There comes a point where you need to say "It's just not working"

[Marty Jackson]

If you think the basketball we've been seeing, the player development we've been seeing, and the overall program evolution is on the upswing, please tell me what you are seeing to support that.

On the flip side, what do you need to see in order to be convinced that we need to move the program in a different direction?

I want to see this program succeed. I watch each game hoping to see some something different. Something to suggest the players are developing. I'm just not seeing it. I want Ollie to succeed. But I am more a fan of Uconn than Ollie. And if Ollie can't right the ship, find someone that can.

In the end, it goes to show how spoiled we fans have become by being blessed with 2 of the all-time greatest College BB coaches at the same time for almost 20 years. They aren't easily replaced.

 

[jibsey]

Maybe we need a coach/ promotor/snake oil salesman to snag talent. I would have preferred the alumni, moral, bible loving, slogan making KO but in the end you can’t win without talent. Even coach K can’t. Just don’t know who fits that.

 

[Guapo]

The thing I've been thinking about is Diarra's development.

To me, he's the prototypical Calhoun recruit.

Has some skill and a great motor but is raw.

We'd trust Calhoun to develop him into a really good big man.

It remains to be seen what happens, but how many of us trust Ollie to develop him?

 

[DAC17]

Given that we're stuck in the AAC for at least a few years to come, it would be hard to recruit a better coach and better players. It all comes back to the conference issue, and that college sports as many of us knew it has been turned on its financial head.

 

[80shusky]

Oh good, another thread.

 

[uchusky32]

I'm looking to see if this team can play hard. Sprint back in transition. Give effort running thru screens.

Will KO add something else to his offense. As said the easiest to game plan against. Can he get this team to play unselfishly.

Problem we have is we don't have the best player on the floor. And our best player isn't a leader nor very competitive.

 

[Marty Jackson]

Given that we're stuck in the AAC for at least a few years to come, it would be hard to recruit a better coach and better players. It all comes back to the conference issue, and that college sports as many of us knew it has been turned on its financial head.

Not buying that conference crap. I'm willing to give Ollie this year to see how he navigates. I'm sick of hearing all the excuses about our conference, injuries, coaching changes, etc.

Back in the mid 80's Calhoun had to compete with some very well established coaches in the toughest league. I don't remember that ever being an excuse.

For what Ollie is paid, he either gets it done or he doesn't. After 6 years, this is his program. The players that left were his. The players that were hurt last year were his. The team he built this year is his. The skill sets we have and don't have are Ollie's.

It should be very simple. Get to the dance or get busy packing. I have zero concerns Uconn can't find a big name coach in this league.

 

[Huskyfan4evr]

In my opinion when a team struggles to score and might not be as big and athletic as some you need to do the other little things to help counter that. Hustle and effort is probably most important. Hustle will lead to getting loose balls and rebounds. Playing solid defense. Contesting shots. Making free throws. It's all effort and refusing to lose. I just don't see that effort out of these guys night in night out. They show it in spirts. They need to do it for 40 minutes.

 

[TheChamps990411]

On the flip side, what do you need to see in order to be convinced that we need to move the program in a different direction?

if we miss the tourney this season and finish middle of the pack in the AAC i think Ollie has to go. The life blood of any program is high level recruiting. Ollie hasnt done it. . If you cant recruit you better be able to develop the guys you have to their full potential or even into over achievers. He hasnt done this either. Now you can blame this on a variety of reasons but those are not reasons, just excuses. A kid thats impressed and won over by a coach isnt going to care what conference he plays in if he believes his school can be successful in March and more importantly that the coach making him the best player he can be and give him the best chance of playing in the NBA. Ollie is simply not connecting with the high level recruits and he has kids abandoning ship left and right sometimes before theyve even set foot on campus.
All these issues that ive mentioned land at the feet of KO. I like KO and wish he could turn things around but i have to be realistic and put aside my loyalties and see the situation for what it is. He simply hasnt got it done. Sure he had success his first couple of years but that success was with Calhouns guys. It was a great experience winning in `14 and im forever greatful to him for it but you find out what a guys really capable of when he has to do it with his own guys and this is what we`ve seen the last couple years and its been ugly.

Imho the only way i keep KO is if we make the Tourney. Hed still be on thin ice next season but he would then have to prove himself on the development of these players and also as harsh as this sounds if he cant improve the recruiting he`d have to go. This is the only way i can see him staying after this season or next. He has to make these things happen and get things turned around soon before we become completely irrelevant as Mike Fatcessa predicted several years ago.

 

[buddy]

Given that we're stuck in the AAC for at least a few years to come, it would be hard to recruit a better coach and better players. It all comes back to the conference issue, and that college sports as many of us knew it has been turned on its financial head.

This has nothing to do with the conference. Bad coaching and recruits with preexisting injuries do not make for a successful program, no matter what league in which one is a member. The other top AAC teams all seem to out perform UConn lately, so don't blame the conference any more. We are all disturbed about being left behind in conference realignment, but in this case it really is not relevant.

 

[Deadrody]

Oh good, another thread.

Oh good, another "oh good" post.

 

[scotty0330]

This has nothing to do with the conference. Bad coaching and recruits with preexisting injuries do not make for a successful program, no matter what league in which one is a member. The other top AAC teams all seem to out perform UConn lately, so don't blame the conference any more. We are all disturbed about being left behind in conference realignment, but in this case it really is not relevant.

Thank you. Other mid majors don’t struggle like uconn has in past couple years. This team would have its hands full with Missouri valley teams. Over next couple years if you had to place bets on Wichita state or uconn having better seasons I doubt many would put their money with Ollie...

 

[traitor71]

Given that we're stuck in the AAC for at least a few years to come, it would be hard to recruit a better coach and better players. It all comes back to the conference issue, and that college sports as many of us knew it has been turned on its financial head.

You can still build, and coach a team that can win your league. Are we not capable of that? I don't think anyone is asking for final fours or NCAA titles right now, we just want to win our damn league. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like we are even close to that.

 

[freescooter]

I’m really tired of the conference excuse. Cincinnati hasn’t missed a beat, SMU has moved up dramatically. Wichita State is a top 10 team regularly, Gonzaga went to the Finals and is regularly among the best in the country. There are others. A couple of the newer Big East teams were real good before joining that league. So clearly it can be done. Just not by Ollie.

 

[auggie22]

I’m really tired of the conference excuse. Cincinnati hasn’t missed a beat, SMU has moved up dramatically. Wichita State is a top 10 team regularly, Gonzaga went to the Finals and is regularly among the best in the country. There are others. A couple of the newer Big East teams were real good before joining that league. So clearly it can be done. Just not by Ollie.

Yep. Unlike football, we are in a talent rich area of the country for a coach to farm. There is no reason we cannot field and coach up a perennially competitive team with a good coach. We do not need to find another Jim Calhoun.

 

[Huskybass]

I have asked those who still think KO is the right guy to turn things around what they base that on. I have gotten nothing of substance, they all just "hope" things will improve. That's my issue. I have no idea what he does well and the program is in turmoil both on and off the court. I also don't understand the guys who believe UConn won't find anyone better to take the position. That seems incredibly pessimistic to me. There will surely be some good candidates when the position becomes available.

 

[mauconnfan]

The thing I've been thinking about is Diarra's development.

To me, he's the prototypical Calhoun recruit.

Has some skill and a great motor but is raw.

We'd trust Calhoun to develop him into a really good big man.

It remains to be seen what happens, but how many of us trust Ollie to develop him?

He's 100X more raw than Jeff Adrien, another recruit who doesn't really get the game all that much. to defending his recruiting because he needs smarter players to be able to mold them but this may be yet another Brimah sorry to say.

 

[imno1]

He's 100X more raw than Jeff Adrien, another recruit who doesn't really get the game all that much. to defending his recruiting because he needs smarter players to be able to mold them but this may be yet another Brimah sorry to say.

Could Diarra not practice free throws while he was out last year? SMH. He couldn’t play but he could have put up a few hundred foul shots every day. With that said I love his effort and aggressiveness. I hope he can develop some offense but with present staff I have concerns.

 

[Hankster]

He's 100X more raw than Jeff Adrien, another recruit who doesn't really get the game all that much. to defending his recruiting because he needs smarter players to be able to mold them but this may be yet another Brimah sorry to say.

Don't be sorry. I will say it also. Seems like our big's wait for a play to come to them rebounding wise. Instead, of making the play. Watching them get out rebounded is sad. When one of our big's get the rebound,they lose the ball. I will always be a Okafor fan. IMHO he was the best UConn ever had.

 

[Travelman6]

it would be hard to recruit a better coach

It will be hard to recruit a coach that is better than a coach who is "the easiest to prepare for"? (paraphrase of course).

Yikes.

 

[freescooter]

Look winning an NCAA title is really hard. There are really good coaches who have not done it. And with the 1-done format unless you have a truly great team (2004 for example) it requires a cimbination of talent and luck. So nobody expects annual titles. But getting to the tourney most years ought to be the goal. If you are not there no amount of luck helps.

 

[WallStreetHusky]

It will be hard to recruit a coach that is better than a coach who is "the easiest to prepare for"? (paraphrase of course).

Yikes.

Exactly the problem with some attitudes on the board. The "land of steady habits" so willingly accepts mediocre and will not agitate for great. How does the corporate speak go? "Good is the enemy of Great".

 

[Fan4ever]

Could Diarra not practice free throws while he was out last year? SMH. He couldn’t play but he could have put up a few hundred foul shots every day. With that said I love his effort and aggressiveness. I hope he can develop some offense but with present staff I have concerns.

Spot on! Practicing free throws, learning how to defend and positioning all could have been done while "watching" the past year. TL could also have added 5 lbs while rehabing but that didnt happen either, seems like he lost weight. Would like to have seen the development scorecard created and updated for these players while on RS, if there was one.

 

[noeynox]

We look awful running offense. Doesn't matter who the opponent is. You watch other teams and you see a crispness to what they run. We look like we don't even practice. No fundamentals in boxing out.

I really didn't see it till these past few games, but the signs are there that something isn't working.

 

[TheRealKBuks]

I’m really tired of the conference excuse. Cincinnati hasn’t missed a beat, SMU has moved up dramatically. Wichita State is a top 10 team regularly, Gonzaga went to the Finals and is regularly among the best in the country. There are others. A couple of the newer Big East teams were real good before joining that league. So clearly it can be done. Just not by Ollie.

Its the culture of the conference is the problem. This is a southern football conference. Even though Cinci isn't a southern football school, they're closer to one than we are. How do you sell UConn to future recruits. We play a bunch of no name programs (from a basketball standpoint) that are thousands of miles away. The fact that our closest opponent is >350 miles away, and the second closest one is almost 800 miles away is a huge drag on recruiting. Forgot to mention that we have no rivals in this conference. Yeah I get cinci is our rival, but we are never going to hate them the way we hate Syracuse and the way Syracuse hates us.