Trying to make sense of the carnage

[champs99and04]

Hopefully I'm not preempting any more casualties by writing a reflective post when the storm is rumored to be ongoing, but for my own sanity I needed to write something.

I think we're starting to get a look at a different side of Ollie. It's not a bad side, necessarily. In fact, I think it's a good one. I posted earlier in the season - in what was half hot take, half genuine concern - that I worried he was too nice of a guy at times to be a great college coach. I no longer have that concern. He's a competitive mother f ___er and he wouldn't have lasted as long as he did in the NBA otherwise.

With that in mind, I don't think he's pushing anybody out the door, but perhaps he's less inclined to blow smoke up players asses after what has to have been the most frustrating season of his life. This is a guy who has very distinct vision on how he wants to play, and Jackson and Enoch - the former of whom is a bit plodding and the other of whom is a statue - cap the ceiling of what we can be defensively. Jackson got torched defensively late in the season and I suspect Ollie was blunt about how his minutes would vacillate as a result. Larrier struggled defensively in the three games he played last season, but he meets the prototype of an Ollie player from a physical perspective - he's long, rangy, and bulkier than he was coming in. If Daniels can evolve from a defensive liability to an anchor of a championship defense, there is reason to think Larrier can do the same. And now, he has to.

No sugarcoating things of course. Losing Jackson is a blow, for sentimental reasons if nothing else. He was a very useful offensive player - somebody who could have been what Daniels was offensively if not necessarily defensively - that was composed beyond his years. The kid simply knew how to play, and because of his physical limitations, I figured he'd be the rare player who stuck around and contributed for all four years. As a fan, losing guys like that hurts a lot. Even if he's not the type of guy you win a championship with, there's a lot more to being a fan with that...with this player, I expected a lot of wins and a lot of memories. Now, all of that is gone, and if that's self-serving, so be it. Vance can tweet what he wants about fake love, but ultimately, we're part of the UConn family and not the Jackson family. His father clearly wants what's best for him but might not know what's best. My hunch is he's a bit toxic and I'd speculate - without knowing for sure - that he overstepped his boundaries on this one. When you're a father and you're breaking down tape on the season, there is a problem.

So long as Adams, Gilbert, Larrier, Vital, and Durham are in uniform next year, I'll take our chances. The last guy is essential. He's the perfect player for Ollie's system, somebody who can - when healthy - extend beyond the arch on hedges and still protect the rim. My sense is that Ollie's defensive philosophies mirror that of the Miami Heat circa 2012 - hyper-active trapping on ball screens, exerting a ton of energy on every possession, and protecting the rim in a way that most small teams cannot. Barring an unforeseen add in the grad market, Durham is going to have to be that guy. If he leaves, it's time to press the panic button.

I've made no secret of the fact that I thought Ollie did a bad job this year, and I'm uncomfortable with the Miller firing (though I support it as a necessary evil to improve recruiting). But big picture, I'm still not terribly far away from where I was after we won the title. This is still the same guy, with the same vision, and now, finally, similar players. Brimah never fit the system, Facey didn't until it was too late (and even then, he was frequently as much a liability as an asset) and Purvis was just a weird player who did everything you want on paper but could never figure it out.

Now, with Adams, you have your Shabazz. I said a few weeks ago that there is no player in the country I'd rather have next season, assuming the expected players depart, and I'm not backing off that statement. He's special, and I have to imagine he's keeping a list of the dudes who decided they'd rather play with someone else. This is too classic a UConn player to up.

Gilbert's size worries me defensively, and I anticipate that - much like Boat - he'll struggle on that end his first year or two. But he has tremendous upside along Adams and Vital, the latter of whom is the perfect 3 and D guy for what Ollie wants to run. I forget who said in the other thread that they'd cry if Vital leaves, but I'm with you. Honestly, I'd take him over Gilbert.

I hate to see Enoch go, but he wasn't really a guy that was going to solve any of our problems. He basically would have been what Enoch Wolf was to the 2013 team, which is a guy who can play but isn't really a long-term solution. Neither of these transfers rise to the level of losing Roscoe in 2012, and I think if a couple things break our way - Larrier and Durham both being healthy are the big ones - this team could really surprise some people next year, and I mean nationally. I'm still OK, for now. But the bleeding has really gotta stop here.

 

[djct1999]

I don't think there's a guy outside of Jalen Adams on the entire roster that isn't completely and totally replaceable.

Nor do I think a player decided to transfer before discussing his role with Ollie for next year.

 

[Doctor Hoop]

Let's look forward. What do we have? (note: subject to change)

Adams, Vital, Gilbert, Ashton-Langford
Larrier, Polley
Durham, Diarra
Carlton, Cobb

The guards look great, and there's a lot to like at the 3, 4 and even the 5.

So cheer up. There are options out there that can add to this roster, which isn't that bad in the first place. I'd like another PF/C, and a SG/SF or long SG.

 

[Jerry1714]

I don't think there's a guy outside of Jalen Adams on the entire roster that isn't completely and totally replaceable.

Disagree, Gilbert and Larrier would be big losses and are not completely and totally replaceable

 

[Chin Diesel]

One thing is for sure.

The transition form JC to KO is complete. KO has put his stamp on the program going forward.

 

[Towney007]

Disagree, Gilbert and Larrier would be big losses and are not completely and totally replaceable

Who between them have played what... 6 or 7 games in college basketball?

Seriously?

 

[Huskybass]

It just hit me, the only returning players who really played this season are Vital, Durham and Adams. The other 3 returning players all redshirted. Not too confident about next season. Hope I am wrong.

 

[Huskybass]

Who between them have played what... 6 or 7 games in college basketball?

Seriously?

They are serious talents, not easily replaced.

 

[Fishy]

Ollie did a lousy job this year - I'm not sure you can have watched this season and come up with any other conclusion. He has set the ship on fire here.

But at least he seems to have acknowledged it and taken steps to improve things. I have nothing against Glen Miller, but the new narrative that he was somehow a master tactician and a top recruiter do not seem grounded in reality. This team has looked like a three-ring circus without a ringleader for two years and no one has managed to recruit a decent center since Calhoun was on the sideline. We have championships with Miller and he deserves every bit of credit for it, but for the 200th time, this is not a sentimental business and the program comes first. Someone had to go.

With Chillious and Killing, we finally have an enviable recruiting staff. And Ollie now has a staff he picked rather than one he inherited. Hopefully, it helps.

On Jackson, what are you gonna do? He had every chance here, but obviously, there's an outside influence there and the Jacksons are not going to coach UConn basketball via Twitter. The "I'm watching game film" and "Miller leaving really hurts" was nothing more than someone building a narrative for cover. I don't care - it's their lives and they can live them as they please.

Losing Enoch is what it is - he didn't get much playing time and he didn't want to risk another year. That's understandable.

But going forward, perhaps one of the thing Chillious can teach Ollie is how to manage these kids and their expectations. Obviously, Jackson is leaving with some hard feelings and Hamilton left with a few last year as well. Perhaps it's a California thing or perhaps KO needs a little work there.

As for next year, I think it's gonna suck.

The front court is now more f ucked than it was yesterday and it was pretty f ucked yesterday. Our most experienced front court player is a 205-lb sophomore. Actually, he is the only front court player with experience. Past him, we have a freshman center, a JUCO power forward and a redshirt soph coming off an injury. We're a year away and we've already given up 40 offensive rebounds to Cincy and SMU.

They've got to pull out some miracles in the late signing period and then everyone on the staff needs to work a lot harder than they've been working. The whole ten toes in thing only works if they actually put all ten toes in.

 

[jibsey]

Ollie did a lousy job this year - I'm not sure you can have watched this season and come up with any other conclusion. He has set the ship on fire here.

But at least he seems to have acknowledged it and taken steps to improve things. I have nothing against Glen Miller, but the new narrative that he was somehow a master tactician and a top recruiter do not seem grounded in reality. This team has looked like a three-ring circus without a ringleader for two years and no one has managed to recruit a decent center since Calhoun was on the sideline. We have championships with Miller and he deserves every bit of credit for it, but for the 200th time, this is not a sentimental business and the program comes first. Someone had to go.

With Chillious and Killing, we finally have an enviable recruiting staff. And Ollie now has a staff he picked rather than one he inherited. Hopefully, it helps.

On Jackson, what are you gonna do? He had every chance here, but obviously, there's an outside influence there and the Jacksons are not going to coach UConn basketball via Twitter. The "I'm watching game film" and "Miller leaving really hurts" was nothing more than someone building a narrative for cover. I don't care - it's their lives and they can live them as they please.

Losing Enoch is what it is - he didn't get much playing time and he didn't want to risk another year. That's understandable.

But going forward, perhaps one of the thing Chillious can teach Ollie is how to manage these kids and their expectations. Obviously, Jackson is leaving with some hard feelings and Hamilton left with a few last year as well. Perhaps it's a California thing or perhaps KO needs a little work there.

As for next year, I think it's gonna suck.

The front court is now more f ucked than it was yesterday and it was pretty f ucked yesterday. Our most experienced front court player is a 205-lb sophomore. Actually, he is the only front court player with experience. Past him, we have a freshman center, a JUCO power forward and a redshirt soph coming off an injury. We're a year away and we've already given up 40 offensive rebounds to Cincy and SMU.

They've got to pull out some miracles in the late signing period and then everyone on the staff needs to work a lot harder than they've been working. The whole ten toes in thing only works if they actually put all ten toes in.

Don't know about next year because it all depends who's added in the next couple months. Hold on to the armrests and the turbulence will pass. Have all shoes dropped?

 

[The Funster]

OP says that Ollie has a distinct vision about how he wants to play. If he does, I haven't seen it yet. I didn't see anything remotely reminiscent of a philosophy until mid February but then like a butterfly in Connecticut in February, it briefly flitted about impressively until it just fell to the ground. KO can survive another mediocre year next year but he needs to get his together. This year was not a setback year because of injury. It was setback year because KO and his staff didn't work hard enough and this year will definitely bleed into next year.

Next year has to show an uptick in staff effort and results. KO doesn't have to set the world on fire but there has to be obvious improvements.

 

[Hoophound]

As Fishy says, the staff needs to work harder, but not the way most people think of it. They need to work harder at two things:

1. Evaluating talent. We need basketball players with athletic ability not athletes with a little basketball ability.

2. Getting the kids to work harder. Some of the kids try hard, but they aren't relentless. When I was playing basketball in high school, I learned relentlessness the summer before my senior year. It hit me that I could get almost every rebound if I truly wanted it. This was with very limited leaping ability and a 6'1" height. The thing was that I had to keep trying to get the ball, not try just once. I started getting a hand on it, tipping it and keeping it alive. I was a big Rodman fan and I just watched him all the time. He never quit. This team needs the JC attitude back in the locker room. No quitting, no relaxing and no excuses. You have to be a real thorn in the opponents side. That was our identity. It is gone. KO has that gene, he needs to use it.

 

[Jerry1714]

Who between them have played what... 6 or 7 games in college basketball?

Seriously?

If that's your reasoning it's not very smart for many reasons but here are a few of them 1) it's wrong because Larrier played a full year at VCU, 2) the idea of having Adams for maybe 1 more year is better than Gilbert than 4, and 3) if you watched the first 3 games of the year when they played and didn't see their potential then I gotta question your ability to judge talent

 

[Fishy]

Don't know about next year because it all depends who's added in the next couple months. Hold on to the armrests and the turbulence will pass. Have all shoes dropped?

I think all the shoes have dropped....we're really sort of running out of shoes anyway. If another shoe does drop, we all just start drinking and next year becomes a blur.

For next year, pray for Alterique's shoulder and Terry's knee. They're both indispensable. And then hope Chillious is the wizard we hope he is and can help pick up some pieces in the spring period.

 

[businesslawyer]

Ollie did a lousy job this year - I'm not sure you can have watched this season and come up with any other conclusion. He has set the ship on fire here.

But at least he seems to have acknowledged it and taken steps to improve things. I have nothing against Glen Miller, but the new narrative that he was somehow a master tactician and a top recruiter do not seem grounded in reality. This team has looked like a three-ring circus without a ringleader for two years and no one has managed to recruit a decent center since Calhoun was on the sideline. We have championships with Miller and he deserves every bit of credit for it, but for the 200th time, this is not a sentimental business and the program comes first. Someone had to go.

With Chillious and Killing, we finally have an enviable recruiting staff. And Ollie now has a staff he picked rather than one he inherited. Hopefully, it helps.

On Jackson, what are you gonna do? He had every chance here, but obviously, there's an outside influence there and the Jacksons are not going to coach UConn basketball via Twitter. The "I'm watching game film" and "Miller leaving really hurts" was nothing more than someone building a narrative for cover. I don't care - it's their lives and they can live them as they please.

Losing Enoch is what it is - he didn't get much playing time and he didn't want to risk another year. That's understandable.

But going forward, perhaps one of the thing Chillious can teach Ollie is how to manage these kids and their expectations. Obviously, Jackson is leaving with some hard feelings and Hamilton left with a few last year as well. Perhaps it's a California thing or perhaps KO needs a little work there.

As for next year, I think it's gonna suck.

The front court is now more f ucked than it was yesterday and it was pretty f ucked yesterday. Our most experienced front court player is a 205-lb sophomore. Actually, he is the only front court player with experience. Past him, we have a freshman center, a JUCO power forward and a redshirt soph coming off an injury. We're a year away and we've already given up 40 offensive rebounds to Cincy and SMU.

They've got to pull out some miracles in the late signing period and then everyone on the staff needs to work a lot harder than they've been working. The whole ten toes in thing only works if they actually put all ten toes in.

I have no problem with KO deciding he needs a different top assistant than Miller, but to say we haven't recruited a top center since Calhoun left is somewhat unfair. We recruited two of them. Unfortunately, one of them blew out each knee in succession and hasn't yet gotten himself up to full speed and the other self destructed as a human being before getting to the college ranks. But those are two centers that anyone in the country not named Duke or Kentucky would have been thrilled to get when we got them, so it's not fair to blame that on lack of recruiting successes as much as just bad luck.

 

[businesslawyer]

I have no problem with KO deciding he needs a different top assistant than Miller, but to say we haven't recruited a top center since Calhoun left is somewhat unfair. We recruited two of them. Unfortunately, one of them blew out each knee in succession and hasn't yet gotten himself up to full speed and the other self destructed as a human being before getting to the college ranks. But those are two centers that anyone in the country not named Duke or Kentucky would have been thrilled to get when we got them, so it's not fair to blame that on lack of recruiting successes as much as just bad luck.

As for Jackson, you hit it on the head -- what are you going to do. The kid had a much more impactful first year here than any rational person in his shoes could have hoped for. The fact that he didn't establish himself as Magic Johnson -- well, there are only two choices. He goes somewhere else, rinses and repeats, or he stays here and becomes a discontent (and it's starting to feel like he already was). But the kid had far, far too many games where he played 30 minutes and went 1 for 7 from the field for me to be worried about whether we used him enough offensively.

 

[JSM1970]

JA is not listed on any 2018 mocks anywhere.

He rated about 40ish in Soph class.

He has a lot of work to do to become a top pro prospect.

If that's your reasoning it's not very smart for many reasons but here are a few of them 1) it's wrong because Larrier played a full year at VCU, 2) the idea of having Adams for maybe 1 more year is better than Gilbert than 4, and 3) if you watched the first 3 games of the year when they played and didn't see their potential then I gotta question your ability to judge talent

 

[Palatine]

There was something wrong with last year's squad from the get go. People gloss over it because of the injuries but this team was outplayed (and lost) to Wagner and Northeastern. It wasn't a fluke, they did it twice. And this was a team with three seniors on the floor and a top five recruiting class. Preseason #18.

They played very softly with little intensity. They were sloppy, they gave up open shots and couldn't knock down open shots, and they were so-so or less on the boards.

I am happy the team has been gutted. It had to be done. But did they solve the problem?

Ollie's team's have always started slowly in conference. This year they started slowly against the cupcakes. That is not moving in the right direction. It's been a long time since we had a strong regular season. We need one. We tend to forget that Ollie is a first time head coach. He has never been through this. How he responds and how the team responds to him will be very telling. And we should have the answer by January. Until then it's all just noise.

 

[Fishy]

I have no problem with KO deciding he needs a different top assistant than Miller, but to say we haven't recruited a top center since Calhoun left is somewhat unfair. We recruited two of them. Unfortunately, one of them blew out each knee in succession and hasn't yet gotten himself up to full speed and the other self destructed as a human being before getting to the college ranks.

Juwan Durham isn't a center, never was a center and never will be a center. He was 196 pounds and had already blown out one of his knees when he committed.

As for Brown; there's no partial credit for recruiting a train wreck.

 

[businesslawyer]

Juwan Durham isn't a center, never was a center and never will be a center. He was 196 pounds and had already blown out one of his knees when he committed.

As for Brown; there's no partial credit for recruiting a train wreck.

Look, staff is responsible for winning, and when you're not getting it done excuses aren't particularly meaningful. But if you're looking at specific skill sets, and trying to ask where you need an upgrade, (i) I hear yo on Durham but he's a big, and he's got as much muscle on him after losing two years to knees as Brimah and Thabeet had when they came here, and (ii) Brown failing the race of life has nothing to do with recruiting skills. Sometimes in life, luck does determine if you succeed or fail. We had more than our share of good luck for 25 years. The last 3, not so much. So we will have to disagree here (which means you're wrong but I wouldn't say that aloud which is why it's in parenthesis which no one but lawyers will read).

As someone else said in the last 24 hours, I think the better question to ask about recruiting is whether KO is as good as JC was at grading not just basketball skills and athleticism but character and finding players who will spend 3 or 4 years doing whatever it takes to win.

 

[husky99]

As usual F me for posting this and take everything with a freaking grain of salt because I'm sure I will be jumped all over but here we go. Ollie sold himself as a fatherly Calhoun 2.0 is the word i hear (not my word,what i hear). Which he is and the players like him. Guys like Napier really show that fatherly side. Ollie took these guards under his wing and they like him as a mentor. But this is the Trainwreck Calhoun had a couple hundred wins under his belt when he came here from Boston at the D1 level. He could coach he had an amazing X's and O's mind but that was fine tuned with his other jobs as head coach. Ollie does not have that skillset and experience yet. sure he could learn it but the players are pissed because there are times I have heard they feel like he is lost in huddles and does not always have a game plan. Ollie needed to be a head coach and win two hundred games or a hundred games at a Charlotte or a mid low major like school. And I think Calhoun kind of screwed him over by taking the third guy on the bench(ollie) and putting them as the head coach. He's being asked to have his first car at 16 be a Ferrari.
So here's the root of the issue I hear that the players to not feel like they are developing and being coached at practice and at games at the level UConn should. Nobody's going to blast ollie on the way out because they like the guy there are issues with development and coaching

 

[Tenspro2002]

As usual F me for posting this and take everything with a freaking grain of salt because I'm sure I will be jumped all over but here we go. Ollie sold himself as a fatherly Calhoun 2.0 is the word i hear (not my word,what i hear). Which he is and the players like him. Guys like Napier really show that fatherly side. Ollie took these guards under his wing and they like him as a mentor. But this is the Trainwreck Calhoun had a couple hundred wins under his belt when he came here from Boston at the D1 level. He could coach he had an amazing X's and O's mind but that was fine tuned with his other jobs as head coach. Ollie does not have that skillset and experience yet. sure he could learn it but the players are pissed because there are times I have heard they feel like he is lost in huddles and does not always have a game plan. Ollie needed to be a head coach and win two hundred games or a hundred games at a Charlotte or a mid low major like school. And I think Calhoun kind of screwed him over by taking the third guy on the bench(ollie) and putting them as the head coach. He's being asked to have his first car at 16 be a Ferrari.
So here's the root of the issue I hear that the players to not feel like they are developing and being coached at practice and at games at the level UConn should. Nobody's going to blast ollie on the way out because they like the guy there are issues with development and coaching

So he's in over his head. Sounds like Diaco, minus the crazy and stupidity.

 

[husky99]

So he's in over his head. Sounds like Diaco, minus the crazy and stupidity.

Experience could have helped.

 

[Stainmaster]

Sounds like Diaco, minus the crazy and stupidity.

Oh my freaking god...

 

[John]

So he's in over his head. Sounds like Diaco, minus the crazy and stupidity.

Diaco dressed in red pants
Ollie dressed in purple suits.

definitely onto something here.