Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="Uconnfanatic, post: 2536001, member: 4150"] I wanted desperately to see KO succeed. His first couple of years he did great. Considering how little coaching experience he had, it is amazing how well he did in those two years. Since 2014, it has been a very different experience. Somehow he lost his way. Did his divorce affect him? It undoubtedly did. Whether because of that or other reasons, the team never looks prepared or fundamentally sound anymore. So many turnovers, lots of dribbling around on the perimeter and then settling for a three, poor defensive focus giving up a lot of open threes. Also coming out sluggish and falling way behind early before closing the gap a bit. Generally, we have seen some improvement of late, particularly on defense since switching to a zone. Still not a lot of fun to watch though. We lack the toughness so characteristic of the Calhoun teams and that will to win. I think trying to run a pro offense when you don't have the horses is probably a mistake but that may be all KO knows since that's what he played at UConn & obviously in the NBA. All this being said, I still wonder what part of this is bad coaching and what part is the result of a young team that is still early in its development. We are seeing good progress from Carlton & Whaley. They need to get stronger and still have a long way to go development wise but clearly they are improving. Jay Wright and Bruce Pearl have both gone out of their way to say they think Kevin is doing a good job with a very young team. Maybe that's just the coaching fraternity supporting one of their own but I sensed it was more than that. Recruiting has been hurt. I think the focus on athletes at the exclusion of shooters has clearly been a mistake. KO also passed up on some good guys who wanted to come here in hopes of getting higher ranked players. Hindsight is 20/20 but I think we paid a price for KO's inexperience in recruiting. He's learning and evolving in this area. I also think negative recruiting has hurt us tremendously. Some of that is on him and some is the inevitable price we are paying for our slide and our failure to get into a P5 conference. Sure hurts to see the likes of Villanova, West Virginia and Seton Hall do so well while we languish. I am rooting for Kevin to turn it around but with every double digit loss, I think the odds of his surviving beyond this year are growing short. Maybe Danny Hurley is the answer but I am not convinced. I just hope that if AD David Benedict does decide to make a move, he will conduct a thorough nationwide search and not just grab Hurley because he wants to come here and is coaching nearby. I am not one who wonders whether we can attract a first rate coach given our poor standing of late. I am sure lots of good young coaches would love to have the opportunity to coach at the institution that has won 4 NCAA championships since 1999 and bring us back to prominence. Whatever happens, just remember KO is a big part of our family and our legacy and deserves to be treated with respect and dignity. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

Forum statistics

Threads: 164,828

Messages: 4,411,700

Members: 10,239

Latest member: Dondadonone