The Next Coach | The Boneyard

The Next Coach

Who is the next coach

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CTFIRERETIRED

CTFIRERETIRED

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With the annual Calhoun departure, are we seeing the end of the line here? Coach Calhoun's health is now becoming a major issue. He is 69, 3 time Cancer survivor, now this problem with the spine. I know there is a hope that he returns, but how is this effecting the recruiting process? Right now there are 3 in house candidates, and who knows how many out of house candidates. My thinking is the pick will be from within the system. Throw out Howie [Dickenman] CENTRAL, and Tom [Moore]. The smart money is on the 3 assistants on the bench right now, with the "favorite"
being Kevin Ollie........................at least, if I was betting, that is who I would put my money on.
 
Jim Calhoun is coming back, he's not ready to quit
 
I think the university would be short sited not to at least take a look at the external market - I mean, JC might come back but at 70 with a consistent run of varying health issues, the guy can't have much left in the tank and really has to be thinking about moving on, for his own sake. Ollie is a nice story, but I've moved to the camp whereas I think it's going to be hard to throw a guy in there with limited assisting and no head coaching. He seems raw as well. The brand has built up to the level whereas it deserves the best option. A rookie coach and few bad years with the BE falling apart and it could take a while to repair.
 
Bad mojo here. Calhoun could be back in a few weeks if he we get lucky and his condition improves...
 
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willie99 said:
Jim Calhoun is coming back, he's not ready to quit
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Even if he comes back in time for the tourney, he'll retire at the end of the season. The only reason he didn't retire after last year's championship was because he felt obligated to serve his suspension.
 
i thought ollie was a shoe-in until the season started. that he did not fill-in as head coach for any of the 4 games calhoun missed tells the story. the next coach will come from outside of the program.
 
campcalhoun2009 said:
Ollie is 100% the next coach, I don't think anyone else would even be considered
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I honestly don't think Ollie has a very good chance of being the successor to JC when JC decides it is time to retire. Ollie only has 1 1/2 years of experience as an Assistant Coach and he doesn't interview (with the media) very well, and I think that will hurt his chances. I know he would bring fire and passion to the position and he would stress defense and taking care of the ball. However, I believe he hurts himself by not sounding as articulate as he could. Unfortunately, perception is sometimes as important if not more important than reality, and Ollie doesn't help his chances when he speaks publicly. His sentiments are great, but the way he delivers them lacks polish.

I would guess that the next head coach comes from outside of the program and will bring a pretty solid head coaching resume.
 
auggie22 said:
i thought ollie was a shoe-in until the season started. that he did not fill-in as head coach for any of the 4 games calhoun missed tells the story. the next coach will come from outside of the program.
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It didn't / doesn't make sense for Ollie to fill in at this point, imo ... in fact, I think it would be lose-lose.

The sample size during the suspension would have been too small to make a determination. If he did well, it would have been against (perceivably) inferior opponents. If the team loses, it could all but rule him out as a successor ... perhaps prematurely.

In addition to serving his suspension, I truly believe Calhoun wanted to see out his contract and groom Ollie to perhaps be next in line. That's in an ideal world ... and obviously that may change now given the health issues.
 
Huskybass said:
I honestly don't think Ollie has a very good chance of being the successor to JC when JC decides it is time to retire. Ollie only has 1 1/2 years of experience as an Assistant Coach and he doesn't interview (with the media) very well, and I think that will hurt his chances. I know he would bring fire and passion to the position and he would stress defense and taking care of the ball. However, I believe he hurts himself by not sounding as articulate as he could. Unfortunately, perception is sometimes as important if not more important than reality, and Ollie doesn't help his chances when he speaks publicly. His sentiments are great, but the way her delivers them lacks polish.
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His interviewing skills shouldn't be that high up on the priority list. Yes, it will be considered and yes, it does bear some importance ... but from most reports, a lot of people believe Kevin Ollie has what it takes (and that includes people outside the program.)

That's not to say that other considerations aren't going to be made. If a high profile coach expresses interest, and it's what the university (and ultimately, I would assume, Calhoun) would want, then I'm sure that would be strongly considered.

But to dismiss Ollie based off of interview skills would be bogus.
 
.This may not be popular, but ollie has zero head coach experience except some aau summer stuff. Nba experience does not = a good coach. Magic and MJ both tried coaching and it went bad. Some it works for some former nba players, but I think we need a national search.
 
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tykurez said:
His interviewing skills shouldn't be that high up on the priority list. Yes, it will be considered and yes, it does bear some importance ... but from most reports, a lot of people believe Kevin Ollie has what it takes (and that includes people outside the program.)

That's not to say that other considerations aren't going to be made. If a high profile coach expresses interest, and it's what the university (and ultimately, I would assume, Calhoun) would want, then I'm sure that would be strongly considered.

But to dismiss Ollie based off of interview skills would be bogus.
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I'm not saying that it is right, or that I agree with it, but that it could very well be a factor that works against him. Personally, if he can relate well to recruits and their families, as well as the players and instill a strong work ethic, thats what I would be looking for. But as I said, perception sometimes plays a larger role that it should.

Also, given UConn's history as a prominent program for 20 plus years, I doubt there will be a shortage of highly qualified candidates, many of who have impressive head coaching credentials.
 
tykurez said:
It didn't / doesn't make sense for Ollie to fill in at this point, imo ... in fact, I think it would be lose-lose.

The sample size during the suspension would have been too small to make a determination. If he did well, it would have been against (perceivably) inferior opponents. If the team loses, it could all but rule him out as a successor ... perhaps prematurely.

In addition to serving his suspension, I truly believe Calhoun wanted to see out his contract and groom Ollie to perhaps be next in line. That's in an ideal world ... and obviously that may change now given the health issues.
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that does make some sense; but on the other hand, if he wins against inferior opponents he has 4 - 0 on his resume, and makes the hire an easier sell to the fans who see him as inexperienced. and by not having him coach you immediately raise the question that the right people do not believe he is ready.
 
The Boatyard said:
Even if he comes back in time for the tourney, he'll retire at the end of the season. The only reason he didn't retire after last year's championship was because he felt obligated to serve his suspension.
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I don't think so, I think he still has that passion and he still wants to coach

and he's staying until he's certain his baby is in good hands
 
willie99 said:
I don't think so, I think he still has that passion and he still wants to coach

and he's staying until he's certain his baby is in good hands
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He said last month that he felt obligated to serve the suspension...that it was a "major major factor" in coming back for the 2011-2012 season. He's done.
 
I haven't read everyone's replies yet but I would love to see Sean Miller step into the role. I'm a fan of Ollie too but really think Miller would be great.
 
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The Boatyard said:
He said last month that he felt obligated to serve the suspension...that it was a "major major factor" in coming back for the 2011-2012 season. He's done.
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"he's done", LOL

we'll see
 
CBallfan said:
Agreed
Why is this even a topic of discussion?
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because it's going to happen someday. people who don't want to discuss it can just skip the post. Calhoun has had more medical issues than any active coach in MCBB. and it's a message board. fans know his time is limited so they want to discuss it...
 
I want to see Ollie take over when Calhoun's contract expires in 2014, even if it requires Blaney to serve as an "acting" head coach while JC recuperates.

Ollie isn't ready at this point, but I think two more years of experience will be critical.

None of our other former players or coaches have demonstrated any kind of success as a head coach. Then again, neither has Ollie, but I'd rather go with someone who might be able to get it done at a high level.
 
I think it would be great if we could get someone like Stevens and keep the current infra-structure. I doubt that would happen.

In all likelihood, it's going to be Ollie. I like him, he can recruit, and I think he will be successful (a vague term, though, no?)

If it will be him, I hope it is later rather than sooner (I guess regardless, I don't really want JC to ever retire).
 
I don't think we can hire an AD and not let him/her pick the next coach. Also, I don't think we can afford to make a bad hire or this program can lapse back into obscurity, especially with the BE losing some of its luster.

We have enough suction now to get a proven coach. Picking from the tree may work, but it's high risk. Also, JC has always recruited quiet, coachable players, not personalities similar to his. The same applies to his assistants. Calhoun's system works only because of him, it's not transferable, IMO.
 
Kevin Ollie will be the next coach, not even a debate. If by chance its somebody from the outside i dont think it will be too big of a name. And by the way Stevens is not coming here either
 
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dogpause said:
Also, I don't think we can afford to make a bad hire or this program can lapse back into obscurity, especially with the BE losing some of its luster.
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This is my concern as well -- that without Calhoun, we won't continue to be a top-10 program (which we've been spoiled to be for the last 15-20 years), but will slip into that tier of 20-30 teams underneath (think schools like Texas, Illinois, Washington) who make the tournament most of the time, but are only true contenders maybe once a decade.
 
Not sure why you guys keep mentioning Sean Miller, the guy turned down a gig at arguably the 3rd best ACC program that is right in the heart of one of the most fertile recruiting areas in the country. He could get a top 10 recruiting class every year just locking down DMV/B-More, if he would turn that down there ain't no way in hell he's coming here.
 
Sean Miller is going to stay at Arizona. It's one of the best gigs, and, as you say aceboon, it's in a fertile recruiting area and, other than UCLA, there is little competition out West.

As for Stevens, he's not likely to coach at UConn. I figured that in a year or two he would go to Indiana. But Tom Crean has turned that ship around. If he wants a top job, where is it going to be? In the midwest, if Crean keeps IU going well, then Michigan, MSU, OSU, and Indiana all have good coaches. UConn is a better option than all of those anyway but IU.

As for other top programs with coaches not hanging around forever: K has to retire at some point, but you gotta figure that's going to stay in-house if possible (Brey?); Boeheim already has his successor in place; UNC will stay in-house; when Calipari goes, that's a possibility. Maybe UCLA fires Howland?

Regardless, if Stevens is going to leave, it is not as if there are, as of right now, a ton of Tier 1 jobs opening up. UConn, sometime in the future, is going to probably the best on the market (if it becomes a market).
 
The reason it will almost certainly be Ollie is because Calhoun will have a say. He's not going anywhere if he's not going to be able to be a big factor in choosing the next coach. It's clear he's choosing Ollie.

I also think it's huge to keep this within the "Calhoun Tree" so to speak. UConn has no basketball without Calhoun. The national championships the NBA factory success, it all boils down to Calhoun. In order to capitalize on those past accomplishments you need to be able to point back to Calhoun in some fashion. Hence why I believe that Ollie will be the next coach.

Just for kicks if we go out of house the guy at the top of my list would be Frank Martin.
 
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