The Program's Turning Point

[Pmurph678]

Turtle got hurt in high school and the Larrier injury was a big setback too.

The Wiggins, Curtis Kelly, Sticks, Dyson, Mandeldove class didn't nearly live up to its hype either. And that wasn't injury related. I remember one game Sticks had 21 in the first half...... I also remember Curtis Kelly doing a behind the back pass, getting the Calhoun yank, and never seeing the light of day again.

Senior year that class made the final 4, they lived up to the hype.

 

[Bonk]

Enoch didn't leave UConn any more than KO left Enoch. He had no business averaging only 12 minutes a game his sophomore season, especially when we only had 8 healthy guys most of that year.

Neglecting Tremont Waters, whose dream school was UConn, and pursuing MAL instead was just absurd too.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

UConn's Jim Calhoun announces retirement there's the turning point.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Neglecting Tremont Waters, whose dream school was UConn, and pursuing MAL instead was just absurd too.

Not that I don't love these threads, but is this a thing that actually happened? I mean, it is 100% not true that UConn was Tremont Waters's dream school. I don't know where you came up with that.

 

[wheelerdog]

Larrier going down in Maui was the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Senior year that class made the final 4, they lived up to the hype.

I don't think you realize how good of a recruiting class that was. Only 2 of them played in the FF. Those 2 were both criticized as under-performing.

Let me put it into perspective for you. Mandeldove was the fifth best recruit. He was ranked around where Javonte Brown Ferguson is. Boneyarders are doing back flips over landing Javonte Brown Ferguson.

 

[AuRevoirAAC]

UConn 44, Yale 45

Yale 45-44 UConn (Dec 5, 2014) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Yale Bulldogs vs. UConn Huskies NCAAM game, final score 45-44, from December 5, 2014 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

 

[storrsroars]

UConn 44, Yale 45

Yale 45-44 UConn (Dec 5, 2014) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Yale Bulldogs vs. UConn Huskies NCAAM game, final score 45-44, from December 5, 2014 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

IIRC, Ollie's wife filed for divorce around Thanksgiving that year, or a week or two before that game.

 

[HooperScooper]

Enoch didn't leave UConn any more than KO left Enoch. He had no business averaging only 12 minutes a game his sophomore season, especially when we only had 8 healthy guys most of that year.

Neglecting Tremont Waters, whose dream school was UConn, and pursuing MAL instead was just absurd too.

I think most of us on here know why Water$ didn't get much interest from UConn. Every wonder why he ended up at L$U? I know he wanted a great academic school and L$U is basically the Harvard of the South and all but.......

 

[pj]

Id bet a million dollars that you didn't have this thought. The whole board thought he was going to be a superstar.

When Ollie was hired, I thought it was a dubious hire but thought JC deserved to have his desires for a successor respected, and hoped it would work out.

When Ollie won the national championship, I was optimistic that it would work out, but aware that Calhoun, Blaney, and others had contributed in a big way to the championship.

Then after another year, it was clear Ollie had certain serious weaknesses. I hoped he could fix them. But the breach between Ollie and JC suggested it wasn't going to happen. If you know you need to grow in a job, you don't drive away a Hall of Fame mentor.

As time went on it became clear his weaknesses were difficult or impossible to fix. He was the classic B- guy who surrounds himself with C level people. Moreover his heart didn't seem to be in coaching the way it had been in playing.

I'm grateful for Ollie but I never thought he would be a superstar. I thought he had a chance to be a quality coach who could build a great story around himself, based on 13 years surviving in the NBA on meager talent, and a quick national championship. The story would have been: he knew the little things necessary for success, and could pass them on to players, helping a player get over the hurdle from non-NBA to NBA. This would have to be validated by actually developing players. When he failed to develop players, his pitch was busted.

 

[Bonk]

I think most of us on here know why Water$ didn't get much interest from UConn. Every wonder why he ended up at L$U? I know he wanted a great academic school and L$U is basically the Harvard of the South and all but.......

He committed to Georgetown before L$U. And a friend of mine who played for St Thomas More when Tremont was at South Kent and played with him in the AAU circuit said to me that Tremont wanted to go to UConn

 

[TerryA88]

When KO got served with divorce papers.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

He committed to Georgetown before L$U. And a friend of mine who played for St Thomas More when Tremont was at South Kent and played with him in the AAU circuit said to me that Tremont wanted to go to UConn

Respectfully, that's nonsense. The kid himself called Duke his dream school. The idea that he was begging to come to UConn and Ollie prioritized someone else is just not true. His father was pretty politic about the whole thing but they were definitely getting the Heisman from that family.

 

[husky429]

He committed to Georgetown before L$U. And a friend of mine who played for St Thomas More when Tremont was at South Kent and played with him in the AAU circuit said to me that Tremont wanted to go to UConn

His father (RIP) demanded $ and a certain amount of shots for Tremont or he would not commit. Tremont also called Duke his dream school. Your friends heard wrong, or Tremont told him what he wanted to hear.

 

[BFieldHusky]

His father (RIP) demanded $ and a certain amount of shots for Tremont or he would not commit. Tremont also called Duke his dream school. Your friends heard wrong, or Tremont told him what he wanted to hear.

I can confirm this is true.

 

[husky429]

I can confirm this is true.

People talk in hs basketball around this stae. Seemed like Tremont and Mustapha Heron's need$ were the worst kept secrets around

 

[UconnFanDC]

Lol. Are we really dwelling on what's not and what was? Right now is a problem that I hope turns around so we are not talking about what could or would have been. "19-20" is now. We have seen top recruits flop and lower recruits make it to the top. Ijs

 

[HuskyHawk]

Id bet a million dollars that you didn't have this thought. The whole board thought he was going to be a superstar.

BS. I thought he was a crappy hire and said so at the time. I was pissed at Calhoun for foisting him on us with his late retirement. We could have hired a very strong experienced head coach at that point in time. He then lead us to the least expected NC in the modern era, and I thought maybe I was wrong. I wasn’t.

If there’s a turning point, for me it starts when we won in 2014 and Ollie decided he was the and didn’t need help or advice. Thats when his personal life, professional life and our program all headed down the drain. KO’s ego was the problem.

 

[Lefty2one]

UConn 44, Yale 45

Yale 45-44 UConn (Dec 5, 2014) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Yale Bulldogs vs. UConn Huskies NCAAM game, final score 45-44, from December 5, 2014 on ESPN.

www.espn.com

Terrance Samuel starting at SG and Sam Cassell Jr getting 26 minutes off the pine. Good grief.

 

[HooperScooper]

People talk in hs basketball around this stae. Seemed like Tremont and Mustapha Heron's need$ were the worst kept secrets around

And Heron ended up at Auburn. This ain't rocket science, people.

 

[mussels]

There was no turning point. Loved them when I attended and we were in the Yankee conference, loved them through the Calhoun years, love them now.

 

[AntG168]

Down in New Haven, those of us in the AAU scene ALL know why Tremont went to LSU. It’s not a secret

 

[80shusky]

While most continue to grumble about the Ollie players were stuck with (including Hurley), it got me thinking about the real turning point of the program. How could a championship in 2014 turn into the last three year's records of 16-17, 14-18, 16-17?

While it's easy to point fingers at merely existing in the sewer that is the AAC conference, paired with Ollie's ineptitude to adjust and run a program, I think the real turning point is the absolute implosion of the 2016 "Top 5" recruiting class, ranked 8th nationally.

I think we can all admit our excitement over the promising future of this class, and the praise of Ollie's recruiting abilities. The subsequent demise of this class is mind-boggling, which falls smack-dab in the middle of our most recent championship and where we are now. I don't have to remind you, but this is how it played out:

Durham: Transfer
Diarra: Injuries
Jackson: Transfer
Vital: Overrated role player
Gilbert: Injuries

I can't think of another recruiting class with so much promise that ended the way this one did, be that at UConn or anywhere else. The way this class unexpectedly transpired leaves us where we are today, slowly climbing out of a hole. Say what you want about Ollie forcing Durham and Jackson out of the program, and being naive enough to recruit players with known health issues, but like I said before, you can't deny you were excited about this class in 2016 and predicted an upward trajectory.

Such a crazy single-season shift in expectations, team morale, talent, bright future, and overall UConn culture we were so accustomed to.

View attachment 48109

That class did end up being a huge loss. Imagine how different things might have been if all stayed or weren't injured. I disagree with Vital as an "overrated role player".
Vital as a 3 star recruit and at the time considered an inconsequential add on to the class ended up being a solid D1 basketball player. He isn't perfect, and ideally you wouldn't have him be your starting 2 on a great team, but he is always around the ball, scores, rebounds, gets steals and gives effort.
You can tell he wants to win. He makes mistakes, questionable decisions and lets his attitude get ahead of his talent sometimes but at least he tries hard every game. I don't understand why people hate on him. I don't think he deserves it. I just think he tries too hard because he doesn't think he has a choice.

 

[husky429]

Down in New Haven, those of us in the AAU scene ALL know why Tremont went to LSU. It’s not a secret

Wasn't he a NH Heat kid before eybl with expressions?

 

[AntG168]

Wasn't he a NH Heat kid before eybl with expressions?

Correct. He was always a phenom, his father made sure of it