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Simi Shittu Update

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Tenspro2002 said:
On the other hand, if Ollie is retained to preside over mediocrity, you're creating the perception that UConn is a second-rate program that doesn't take pride in itself.
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And when Ollie's replacement gets fired after 3 years when he can't clean up the mess and the fan base loses patience, no coach worth his salt will touch the program with a ten-foot pole. I don't think you comprehend champs's point that potential coaches views the program through a very different pair of eyes than you do.
 
Stairmaster said:
And when Ollie's replacement gets fired after 3 years when he can't clean up the mess and the fan base loses patience, no coach worth his salt will touch the program with a ten-foot pole.
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Pikiell would come running.
 
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champs99and04 said:
You're creating that perception amongst opposing fans, maybe, but their opinion doesn't matter.
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It's not just the fans it's also opposing coaches. Just go listen back to when Kelvin Sampson beat us this year and stated "good coaching that's what UCONN had"
Good coaches like Greg Marshall don't lose to Tulsa yearly and don't make it mission impossible to finish above 6th in the AAC.

If we have a great year this year then this conversation can be put to rest,and I'd love for this to happen but Ollies seat is hotter than you think and it's not just the opinion of fans.
 
champs99and04 said:
Serious question: is there speculation outside of this board that he is on the hot seat? Because I get the sense that this might be one of those scenarios where people outside our small circle perceive his job to be much safer than we do.

It's also worth noting - and you've brought this up in the past - that the coaching community will be incredulous when and if Ollie is let go. If you think coaches have become indignant before about this sort of thing, just wait until a non P5 program wants to get rid of a title winning coach in his 40's four or five years removed from a championship. Right or wrong, that's something that has to factor into the decision. If Ollie is canned you're creating the perception that UConn is a place with unreasonable expectations and a short fuse.
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The Reddit college basketball board is not full of informative content so take it fwiw but it seems like the majority of people do not have KO in high esteem and wouldn't surprised to see him canned. Did you still post on the general board on TOS? Any feel for their pulse?
 
People just bash KO because he hasn't had long term positive results. You can't say that he'll turn things around because he's never really had to. However, he had a more challenging start than people give him credit for and he handles amazingly well. The big question is, does KO have the chops or was Shabazz just that good?
 
I don't think the program would be as screwed post KO as many seem to think. The brand and facilities are strong enough to at least keep recruiting as high or higher than SMU or Cinci and a solid coach should have the team in the top 25 mix every year. This may not be enough for some and our dwindling fanbase will shed more members but I have a very hard time seeing the program falling off the map. In my view, the opportunity to return to the glory days seems to be diminishing and I do agree that our best chance to regain status is if KO gets it together.
 
walker11 said:
I don't think the program would be as screwed post KO as many seem to think. The brand and facilities are strong enough to at least keep recruiting as high or higher than SMU or Cinci and a solid coach should have the team in the top 25 mix every year. This may not be enough for some and our dwindling fanbase will shed more members but I have a very hard time seeing the program falling off the map. In my view, the opportunity to return to the glory days seems to be diminishing and I do agree that our best chance to regain status is if KO gets it together.
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If 2018 goes poorly enough on-court and recruiting wise that KO is let go, how long do you think it would take a hypothetical replacement to turn the program around (especially given the likelihood of Adams and Larrier going pro rather than take their chances under a new HC) ? Both that length of time and the lower ceiling you mention will certainly scare quite a few people away.

Additionally, I think that we within the fanbase are far quicker to divorce KO from the "brand" than the rest of the population at large (probably because we're freaked out about how much the past few years actually affects our long-term image and would prefer to live in a world where we can easily get "back to normal" once he's out). I don't think cutting ties -- which may end up being necessary regardless -- is going to a) automatically get rid of all of the bad juju surrounding the program, or b) make it easy on another coach who's trying to reverse the narrative.
 
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Dave Benedict has to have his pulse on things and make a judgment: is KO developing as a coach and repairing his weaknesses with the support of a complementary staff, or is he failing to progress because of some irremediable failing. If KO is developing, he's shown enough strengths that you have to give him more time, even if some of the struggles continue a bit longer.
 
If we can make a nice run this year the recruiting should turn in our favor. We have to remind these kids that Uconn is the place to be. Theres nothing a coach can say to convey that to a kid but showing it out on the court can make it loud and clear. I think KO is on the clock if we have another bad season and another bad off season. I think we rise like the phoenix out of the ashes that have been the last couple years.
 
walker11 said:
The Reddit college basketball board is not full of informative content so take it fwiw but it seems like the majority of people do not have KO in high esteem and wouldn't surprised to see him canned. Did you still post on the general board on TOS? Any feel for their pulse?
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I still post on the national board now and again but have never posted on the UConn board. You probably know as much as me.
 
If uconn has a solid season then wins a game or 2 in the NCAA tourney and the off the court drama stays hidden or non-existent... we will be more than fine. Winning cures all.
 
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Stairmaster said:
Of course it isn't. KO's later "issues" do not detract from his performance in '13-14. Next question.
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I guess he'd question JC whether he had the chops or was Kemba that good in '11 huh?
 
mauconnfan said:
I guess he'd question JC whether he had the chops or was Kemba that good in '11 huh?
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That's was the point of my post. We don't have a long body of work from KO that allows us to say,"no problem, he'll figure this out like he always does".

With JC, a horrible season now and then was an accepted part of the process. You knew he'd come back from it because you'd seen him do it repeatedly.
 
It's really quite simple. A perceived strength has become a weakness which has led to underwhelming results on the court and a disastrous one off it. Last year was one of the worst we have seen in the past thirty and the future doesn't really appear to be much better. Of course, things can change quickly. If they don't and next year has any resemblance to last year, this staff has to go. KO was always about personal relationships and relating to the kids, not about X's and O's. He has dug himself a deep hole and now has 8 months to climb out of it.
 
djct1999 said:
It's really quite simple. A perceived strength has become a weakness which has led to underwhelming results on the court and a disastrous one off it. Last year was one of the worst we have seen in the past thirty and the future doesn't really appear to be much better. Of course, things can change quickly. If they don't and next year has any resemblance to last year, this staff has to go. KO was always about personal relationships and relating to the kids, not about X's and O's. He has dug himself a deep hole and now has 8 months to climb out of it.
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It's not Xs and Os. And we know that because his excellent relationships lead to wins over Donovan, Izzo, Hoiberg, Calapari, Jay Wright? Or because he had such great talent that national championship year?
 
Figuring out how to coach an 8 guy team to greatness is not the only responsibility of a head coach. Finding the guys who can make up that 8 guy team, and complement each other so well that they can be great together, and who want to respond to your coaching, is another responsibility. It's the latter that he's struggled with. He can learn, and he's gotten onto his staff a few highly regarded recruiters who are strong where he's been weak.
 
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pj said:
Figuring out how to coach an 8 guy team to greatness is not the only responsibility of a head coach. Finding the guys who can make up that 8 guy team, and complement each other so well that they can be great together, and who want to respond to your coaching, is another responsibility. It's the latter that he's struggled with. He can learn, and he's gotten onto his staff a few highly regarded recruiters who are strong where he's been weak.
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And we still lose a top 80 recruit to Rutgers.
 
upstater said:
It's not Xs and Os. And we know that because his excellent relationships lead to wins over Donovan, Izzo, Hoiberg, Calapari, Jay Wright? Or because he had such great talent that national championship year?
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You need to stop living in 2014. The arguement is stale. I will take a sample set of 90 games over 6, it's a lot more revealing.


Why isn't Pitino on that list? Oh yeah, because he beat us by a combined 60 plus points that year.

To weaken your argument further, 2014 was won by kids who overlapped with Calhoun. The further removed Coach Calhoun is from the program, the worse it gets. See a trend?
 
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djct1999 said:
You need to stop living in 2014. The arguement is stale. I will take a sample set of 90 games over 6, it's a lot more revealing.

Why isn't Pitino on that list? Oh yeah, because he beat us by a combined 60 plus points that year.

To weaken your argument further, 2014 was won by kids who overlapped with Calhoun. The further removed Coach Calhoun is from the program, the worse it gets. See a trend?
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No, Pitino lost multiple games to Josh Pastner that year, and couldn't beat him. Couldn't beat Calipari multiple times either. And Calipari couldn't beat Donovan all 3 times they played. And Donovan couldn't beat Ollie the 2 times they player.

The array of coaches Ollie beat is much more meaningful than any head-to-head.

AND it was about Xs and Os.

The idea that Calhoun has somehow taught Daniels, Boatright, in the 1 year he had them, and that this was more meaningful than the 2 or 3 years Ollie had them, it's completely bogus. This board denigrated Napier during his sophomore year. He ramped up his game during his junior and senior years.

And it's not only that. The 2014 team was lacking in talent compared to the 3 of the 4 teams it beat in succession. (With the exception of Florida). You can't credit the talent on that team for the victories for the simple reason that they were the ONLY recent champ to win with only 1 NBA player. That was a true TEAM effort, more of a team than almost any recent one that anybody can think of.

And the Xs and Os were solid.
 
upstater said:
No, Pitino lost multiple games to Josh Pastner that year, and couldn't beat him. Couldn't beat Calipari multiple times either. And Calipari couldn't beat Donovan all 3 times they played. And Donovan couldn't beat Ollie the 2 times they player.

The array of coaches Ollie beat is much more meaningful than any head-to-head.

AND it was about Xs and Os.

The idea that Calhoun has somehow taught Daniels, Boatright, in the 1 year he had them, and that this was more meaningful than the 2 or 3 years Ollie had them, it's completely bogus. This board denigrated Napier during his sophomore year. He ramped up his game during his junior and senior years.

And it's not only that. The 2014 team was lacking in talent compared to the 3 of the 4 teams it beat in succession. (With the exception of Florida). You can't credit the talent on that team for the victories for the simple reason that they were the ONLY recent champ to win with only 1 NBA player. That was a true TEAM effort, more of a team than almost any recent one that anybody can think of.

And the Xs and Os were solid.
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Ok, I read what you wrote and the arguement still is stale. Stop living in 2014. 4 years later, the program is a shell of what it was at that time.

KO was compensated for that run. Its long over due for him to earn it.
 
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