To all those predicting our demise.

[upstater]

Ok let me clear it up.

2015-16 was an acceptable season. Successful yes, but something that should be expected around here.

Now that same season would be seen as a massive success. If we made the round of 32 this year, or next year would both be seen as massive successes given where we are right now as a program.

So what used to be a baseline type season is now a massive success. That incredible drop in expectations and standards says a lot about the program and the job KO has done running it.

Clear enough for you?

Yes--you cleared it up.

But--given the talent level, I would say that this is true now.

Although it can be deemed unacceptable that the talent level has fallen this far, this is where we are, and we're hoping these kids develop enough to turn it around. You can or can't excuse Ollie for Alterique Gilbert's injury. Whatever. I don't think anyone says he will not be held accountable for it. BUT, if they win tournament games based on the level of the players that are left? I will indeed call that a big success (not sure about massive). This probably has more to do with the fact that I believe last year's team (both without Alterique) was more talented than this one!!!!! And for this year's team to exceed last year's by a lot? Big success.

For Ollie to salvage this, he has to develop Polley, Carlton, Matthews, Sidney Wilson and Akinjo. Develop them into very good players. Then he needs to land a stud point guard, a stud big man like Coleman, and -- if Polley and Matthews can't do it -- a stud outside shooter.

It is a very tall order for him to do this, but let's say he lands Coleman and Jalen Lecque. Well, then, everything comes down to develop. If only a few of Polley, Carlton, Lecque, Wilson and Matthews make the developmental leap that Daniels and Boatright did, you will have a UConn team competing deep into the NCAAs again. That's the hope. Tall order, but there it is.

 

[upstater]

Neither has been great, but Gilbert looks to pass a little bit more, if not enough. When Jalen is playing with Gilbert, Jalen is a SG. What he doesn't do well, is shift back to PG mode when Gilbert is out. If Ollie views Anderson as the PG when he is in with Jalen, then Anderson needs to stop deferring so completely to Jalen and distribute the ball. I think this is fixable, but this team is going nowhere until it gets better ball movement and distribution, including involvement of the bigs in the offense. We run 50 pick and rolls a game and pass the ball back to the rolling screener zero times. Makes us easy to defend.

Anderson looks so much like Gibbs to me. The ball basically stops moving when Anderson gets it. 2 years ago we had both Hamilton and Gibbs killing ball movement. This year it's Anderson.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

Yes--you cleared it up.

But--given the talent level, I would say that this is true now.

Although it can be deemed unacceptable that the talent level has fallen this far, this is where we are, and we're hoping these kids develop enough to turn it around. You can or can't excuse Ollie for Alterique Gilbert's injury. Whatever. I don't think anyone says he will not be held accountable for it. BUT, if they win tournament games based on the level of the players that are left? I will indeed call that a big success (not sure about massive). This probably has more to do with the fact that I believe last year's team (both without Alterique) was more talented than this one!!!!! And for this year's team to exceed last year's by a lot? Big success.

For Ollie to salvage this, he has to develop Polley, Carlton, Matthews, Sidney Wilson and Akinjo. Develop them into very good players. Then he needs to land a stud point guard, a stud big man like Coleman, and -- if Polley and Matthews can't do it -- a stud outside shooter.

It is a very tall order for him to do this, but let's say he lands Coleman and Jalen Lecque. Well, then, everything comes down to develop. If only a few of Polley, Carlton, Lecque, Wilson and Matthews make the developmental leap that Daniels and Boatright did, you will have a UConn team competing deep into the NCAAs again. That's the hope. Tall order, but there it is.

I agree. I think he should get to the end of the year and we have just enough pieces on the roster that making the tourney is possible, which would be a successful season.

But making the tourney should be an expectation here, not some great achievement indicative of a job well done by the HC.

My entire point is that you shouldn't get credit for cutting standards in half and then meeting those halved standards.

 

[upstater]

I agree. I think he should get to the end of the year and we have just enough pieces on the roster that making the tourney is possible, which would be a successful season.

But making the tourney should be an expectation here, not some great achievement indicative of a job well done by the HC.

My entire point is that you shouldn't get credit for cutting standards in half and then meeting those halved standards.

Stuff happens. No one cut standards in half.

Regardless, the idea that he should get to the end of the year to turn it around "or else" is not realistic because of his contract. Unless you want to write the same exact post every week for the next 3 years, we need to get used to that fact.

 

[NielsisGood]

Neither has been great, but Gilbert looks to pass a little bit more, if not enough. When Jalen is playing with Gilbert, Jalen is a SG. What he doesn't do well, is shift back to PG mode when Gilbert is out. If Ollie views Anderson as the PG when he is in with Jalen, then Anderson needs to stop deferring so completely to Jalen and distribute the ball. I think this is fixable, but this team is going nowhere until it gets better ball movement and distribution, including involvement of the bigs in the offense. We run 50 pick and rolls a game and pass the ball back to the rolling screener zero times. Makes us easy to defend.

Just now saw this but not sure how you can nitpick Jalen playing point considering what you said in the bold. What you said there is the real issue, not Jalen.

 

[RJScootin]

KO didn't have to build anything August. He took a national powerhouse program and in 5 years we can barely beat mid majors and cant even dominate the northeast.

This quote pretty much sums it up! Let me add attendance is a joke now and recruiting has fallen off.

I work on a campus of around 2,000 people in North Haven, CT and the casual fan finds UConn irrelevant or laughable. This is what Ollie has built since winning a NC.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Anderson looks so much like Gibbs to me. The ball basically stops moving when Anderson gets it. 2 years ago we had both Hamilton and Gibbs killing ball movement. This year it's Anderson.

He's not half the shooter that Gibbs is. He is taking way too many shots. So is Jalen. Jalen moves it, as long as it comes back to him. I see all three of the PGs, plus Vital at times, beat their man on the perimeter. If the path to the rim is clear, go for it. But where are the cutters from the wing or baseline? As those bigs collapse on the guard, and they will, where is that bounce pass to the guy behind the D for the dunk? We've done it like 3 times all season. Even with Brimah he'd slide in and catch lobs on occasion. Carlton and Diarra seem more offensively capable than him. Larrier certainly is. Where are those plays to those three guys plus Polley?

It frustrates me that we have the pieces to be so much better. I really hope they start to figure this out.

 

[Lefty2one]

Let me tell you something about yourselves.

You aren't basketball geniuses. You are disingenuous hedgers. I see right through it.

You can look at a season start and find stuff wrong on a 6 and 2 young team. Sure. No problems there. The rest of us see it too. Let's discuss it.

But there are so many declarative "The seasons over, Fire Ollie posts" here. The way they are positioned makes the game here abundantly clear.

If we do in fact go in the toilet (and there is no way for anyone to know that now. Its a long season), you all can smugly sit here and say "Ollie needs to go Right now!" every time we lose a game. You feel good about a UConn loss, your position is made. (Even though its not ;you think it is).

But if they reel off some wins and actually get better as a team over the course of the season you will all be here reveling in the success of a young team getting better.

Its a win/win for you. You can feel like a genius in the teams misery (when applicable) to mitigate the hurt losing does to your oh so fragile psyches. And a win, hell ,is a win (because youre supposedly a UConn fan; there should be some semblance of satisfaction out of one of those still....I hope)

I think this takes the cake for the most self-righteous post I've ever seen on the Boneyard. It's a pity since it helps take away from how incredibly inaccurate and off-base the injunction is.

 

[intlzncster]

Oh yeah, inheriting a talented roster at a marquee program was definitely overshadowed by a 1 year postseason ban and loss of 1 scholarship per year over, what, 2 years? And the conference situation has proven to be the death knell of Nova, Wichita, Gonzaga, even Cincy.


Surprised Ollie is even capable of going toe to toe with the likes of Columbia and Monmouth after that Hiroshima level devastation the NCAA laid down upon the program 5 years ago.

It was the recruiting restrictions (in terms of contact and time on the road) that were the most devastating. That left a bare pipeline even before he arrived.

And let's face it, no matter who was in place, the great Jim Calhoun was no longer there. No HOFer is replacing an HOFer. And the desire to attend falls in concert.

 

[NielsisGood]

It was the recruiting restrictions (in terms of contact and time on the road) that were the most devastating. That left a bare pipeline even before he arrived.

And let's face it, no matter who was in place, the great Jim Calhoun was no longer there. No HOFer is replacing an HOFer.

There's a pretty vast difference between expecting one of the best 2-3 college coaches ever and what we've gotten.


I won't deny that the loss of scholarships and strict contact rules involved didn't hurt, but that was several years ago, and there was already some pretty great talent on hand that Ollie got to start with.


None of that has anything to do with the uneven (at best) product on the court, or all the problems as far as being able to keep kids in the program, all of that falls solely on Ollie.

 

[superjohn]

It was the recruiting restrictions (in terms of contact and time on the road) that were the most devastating. That left a bare pipeline even before he arrived.

And let's face it, no matter who was in place, the great Jim Calhoun was no longer there. No HOFer is replacing an HOFer.

Why is everything all or nothing with so many of you. "People expect a title every season" "Not replacing a Hall of Famer with another Hall of Famer" "If Uconn gets rid of Ollie they will fold up the basketball program" etc.

I think most people expected or should have expected we would have a coach after Calhoun who is a good coach. Someone who would put us as at the top of the AAC and comfortably put us in the tournament almost every season. Someone who would handily beat the patsies early in the season and put up a pretty gaudy record in the AAC while keeping us relevant on the national scene where when we play a big name out of conference people still take notice.

Basically keep the legacy of Uconn basketball in good shape where people still talk about us for the good things we do on the court instead of being the butt of the joke.

 

[NielsisGood]

Why is everything all or nothing with so many of you. "People expect a title every season" "Not replacing a Hall of Famer with another Hall of Famer" "If Uconn gets rid of Ollie they will fold up the basketball program" etc.

I think most people expected or should have expected we would have a coach after Calhoun who is a good coach. Someone who would put us as at the top of the AAC and comfortably put us in the tournament almost every season. Someone who would handily beat the patsies early in the season and put up a pretty gaudy record in the AAC while keeping us relevant on the national scene where when we play a big name out of conference people still take notice.

Basically keep the legacy of Uconn basketball in good shape where people still talk about us for the good things we do on the court instead of being the butt of the joke.

Soccer mom culture.

 

[intlzncster]

Why is everything all or nothing with so many of you. "People expect a title every season" "Not replacing a Hall of Famer with another Hall of Famer" "If Uconn gets rid of Ollie they will fold up the basketball program" etc.

I think most people expected or should have expected we would have a coach after Calhoun who is a good coach. Someone who would put us as at the top of the AAC and comfortably put us in the tournament almost every season. Someone who would handily beat the patsies early in the season and put up a pretty gaudy record in the AAC while keeping us relevant on the national scene where when we play a big name out of conference people still take notice.

Basically keep the legacy of Uconn basketball in good shape where people still talk about us for the good things we do on the court instead of being the butt of the joke.

All or nothing? No, I was just explaining why it wasn't all hunky-dory when JC left. The point of the HOFer thing is you'd expect a drop off, especially in recruiting, when a HOF coach leaves. No matter who you replace the guy with, he will not have the draw that JC did. There's no shame in that.

And I haven't claimed all of those things you mentioned, so I'm not sure where you got that. At one point, firing Ollie would have been a blow to the program, given what had transpired, but not as much now.

I would think a reasonable expectation of the program would be Gonzaga. I don't consider them a mid major mind you, despite their conference*. If we could do better than that, then fantastic.

*as an aside, the AAC is superior to their conference, but it's still not a draw. Nobody wants to play in the AAC. But because there's more talent, it's tougher to run it. Weird situation.

 

[intlzncster]

Soccer mom culture.

I couldn't be further from that type of thinking if I tried.

 

[CL82]

I think this takes the cake for the most self-righteous post I've ever seen on the Boneyard.

Apparently you have never read the Cesspool.

 

[CTrefugee]

Bound to get better - can't get any worse.
All besides the point. Anyone who knows the game can recognize bad coaching.

The longer the AD waits to act, the more difficult it will be to get back to the to 20.

 

[NielsisGood]

I couldn't be further from that type of thinking if I tried.

I can't speak to whether superjohn was referring to you in particular, but I took it to mean he was talking about the Ollie apologists in general. That's what I was referring to anyways.

 

[Jaker]

I predict pain and suffering to all of the pundints.

 

[buddy]

What's a pundint?

 

[Jaker]

What's a pundint?

wow Buddy, way to pick up on that. LOL

 

[HuskyHawk]

#10 Miami just beat BU by less than UConn did.

 

[UConnDan97]

#10 Miami just beat BU by less than UConn did.

No matter how often you show folks that transitive property doesn't work in sports, they'll refuse to believe it...

 

[HuskyHawk]

No matter how often you show folks that transitive property doesn't work in sports, they'll refuse to believe it...

Oh I know. Just stirring the pot for those who seem to be devaluing our wins.

 

[Bonehead]

First, I'm pessimistic about this season, moreso than last year. So you don't need to tell me about dissatisfaction.

But for the Fire Ollie people, let me ask you: what are you trying to accomplish?

Ollie's buyout is astronomical, the school's budget is being scalped by the state. He isn't going anywhere.

So what do you hope to accomplish?

They want Ollie gone.

Demote him to assistant coach and maybe he will want to leave on his own accord.

Are the Lakers still interested?

 

[upstater]

They want Ollie gone.

Demote him to assistant coach and maybe he will want to leave on his own accord.

Are the Lakers still interested?

So, do something that has never before been done? And make UConn the only school to ever do it. And the next coach will be thrilled to go to a school that humiliates its coach because it is too poor. Great.