Recruits overwhelmingly like Ollie as next UConn coach | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Recruits overwhelmingly like Ollie as next UConn coach

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champs99and04 said:
The best play for the UConn program at the moment would be to announce Ollie as interim head coach. And to help matters further, it would also be nice if JC would come out and announce that he'll retire at the end of his contract. Under this scenario, the current players are happy because they get to make one more run with their feisty head coach, JC gets to have his fairwell tour, the program has some stability, and recruits have somebody they can relate to. Huskyfandan made a good point earlier when he spoke of the racial dynamic, so I'll take it a step further and say the religious aspect will also be crucial to Ollie's appeal. Anybody who follows him on twitter knows he's a Christian man, and let's face it, a good portion of the families he will be reaching out to will be Christian-based as well. A man in his early 40's just years removed from playing in the NBA will require the attention of young men with NBA aspirations.

Don't get me wrong, Shaka Smart is a major temptation, especially if the rumors are true that he's interested in UConn. Many of the Ollie skepticists on here have pointed out the fact that Smart has proven to be a very good coach, while Ollie just shows potential. But the more I think about it, I believe the aforementioned scenario would be the best situation for this program to be in right now given where we are. My one reserve with Ollie is that I think he's a guy NBA teams would be extremely interested in if he had some success with UConn, and obviously we can't match the dollar signs they'll be able to throw his way.
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It is the equivalent of investing in a cheap penny stock and hoping it makes the big boards. Who said Ollie shows potential? What has he done to even deserve that status?
 
Danzz said:
NBA PG for what 12 years. I'm guessing X's and O's won't be a problem.
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i am not trying to be a dick with what i said. there aeew many coaches that can recruit but are not great at game time coaching. some of that is experience and some nature. texas coach and ucla coach comes to mind as great recruiter and so so game coaches....
just because you play does not mean you can coach
 
BLUEDOGHOUSE said:
and things have progressively gotten worse with the program since they committed on all fronts (1 in which Ollie was a coach on).
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Not sure what your point is here. Are you saying it was a mistake to recruit Boatright, Drummond, and Daniels? Pretty much every school not named Kentucky would have killed to have that class - and that's still true even after the fact.
 
BLUEDOGHOUSE said:
It is the equivalent of investing in a cheap penny stock and hoping it makes the big boards. Who said Ollie shows potential? What has he done to even deserve that status?
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He's shown that potential through the body of work of his career. Four years at UConn under Jim Calhoun, 12 years in the NBA, and coming up on his third year on the sidelines at UConn. Plus, he's helped haul in his fair share of recruits, granted, not to play for him, but he's certainly shown a knack for it. At the very least, you can see why Ollie would be a desireable canidate, right?
 
husky99 said:
i am not trying to be a dick with what i said. there aeew many coaches that can recruit but are not great at game time coaching. some of that is experience and some nature. texas coach and ucla coach comes to mind as great recruiter and so so game coaches....
just because you play does not mean you can coach
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Just for the sake of argument, neither of those examples played in the NBA for any length of time. Heck neither of those (I assume you are talking Barnes and Lavin) played major D1 ball.

I have no idea if KO will actually be a good X and O's coach or have good game management, feel, etc.

I do know he stayed in the league for the last two years of his career because he was liked as a mentor to a young/talented group of guys. I know he seems like a genuine, likable guy.

I know others in the NBA like him for his basketball IQ and he could likely walk into an NBA coaching job easily. I know JC likes him as a recruiter and assistant. I know he is getting a ton of good press from recruits.

Is he ready to be head coach at UConn? I have no idea, but I think he gets a good shot at it.

There are examples of guys like Shaka Smart moving onto bigger schools and failing. There are examples of guys like KO failing when being promoted. Then of course there are successes on both counts.

I feel that if it comes down to KO versus Smart, UConn is in a win-win situation. If it comes down to KO versus "Rick Barnes" (someone like him, not him) then KO should be the choice.
 
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I would not want Stevens or smart as the coach. Don't like their style of play and the players they recruit
 
UConnSwag11 said:
I would not want Stevens or smart as the coach. Don't like their style of play and the players they recruit
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Forget about Stevens - that's never going to happen.

But do you ever think that maybe Shaka Smart recruits the players he does and plays the style that he does because he coaches at Virginia Commonwealth University? Do you expect Anthony Davis or Kemba Walker to commit to VCU?
 
HuskyBballFan said:
Forget about Stevens - that's never going to happen.

But do you ever think that maybe Shaka Smart recruits the players he does and plays the style that he does because he coaches at Virginia Commonwealth University? Do you expect Anthony Davis or Kemba Walker to commit to VCU?
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I'd give home a few more years to see where he takes his school and if he can recruit better players.
 
UConnSwag11 said:
I'd give home a few more years to see where he takes his school and if he can recruit better players.
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He has virtually his whole team back so he's going to win another 25+ games this year.

And no matter how many deep tournament runs he has, it doesn't change the fact that he coaches at a CAA school. I doubt he even tries to recruit the top 50 or so kids in each class unless they are local. When you're coaching at a mid-major level, the recruiting strategy is completely different. You're looking for 4 year guys who you think will develop into solid players in the second half of their career. Once he gets a high major job, his recruiting strategy instantly changes.
 
Hey i am not anti ollie. Just scared of the unknown .. :-)
 
HuskyBballFan said:
He has virtually his whole team back so he's going to win another 25+ games this year.

And no matter how many deep tournament runs he has, it doesn't change the fact that he coaches at a CAA school. I doubt he even tries to recruit the top 50 or so kids in each class unless they are local. When you're coaching at a mid-major level, the recruiting strategy is completely different. You're looking for 4 year guys who you think will develop into solid players in the second half of their career. Once he gets a high major job, his recruiting strategy instantly changes.
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A-10 as of July 1, 2012 for VCU bro.
 
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HuskyBballFan said:
Not sure what your point is here. Are you saying it was a mistake to recruit Boatright, Drummond, and Daniels? Pretty much every school not named Kentucky would have killed to have that class - and that's still true even after the fact.
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No that wasn't my point at all.
 
champs99and04 said:
He's shown that potential through the body of work of his career. Four years at UConn under Jim Calhoun, 12 years in the NBA, and coming up on his third year on the sidelines at UConn. Plus, he's helped haul in his fair share of recruits, granted, not to play for him, but he's certainly shown a knack for it. At the very least, you can see why Ollie would be a desireable canidate, right?
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Yes he deserves candidacy standing. There isn't anyone else in house besides Ollie that would be a viable candidate. That alone should grant him consideration.

It depends on what kind of car you want Ollie to drive for you. I feel comfortable giving him the keys to the best economy car money can buy. Practically speaking there is nothing wrong with that. On the other hand I would not ever give him the keys to the Bugatti Veyran Super Sports car right now. I believe the Bugatti would crash and burn killing all occupants. The question becomes as a UConn fan what kind of car do you want to drive and who can get you there safely and the fastest.

JMHO of course...;)
 
BLUEDOGHOUSE said:
It is the equivalent of investing in a cheap penny stock and hoping it makes the big boards. Who said Ollie shows potential? What has he done to even deserve that status?
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Calhoun evaluated him. Someone who knows 1000x more than you about this stuff.
 
upstater said:
Calhoun evaluated him. Someone who knows 1000x more than you about this stuff.
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It will also be interesting evaluating the 2013-14 bubble NIT team that UConn appears to be headed for due to Calhoun holding the program hostage. When that happens the sentiment may be a little different. I am 1000x sure of that.
 
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mauconnfan said:
I will say this, Manual reaches out of the "family" to a Smart or alike and how much of the history can be lost. How would a Smart keep the family together and create the atmosphere that so many of the recruits talk about so consistently?

It's JC's program and it needs to continue with a choice that keeps the momentum and continue to have the family hanging around the campus, playing at Mohegan every year etc etc.. Can anyone but Ollie do that? KO will have a great staff I'm sure......he is the choice eventually!!!
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Um, by winning and building his own group of players? You can still hold the Calhoun charity events. You canstill have JC involved with the university. I don't see a change as that big of a problem, though it certainly would be smoother with KO from a former player perspective.
 
HuskyBballFan said:
And no matter how many deep tournament runs he has, it doesn't change the fact that he coaches at a CAA school. I doubt he even tries to recruit the top 50 or so kids in each class unless they are local. When you're coaching at a mid-major level, the recruiting strategy is completely different. You're looking for 4 year guys who you think will develop into solid players in the second half of their career. Once he gets a high major job, his recruiting strategy instantly changes.
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Exactly, like Calhoun's did.
 
Interesting: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebas...ho-is-the-most-overrated-coach-in-the-country

"... I've long believed, actual coaching ranks pretty far down the list of things that are important for a man to succeed in this sport. I'll take the guy who is a great recruiter and great motivator -- and who has the ability to hire a great staff -- over the best Xs and Os guy every day."

"We were sitting inside the Dean Smith Center, and I asked why, after all these years, he still works so hard in recruiting, because he does -- and I think most would back me on this -- still work really hard recruiting. Williams' answer always stuck with me. Basically, he said he still recruits hard because he thinks of himself as a good coach but not as a great coach, and that he never wants to have to find out if he's good enough to win with average players."
 
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BLUEDOGHOUSE said:
It will also be interesting evaluating the 2013-14 bubble NIT team that UConn appears to be headed for due to Calhoun holding the program hostage. When that happens the sentiment may be a little different. I am 1000x sure of that.
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No it won't be different. It's pretty clear you severely underestimate Calhoun.
 
HuskyBballFan said:
He has virtually his whole team back so he's going to win another 25+ games this year.

And no matter how many deep tournament runs he has, it doesn't change the fact that he coaches at a CAA school. I doubt he even tries to recruit the top 50 or so kids in each class unless they are local. When you're coaching at a mid-major level, the recruiting strategy is completely different. You're looking for 4 year guys who you think will develop into solid players in the second half of their career. Once he gets a high major job, his recruiting strategy instantly changes.
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There's a difference though between 25 wins in a mid major and 25 at a power conference. Didn't he have an opportunity to coach at Illinois and a few other schools but he said no?
 
Calhoun's assistants have all been such great head coaches, I have absolute confidence that Kevn Ollie will be another in the long line of, well maybe 2, who were sort of successful at low mid-majors...
 
upstater said:
Calhoun evaluated him. Someone who knows 1000x more than you about this stuff.
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How many of Calhoun's assistants have gone on to be highly successful head coaches elsewhere? He also evaluated them. Jeez. Calhoun kis a good coach, but he hasn't exactly filled the head coaching ranks with his proteges.
 
Ts5034 said:
Well that says a lot right there. If KO is the next coach, he WILL get top recruits. There is no doubt in my mind. As far as the X's and O's go im not worried at all. Ollie was well seasoned throughout his long basketball career. First of all he is a PG and i believe that is like the equivalent to baseball how a lot of catchers make good managers. He played 4 yrs for JC as we all know, then went on to play 13 years in the NBA for what it seemed like a new team every year. Thats a lot of different teammates, coaches and systems over the years. What im trying to get at is KO probably has an idea of what he thinks can work on the basketball court. John Calipari isnt the best X and O coach out there by any means but he gets his share of wins because he gets the players.

I know nothing is guaranteed and im sure there will be some bumps in the road early just like there are for every first time HC. Ive read a lot of posts saying how this would be a great time for him to take over since there wont be any pressure and expectations with the post season ban and i agree 100%. I want JC here for as long as possible but if he decides to hang it up now, im all for Ollie taking over. I just cant see a really big name coach wanting to take the job. Brad Stevens is not coming here either. This should get interesting and im sure there will be a lot of heated debates here.
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I'm pretty sure we have a couple qualified assistants as well. Not sure if Blaney hangs around, but isn't Hobbs on the bench?
 
BLUEDOGHOUSE said:
and things have progressively gotten worse with the program since they committed on all fronts (1 in which Ollie was a coach on). Highlighted by our temperamental self centered Evel Knievel head coach who has lost all touch with reality (what a difference 1 year makes).
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Kidding right? Are you an idiot, or just a retread from the folks that wouldn't stop blathering about how Calhoun couldn't coach anymore, only to see him win NC #3....

Now go back to sleep...
 
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