Warde Manuel sign Lock Up Ollie now!!!!

[Huskymaniac]

I'm sorry, maybe you missed how it was the lead-in story to the game, the theme of the color commentary throughout, the half-time discussion, the first topic of the post-game interview, and pretty much the number one thing being discussed about UConn.

You think, just maybe, it's because most people realized from the start that it was a stupid, self-defeating move by a new AD who was way over his head on his first major decision? If the talk about it is poison, he's to blame.

It made sense to give Kevin the extension when he got the contract. Every day that passes without it is a another day that it will be the focus of any discussion about UConn whether you like it or not.

I know what you are saying but every time it is discussed it potentially hurts the team chemistry and further impacts recruiting, whether you like it or not. The last thing we, as fans, should do, is perpetuate it. At least wait until it is feasible and reasonable to expect that it could push Manuel to write up an extension. Today's game accelerated the timing but it isn't happening after one game. It just isn't. So people should stop intead of feeding the fire. They aren't helping, period.

 

[warbler1055]

WM had no doubt about HCPP and his football program but he worries about Calhoun and KO? Warde might be the wrong man for the job.

 

[uconNYC]

WM had no doubt about HCPP and his football program but he worries about Calhoun and KO? Warde might be the wrong man for the job.

And the UConn Athletic Department marketing machine continues to be a total dud.

 

[mauconnfan]

WM is a good guy and has his reasons. He was hired to do a job and he can't just let everyone else tell him what to do, he has to show a sack. He was at the game, standing up clapping and rooting hard (have you seen a lot of other ex-AD's show that emotion people?) and he was impressed. He went right over to all the coaches and specifically JC and he was genuinely impressed by the game and the scene you could see it. The guy has done a great job at Buffalo and will do the same at UConn I believe and we could be lucky to have the big man.

I agree with everyone who thinks we need to sign KO now or soon thereafter but he has his reasons and I respect that as he knows more about universities and things than I.........and I'm sure he gets the "recruiting bit" and will now expedite the process if he believes in what he saw last night because that was special. Him and the Prez will have a long plane ride to discuss some matters and I see some good things coming out of this trip for the Huskies..........

Hopefully they also saw the 2nd half of the football game too where PP again did everything he could to ruin a pretty good 1st half........he needs to go and KO needs to get some of that buyout cash!! LOL

 

[Kitaman]

Actually I hope WM drags it out. Ollie will command more and get more, and in the end will burn WM for his initial decision and huge mistake. The national press is praising Ollie and stating how absurd a 1 year contract was. So take your time WM, Ollie's leverage keeps rising.

 

[gibhunter]

Warde looked very happy at the end of the game. I think he was in a tough position cornered by coach Calhoun and had to sign Ollie even though he did not want to. I think he wants to now. I think KO will have his contract before the end of the year.

 

[progrocks]

I am completely fine with the course WM has chosen. If things continue to go real well, I would expect this to be tied up before the kids come back from Christmas.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

MAU is correct.

It is very important for WM's long term success that people don't think he caved in immediately to JC's wishes just because JC decided to paint him in a corner. Even if WM felt all along that KO was a quality candidate, there was no way his hire would appear to be anything beyond JC saying jump and WM asking how high?

It won't hurt anyone if KO gets his extension in early-mid February. WM gets to show the world it was his decision and KO can tell kids that they may be the missing piece to a title run (as we are bringing basically everyone back).

If we hit March and KO's deal hasn't been extended, we will have cause for concern. Until then, a little patience never hurt anyone.

 

[AtlantaHusky]

WM sign KO long term, end the hysteria!

 

[DogMania]

I know what you are saying but every time it is discussed it potentially hurts the team chemistry and further impacts recruiting, whether you like it or not. The last thing we, as fans, should do, is perpetuate it. At least wait until it is feasible and reasonable to expect that it could push Manuel to write up an extension. Today's game accelerated the timing but it isn't happening after one game. It just isn't. So people should stop intead of feeding the fire. They aren't helping, period.

Exactly how does fans pointing out how WM let his ego get in the way of what's best for the program and the university hurt team chemistry? Answer: None!

1. WM should have recognized what most of us already knew. JC has always had an eye for potential and is usually right. He should have embraced JC's recommendation and not doubted it even though he didn't get his chance to do his national search.

2. Recruting, recruiting, recruiting. Recruiting is the life blood of a program. Yeah, you need a good coach to get them to perform as a team and to the best of their ability, but if in the end WM decides to sign KO, IMO he made KO's future a lot harder. I think there was a good chance that XRM would have committed here if he had known KO would be his coach next fall. If XRM had decided to come here, not only would we have gotten an impact player, but it might have attracted other good recruits. Maybe KO will get that extension soon, but it's not going to likely happen before the fall signing period and most of the damage has already been done in that regard, but if he can get an extension within a month or so, it might put KO and UConn in a little better position to get some solid uncommitted recruits next spring. If WM waits till the spring to sign him, more damage will be done since recruiting is a lot about relationship buidling and many recruits who might have been interested might have moved on.

I don't think talking about this here causes any damage. If anything popular opinion often puts pressure of its subject to take measures to turn it back in their favor. If KO is able to coach UConn to an undefeated record for a while the pressure will grow and grow to where the only way to turn the wave back will be to sign KO.

As for recruits being influenced by what we say here, please! A kid would have to have his head up his ass to not realize the situation and have the same concerns we're all talking about.

Bottom lline IMO is WM should have signed him to a 3 year deal with a moderate buy one the day after JC hung 'em up. Since that moment UConn is 1-0 on the court and 0-whatever on the recruiting trail. Doesn't take a genius to realize that.

 

[DogMania]

MAU is correct.

It is very important for WM's long term success that people don't think he caved in immediately to JC's wishes just because JC decided to paint him in a corner. Even if WM felt all along that KO was a quality candidate, there was no way his hire would appear to be anything beyond JC saying jump and WM asking how high?

It won't hurt anyone if KO gets his extension in early-mid February. WM gets to show the world it was his decision and KO can tell kids that they may be the missing piece to a title run (as we are bringing basically everyone back).

If we hit March and KO's deal hasn't been extended, we will have cause for concern. Until then, a little patience never hurt anyone.

What you're saying makes our point. MW let his ego get in the way. What's his f'ng job!?!? It's not to stroke his ego, but to make decisions that are in the best interest of UConn. Flushing our recruiting down the toilet isn't in UConn's best interest. I don't have a problem if he had his doubts about KO's ability to coach at this level, but regradless he was dealt a hand and in the opinion of most (fans here, and just about everyone in the media that I've heard) think he should have given KO a multi-year deal. Waiting as long as you say will only do more damage with recruiting. It will not only impact the few 2013 recruits that are still on the board, but will begin to impact the 2014 ones that will begin to cut down their lists and some even making their final choices.

 

[Donyell]

WM made this situation more complicated then it should have been. Can end this also with a quick extension as dog say's it is all about recruiting , recruiting , recruiting and anything that hinders this should be remedied asap. At this point this is not rocked science.

 

[warbler1055]

Exactly how does fans pointing out how WM let his ego get in the way of what's best for the program and the university hurt team chemistry? Answer: None!

1. WM should have recognized what most of us already knew. JC has always had an eye for potential and is usually right. He should have embraced JC's recommendation and not doubted it even though he didn't get his chance to do his national search.

2. Recruting, recruiting, recruiting. Recruiting is the life blood of a program. Yeah, you need a good coach to get them to perform as a team and to the best of their ability, but if in the end WM decides to sign KO, IMO he made KO's future a lot harder. I think there was a good chance that XRM would have committed here if he had known KO would be his coach next fall. If XRM had decided to come here, not only would we have gotten an impact player, but it might have attracted other good recruits. Maybe KO will get that extension soon, but it's not going to likely happen before the fall signing period and most of the damage has already been done in that regard, but if he can get an extension within a month or so, it might put KO and UConn in a little better position to get some solid uncommitted recruits next spring. If WM waits till the spring to sign him, more damage will be done since recruiting is a lot about relationship buidling and many recruits who might have been interested might have moved on.

I don't think talking about this here causes any damage. If anything popular opinion often puts pressure of its subject to take measures to turn it back in their favor. If KO is able to coach UConn to an undefeated record for a while the pressure will grow and grow to where the only way to turn the wave back will be to sign KO.

As for recruits being influenced by what we say here, please! A kid would have to have his head up his ass to not realize the situation and have the same concerns we're all talking about.

Bottom lline IMO is WM should have signed him to a 3 year deal with a moderate buy one the day after JC hung 'em up. Since that moment UConn is 1-0 on the court and 0-whatever on the recruiting trail. Doesn't take a genius to realize that.

Agreed. What I don't understand is why WM did not take care of the football program and HCPP and GD. I have no doubt that WM will sign KO sooner or later but HCPP needed to be taken care of.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

I will repeat my problem with Manuel's decision. No matter what Manuel wants to do long-term, he should have given Ollie a 3 year contract.

Ollie is really cheap, so a 3 year deal wouldn't handcuff the school. It would end this constant discussion of Ollie's status and let Ollie recruit. If Ollie flopped, at the end of the year Manuel could fire him and everyone would agree Ollie got a fair shake.

If Ollie was successful, Manuel would look like he knew it all along. Now Manuel looks weak if he hires Ollie. It looks like he bet against Ollie and lost. It was a stupid way for Manuel to play this.

 

[UConnSwag11]

loved the fire the team played with... imagine how they'll be when omar comes around and the teams fitness gets up there so they can maintain that energy the whole game... i think he should be signed asap and the main reason i feel like that is bc he is a beast at recruiting and this one year contract is killing him

 

[FfldCntyFan]

What you're saying makes our point. MW let his ego get in the way. What's his f'ng job!?!? It's not to stroke his ego, but to make decisions that are in the best interest of UConn. Flushing our recruiting down the toilet isn't in UConn's best interest. I don't have a problem if he had his doubts about KO's ability to coach at this level, but regradless he was dealt a hand and in the opinion of most (fans here, and just about everyone in the media that I've heard) think he should have given KO a multi-year deal. Waiting as long as you say will only do more damage with recruiting. It will not only impact the few 2013 recruits that are still on the board, but will begin to impact the 2014 ones that will begin to cut down their lists and some even making their final choices.

I don't believe that it is a matter of ego at all. In fact if WM did have the ego issue you are claiming, he would have been full enough of himself to believe a statement on his part that KO was his decision all along would have been sufficient to convince the world that he wasn't a pushover.

WM is in a public position of authority and the level of authority that his image holds is vital in his ability to do his job (not the least if which is negotiating games with other schools). If the book on him is that he'll cave easily, we may as well have kept Hathaway.

 

[willie99]

if Warde were to make such a catastrophic mistake and not sign Ollie, we'll just have to show him the door with Pee Pee

is Warde egotistical? maybe he doesn't like being in JC's shadow. I know he's never dealt with such a man before, and I doubt the Buffalo fans were as high maintenance or involved as we are

having said that, I don't think the short contract was anything more than a safety blanket. UConn just wants to make sure Ollie is not a colossal mistake. Once he can see Ollie has the skill, Ollie gets the contract

 

[mauconnfan]

Bingo willie......he'll get it done. Now I do expect sooner rather than later but I doubt he does it on 1 game, that would look rather silly!!! Maybe after the trip to the islands? We'll see........

 

[hungry husky]

Just finished watching the game. Ollie can relate to the players so well, hope he can sustain the success to earn this long-term contract. So fired up right now.

 

[Calhoun's Court]

I will repeat my problem with Manuel's decision. No matter what Manuel wants to do long-term, he should have given Ollie a 3 year contract.

Ollie is really cheap, so a 3 year deal wouldn't handcuff the school. It would end this constant discussion of Ollie's status and let Ollie recruit. If Ollie flopped, at the end of the year Manuel could fire him and everyone would agree Ollie got a fair shake.

If Ollie was successful, Manuel would look like he knew it all along. Now Manuel looks weak if he hires Ollie. It looks like he bet against Ollie and lost. It was a stupid way for Manuel to play this.

All WM had to do is put buyouts in the cotract to protect UCONN.

By doing what he did he cost us potential recruits.
This guy(WM) seems to be in over his head.

 

[hungry husky]

Bingo willie......he'll get it done. Now I do expect sooner rather than later but I doubt he does it on 1 game, that would look rather silly!!! Maybe after the trip to the islands? We'll see........

I agree. This would be a good time. NC St game will be big.

 

[ctchamps]

There was a bind whichever way Manuel chose. Take the extreme outcomes that were hypothetically possible in September:

If he gave the three year contract and KO was lousy, WM's career as an AD would be seriously impacted, the program would be set back at least two years and UConn fans and alumni would be screaming about his decision including those who wanted Ollie.

If he gave the 7 month contract and KO proved to be an excellent coach, the men's bb program would be set back one or two years because of the impact on recruiting and UConn fans and alumni would be screaming including those who did not want Ollie.

I get the impression WM bears no animosity about the KO development that unfolded prior to the start of this season. And I don't get the impression he has an adversarial relationship with JC from what I've observed watching the interaction of the two men in the exhibition games and the MSU game. Having a disagreement about the KO contract does not indicate the relationship is rocky like it was between JC and Hathaway. Personally I advocated the position JC advocated. I felt and still do there were more positives than negatives with giving KO a three year contract from the start. But I'm not going to throw WM under the bus because his decision differed from mine.

My impression is that the MSU game really helps WM have a consensus of support with fans and alumni and if KO can continue to show the same type of results, he will offer an extended contract pretty quickly. So those of us who want KO long term, let's hope the success continues over the next two weeks allowing WM to pull the trigger.

 

[husky91]

True, but the 1 year contract is stupid. Manuel seems lost, another terrible hire after PP. at least give KO 2 years and fire him after 1 if ur so disappointed and eat the $$. It hurts the program.

KO was just lucky. He has no coaching experience. No way anyone can say he out coached one of the best coaches in college basket ball. Had to be luck. JUST HAD TO SAY THIS TO ALL THOSE WHO LOOK AT RESUME AND NOT CHARACTER!!!!!!! Nice win KO. First of many UConn wins under your leadership!!

 

[ctchamps]

True, but the 1 year contract is stupid. Manuel seems lost, another terrible hire after PP. at least give KO 2 years and fire him after 1 if ur so disappointed and eat the $$. It hurts the program.

I was being sarcastic. I wanted KO for the head coaching job the moment he stepped onto the UConn campus. It was partly a gut feeling but also based on what I read about his role in the NBA and what people in this forum discussed about his relationship with the kids and parents at his bb camps.

I was for the three year offer and felt as you do. BTW, Hathaway hired PP and not Manuel. It was as much to p*ss off a major contributor to athletics (The donor was Burton and I think the donor gave 5 mil for the football practice facility). The donor hated PP and wanted a say in the hire. Hathaway probably hired PP just to spite this donor as much as he wanted a easygoing compliant coach to avoid butting heads.

 

[Chris]

Did you hear the stat where they said the winner of this rivalry each time has gone on to the NC. Too bad we cant keep that stat alive!!

 

[ctchamps]

Did you hear the stat where they said the winner of this rivalry each time has gone on to the NC. Too bad we cant keep that stat alive!!

There is alway a carry over effect for the following season. New paradigm.