UConn basketball....

[djct1999]

If we are UConn 1986-1988 for a few years Ollie is gone, if we have one of those seasons next year Ollie is gone.

If we are UConn of 1986-1988, what's next for the program will be what preceded those years, not what followed it. I get football moves the realignment bus, but for UConn, it's brand was built on basketball. We have gone from borderline blue blood to a laughing stock in short time. If UConn experiences further deterioration to this brand, well, it's over. Bottom line is that KO is a good man and a great motivator, but it's clear that he was in over his head when asked to run a program the caliber that he inherited.

 

[AntG168]

The thread guaranteeing a top-25 team next season would be a start.

1 poster, and even that poster didnt paint every thing as rosey. They just predict players will suprise

 

[mauconnfan]

When UConn has another bad season, some of you will finally see what many of us have seen for awhile. We have had three straight seasons of irrelevancy and only return two healthy (non redshirt) players for the coming season. Everything else including KO's coaching ability is a question mark.

How can some of you not understand that having only 10 scholarship players and an extremely thin frontcourt in late May is a major problem? Those of us who look at things objectively see the uphill battle that next season promises to be.

See herein lies the difference. We know it's possible they may have another "bad season", we aren't blind bass. But what if they don't have another bad season, will you have seen the light? And either way will one season prove anything either way, if you "win" or if I "win"? So why shouldn't we all hope KO wins, I'm not sure why you would hope he fails because just keep reading replies like this, you do hope he does! Our preference is not to assume they have a bad season but instead they will find a way.

I mean, broken record either way right? I just like to have a look the positive way and you don't.

 

[mauconnfan]

The thread guaranteeing a top-25 team next season would be a start.

You guys have a nice trifecta going here with the likes and such, I like the support of each other. Try it for the program you care about even when they are down.

 

[upstater]

Here are a few for you, SouthBayHusky. Direct quotes from other threads:


- "it appears that not even the staff has an idea of who wants to be here and who doesn't. it's pathetic."

- "What the majority of people want is competency. We haven't had that since 2014." Calling Ollie incompetent because the 2015 team was shallow on depth due to issues caused by others is unfair, and frankly untrue. That falls under the realm of "bashing" to me.

- "But please, tell me how your pathetic standards were misrepresented by me? Tell me how your logic is sound? Your reasoning for keeping Ollie around is that he won a championship. By that metric he could literally be here forever and be awful forever and it wouldn't matter to you. Stop being so emotional about the coach and care about the health of the program." Seriously? Upstater was not saying he supported Ollie being here forever if things stay on their current course. As he, I and others have stated quite reasonably, the National Championship should buy Ollie the chance to turn his recent mistakes around. No more, but certainly no less. To me, that means 2 years. How JMick gets "forever" out of a reasonable amount of time is beyond me (I read the whole thread and Upstate did not say that). And again, he uses the word "awful" to describe Ollie's coaching. The guy had a bad year. So did Calhoun. Several times. I can name the years, if you like. Doesn't mean you through the guy out. If that mentality had won out after those years, we would have never won the 4 NC's we have, for Calhoun would have never made it to 1998-1999 to begin with.

- "and beyond that the staff seems to be clueless. what a combination"

- "They don't want to come here because of Ollie"

And those are just a few of the ones he made over the last few days. I mean seriously... You guys are all the same. Bash away, but oh my gawd, don't call me or my merry band of Ollie haters out for it! All in the last 3 days he has referred to Ollie, either directly or indirectly, as: pathetic, incompetent, clueless, and no one wants to come to UConn because of him.

Dictionary: Bashing: "verbal abuse" - I think pretty much all of that qualifies as verbal abuse, huh SouthBay?


As I have said before, I would defy anyone on here to have coached our 2013 team with nothing to play for to 20 wins and the 2014 team to a National Title. I mean any one on this board. No one here could have. And frankly, I doubt Calhoun could have either. Why JMick or any other of you anti-Ollie guys can not give him credit for things like: out-coaching Jay Wright, Fred Hoiberg, Tom Izzo, Bill Donovan and then Calipari (admittedly the easiest of the bunch to outcoach, but still) in those 5 games is beyond me. The only honest explanation is that it does not fit into your "anti-Ollie" narrative. And by the way, that would be outcoaching Tom Izzo both times he has faced him so far in his young coaching career...

You negative guys do realize that Ollie doing an amazing job in his first two years, a credible (not great, but credible) job in his third and fourth years and a poor job this year are not mutually exclusive, yes? And that any reasonable human being would be willing to give him at least one year and realistically two with this new staff (unless next year is an utter disaster of epic proportions) to turn the downward trend around?

Trust me, he's a troll. Don't respond to him. The guy is known for sending PMs to people when you stop responding to him. Better yet, put him on ignore.

 

[upstater]

You guys have a nice trifecta going here with the likes and such, I like the support of each other. Try it for the program you care about even when they are down.

Haha, nice one!

 

[UCDaveD]

You guys have a nice trifecta going here with the likes and such, I like the support of each other. Try it for the program you care about even when they are down.

Ah, the "fake fan" attack. A tried and true go-to by the Everything Is Awesome crew.

 

[Huskybass]

See herein lies the difference. We know it's possible they may have another "bad season", we aren't blind bass. But what if they don't have another bad season, will you have seen the light? And either way will one season prove anything either way, if you "win" or if I "win"? So why shouldn't we all hope KO wins, I'm not sure why you would hope he fails because just keep reading replies like this, you do hope he does! Our preference is not to assume they have a bad season but instead they will find a way.

I mean, broken record either way right? I just like to have a look the positive way and you don't.

I will root like crazy for the players, as I always do. I just think that the coaching staff has things so messed up that a good season is more wishful thinking than realistic. Three years of mediocrity and irrelevance is a bad trend and a tough one to reverse.

Mau, please tell me why you are confident in KO despite things like losing to Northeastern, Wagner and ECU last season combined with the loss of Enoch, Jackson, Durham and MAL? What have you seen in terms of actual performance over the past three seasons to suggest that this will be a good season for the Huskies? I see an outstanding player in Jalen Adams and a very solid player in Christian Vital. Beyond that, I see many question marks and a roster that is still 3 players short at a very late date in the recruiting cycle.

I have been a UConn fan for 4 decades, but I truly can't see KO turning this around. The issues are too numerous and substantial.

 

[JMick]

Trust me, he's a troll. Don't respond to him. The guy is known for sending PMs to people when you stop responding to him. Better yet, put him on ignore.

I PMd you in order to stop clogging up the board. I think you're the third person ever I ever PMd and the other two were mods.

You're nothing but a liar.

 

[boog204]

This thread went a bit weird... I guess I look at it like this. Something has been pretty off the last few years. Many here, pro/anti KO, noted that the demeanor just seemed a bit strange. You then factor in injuries, a divorce, defections, conference issues, etc and the whole thing looks like it is on the verge of implosion.

I think KO has earned one WTF year and that was last year (the 2015 team just was not very good, imo). Many of the changes we clamored for have been made. We swapped out what many thought was a poor asst coach/recruiter with someone who was lauded as a recruiter supreme. Some of the concerns regarding our guys looking weak and tired have been addressed with a new s&c guy with a big rep. KO, at least according to the papers etc, is saying all the right things in regards to changing some things on his end as well. What else can we ask for right now? If the program has a toxic vibe right now, which it apparently does, we cannot expect guys to flock here. KO has to coach up this team, our staff has to find some diamonds in the rough, and the "stars" who remained have to play their collective asses off to show the bball world that we're still freaking UConn.

I'm in to see how it goes. There's no point in the bashing or trying to "Pollyanna" our way through this either at this point. This is a make or break year for KO and the program. We all know that. There is no disputing that KO at one point was on the verge of being a coaching megastar. We saw it happen as his team knocked off monster coach/team one after another in giving us a ridiculously improbable Natty. We have to hope that he regains that fire.

If he can't, then it is time to find a new coach/staff that right the ship.

 

[Huskybass]

You guys have a nice trifecta going here with the likes and such, I like the support of each other. Try it for the program you care about even when they are down.

I care enough about the program and the players to know that both deserve better coaching and program management than we have seen over the past three seasons. Perhaps mediocrity is simply more acceptable to you?

 

[Waquoit]

I remember the Perno years all too well with the talent he had and UConn went to one NCAA tournament. Perno was much worse and you forget Ollie did win a National Championship, which took some good coaching along with great play.

All true, but you know what's funny? Perno's last recruiting class was better than any of KO's.

 

[Waquoit]

It's posters like you who have built this false narrative of the last 3 years being totally Kevin Ollie's fault, as if Calhoun had nothing to do with the APR ban and its effects on two years of recruiting, that the more reasonable posters find detestable.

Still using the "APR ban" as an excuse for Ollie means you lose the argument. He's brought in guys and lost them. That's on him.

 

[Huskybass]

This thread went a bit weird... I guess I look at it like this. Something has been pretty off the last few years. Many here, pro/anti KO, noted that the demeanor just seemed a bit strange. You then factor in injuries, a divorce, defections, conference issues, etc and the whole thing looks like it is on the verge of implosion.

I think KO has earned one WTF year and that was last year (the 2015 team just was not very good, imo). Many of the changes we clamored for have been made. We swapped out what many thought was a poor asst coach/recruiter with someone who was lauded as a recruiter supreme. Some of the concerns regarding our guys looking weak and tired have been addressed with a new s&c guy with a big rep. KO, at least according to the papers etc, is saying all the right things in regards to changing some things on his end as well. What else can we ask for right now? If the program has a toxic vibe right now, which it apparently does, we cannot expect guys to flock here. KO has to coach up this team, our staff has to find some diamonds in the rough, and the "stars" who remained have to play their collective asses off to show the bball world that we're still freaking UConn.

I'm in to see how it goes. There's no point in the bashing or trying to "Pollyanna" our way through this either at this point. This is a make or break year for KO and the program. We all know that. There is no disputing that KO at one point was on the verge of being a coaching megastar. We saw it happen as his team knocked off monster coach/team one after another in giving us a ridiculously improbable Natty. We have to hope that he regains that fire.

If he can't, then it is time to find a new coach/staff that right the ship.

A very fair and accurate post. Unfortunately, I think the situation that has been created by many factors makes success this upcoming season a very difficult task. If KO can get UConn to the tourney and win a couple games, I will be truly impressed as that would be a huge turnaround after not even making the NIT and all the other off season disappointments.

 

[KembaStepback]

What is all this 'behind the scenes' stuff or 'tuned in' stuff I keep hearing about? What do people know that I don't involving Ollie? I hate all this vague talk.

 

[boog204]

A very fair and accurate post. Unfortunately, I think the situation that has been created by many factors makes success this upcoming season a very difficult task. If KO can get UConn to the tourney and win a couple games, I will be truly impressed as that would be a huge turnaround after not even making the NIT and all the other off season disappointments.

Then so be it... I support KO. I have not always been a fan of his offense, but I think the 2014 KO was a freaking star. The players loved him, he was able to motivate them to run through a wall for him, and his success through two years was incredible. For a myriad of reasons - legit or otherwise - we have lost that guy. But we know what we had. He deserves this year to try and tap into what made him great. It will be difficult. Our recruiting has obviously been hampered by the transfers, MAL's de-commit, some rumored or legit "toxicity" surrounding the program, and as a result, our inability to attract higher ranked players. But as I said in the beginning of this clustertruck of a thread, there is some talent here still. On paper, and I know it is optimistic, we have four very good players. If we can get some decent contributions from two-three others we can win some games; especially in the AAC. We will have arguably the best PG in the country leading us. That alone makes us a threat. I think Polley is underrated, Cobb has some skill, and Carlton is better than most realize. Lots of optimism on my part; I know. But that's what I feel. I honestly feel we can win 20 games this year. And if we do, we should be able to clear some of the stank around the program and start bringing in those 4* guys that were always the foundation of our teams.

I think my end rationalization is KO basher or KO supporter, we have this year to figure out where we stand. Ripping him for the last couple of years when we have made some major changes to the infrastructure AND KO has more or less implied he has dropped the ball, is a waste of time. Let's see what we/he can do this year. If we are a .500 team again, then he should be gone. I don't think the Pollyanna's would disagree with that. But he's earned 2017-2018 to see if he can recover that fire.

 

[Bagel&Cheese]

I remember the Perno years all too well with the talent he had and UConn went to one NCAA tournament. Perno was much worse and you forget Ollie did win a National Championship, which took some good coaching along with great play.

I really enjoyed those old days at the Field House. My jab at Ollie was a bit in jest but it's really tough to do a direct comparison between the two. Loved the Corny Thompson/ Mike McKay days....

 

[UConnNick]

I will root like crazy for the players, as I always do. I just think that the coaching staff has things so messed up that a good season is more wishful thinking than realistic. Three years of mediocrity and irrelevance is a bad trend and a tough one to reverse.

Mau, please tell me why you are confident in KO despite things like losing to Northeastern, Wagner and ECU last season combined with the loss of Enoch, Jackson, Durham and MAL? What have you seen in terms of actual performance over the past three seasons to suggest that this will be a good season for the Huskies? I see an outstanding player in Jalen Adams and a very solid player in Christian Vital. Beyond that, I see many question marks and a roster that is still 3 players short at a very late date in the recruiting cycle.

I have been a UConn fan for 4 decades, but I truly can't see KO turning this around. The issues are too numerous and substantial.

Since when does advancing to the Round of 32 in the NCAAs and getting beaten by a No. 1 seed constitute a season of "mediocrity and irrelevance"? We were one of the 32 best teams in the country out of what, 345 or so? I fail to understand how that is mediocre and irrelevant.

You guys are consistent, I'll grant you that. Always paint the picture in broad brush strokes. Everything is either good or bad, black or white, no shades of gray. It's all doom and gloom if you're on the Ollie Ollie out free express train, and I'm so sick and tired of reading messages about how Brimah's play against St. Joe's is the only reason Ollie still has his job.

You may all be proven right by the end of next season, but can we at least play it out first before we shovel the final scoops of dirt on Ollie's coffin?

 

[Huskybass]

Since when does advancing to the Round of 32 in the NCAAs and getting beaten by a No. 1 seed constitute a season of "mediocrity and irrelevance"? We were one of the 32 best teams in the country out of what, 345 or so? I fail to understand how that is mediocre and irrelevant.

You guys are consistent, I'll grant you that. Always paint the picture in broad brush strokes. Everything is either good or bad, black or white, no shades of gray. It's all doom and gloom if you're on the Ollie Ollie out free express train, and I'm so sick and tired of reading messages about how Brimah's play against St. Joe's is the only reason Ollie still has his job.

You may all be proven right by the end of next season, but can we at least play it out first before we shovel the final scoops of dirt on Ollie's coffin?

Because the team wasn't ranked for the vast majority of the season and didn't even contend for the regular season AAC title. That resulted in a bad seed leading to a matchup with Kansas. It was an underwhelming season by any objective standard.

 

[Stainmaster]

Ah, the "fake fan" attack. A tried and true go-to by the Everything Is Awesome crew.

Nobody thinks "everything is awesome." Your strawman arguments are straight up trash, and you should feel ashamed for putting them forward.

 

[UConnNick]

Because the team wasn't ranked for the vast majority of the season and didn't even contend for the regular season AAC title. That resulted in a bad seed leading to a matchup with Kansas. It was an underwhelming season by any objective standard.

Gee, and then we won the AAC Tournament, a fact you conveniently ignore. Sorry, but finishing up the season as one of the 32 best teams in the country is decidedly NOT mediocre and irrelevant. You can put whatever spin you want on the regular season, but you also fail to acknowledge that Brimah spent a fair amount of the season injured and unavailable. It's always and forever all negative no matter what the circumstances were.

 

[JMick]

Nobody thinks "everything is awesome." Your strawman arguments are straight up trash, and you should feel ashamed for putting them forward.

It's been nothing but Whataboutism, false equivalences and straw man arguments from both sides.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I will root like crazy for the players, as I always do. I just think that the coaching staff has things so messed up that a good season is more wishful thinking than realistic. Three years of mediocrity and irrelevance is a bad trend and a tough one to reverse.

Mau, please tell me why you are confident in KO despite things like losing to Northeastern, Wagner and ECU last season combined with the loss of Enoch, Jackson, Durham and MAL? What have you seen in terms of actual performance over the past three seasons to suggest that this will be a good season for the Huskies? I see an outstanding player in Jalen Adams and a very solid player in Christian Vital. Beyond that, I see many question marks and a roster that is still 3 players short at a very late date in the recruiting cycle.

I have been a UConn fan for 4 decades, but I truly can't see KO turning this around. The issues are too numerous and substantial.

Not Mau, but I'll reply. I do so as a guy who opposed Ollie being hired initially. I wanted a guy with HC experience and a track record of success, and thought UConn was in a position then to land one.

I don't think anybody should feel "confident" about anything, and I didn't see that Mau was "confident" in his post, merely hopeful. Can Ollie turn it around? I think so. It's clear that he recognized that something was wrong with the makeup of the team. Its attitude. It was less than the sum of its parts. I think he recognized that his coaching was at least part of the problem. So, can the 17-18 team win? Sure. It has three guys who are as good as anyone in this league in Larrier, Adams and Gilbert. It has a solid guy in Vital. It has a whole bunch of question marks on the rest of the roster. Can Cobb be effective and rebound, defend and get a few garbage hoops a game? Is Diarra healthy and is he ready to contribute? Can any of the freshmen step up and contribute as Vital and Vance did last year?

If Cobb and Diarra can give us even 3/4 of what Brimah and Facey did, and one or two freshmen can play, this team can be pretty good. Good enough to win 20+ games. Add Ollie to that, and changes in the staff. Will the offensive and defensive systems be better? Will he make better adjustments? I hope so. I'm looking at Ollie as a new coach right now. This is his first season as the new Kevin Ollie. I hope he becomes the coach we all believe he can be, and not the one he's been the last couple of seasons.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Gee, and then we won the AAC Tournament, a fact you conveniently ignore. Sorry, but finishing up the season as one of the 32 best teams in the country is decidedly NOT mediocre and irrelevant. You can put whatever spin you want on the regular season, but you also fail to acknowledge that Brimah spent a fair amount of the season injured and unavailable. It's always and forever all negative no matter what the circumstances were.

The team and season were decent, but once again, not as good as they should have been given the players on the roster. I'm hopeful for Ollie, but I don't think he did a good job that year just because his highly talented team won its way into the tournament. It shouldn't have been in doubt. I think he knows this.

The Red Sox made the playoffs last year, but I'll tell you this: John Farrell was terrible.

 

[Huskybass]

Not Mau, but I'll reply. I do so as a guy who opposed Ollie being hired initially. I wanted a guy with HC experience and a track record of success, and thought UConn was in a position then to land one.

I don't think anybody should feel "confident" about anything, and I didn't see that Mau was "confident" in his post, merely hopeful. Can Ollie turn it around? I think so. It's clear that he recognized that something was wrong with the makeup of the team. Its attitude. It was less than the sum of its parts. I think he recognized that his coaching was at least part of the problem. So, can the 17-18 team win? Sure. It has three guys who are as good as anyone in this league in Larrier, Adams and Gilbert. It has a solid guy in Vital. It has a whole bunch of question marks on the rest of the roster. Can Cobb be effective and rebound, defend and get a few garbage hoops a game? Is Diarra healthy and is he ready to contribute? Can any of the freshmen step up and contribute as Vital and Vance did last year?

If Cobb and Diarra can give us even 3/4 of what Brimah and Facey did, and one or two freshmen can play, this team can be pretty good. Good enough to win 20+ games. Add Ollie to that, and changes in the staff. Will the offensive and defensive systems be better? Will he make better adjustments? I hope so. I'm looking at Ollie as a new coach right now. This is his first season as the new Kevin Ollie. I hope he becomes the coach we all believe he can be, and not the one he's been the last couple of seasons.

Very fair reply. I just think it's more of an uphill battle given that Larrier and Gilbert are coming off missed seasons and significant injuries, and there really is no frontcourt depth and very little experience at the 4 and 5.