Thoughts

[Huskie2019]

KO has a lot of problems but a major one is that he doesn’t know how to coach without a true star pointguard like Shabazz, honestly the season would probably be different with a healthy Gilbert. But the lack of effort in these players is obviously a huge problem as well. Wondering what Shabazz is basing his thoughts on here...

 

[JellyBean]

Coach KO can't coach effort. If he is our coach next year, we have to find somebody with a better eye for talent when they are out there recruiting. Not sure what they are seeing in these players.

 

[Fishy]

Coach KO can't coach effort. If he is our coach next year, we have to find somebody with a better eye for talent when they are out there recruiting. Not sure what they are seeing in these players.

This is what happens when you butcher the recruiting class, alienate half the roster and have to recruit leftovers in April, May, June and July.

You don’t get this bad accidentally.

 

[freescooter]

It isn’t like this is a new thing. It has been getting progressively worse over the past 4 years. Last year injuries were an excuse but reality is we saw the same thing. And people forget Wagner and Northeastern which happened before all the injuries. That team was going nowhere before the injuries.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Thoughts?

KO has never had to be the man.

Success or failure of a team or organization has never been on his shoulders.

He's been able to lead from the back and from the middle.

He doesn't know how to pull a sled.

 

[noeynox]

He fell in love with the Grad transfer thing. Probably cause he doesn't like the recruiting grind. Weird because in the NBA he was nothing but a grinder. He doesn't seem to have the appetite for recruiting trail.

 

[upstater]

KO has a lot of problems but a major one is that he doesn’t know how to coach without a true star pointguard like Shabazz, honestly the season would probably be different with a healthy Gilbert. But the lack of effort in these players is obviously a huge problem as well. Wondering what Shabazz is basing his thoughts on here...

Who knows how to coach without a true point guard?

Luckily, we didn't have that problem in the past.

 

[UConn_Top_Dog]

Coach KO can't coach effort. If he is our coach next year, we have to find somebody with a better eye for talent when they are out there recruiting. Not sure what they are seeing in these players.

Kind of hard to find the right players last minute a few months before practice starts scrambling to fill voids in the roster after a mass exodus of players and multiple injuries. This shouldn't be a surprise. It's a combination of bad luck and poor planning. I'm sure if KO could have a do over, he would do things differently. But the man is not an idiot. I'm sure he learned his lesson and will do his job more effectively after all this is over.

 

[AdamaNation]

Coach KO can't coach effort. If he is our coach next year, we have to find somebody with a better eye for talent when they are out there recruiting. Not sure what they are seeing in these players.

Can we recruit a better fan base?

 

[jibsey]

Can we recruit a better fan base?

We were clearly the problem today.

 

[AdamaNation]

We were clearly the problem today.

No. I just want some sunshine to come to after a hard day of watching another rough day of basketball in an atypical season. We just need a fellow for this black cloud to follow cuz while it’s over me it’s too dark to see -?(line please).

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Can we recruit a better fan base?

Some here are stubbornly uncoachable.

 

[djct1999]

By now, we have a large enough sample size to know exactly where this season is heading. We have discussed at length how KO has failed as a coach, the need for a new coach, who that new coach should be, glenn miller, the absurdity that we would be better without Terry Larrier, the 44 inch upside of K Williams, etc, etc. etc. I saw absolutely nothing in last nights game that was new, surprising, or even worth critiquing. We saw last night what we saw all season and losing by 20 plus in Wichita seems just about right for this team. What I did see last night, was regardless of bad coaching and an unprepared, unaltered game plan was a group of kids trying hard. I saw a group of kids playing with the weight of a program on their backs. I saw a group of kids who really don't deserve any of this blame. As hard as it is for us to watch, can't we reflect back to when we all actually played sports and sympathize with how hard it most be for the kids putting on that jersey and losing in ways, by scores not seen in 40 plus years. This is not easy for anyone and if we want to be a blue blood fan base, lets in this last month at least rally around these kids. They deserve it. The off season will play itself out. Hopefully for the better. But for now, I really don't see how it benefits anyone to dissect Larrier's shot selection or Anderson's ability or DOs failure to know how to secure a rebound. Thank god for these kids. Thank god they are still fighting. As bad as it is now(and its really bad), I would argue that even last night it would be worse without Larrier, Anderson, and the rest of the gang.

(fine, i get how frustrated we are and rightfully so, but lets take this frustration out for now on vance jackson's dad.)

 

[Sea Goat]

Ollie has to go. We are going have to pay him more than Diaco money somehow. I have have never met more fans happy to get the end of a season and hopefully Ollie's tenure. I watch the games and feel like some rec team must have stole UConn's uniforms and are out there playing our games. The coaches look remarkably lost for so late in the season. Very little guidance on their best days and none now. Let's just limp home in early March and get this nightmare over with.

 

[freescooter]

Who knows how to coach without a true point guard?

Luckily, we didn't have that problem in the past.

You could put Bob Cousy and Oscar Robinson in their prime as point guards on this team and it still goes nowhere. Who does the scoring? Who rebounds? Who defends in the paint? Would s true point make them somewhat better? Probably but the problems are far deeper than no point guard. For that matter who would he pass to besides Adams?

 

[freescooter]

Kind of hard to find the right players last minute a few months before practice starts scrambling to fill voids in the roster after a mass exodus of players and multiple injuries. This shouldn't be a surprise. It's a combination of bad luck and poor planning. I'm sure if KO could have a do over, he would do things differently. But the man is not an idiot. I'm sure he learned his lesson and will do his job more effectively after all this is over.

Um, maybe don’t create a situation where half the team wants to get out of town. Then you aren’t filling voids with NEC talent.

 

[jibsey]

I for one am grateful that the players are all in and trying their hardest for the team. Getting on the coaching, recruiting, player retention and talent level has nothing to do with their commitment. In the past when you lose a bunch of close games the coach can convince the team and himself that they are very close to success. What the heck is he saying to them and now that reality has set in what are the players saying to each other?

 

[freescooter]

I had a nun in 5th grade who said she didn’t give A for effort if you got Cs. Because that would mean she thought you were not very smart. That’s how I look at this team. Not applaugldingvthier effort in 20 point losses. Because that just validates that they are bad basketball players.

 

[freescooter]

PS. Obviously the Big O was Oscar ROBERTSON not Robinson. Great great player.

 

[Waquoit]

No. I just want some sunshine to come to after a hard day of watching another rough day of basketball in an atypical season.

Buy a dog.

 

[Confident Carl]

This is what happens when you butcher the recruiting class, alienate half the roster and have to recruit leftovers in April, May, June and July.

You don’t get this bad accidentally.

Here are my thoughts for what they are worth!

Quote from Ollie after yesterday's Shocker's body slam!

" Wichita played with grit and toughness" they took it to us from the first possession, when they got to up it to rebounds. We have to show more mental toughness"

This has been KO's mantra since he took over. What's puzzling me and my question is why doesn't he recruit mentally "tough" and talented players in the first place who can also put the ball in the hole? The current team is young and he has tried to augment the youth with transfer wide bodies Onuorah and Cobb who have girth and toughness but limited talent to play at a Championship level.

He was trying to draw that mental toughness out of Vance Jackson, Steven Enoch and Jawan Durham and all three bolted. Still not clear on what exactly happened but right there he lost a complete front line that would have helped us enormously this season. It's crazy, one minute the best big man in all of basketball, Kevin Durant is saying KO is the greatest coach in the universe and at the same time we lose an entire front line. Go figure?

I can understand our woes due to youth, inexperience and injuries but I don't understand the departures and types of players being recruited. Losing commit Makai Ashton-Langford was a further indicator of a failure to connect. Okay maybe Gilbert and Adams were a concern for AL but you would think KO could have closed that deal.

KO's survivorship mentality that enabled him to stick it out for 14 years with many different NBA teams is admirable and indeed an important element of success. However there are other ingredients such as recruiting effectively and teaching kids to play in a sacrificial manner for the good of the team. Granted they can all shoot (huge factor) but compare how our girls pass the ball in contrast to this team!

Most important is the ability to recruit mentally tough players that understand what it takes to win at the elite level. Obviously Geno knows and lands the type of players who can make it through the riggers of what it takes to get it done.

Without Adams we would be averaging like 40 points a game this year but the motor bike inncodent in the beginning of the year was a preview of things to come regarding leadership and the direction of the season. Also to me Larrier's inconsistent play is troublesome and is a further indicator of a lack of mental toughness.

The prospects of a .500 season are bleak. In order to recover from this debacle, if KO survives a number of things have to happen next season in order to turn this nightmare around and get back to playing UCONNbasketball.

Gilbert has a 100% recovery
Adams comes back
Vital developed more basketball IQ and composure and uses his talent more efficiently
Larrier finds game, Polly too! (Talk about a need for mental toughness)
Young bigs Carlton, Whaley, Diarra and Cobb take what they learned, learn how to score and make a Quantum leap in 2018.
Sidney Wilson contributes as advertized
Incoming recruits James Akinjo, Lukas Kisunas and Emmitt Mathews Jr.
exhibit emmense talent and mental toughness!
Finally, Coaching improvements, especially in developing bigs!

 

[AdamaNation]

Buy a dog.

Calm down boy.

 

[my2cents]

It's always a wonder what comes out of KO's mouth. He talks grit, mental toughness etc....How about the fact that other teams have players that can actually shoot a basketball, pass a basketball, rebound a basketball.
Our players could be the toughest SOBs on the planet, but if you can't shoot, pass, etc you lose the way we do.

 

[Confident Carl]

I had a nun in 5th grade who said she didn’t give A for effort if you got Cs. Because that would mean she thought you were not very smart. That’s how I look at this team. Not applaugldingvthier effort in 20 point losses. Because that just validates that they are bad basketball players.

This is the image that comes to mind when I think of this team:

 

[temery]

applaugldingvthier effort

That's the worst kind of effort.