The Athletic: KO Article

[FDNY99]

I think many thought Ollie would have sizable learning curve coming into Uconn. Winning the NC was a HUGE bonus and I think maybe set Ollie up for higher expectations from us fans. Especially the way in which he coached some of those games and put the right lineups on the court and seemed to outmatch the likes of Izzo and Calipari. Not taking that away from Ollie, but those were Calhoun's players and very much a Calhoun system. What we've seen since is a struggle by Ollie's program to field a complete team. Whether it's injuries, transfers, or lack of development this has been a huge issue as of late and created big holes in the line-up. It's also part of what being a coach entails and it's where Ollie has struggled.
Yes, it took Calhoun 13 seasons before getting his first NC. But it was a positive ride the entire way and I think as we fans loved it. And in many cases spoiled by it. Yes, there were some devastating blows along the way but anyone could see the trend and it was exciting. Right or wrong, Ollie is taking over at the absolute pinnacle. Maintaining that level is awfully difficult for any coach, let alone one that is relatively new with little coaching experience.
I like Ollie as coach. I like that he is a former Uconn player and extends the Uconn family. I want him to succeed in this role as I think that is a great storyline and would be great for both Uconn and Ollie. BUT, from what I'm seeing, I don't think Ollie is going to get us there anytime soon.
The only reason I think our conference affiliation hurts us in this matter is we no longer have the opportunity to languish with an under-performing coach. If we were in the ACC or BIG, Ollie might have a longer leash. We are now in a game of musical chairs, so to speak and when the next round of realignment happens, we need to be in the best shape possible. I think 5-6 seasons is long enough to develop a trend with which you can say it's working or it's not. Unless Ollie shows an uptick this year (and it needs to be more than a positive record)
like beating a ranked team, going on a long winni streak, or or making the NCAA's I think it's time for a change.


Turning this into a conference affiliation debate is a red herring.

Excellent points @Marty Jackson!

 

[Huskymagic]

It takes a special someone to build a program and maintain continuity. Ollie is not that guy nor will he ever be. He can win if all the right ingredients are already there as in either all top 20 guys playing or players that have already been developed and recruited by someone else.


With our history, our recruiting and player evaluation and development should be a hell of a lot better, but it is no better than a middle of the pack AAC team unfortunately.

PS: Ollie's calling card is recruiting and he he hasn't even been able to do that. Pikiell would win immediately at UCONN and recruit better and coach better and develop players better.

 

[Javjudah]

That is complete bs. One of Geno's assistants will take over and they will still be one of the top teams in the country. You think Chris Dailey and Shea Ralph don't understand Geno's style and standards after decades with him? The women will still be a powerhouse after Geno leaves.

Look at Tennessee after the great Pat Summit retired. Will UCONN be in the top 25 frequently? Yes, but we will be lucky to win 1 National Championship after he retires. Like I said the top recruits come to UCONN to play for Geno. It will be difficult to replicate what he's accomplished and the chances of this success continue is slim. As it stands on the men side it's difficult to walk in the Great Jim Calhoun shoes. Ollie was fortunate to have a national Championship under his belt. He needs time to build his own system and legacy. This goes for any future Coach that walks in the door at UCONN. Storrs Connecticut is no preferred destination. It's one of the last place a top recruit will go unless they like the coach. With this said, do you think Akinjo, who will be a superstar and Matthews are coming to Storrs because of the University? They are coming because of Coach Ollie. Ollie leaves neither will be at UCONN next season. The cycle continues...

 

[Waquoit]

fake narrative, he hit a reset last year and a few kids transferred because they didn't like what they were told, that's not some ongoing systematic problem you're suggesting it is

Yours is the fake narrative. He fired a coach and ran a few kids off to buy himself some time. He gets until next year to show something, anything.

 

[Matrim55]

With this said, do you think Akinjo, who will be a superstar and Matthews are coming to Storrs because of the University?

Akinjo is a really nice player and I'm happy we landed him, but hold up with the "superstar" talk. He's not that guy.

 

[Stainmaster]

His specialty is landing lower level recruits and 5th year guys. And there is a reason that 5th year guys are still playing college basketball.

Nope.

Then again, you think there's a solid chance his replacement is a "solid guy," so that shows how little you know about this business.

 

[husky429]

Akinjo is a really nice player and I'm happy we landed him, but hold up with the "superstar" talk. He's not that guy.

Finally... someone says this. People are acting like he's the top guard in the country who will turn this program around, but he's not.

He has a CHANCE to be a solid player with good coaching and hard work. Currently he's not a very effecienct player at all, but has tenacity and drive. Those are the ingredients, but he hasn't been baked yet.

Personally, I think Matthews has a better chance of being great, despite his ranking. He is the definition of an athletic versatile wing--exactly the way the game is moving towards. There isn't a lot of room for 5'9 guards in basketball. Takes someone with a lot of hard work to get there. Much more wiggle room when you're 6'7 and can shoot

 

[Zissou]

Villanova analogy.
Jay took 4 seasons to get to his first NCAA tournament.

Jay had a great run with high seeds from 04/05 to his 08/09 Final Four team.

At the end of the 09/10 season the program started to decline. We went into some tough times including a losing season (13-19).

Jay hit the reset. I think he had lost the team. We had a bunch of players leave and he rebuilt with mid-high recruits, not top recruits. The assistant coaches turned over. Jay changed some things. He probably would not have survived the valley at a school like Kentucky. He was allowed to at Nova, where winning isn't the top priority.

Over the past four seasons Nova is the winningest program, period. Our worst seed is a 2 and we are going for our 4th straight 30 win season. This is as good as Nova has ever been.

Jay has this fantastic run because he survived the valley and the reset. That doesn't mean KO will, but it's possible. He had tough luck with injuries. In my opinion he deserves this year and next to see if the rebuild works.

On the other hand JT3 had an early Final Four, and then couldn't recover from his tailspin.

I think KO at least deserves the chance to rebound. Outside opinion!

 

[Huskybass]

fake narrative, he hit a reset last year and a few kids transferred because they didn't like what they were told, that's not some ongoing systematic problem you're suggesting it is

Willful ignorance at its best. Please tell me how UConn needed to go to overtime against a 1-8 Columbia team despite an enormous disparity in talent and got absolutely blown away by Arkansas. Is this really the coach you want?

 

[8893]

Is this really the coach you want?

This isn't the conversation I want. Not in December anyway.

 

[Zissou]

You didn't hire a proven legend like Coach K to replace JC. You hired KO, who some would think needs to gain HC experience, have some success, but also have some failures and a learning curve.

Even Coach K had that period in the mid 90s when he had a tough stretch, only a few years after championships.

 

[8893]

Even Coach K had that period in the mid 90s when he had a tough stretch, only a few years after championships.

Yeah but he had a bad back then so you can't really blame him.

 

[Huskybass]

This isn't the conversation I want. Not in December anyway.

Sorry for pointing out some facts. This doesn't get better just by pretending it's not bad.

Start with a clean slate and watch the next three games. Tell me what you see that you like and tell me what you see that's not up to UConn standards. Pretending that everything is ok isn't the answer.

 

[8893]

Sorry for pointing out some facts. This doesn't get better just by pretending it's not bad.

Start with a clean slate and watch the next three games. Tell me what you see that you like tell me what you see that's really not very good. I'm pretty sure you'll come away with the opinion that the negatives far outweigh the positives.

Please. It's gone way beyond pointing out some facts. The board has become a forum to lobby for replacements and explain why recruits shouldn't come here, which I think is distasteful and counterproductive at this point in the season.

 

[imno1]

Villanova analogy.
Jay took 4 seasons to get to his first NCAA tournament.

Jay had a great run with high seeds from 04/05 to his 08/09 Final Four team.

At the end of the 09/10 season the program started to decline. We went into some tough times including a losing season (13-19).

Jay hit the reset. I think he had lost the team. We had a bunch of players leave and he rebuilt with mid-high recruits, not top recruits. The assistant coaches turned over. Jay changed some things. He probably would not have survived the valley at a school like Kentucky. He was allowed to at Nova, where winning isn't the top priority.

Over the past four seasons Nova is the winningest program, period. Our worst seed is a 2 and we are going for our 4th straight 30 win season. This is as good as Nova has ever been.

Jay has this fantastic run because he survived the valley and the reset. That doesn't mean KO will, but it's possible. He had tough luck with injuries. In my opinion he deserves this year and next to see if the rebuild works.

On the other hand JT3 had an early Final Four, and then couldn't recover from his tailspin.

I think KO at least deserves the chance to rebound. Outside opinion!

Probably on of the most reasonable and sensible posts in a long while and from an outsider without an agenda.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

This whole US News ranking pissing match is really tiresome.

Either you standout as an Ivy League guy or standout in a bad way from say a Southwest Louisiana State.

90% of the people are in the same boat and after your first job it doesn't matter all too much anyway.

But hey if you want to argue Clemson vs. Villanova's ranking on some newspaper's annual review, knock yourself out.

 

[8893]

This whole US News ranking pissing match is really tiresome.

Either you standout as an Ivy League guy or standout in a bad way from say a Southwest Louisiana State.

90% of the people are in the same boat and after your first job it doesn't matter all too much anyway.

But hey if you want to argue Clemson vs. Villanova's ranking on some newspaper's annual review, knock yourself out.

That's what I was trying to say about Georgetown vs. the field in the AAC and the rest of the NBE. IMO it's the only university among them with the potential to be difference maker in terms of changing your trajectory in an Ivy-like way.

 

[whaler11]

This whole US News ranking pissing match is really tiresome.

Either you standout as an Ivy League guy or standout in a bad way from say a Southwest Louisiana State.

90% of the people are in the same boat and after your first job it doesn't matter all too much anyway.

But hey if you want to argue Clemson vs. Villanova's ranking on some newspaper's annual review, knock yourself out.

I’d rather read that Diaco was recruiting well than another thread about parsing the 73rd best school against the 94th.

There is nothing worse than when someone who graduated decades ago talks about the value of their degree. If you haven’t converted in three years post-grad nobody will ever care again.

 

[superjohn]

Nope.

Then again, you think there's a solid chance his replacement is a "solid guy," so that shows how little you know about this business.

Your claim that Uconn can't attract a solid coach is so incredibly ridiculous.

 

[superjohn]

Yours is the fake narrative. He fired a coach and ran a few kids off to buy himself some time. He gets until next year to show something, anything.

He doesn't get next year if this year is the same as the last, which I think it will be.

 

[Stainmaster]

Your claim that Uconn can't attract a solid coach is so incredibly ridiculous.

Your blind faith pollyanna optimism is what's ridiculous.

 

[intlzncster]

He doesn't get next year if this year is the same as the last, which I think it will be.

How do they do this financially? I can't think of how it would get done?

 

[Paesano]

Your blind faith pollyanna optimism is what's ridiculous.

OMG, this is beautiful!!! Dude, look in an *!$@ing mirror!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Zissou]

How do they do this financially? I can't think of how it would get done?

 

[Stainmaster]

OMG, this is beautiful!!! Dude, look in an *!$@ing mirror!!!!!!!!!!

Your characterization of me is completely false and inaccurate. You live in a fantasy world.