didn't have head coaching experience before they had success as a reason that Ollie will have success is ridiculous. The odds are against him. The fact that they have had success is why they are good candidates. It's not ironic that they didn't have head coaching experience before success and Ollie doesn't have head coaching experience, it's just a common denominator. It doesn't mean Ollie will.

One more way to look at it - there are maybe 10 to 15 coaches that anyone would take to lead their program as a lock - maybe not even that many (JC, K, JB, Izzo, etc.). The problem is most of those 15 or so aren't going anywhere. So there is a small handful of successful coaches that you can actually choose from.

Bottom line, if Smart wants to come here, you take him over Ollie. One is proven, one might be the next top 5 coach but he's more likely to be the next bust. You just have to play the odds here.

That said, if Ollie is the next coach, I hope he stays for 25+ years and gets 5 national championships and goes down as one of the top 5 ever....

You present a well reasoned argument.

But, IMHO, you argument ignores a very important and essential point to this discussion.

Both coach Smart and Stevens were given an opportunity to demonstrate that they could be effective head coaches.

Neither, like KO, had had any prior experience at being a head coach.

And there is always the elements of the unknown when any individual assumes a leadership role.

What we do know about KO is that he an excellent recruiter, an effective communicator and that he is respected within the basketball community.

Peace,

John Fryer

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I am for an open search and realize that I don't really know much about Smart outside of some recent impressive success as a head coach. Same with Stevens. With Ollie, the one big advantage he has is that he would provide continuity of the program culture, with an open door for Calhoun to hang around and be the coach emeritus. UNC has stayed within the family and that creates a strong sense of UNC remaining "UNC." As UConn does not have the history of a top program outside of Jim Calhoun, there is something to be said about keeping the culture alive. Ollie would be someone who presumably would continue to have connections with Ray Allen, Rudy Gay, Caron, Emeka, Kemba, Khalid, etc. Having them come around is a very big deal, IMHO.

My major hesitation is that he seems to be somewhat on the quiet side and I'm not sure he has a big enough ego to will the program forward. The top coaches in college basketball are clearly the leaders and in charge of their teams. I would like to see Kevin do that to see if he can be the #1 guy as opposed to the gifted behind the scenes guy. He would also need to be able to let Coach Calhoun know that he is the boss while valuing his input.

 

[caw]

Open question: assuming Stevens and Smart are not interested in the job, how far down the list is Ollie?

 

[champs99and04]

I appreciate the seven paragraph essays from everybody, but this is really simple:

1. We know Stevens and Smart are great coaches.

2. We think Ollie can be a great coach

I'll take the sure thing.

 

[HuskyBballFan]

Open question: assuming Stevens and Smart are not interested in the job, how far down the list is Ollie?

I'm willing to say that the only way Ollie is not the next coach is if someone like Smart/Stevens wants the job.

 

[jibsey]

If his dad runs out of stuff to fix at his house, I've got an extensive list.......