Seth Davis Show: Kevin Ollie | The Boneyard

Seth Davis Show: Kevin Ollie

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mauconnfan said:
What scares me the most is you listen and watch and know that kids would play for him in a heartbeat. So why aren't they coming?
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This has been my biggest thing since we won the national championship and I'm still beating it like a dead horse. Why isn't there a line in the hall outside his office of the best players? We have the right coach, just get the talent in his hands.
 
mauconnfan said:
What scares me the most is you listen and watch and know that kids would play for him in a heartbeat. So why aren't they coming?
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I agree 100% but I do think we need to give it some time. In the few years with Ollie, we have seen some good and bad. The good will remain good. He quickly locked up regional players like Adams and Enoch that were must gets. As far as the misses go, I think if we take off our UConn goggles for a minute most of it makes sense. The Prince Ali de-commit I believe caught the staff off guard and left it scrambling. By doing so, it seems that the staff got involved very late with some of these players. In a vacuum, most kids I think would choose UConn over VCU. But how late did we get involved with Mack? Shaka was probably on him for years and we showed love in June? So even though we missed and on a paper it looks bad, it makes sense. With Derrick Jones it was probably grades. Again, on paper looks bad but makes sense. My point is, there are reasons we are missing on these guys that with time will sort itself out. I think Ollie will land a huge 2016 class and never look back!
 
mauconnfan said:
What scares me the most is you listen and watch and know that kids would play for him in a heartbeat. So why aren't they coming?
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Because he isn't the only guy recruiting them. There are other charismatic individuals out on the recruiting trail who are also giving them reasons why their schools are the best, why they're the best coach for them, etc. We're UCONN fans so of course we would discount these other coaches in a heartbeat, but kids today don't.
 
Conference and he has yet to show he can put guys in the NBA, though we all know that he knows what it takes.

JC was the absolute best in getting guys to improve and maximize their potential. It allowed a lot of guys to get NBA contract they might not have earned solely on their own.

KO doesn't have that track record. 13 year NBA career, lots of NBA contacts, yes. But making guys better, you have Shabazz and Boat with a little uncertainty on how much KO contributed to that.

I don't think recruits are making that exact calculation, but comparing KO to K or Izzo, or Squid the default assumption is those guys are better at getting guys to the league, true or not. At the top end recruit level that's what they want to know.

Other guys may have other reasons like location or shoe tie ins, or whatever, but the guys looking to the NBA look at UK et al.
 
Also, something I realized last night: we have only 8 players in the NBA (that number's considerably down from history), only 3 are impact players (Rudy, Kemba, and Drummond) and one of them is injured. Caron's lost his spot in the starting lineup, Gordon and Lamb are warming the bench, and the jury's out on Shabazz. Villanueva is a nice bench piece, but recruits don't want to schools that produce nice bench pieces. Using that as a sales pitch is for the Butlers of the world. Bottom line, our visibility as a brand is iffy compare to Duke's 18 players on NBA rosters, UK's 17, UNC's 16, Kansas's 16...even Arizona has 12.
 
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Just watched the show. I'm sort of disappointed that after KO talked about players who want to score the winning bucket but don't respect the process, Seth didn't follow up with a question on what it was like to play with Allen Iverson :rolleyes:
 
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SubbaBub said:
Conference and he has yet to show he can put guys in the NBA, though we all know that he knows what it takes.

JC was the absolute best in getting guys to improve and maximize their potential. It allowed a lot of guys to get NBA contract they might not have earned solely on their own.

KO doesn't have that track record. 13 year NBA career, lots of NBA contacts, yes. But making guys better, you have Shabazz and Boat with a little uncertainty on how much KO contributed to that.

I don't think recruits are making that exact calculation, but comparing KO to K or Izzo, or Squid the default assumption is those guys are better at getting guys to the league, true or not. At the top end recruit level that's what they want to know.

Other guys may have other reasons like location or shoe tie ins, or whatever, but the guys looking to the NBA look at UK et al.
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He put Bazz in the NBA. Edit: Sorry should have read your whole post before replying.
 
Stairmaster said:
Because he isn't the only guy recruiting them. There are other charismatic individuals out on the recruiting trail who are also giving them reasons why their schools are the best, why they're the best coach for them, etc. We're UCONN fans so of course we would discount these other coaches in a heartbeat, but kids today don't.
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Except most of thew other "charismatic guys" don't have rings..........
 
mauconnfan said:
What scares me the most is you listen and watch and know that kids would play for him in a heartbeat. So why aren't they coming?
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two things... the post season ban/schollies and the conference we're in... but I think with the way hamilton is playing and with adams and enoch coming in, it should get the ball rolling...
 
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jibsey said:
This has been my biggest thing since we won the national championship and I'm still beating it like a dead horse. Why isn't there a line in the hall outside his office of the best players? We have the right coach, just get the talent in his hands.
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He tells them they have to WORK. Some kids can't walk that talk.
 
SubbaBub said:
Conference and he has yet to show he can put guys in the NBA, though we all know that he knows what it takes.

JC was the absolute best in getting guys to improve and maximize their potential. It allowed a lot of guys to get NBA contract they might not have earned solely on their own.

KO doesn't have that track record. 13 year NBA career, lots of NBA contacts, yes. But making guys better, you have Shabazz and Boat with a little uncertainty on how much KO contributed to that.

I don't think recruits are making that exact calculation, but comparing KO to K or Izzo, or Squid the default assumption is those guys are better at getting guys to the league, true or not. At the top end recruit level that's what they want to know.

Other guys may have other reasons like location or shoe tie ins, or whatever, but the guys looking to the NBA look at UK et al.
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IMO ollie contributed a lot to the growth of the players and recruiting since he got here... i would watch him work kemba before game, same thing with bazz until he became head coach... Look at the improvement of boat over the years and brimahs jumpshot, even hamiltons improvement since the beginning of the year. he needs to build a resume for recruits to look at, he already has 13 years in the nba and a NC... the conference is the biggest weapon used against us...
 
This was an outstanding interview. I don't believe we can overstate its value. My impressions:

1)Seth Davis admires KO. I don't think he's the only person in the media to feel this way.
2)KO categorically stated his loyalty to UConn
3) KO made a reference to his personal problem when addressing his loyalty. So his personal problem is unlikely to change his status as coach.
4)His players come before anything. He's the anti Calipari. But he's not Belichick or JC. He takes the time for interviews, expresses himself really well, and shows a sincerity about who he is and his relationship to the other coaches, players and the university.
5)His attitude regarding personal development is second to none. IMO he put to rest the debate we have about motivating players. His position is that motivation has to come from within. As time goes on, I believe KO will be choosing players who have that ability. JC attracted players, not exclusively of course, who needed help in getting motivated. It certainly worked but I think it's healthier for people to rely on their own ability to be driven vs. relying on getting it from an outside source. Think Emeka, KO, Ray Allen vs. SR. Of course sometimes a player just needs the catalyst and can take things over for themselves, but it is easier for the coach if he can eliminate some of this process.
6)KO is a developmental sponge. His statements about the NBA and about coaches says it all to me. He observes things well and finds things in every situation that can help him develop. Very astute and not interested in the status quo.
7)The transition from legacy coach to KO was expressed in as positive a light as can be expected. He's not just throwing out cliches about being his own man. JC has turned over the reigns and trusts KO to be who he is. This has not been the case at several other institutions although it was the case at Michigan State. JC knew the pitfalls in the process, made a brilliant selection, and now has bowed out completely. He did not let his ego get in the way of making UConn a program.

Sooner or later this will translate into the type of recruiting success to mollify even the most skeptical of us. I'm sure of it. So I intend to be patient.
 
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So where else are you looking son? UConn? Well that's solid school. Jim Calhoun did a great job there. And it sure wasn't easy! Tough to get kids to come there since it's way up north . Completely understandable that he had to bend the rules a bit. I think those sanctions are just about over aren't they? So did they fix the academics up there? Yeah NCAA had to sanction them for that too. Well I'm sure Coach Ollie will fix all that. He's a fine young coach. I'm sure the NBA will be calling him up in the next year or two...
 
Great interview.

KO mentioned JC's show. What shows does JC do on TV / radio? When / where is it on?
 
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sledog said:
Great interview.

KO mentioned JC's show. What shows does JC do on TV / radio? When / where is it on?
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ESPN analyst. Has done color commenting in several games. Surprisingly coherent and understandable. Not surprisingly very astute. Not sure where to find a listing when he is doing games.
 
I hope that every UConn fan on this board takes the time to watch this interview. If you do not come away from this 35 minutes thinking we have the right man for this job, then you are either delusional or a hater. I would send my son to be coached by Kevin Ollie any day of the week. He gets it. About life... and being the leader of boys, and helping them to grow into young men we can be proud of.

Unfortunately, some of the posters on this board don't.

No one, no way, no how could have asked for anything more out of the first 2 full seasons and almost completed 3rd season since Calhoun's departure. And as much as I will always feel Coach Calhoun did as good a building and sustaining job as college basketball has ever seen, he left a smoking pile of crap for anyone coming after him. What Ollie has done is nothing short of amazing.

Am I disappointed at not getting one or two of these recruits we targeted (we were late to the game, but looked like we had a legitimate shot with Tevin Mack, Chris Clarke and Derrick Jones)... sure. Although at least one of them is on faulty ground academically, which DOES make a difference to our coach. But seeing what he is about... the substance of this man... and the results he has brought us so far... I think gives him the right to have some breathing room - a lot of breathing room - and continue to grow into this job.

Over time, the results will speak for themselves. Both on and off of the basketball court.
 
"I'd rather be interested in my players than be interesting."

A thousand words in a single sentence.

If there is a guy out there who is just the anti-Calipari, it's Kevin Ollie.
 
We will be all set if Terence Samuel has a 13 year NBA journeyman career or if Hamilton becomes an All-Star, etc.
 
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