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Many of you guys have posted in a multitude of threads a number of reasons why Kevin Ollie's teams since the 2014 National Championship are too often unable to sustain Calhoun/UConn-level play. And most of the points you make are backed up with a lot of evidence. For example, each of Mau's 4 points in his current "KO" thread are right on.
Therefore, the question becomes: is there a root cause to the final product we see on the court? In other words, when you tie all these points together what do they point to as KO's biggest shortcoming? After thinking a lot about this recently, I believe the answer is pretty simple... and yet if Ollie does not fix it and/or figure out how to change this one thing, his term as UConn head coach will end sooner rather than later, and unfortunately with mostly unsatisfactory results until that day comes - for all of us, including him.
Kevin Ollie's biggest issue is that he has not figured out the importance of imposing his will onto his best players, and onto games. And as a result he does not do it, and it negatively effects the most critical aspects of how these games, and recent seasons, are playing out.
What is it that made Jim Calhoun's best teams truly great? They took on his personality - his iron will and refusal to lose was channeled through one or several of the leaders on the team in those championship years and you would see it in the way we played. Think back on his 3 National Championship teams - they all had one or two guys who were the embodiment of his personality out on the floor.
- The 1998-1999 team? Khalid and Ricky. Because Khalid did not look like the "proto-typical" point guard most people, even some of our own fans, under-estimated the drive and desire that Khalid had to win. In fact, I submit his decision to play here was the single biggest reason we were able to break through that decade-long Elite 8 glass ceiling and win our first NC.
- The 2003-2004 team? Taliek - the guy's game (particularly shooting) had limitations... but you could never question his heart and desire to win. He was more important to that team winning than a lot of people gave him credit for. I would also submit that Emeka took on some of that Calhoun personality his last year as well, and it helped propel us to that incredible comeback win against Duke in the semi-final game.
- The 2010-2011 team? Obviously Kemba. Out of all the players Calhoun ever had, I submit that none personified his personality more than Kemba. And once Kemba really understood and internalized why Calhoun drove him the way he did... he and his game blossomed.
Think about it: by and large KO's biggest problems, particularly in-games, all come back to the same thing. His lack of imposing his will on his teams (his best players in particular) and on the games as they are happening.
1. IMPOSE HIS WILL ON HIS PLAYERS: He does not impose his will on his players, and as a result their effort is uneven, and too often shoddy. Consistent defensive lapses that lead to too many open 3's, as well as stupid things like the guy on Columbia being open on an out-of-bounds play underneath our basket late in a close game. Should never happen at this level. And consistent offensive lapses where we run some well-structured offense, get up by 9 on a decent Monmouth team, and then come down and jack up early-in-the-shot-clock 3's on 3 possessions in a row for no earthly reason, other than lack of discipline and immaturity... and we go from up 9 with the ball to down 9 in less than 7 minutes.
2. IMPOSE HIS WILL ON THE FLOW OF THE GAME: He does not impose his will on the flow of the game - he too often waits too long to take time outs (a mistake Calhoun rarely if ever made), and as a result we see the opposition get significant runs against us time and time again that he might have been able to prevent - and should have at least tried to do so.
3. IMPOSE HIS WILL ON THE REFEREES: And as a result we do not get anywhere near as many favorable calls as the Calhoun-coached teams did, and the better teams seem to get. There is definitely something to this point that a bunch of you have made, as we see it play out in practically every game, game after game.
BOTTOM LINE: If KO does not come to this realization for himself and then make the change (or with some help, although he does not seem inclined to get that these days) he will be gone sooner rather than later. I for one continue to wish that he figures it out. With that having been said, he definitely hasn't figured it yet... and I am becoming less sure that he ever will.
Therefore, the question becomes: is there a root cause to the final product we see on the court? In other words, when you tie all these points together what do they point to as KO's biggest shortcoming? After thinking a lot about this recently, I believe the answer is pretty simple... and yet if Ollie does not fix it and/or figure out how to change this one thing, his term as UConn head coach will end sooner rather than later, and unfortunately with mostly unsatisfactory results until that day comes - for all of us, including him.
Kevin Ollie's biggest issue is that he has not figured out the importance of imposing his will onto his best players, and onto games. And as a result he does not do it, and it negatively effects the most critical aspects of how these games, and recent seasons, are playing out.
What is it that made Jim Calhoun's best teams truly great? They took on his personality - his iron will and refusal to lose was channeled through one or several of the leaders on the team in those championship years and you would see it in the way we played. Think back on his 3 National Championship teams - they all had one or two guys who were the embodiment of his personality out on the floor.
- The 1998-1999 team? Khalid and Ricky. Because Khalid did not look like the "proto-typical" point guard most people, even some of our own fans, under-estimated the drive and desire that Khalid had to win. In fact, I submit his decision to play here was the single biggest reason we were able to break through that decade-long Elite 8 glass ceiling and win our first NC.
- The 2003-2004 team? Taliek - the guy's game (particularly shooting) had limitations... but you could never question his heart and desire to win. He was more important to that team winning than a lot of people gave him credit for. I would also submit that Emeka took on some of that Calhoun personality his last year as well, and it helped propel us to that incredible comeback win against Duke in the semi-final game.
- The 2010-2011 team? Obviously Kemba. Out of all the players Calhoun ever had, I submit that none personified his personality more than Kemba. And once Kemba really understood and internalized why Calhoun drove him the way he did... he and his game blossomed.
Think about it: by and large KO's biggest problems, particularly in-games, all come back to the same thing. His lack of imposing his will on his teams (his best players in particular) and on the games as they are happening.
1. IMPOSE HIS WILL ON HIS PLAYERS: He does not impose his will on his players, and as a result their effort is uneven, and too often shoddy. Consistent defensive lapses that lead to too many open 3's, as well as stupid things like the guy on Columbia being open on an out-of-bounds play underneath our basket late in a close game. Should never happen at this level. And consistent offensive lapses where we run some well-structured offense, get up by 9 on a decent Monmouth team, and then come down and jack up early-in-the-shot-clock 3's on 3 possessions in a row for no earthly reason, other than lack of discipline and immaturity... and we go from up 9 with the ball to down 9 in less than 7 minutes.
2. IMPOSE HIS WILL ON THE FLOW OF THE GAME: He does not impose his will on the flow of the game - he too often waits too long to take time outs (a mistake Calhoun rarely if ever made), and as a result we see the opposition get significant runs against us time and time again that he might have been able to prevent - and should have at least tried to do so.
3. IMPOSE HIS WILL ON THE REFEREES: And as a result we do not get anywhere near as many favorable calls as the Calhoun-coached teams did, and the better teams seem to get. There is definitely something to this point that a bunch of you have made, as we see it play out in practically every game, game after game.
BOTTOM LINE: If KO does not come to this realization for himself and then make the change (or with some help, although he does not seem inclined to get that these days) he will be gone sooner rather than later. I for one continue to wish that he figures it out. With that having been said, he definitely hasn't figured it yet... and I am becoming less sure that he ever will.
