Some quotes from Dave Benedict

[UConnDan97]

I don't know the only sport that was big when I went to school here was polo. We had great horses

East Campus forever! I loved going to Horsebarn Hill to see the horses. And I still do...

 

[gtcam]

East Campus forever! I loved going to Horsebarn Hill to see the horses. And I still do...

I remember as a kid going to all the barns - feeding the horses sugar cubes, sheering the sheep with the aggies, the smell and sounds of the pig barn and feeding the cows straw
Then taking girls there in high school and buying them ice cream
Then in college - seeing the animals in a whole different dimension (if you know what I mean!)
Bringing my kids up there with their grandparents where my parents and I could relive the experience through their eyes
And now bringing my grandkids up to see them - its not as friendly or as open as it once was but its still a thrill to me and gives me goosebumps
And then the ice cream..........................................

 

[Huskybass]

That doesn't really mean anything though. You can be a fan of whoever you want but that doesn't mean it's not different when you're actually a graduate from that school. These are college sports. You can't tell me it's not a different experience when you actually see players in your classes or see them at a house party or bar.

I had classes with a couple of players. Knew them well enough to be friendly. When we won the NIT in 88 I was on the floor of MSG, celebrating with the team when we won. You would have thought we won the Big Dance, people were so happy! I played pick up against Earl Kelley. I liked Earl, but he was a badass. Best to be on his good side. Gerry Besselink dated my friend Tina for a long time. So yeah, being there was a pretty great experience.

 

[Huskybass]

I remember as a kid going to all the barns - feeding the horses sugar cubes, sheering the sheep with the aggies, the smell and sounds of the pig barn and feeding the cows straw
Then taking girls there in high school and buying them ice cream
Then in college - seeing the animals in a whole different dimension (if you know what I mean!)
Bringing my kids up there with their grandparents where my parents and I could relive the experience through their eyes
And now bringing my grandkids up to see them - its not as friendly or as open as it once was but its still a thrill to me and gives me goosebumps
And then the ice cream.......

There is something special about the Dairy Bar. Always has been.

 

[SubbaBub]

What exactly are your sources for hearing of prospective replacements worthy of the job?! The website pros at the Hartford Courant or the freakin' boneyard! In order to find a replacement they'd kind of need to fire Ollie and start a search and interview people. Until that happens saying that there are or are not worthy replacements is pure conjecture. It is not and cannot be a reason or rationale for retaining Ollie. Dom Perno wasn't fired because Jim Calhoun was standing outside Storrs or anywhere else with his resume.

I doubt Brad Stevens is leaving the Celtics to come here. As such, any name we would attract is going to be an unknown. The names being thrown around here don't wow me. Hence, AD Dave should make that decision and face the music because it's his job.

The FB program went through this twice in the last six years. Both choices crashed hard. So much that most were giddy to have Randy back.
To fire KO is to end all connections to the Calhoun era as no one else from his coaching tree has had any real success. That's perfectly fine but it casts you into the void of short term coaches who will move onto other programs that can pay more if they do what we all want them to do. That's also fine.

Dave just needs to decide if KO is a lost cause and that is the best future for UConn. We'll get one chance at getting it right.

 

[jibsey]

Vance Jackson was already a major offensive force in many games for us and he was on track to continue starting with good production. The few times he posted up it looked like he had skills and even at 6’8” he would have been a better bet than our current bigs except for Carlton. KO should have sat him down and told him he was going to be one of the focuses along with Jalen in our offense and that they would all work toward getting better at defense. Somehow KO pissed him off and his father took that and finished it for him. He also rebounded, he was a solid body. I hate the attacks on him. He wasn’t perfect, a freshman with lots of upside.

 

[Javjudah]

Please stop it! Everyone knew Jackson was transferring, some thought it might happened at the end of the first semester. His dad believed that Vance should be the focal point of the offense. Vance was out the door before his meeting with Coach Ollie. There was a 1% chance he was going to stay and that was only If KO guaranteed he would start and be the focal point on offense.

 

[Whtdmd]

Vance Jackson was already a major offensive force in many games for us and he was on track to continue starting with good production. The few times he posted up it looked like he had skills and even at 6’8” he would have been a better bet than our current bigs except for Carlton. KO should have sat him down and told him he was going to be one of the focuses along with Jalen in our offense and that they would all work toward getting better at defense. Somehow KO pissed him off and his father took that and finished it for him. He also rebounded, he was a solid body. I hate the attacks on him. He wasn’t perfect, a freshman with lots of upside.

The thing also with Jackson was that he peak early. He was a top 15 player as a HS freshman and then slowly drop. I think he was in the top 50 at the end of the junior yr. His ranking was 70 when he got to UCONN. The was no great improvement in his game since the freshman yr in HS. He was not explosive and cannot beat his man one to one. The offense cannot run through him.

 

[jibsey]

Please stop it! Everyone knew Jackson was transferring, some thought it might happened at the end of the first semester. His dad believed that Vance should be the focal point of the offense. Vance was out the door before his meeting with Coach Ollie. There was a 1% chance he was going to stay and that was only If KO guaranteed he would start and be the focal point on offense.

A major part of coaching is creating an environment to get and keep the talent that helps you win. So all of the decommittments and transfers are no one’s fault?

 

[PAHusky]

I doubt Brad Stevens is leaving the Celtics to come here. As such, any name we would attract is going to be an unknown. The names being thrown around here don't wow me. Hence, AD Dave should make that decision and face the music because it's his job.

The FB program went through this twice in the last six years. Both choices crashed hard. So much that most were giddy to have Randy back.
To fire KO is to end all connections to the Calhoun era as no one else from his coaching tree has had any real success. That's perfectly fine but it casts you into the void of short term coaches who will move onto other programs that can pay more if they do what we all want them to do. That's also fine.

Dave just needs to decide if KO is a lost cause and that is the best future for UConn. We'll get one chance at getting it right.

Genuine question, who does wow you as a coach that is a realistic to even leave their current job, let alone come to UConn? This is complete inanity to me. We can't land a current NBA coach, so every other candidate is a question mark, so let's keep riding the guy who put up the worst season in the last twenty five years and then went ahead and did himself one better the next year? Lunacy

 

[Huskybass]

I wonder if KO recruited more based on rankings than fit and/or skillset? We seem to get talent, but it seldom fits well together. I see why Vance didn't work out, but wow he could have helped this year. Get that guy open looks and he could become a 20 ppg guy. Too bad we lost him due to strange circumstances.

 

[CL82]

Glenn Miller played the trombone, I believe Glen Miller is the man you are referring to.

No few people know that MAL really liked swing.

 

[Chief00]

I think Kevin is still coming back. The BOT meeting two wks ago told us that there is no extra money to spare. There will be HCKO unless an idiot is willing to come up with $10million

Be careful who you call an idiot, but to your point it won’t be $10 million.

 

[Chief00]

You have a source?

Trust in Chief.

 

[Chief00]

I’m not a casual fan because I didn’t go there I promise you that, and I know a ton of others in the same boat.

But you are a casual fan if you went there and can honestly say you will not be interested in UConn basketball any more if KO is back. Take a poll on those.

Listen I’m going to root for those kids who will wear that uni whether KO, Hurley, Jarvis or Cooley is coaching. Not sure how it can be any other way?

It’s interesting how various posters define “Casual Fan”. My sense is it will take a few more years to develop consensus. It will be an interesting journey.

 

[Chief00]

Enoch needed playing time, like most young unpolished bigs do. Need to let him learn. He had a quick hook here at UConn.

Who would you rather have at this point? Jackson being our #1/2 scorer or Larrier? I’ll take Jackson all day - even as a freshman he was better defensively, offensively, and basketball IQ wise than Larrier.

KO stuck with his boys and our record shows. 30-34 overall and 16-20 in conference. 10 Toes In.

I base everything off facts so if people want to subjectively say “we looked like we’re turning the corner with that Temple win and tough Houston loss” then so be it. Took us 62 games to turn the corner?

Can’t argue with Enoch, Jackson and Larrier observations.

 

[Chief00]

Not to burst anyone’s bubble, but putting stock into public statements made by the AD is folly. Ollie is still done.

It’s in everyone’s interest to bring this to a quick conclusion. Does KO want to prolong this when it’s possible the NCAA could hand UConn “cause” and he gets zero buyout? On the other hand, Dave needs to lock up a new coach. Hence it’s in everyone’s interest to agree on a swift negotiated buyout.

 

[Huskybass]

Please stop it! Everyone knew Jackson was transferring, some thought it might happened at the end of the first semester. His dad believed that Vance should be the focal point of the offense. Vance was out the door before his meeting with Coach Ollie. There was a 1% chance he was going to stay and that was only If KO guaranteed he would start and be the focal point on offense.

We had a kid, who as a freshman, led the conference in 3 point shooting %. Why not make him a featured part of the offense? It's not like this roster has other far better options. Vance could have been a huge help this year.

 

[dennismenace]

"It's going to be sad for him to go," said Vance Jackson Sr., Vance's father, Tuesday. "It's nothing that we really wanted to do. We thought it was best for him."

Jackson Sr. said his son can do a lot more than he showed playing for the Huskies, but he didn't see anything changing for the better next season.

"Vance just knows he can do a lot more with the basketball," Vance Jackson Sr. said. "UConn is just more associated with guards and the guards create for everybody. ... I just feel like it's limiting his abilities by just sitting in the corner ready to shoot. They don't have a plan to change anything for him. Vance can get to the basket a lot. He just wasn't allowed to play like that."

This from the New London Day.

What was KO supposed to do? Have Vance "drive" into the lane? Run the point? Dominate the offensive glass? What a delusional rant. Vance = catch and shoot. Anything else would require extra work in the gym on handle and working on getting into position to rebound.

 

[mauconnfan]

We had a kid, who as a freshman, led the conference in 3 point shooting %. Why not make him a featured part of the offense? It's not like this roster has other far better options. Vance could have been a huge help this year.

Why not bring his dad in to coach too? I mean how stupid is it to let this kid go, his dad knows the game he was a great player, or at least his dad says so. I mean the lunacy of letting him leave - just hire dad heck you could tell he knew more about the game than KO did. I am sure at some point he could learn how to play defense because dad did forget to teach that obviously. He and Larrier would have been a force on D, I mean they would have had to average 25 each to make up for what they gave up but the offense would've flowed. LOL

 

[UConnDad]

It is definitely different if you went to the school of the team you're a fan of. I'm not saying there aren't any non-alum fans because obviously that's not true but it will never be the same thing.

I feel it's more if you actually attended games vs being an alum. Being in the arena is way different than not.

 

[UConnDad]

I can't believe the AD was ambiguous. Regardless of everyone's silly & pointless debates and fan-rating systems, if Kevin Ollie returns to UConn next year I cannot imagine how they will sell tickets to basketball games. The outcomes and product have gone unmistakably downhill. The fan dmeasuring contest is ridiculous, UConn needs to have ALL the fans on board to right the ship and in this past year Ollie failed after getting the 'turn things around or else' offseason evaluation. They ain't selling a ticket with a buy back into redemption again.

Sounds like an upgrade in my seats!

 

[bazzketball13]

. He’s back next year and I know that for a fact.

 

[bazzketball13]

Decision has already been made.