WKU making a "hard push" for Tremont Waters

[nyhuskies13]

this is a ridiculous conversation. KO might have faults, but to claim he's not "selling" the program well enough because calipari got Hami to Kentucky is dumb

a monkey could sell Kentucky... lets see...


Kentucky, insane BBN fan base who show up nightly to a world class, sold out arena
UConn, fair weather fans that cheer in a half empty, 40yr old dump arena

Kentucky, national exposure playing against the top programs in the country in a P5 conference
UConn, games on ESPN6 against East Carolina and Tulane

Kentucky, multiple first round draft picks for the last 7-8yrs
UConn, not a single first round draft pick in 3years

Kentucky, crazy perks/facilities including own residential hall and NBA Scout days at practices
UConn, freezing campus in the middle of nowhere heading in the wrong direction



we could go on and on.... KO doesn't have the tools to compete with UK in recruiting

UConn in the ACC playing Duke, UNC, and Cuse in a sold out, brand new downtown arena, with a top 25 team and multiple draft picks over a period of time. If that were our reality and KO was missing recruits to Kentucky, then you can say he has subpar sales skills

but its hard to convince a kid who loves the limelight to buy a Toyota Corolla over a GWagon

 

[intlzncster]

Now you're coming up with better arguments ... but not ones that a good salesman could not overcome. Calipari gets 3 first round picks every year because he is a great salesman. Hami's situation was the case of an Eskimo deciding whether to buy ice from Calipari or firewood from KO. He chose the ice and it was a mistake on his part, but also a poor selling job on KO's part.

Listen, sadly, at this point in college basketball, if K or Cal want a kid, at any time in the recruiting process, they can get him. It's rare that a guy they target hard doesn't end up there. I'd say that's especially true when they come in late oddly enough.

 

[UCweCONN]

this is a ridiculous conversation. KO might have faults, but to claim he's not "selling" the program well enough because calipari got Hami to Kentucky is dumb

a monkey could sell Kentucky... lets see...


Kentucky, insane BBN fan base who show up nightly to a world class, sold out arena
UConn, fair weather fans that cheer in a half empty, 40yr old dump arena

Kentucky, national exposure playing against the top programs in the country in a P5 conference
UConn, games on ESPN6 against East Carolina and Tulane

Kentucky, multiple first round draft picks for the last 7-8yrs
UConn, not a single first round draft pick in 3years

Kentucky, crazy perks/facilities including own residential hall and NBA Scout days at practices
UConn, freezing campus in the middle of nowhere heading in the wrong direction



we could go on and on.... KO doesn't have the tools to compete with UK in recruiting

UConn in the ACC playing Duke, UNC, and Cuse in a sold out, brand new downtown arena, with a top 25 team and multiple draft picks over a period of time. If that were our reality and KO was missing recruits to Kentucky, then you can say he has subpar sales skills

but its hard to convince a kid who loves the limelight to buy a Toyota Corolla over a GWagon

We should just cancel basketball altogether. We clearly have nothing to offer. Thanks for posting.

 

[upstater]

If what you say is true, in what universe is LSU a better choice than UMD?

Not better for me. But then again I wouldn't have chosen Georgetown either. Who knows, maybe the lack of defense is appealing.

There are a lot of schools looking for guards right now. LSU and Maryland are just 2 of them.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

this is a ridiculous conversation. KO might have faults, but to claim he's not "selling" the program well enough because calipari got Hami to Kentucky is dumb

a monkey could sell Kentucky... lets see...


Kentucky, insane BBN fan base who show up nightly to a world class, sold out arena
UConn, fair weather fans that cheer in a half empty, 40yr old dump arena

Kentucky, national exposure playing against the top programs in the country in a P5 conference
UConn, games on ESPN6 against East Carolina and Tulane

Kentucky, multiple first round draft picks for the last 7-8yrs
UConn, not a single first round draft pick in 3years

Kentucky, crazy perks/facilities including own residential hall and NBA Scout days at practices
UConn, freezing campus in the middle of nowhere heading in the wrong direction



we could go on and on.... KO doesn't have the tools to compete with UK in recruiting

UConn in the ACC playing Duke, UNC, and Cuse in a sold out, brand new downtown arena, with a top 25 team and multiple draft picks over a period of time. If that were our reality and KO was missing recruits to Kentucky, then you can say he has subpar sales skills

but its hard to convince a kid who loves the limelight to buy a Toyota Corolla over a GWagon

Pretty much nobody aside from Duke or Kansas can compete with Kentucky in recruiting.

Also, your exposure numbers are just flat out wrong. UConn is on CBS, ESPN a lot more than most P5 schools. We'll see what happens when the new deal is signed in a few years, but we are not lacking for exposure. Opponents, sure, but it's not like the SEC is the B1G, ACC, Big 12 or Big East when it comes to historical big name opponents.

Also, the Civic Center and Rupp Arena are the same age. You must be thinking of Louisville.

 

[upstater]

To take him at his word after he decommitted from Georgetown, he's looking a stable coaching situation. Which we may no longer have.

He really just wants lots of PT and to run the team. That is it.

 

[8893]

Not better for me. But then again I wouldn't have chosen Georgetown either. Who knows, maybe the lack of defense is appealing.

There are a lot of schools looking for guards right now. LSU and Maryland are just 2 of them.

Well Georgetown was my dream school, so I'd differ with you there; but I wasn't looking to play basketball.

 

[nyhuskies13]

Also, your exposure numbers are just flat out wrong. UConn is on CBS, ESPN a lot more than most P5 schools. We'll see what happens when the new deal is signed in a few years, but we are not lacking for exposure. Opponents, sure, but it's not like the SEC is the B1G, ACC, Big 12 or Big East when it comes to historical big name opponents.

Also, the Civic Center and Rupp Arena are the same age. You must be thinking of Louisville.

Exposure numbers are not wrong... look at the games this past year...

ESPN: UK 19x UConn 1x
ESPN2: UK 3x UConn 10x
CBS: UK 9x UConn 0x
ESPNU: UK 1x UConn 5x


Anyone would agree ESPN 19-1 and CBS 9-0 is significantly more exposure than UConns 10x on ESPN2, especially with some of those games coming at odd hawaiin times last year

I didn't confuse the Yum Center at all. But are you really saying the XL Center is on par with Rupp Arena?? Even Geno came out a couple weeks ago and said the XL is the worst arena in the AAC Conference, and said nothing comes close to 2nd...

 

[auror]

You can get to the NBA from anywhere, but...

If you say you've been working on this kid on the court and in the classroom since he was five and he ends up at Louisiana State University, you screwed something up.

Even if you have something against UConn, just go back to Georgetown at this point. There is no metric by which LSU is better than Georgetown here. Somebody doesn't know what they're doing.

Uh, Will Wade >>>> Patrick Ewing probably.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Exposure numbers are not wrong... look at the games this past year...

ESPN: UK 19x UConn 1x
ESPN2: UK 3x UConn 10x
CBS: UK 9x UConn 0x
ESPNU: UK 1x UConn 5x


Anyone would agree ESPN 19-1 and CBS 9-0 is significantly more exposure than UConns 10x on ESPN2, especially with some of those games coming at odd hawaiin times last year

I didn't confuse the Yum Center at all. But are you really saying the XL Center is on par with Rupp Arena?? Even Geno came out a couple weeks ago and said the XL is the worst arena in the AAC Conference, and said nothing comes close to 2nd...

I wasn't comparing UConn's recruiting or TV exposure with Kentucky. What I said was that nobody competes with Kentucky in recruiting aside from Duke or Kansas and that our TV exposure is far greater than many P5 teams. Your statement implied most of our games are on no name networks like "ESPN6", which just isn't true.

In addition, you said "world class arena" with regards to Rupp. It's around 40 years old.

XL Center is pretty much a dump, but it struck me as funny seeing as they are the same age.

UConn seemingly can't compete with Kentucky off the court, but at least we've beat them in the Final 4 twice.

It's not Kentucky we need to be concerned about with regards to recruiting anyways. It's Cuse, Nova, Georgetown and even PC etc. who we compete locally for recruits in the Northeast.

 

[jibsey]

Until we start winning again we have 2 problems when competing for top takent with upper echolon P5 schools. 1. Our conference schedules 2. Current negative perception of KO based on players leaving. Maybe the second is not justified but it's happened and KO has to get past this, which success on the court can do. All I know is that we have been whiffing a lot lately.

 

[nyhuskies13]

I wasn't comparing UConn's recruiting or TV exposure with Kentucky. What I said was that nobody competes with Kentucky in recruiting aside from Duke or Kansas and that our TV exposure is far greater than many P5 teams. Your statement implied most of our games are on no name networks like "ESPN6", which just isn't true.

In addition, you said "world class arena" with regards to Rupp. It's around 40 years old.

XL Center is pretty much a dump, but it struck me as funny seeing as they are the same age.

UConn seemingly can't compete with Kentucky off the court, but at least we've beat them in the Final 4 twice.

It's not Kentucky we need to be concerned about with regards to recruiting anyways. It's Cuse, Nova, Georgetown and even PC etc. who we compete locally for recruits in the Northeast.

my entire post was in response to someone saying KO isn't selling the program well enough because we lost Hami to Kentucky

the comparison was to Kentucky

ESPN6 doesn't exist - its hyperbole for the sake of argument. but we don't play a particularly national schedule on national TV consistently enough

in spite of its age, Rupp arena is one of the most famous and historic arenas in the country. XL Center is not

I agree with you on success. I hate Kentucky and will take our final four wins over BBN any day of the week

 

[upstater]

Exposure numbers are not wrong... look at the games this past year...

ESPN: UK 19x UConn 1x
ESPN2: UK 3x UConn 10x
CBS: UK 9x UConn 0x
ESPNU: UK 1x UConn 5x


Anyone would agree ESPN 19-1 and CBS 9-0 is significantly more exposure than UConns 10x on ESPN2, especially with some of those games coming at odd hawaiin times last year

I didn't confuse the Yum Center at all. But are you really saying the XL Center is on par with Rupp Arena?? Even Geno came out a couple weeks ago and said the XL is the worst arena in the AAC Conference, and said nothing comes close to 2nd...

Your numbers are wrong.

UConn had 2 games on CBS. Also 1 on Fox (not FS1, but Fox Network).

Also, the ESPN and ESPN2 comparison is negligible because ESPN2 has more subscribers, AND the switch of several games from ESPN to ESPN2 was solely due to UConn's record. Going into the year, UConn had a great deal more either/ors, which were later switched to the deuce.

This was a down year as far as UConn goes in terms of exposure on the big channels. They were on a total of 14 times instead of the usual 16.

 

[dennismenace]

Exposure numbers are not wrong... look at the games this past year...

ESPN: UK 19x UConn 1x
ESPN2: UK 3x UConn 10x
CBS: UK 9x UConn 0x
ESPNU: UK 1x UConn 5x


Anyone would agree ESPN 19-1 and CBS 9-0 is significantly more exposure than UConns 10x on ESPN2, especially with some of those games coming at odd hawaiin times last year

I didn't confuse the Yum Center at all. But are you really saying the XL Center is on par with Rupp Arena?? Even Geno came out a couple weeks ago and said the XL is the worst arena in the AAC Conference, and said nothing comes close to 2nd...

Why would Geno be dumping on the XL CTR? Does it affect coaching? Is the floor warped? Is it affecting play? I really don't understand why a coach would be commenting on this. Please enlighten me. I can understand the fans being turned off by
concession stands, flatscreens etc. but right now, in case anyone wasn't looking, there is a monstrous hole in the upcoming State budget, people and businesses are leaving our state in droves and yesterday Hartford was looking for State assistance with their budget because their finances are on life support!

 

[UCDaveD]

my entire post was in response to someone saying KO isn't selling the program well enough because we lost Hami to Kentucky

the comparison was to Kentucky

ESPN6 doesn't exist - its hyperbole for the sake of argument. but we don't play a particularly national schedule on national TV consistently enough

in spite of its age, Rupp arena is one of the most famous and historic arenas in the country. XL Center is not

I agree with you on success. I hate Kentucky and will take our final four wins over BBN any day of the week

It's probably just semantics, but when I hear "world-class" arena, I'm thinking of something new and shiny, not a dump with history.

 

[UConnDan97]

That's not me. I do think KO needs to learn how to sell himself and UConn better.

I'll take you at your word because I respect you as a poster. What I'll ask you is what you think changed between now and last year in terms of KO's ability to sell himself and UConn better? Because last year, he seemed to be fine with landing the #8 ranked class in all of the nation. In terms of individual players, he landed the #32, #46, #79, #142, and #230 based on 247 composite scores.

I'll tell you what I think the difference was this year vs. last year: that we weren't in on as many kids as early as others because we weren't expecting the defections at the end of the year, including MAL (#38 of 2017). It had nothing to do with his ability to sell himself or this university, in my opinion. Nor does it have anything to do with him being on some hot seat. And I think that the 2018 class will eventually prove me right...

 

[huskymedic]

Why would Geno be dumping on the XL CTR? Does it affect coaching? Is the floor warped? Is it affecting play? I really don't understand why a coach would be commenting on this. Please enlighten me.

Context: Auriemma Tells Politicians To Pull Together And Play Like A Winning Team

>>Auriemma, the rally's keynote speaker, told those gathered in the park and state legislators who later spoke, that the state must pull together as team. He used the rise of the UConn basketball program — and the blossoming of UConn as a high-profile university — as a metaphor, cautioning that the state cannot ignore deepening problems of perception. "So you been up to Gampel Pavilion lately?" Auriemma said. "The roof is falling apart, the roof is leaking. It's just like becoming the original [UConn] field house that I coached in. And guess what? Everybody thought, 'It's OK.' Oh really? The No. 1 team in America is playing in a place that leaks, and the roof is falling apart." Auriemma was similarly critical of Hartford's XL Center arena, calling it the worst building UConn plays in of any major university in the country. "The worst. No one else is even second," Auriemma said. "But it's OK. We're going to win anyway. Until when? When we don't. Until we don't, then what? Then, it's too late."<<

 

[pj]

I'll take you at your word because I respect you as a poster. What I'll ask you is what you think changed between now and last year in terms of KO's ability to sell himself and UConn better? Because last year, he seemed to be fine with landing the #8 ranked class in all of the nation. In terms of individual players, he landed the #32, #46, #79, #142, and #230 based on 247 composite scores.

I'll tell you what I think the difference was this year vs. last year: that we weren't in on as many kids as early as others because we weren't expecting the defections at the end of the year, including MAL (#38 of 2017). It had nothing to do with his ability to sell himself or this university, in my opinion. Nor does it have anything to do with him being on some hot seat. And I think that the 2018 class will eventually prove me right...

I hope you are right. I agree things looked promising a year ago, Jalen/Alterique/Terry were great gets. But many of our misses were not a result of the unexpected transfers and decommit. If there had been no transfers or decommits, we would have been two scholarships shy of the limit (11 scholarship players in 2016-17, less the 3 seniors, plus MAL/Polley/Carlton), so we had already failed to meet ordinary recruiting needs before any losses. Meanwhile, we were on Hami, Tremont, and Sidney Wilson for years and years. Hami was trained by Taliek for years.

I'll tell you what I think changed between now and a year ago: KO lost his self-confidence. He's an honest man and can't sell unless he 100% believes his story.

For a time he had a compelling pitch: I spent 13 years in the NBA on little talent because I know how to win, and know how to do all the little things NBA teams look for. I can teach you those things. We won an NCAA championship my second year because I can coach and bring the best out in my players. I'm a Christian, I believe in a duty to love, and I love my players. I will wake up at 3 am thinking about what I can do to make you a better player and help you fulfill your dreams. We'll be a family, we'll love and help one another, and together we'll achieve great things. We'll be ten toes in every day. It will be a lot of hard work, but you'll learn how to be a champion and an NBA player. Oh, and plus, you'll have the UConn family of former NBA stars to help, a great practice facility, TV exposure, and a following from the whole state of Connecticut.

The problem is that last year severely damaged that pitch. Apparently, according to the hints dropped on this board by various people, he started coasting after the championship and the divorce and focused on his personal life more than the team. He wasn't ten toes in and the players noticed. A number of players felt unloved, felt he was demanding but not giving. I'm going to guess that there is some validity to these claims because KO has not been making his motivational, ten-toes-in speeches. It's as if he's embarrassed to ask of others the things he himself has failed to give. And embarrassed to make a pitch to recruits that his own (former) players won't endorse. He has lost the self-confidence, the swagger, that he needs to be an effective coach.

I also think some transient factors played in. The recruiting limits after the APR ban may have limited evaluation and led to a number of recruiting mistakes, players who didn't work hard and didn't really want to follow KO's recipe for success, players who wanted to focus on offense more than defense and wanted minutes handed to them.

I expect that KO's mistakes have been rookie head coach mistakes and he will figure out how to be a great coach. He will rebuild his recruiting story. But, other coaches have heard from UConn's ex-players whatever complaints they had toward UConn and have learned how to make a credible anti-UConn pitch to recruits. KO has to change things on the ground and re-construct his marketing and sales pitch. Hiring Chillious I think was a major step forward. But I've noticed that recently they've been selling Chillious more than KO. That's not going to work. You have to sell the head coach.

The first step is to be a great coach to next year's team -- to develop players, to build a successful and winning team -- and for him to get his own confidence back, to be able to say, you know, I made mistakes and I learned from them. I didn't work as hard as I should have for a few years, due to divorce or whatever, but I realized as a result that being a coach and helping players succeed is the most important thing to me, and I'm now eleven toes in. I'll do everything I can to help you. And talk to my 2017-18 players, they'll tell you it's true.

Based on what recent recruits have said of UConn's pitch, it's not there yet.

 

[dennismenace]

Context: Auriemma Tells Politicians To Pull Together And Play Like A Winning Team

>>Auriemma, the rally's keynote speaker, told those gathered in the park and state legislators who later spoke, that the state must pull together as team. He used the rise of the UConn basketball program — and the blossoming of UConn as a high-profile university — as a metaphor, cautioning that the state cannot ignore deepening problems of perception. "So you been up to Gampel Pavilion lately?" Auriemma said. "The roof is falling apart, the roof is leaking. It's just like becoming the original [UConn] field house that I coached in. And guess what? Everybody thought, 'It's OK.' Oh really? The No. 1 team in America is playing in a place that leaks, and the roof is falling apart." Auriemma was similarly critical of Hartford's XL Center arena, calling it the worst building UConn plays in of any major university in the country. "The worst. No one else is even second," Auriemma said. "But it's OK. We're going to win anyway. Until when? When we don't. Until we don't, then what? Then, it's too late."<<

Thank you for putting that into context. Interesting that Geno put things into the team concept for which the women's bb program is Exhibit A par excellence. You could write books on this. The antithesis to the team concept and integrity they display is selfishness (fear and greed based) and special interest corruption (dishonesty). It is interesting when honor and virtue are held up to the highest level in something as unusual as a basketball program the result is awe inspiring. It proves that these
values bring out the best in people and are an inspiration to so many.

 

[David 76]

I hope you are right. I agree things looked promising a year ago, Jalen/Alterique/Terry were great gets. But many of our misses were not a result of the unexpected transfers and decommit. If there had been no transfers or decommits, we would have been two scholarships shy of the limit (11 scholarship players in 2016-17, less the 3 seniors, plus MAL/Polley/Carlton), so we had already failed to meet ordinary recruiting needs before any losses. Meanwhile, we were on Hami, Tremont, and Sidney Wilson for years and years. Hami was trained by Taliek for years.

I'll tell you what I think changed between now and a year ago: KO lost his self-confidence. He's an honest man and can't sell unless he 100% believes his story.

For a time he had a compelling pitch: I spent 13 years in the NBA on little talent because I know how to win, and know how to do all the little things NBA teams look for. I can teach you those things. We won an NCAA championship my second year because I can coach and bring the best out in my players. I'm a Christian, I believe in a duty to love, and I love my players. I will wake up at 3 am thinking about what I can do to make you a better player and help you fulfill your dreams. We'll be a family, we'll love and help one another, and together we'll achieve great things. We'll be ten toes in every day. It will be a lot of hard work, but you'll learn how to be a champion and an NBA player. Oh, and plus, you'll have the UConn family of former NBA stars to help, a great practice facility, TV exposure, and a following from the whole state of Connecticut.

The problem is that last year severely damaged that pitch. Apparently, according to the hints dropped on this board by various people, he started coasting after the championship and the divorce and focused on his personal life more than the team. He wasn't ten toes in and the players noticed. A number of players felt unloved, felt he was demanding but not giving. I'm going to guess that there is some validity to these claims because KO has not been making his motivational, ten-toes-in speeches. It's as if he's embarrassed to ask of others the things he himself has failed to give. And embarrassed to make a pitch to recruits that his own (former) players won't endorse. He has lost the self-confidence, the swagger, that he needs to be an effective coach.

I also think some transient factors played in. The recruiting limits after the APR ban may have limited evaluation and led to a number of recruiting mistakes, players who didn't work hard and didn't really want to follow KO's recipe for success, players who wanted to focus on offense more than defense and wanted minutes handed to them.

I expect that KO's mistakes have been rookie head coach mistakes and he will figure out how to be a great coach. He will rebuild his recruiting story. But, other coaches have heard from UConn's ex-players whatever complaints they had toward UConn and have learned how to make a credible anti-UConn pitch to recruits. KO has to change things on the ground and re-construct his marketing and sales pitch. Hiring Chillious I think was a major step forward. But I've noticed that recently they've been selling Chillious more than KO. That's not going to work. You have to sell the head coach.

The first step is to be a great coach to next year's team -- to develop players, to build a successful and winning team -- and for him to get his own confidence back, to be able to say, you know, I made mistakes and I learned from them. I didn't work as hard as I should have for a few years, due to divorce or whatever, but I realized as a result that being a coach and helping players succeed is the most important thing to me, and I'm now eleven toes in. I'll do everything I can to help you. And talk to my 2017-18 players, they'll tell you it's true.

Based on what recent recruits have said of UConn's pitch, it's not there yet.

How much of this is conjecture and how much is based on good sources?
Either way, good writing.

 

[UConnDan97]

I hope you are right. I agree things looked promising a year ago, Jalen/Alterique/Terry were great gets. But many of our misses were not a result of the unexpected transfers and decommit. If there had been no transfers or decommits, we would have been two scholarships shy of the limit (11 scholarship players in 2016-17, less the 3 seniors, plus MAL/Polley/Carlton), so we had already failed to meet ordinary recruiting needs before any losses. Meanwhile, we were on Hami, Tremont, and Sidney Wilson for years and years. Hami was trained by Taliek for years.

I'll tell you what I think changed between now and a year ago: KO lost his self-confidence. He's an honest man and can't sell unless he 100% believes his story.

For a time he had a compelling pitch: I spent 13 years in the NBA on little talent because I know how to win, and know how to do all the little things NBA teams look for. I can teach you those things. We won an NCAA championship my second year because I can coach and bring the best out in my players. I'm a Christian, I believe in a duty to love, and I love my players. I will wake up at 3 am thinking about what I can do to make you a better player and help you fulfill your dreams. We'll be a family, we'll love and help one another, and together we'll achieve great things. We'll be ten toes in every day. It will be a lot of hard work, but you'll learn how to be a champion and an NBA player. Oh, and plus, you'll have the UConn family of former NBA stars to help, a great practice facility, TV exposure, and a following from the whole state of Connecticut.

The problem is that last year severely damaged that pitch. Apparently, according to the hints dropped on this board by various people, he started coasting after the championship and the divorce and focused on his personal life more than the team. He wasn't ten toes in and the players noticed. A number of players felt unloved, felt he was demanding but not giving. I'm going to guess that there is some validity to these claims because KO has not been making his motivational, ten-toes-in speeches. It's as if he's embarrassed to ask of others the things he himself has failed to give. And embarrassed to make a pitch to recruits that his own (former) players won't endorse. He has lost the self-confidence, the swagger, that he needs to be an effective coach.

I also think some transient factors played in. The recruiting limits after the APR ban may have limited evaluation and led to a number of recruiting mistakes, players who didn't work hard and didn't really want to follow KO's recipe for success, players who wanted to focus on offense more than defense and wanted minutes handed to them.

I expect that KO's mistakes have been rookie head coach mistakes and he will figure out how to be a great coach. He will rebuild his recruiting story. But, other coaches have heard from UConn's ex-players whatever complaints they had toward UConn and have learned how to make a credible anti-UConn pitch to recruits. KO has to change things on the ground and re-construct his marketing and sales pitch. Hiring Chillious I think was a major step forward. But I've noticed that recently they've been selling Chillious more than KO. That's not going to work. You have to sell the head coach.

The first step is to be a great coach to next year's team -- to develop players, to build a successful and winning team -- and for him to get his own confidence back, to be able to say, you know, I made mistakes and I learned from them. I didn't work as hard as I should have for a few years, due to divorce or whatever, but I realized as a result that being a coach and helping players succeed is the most important thing to me, and I'm now eleven toes in. I'll do everything I can to help you. And talk to my 2017-18 players, they'll tell you it's true.

Based on what recent recruits have said of UConn's pitch, it's not there yet.

Wow. That was like reading "The Sound And The Fury". I'll make mine much shorter.

Its ridiculous to blame recruiting this year to the losses during the season. And to base your view of Ollie's ability to sell UConn on whether Tremont comes here is even more ridiculous.

Here's the deal. If you have a roster without defections, he would have been fine. Your bigs would have been Enoch, Durham, Polley, Carlton, Larrier, Jackson, and possibly still Cobb and/or Whaley. Your guards would have been Jalen, Vital, Alterique, MAL, and possibly Anderson. That's your 13 players. And nobody would be bitching about salesmanship. They might still be bitching about Ollie, but for different reasons. He's not bad at selling this university. He's great at it...

 

[SECONN]

Wow. That was like reading "The Sound And The Fury". I'll make mine much shorter.

Its ridiculous to blame recruiting this year to the losses during the season. And to base your view of Ollie's ability to sell UConn on whether Tremont comes here is even more ridiculous.

Here's the deal. If you have a roster without defections, he would have been fine. Your bigs would have been Enoch, Durham, Polley, Carlton, Larrier, Jackson, and possibly still Cobb and/or Whaley. Your guards would have been Jalen, Vital, Alterique, MAL, and possibly Anderson. That's your 13 players. And nobody would be bitching about salesmanship. They might still be bitching about Ollie, but for different reasons. He's not bad at selling this university. He's great at it...

But that is not reality....that is something that will never happen.....what happened is something you need to grasp.....and realize that almost everyone wants Ollie to succeed but vance durham enoch and mal are gone...fired miller......the future will be what it is but he has put a lot of pressure on his own back....the recruits did not come with chillious....hopefully next year

 

[champs99and04]

Wow. That was like reading "The Sound And The Fury". I'll make mine much shorter.

Its ridiculous to blame recruiting this year to the losses during the season. And to base your view of Ollie's ability to sell UConn on whether Tremont comes here is even more ridiculous.

Here's the deal. If you have a roster without defections, he would have been fine. Your bigs would have been Enoch, Durham, Polley, Carlton, Larrier, Jackson, and possibly still Cobb and/or Whaley. Your guards would have been Jalen, Vital, Alterique, MAL, and possibly Anderson. That's your 13 players. And nobody would be bitching about salesmanship. They might still be bitching about Ollie, but for different reasons. He's not bad at selling this university. He's great at it...

A lot of those guys are not here any longer because KO could not sell them on staying. There are a lot of guys who are not here - grad transfer types, who he theoretically could have spent as much time recruiting as anybody else - because KO could not sell them on stepping into immediate roles.

There are lot of things that you can back KO on. His salesmanship is not one of them at this point in time. Everything about the current situation screams, in big bloody letters, that kids don't want to play for him.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

A lot of those guys are not here any longer because KO could not sell them on staying. There are a lot of guys who are not here - grad transfer types, who he theoretically could have spent as much time recruiting as anybody else - because KO could not sell them on stepping into immediate roles.

There are lot of things that you can back KO on. His salesmanship is not one of them at this point in time. Everything about the current situation screams, in big bloody letters, that kids don't want to play for him.

Nailed it.

What is he going to sell them on exactly as it relates to his coaching directly? lots of schools have nice facilities and varying degrees of proud histories (not many like ours of course).

The recruit/ transfer is committing to the coach. And KO has a tough sell on that front at the moment.

Our on court performance has been mediocre to sub par for the majority of his time. Player development has been sub par at best and mostly non existent at worst. Our offense is slow and boring and not one that would appeal to recruits. He hasn't sent a single one of his recruits to the NBA since he became HC ( d ham is in the d league and I'm not counting anyone from JC).

That's a bleak picture. Certainly not the reality that I would like.

His main selling point is the Ncaa title. Nothing to sneeze at but its not enough to overcome all those other things.

 

[UConnDan97]

But that is not reality....that is something that will never happen.....what happened is something you need to grasp.....and realize that almost everyone wants Ollie to succeed but vance durham enoch and mal are gone...fired miller.the future will be what it is but he has put a lot of pressure on his own back....the recruits did not come with chillious....hopefully next year

I'm not sure what your point is. I know what the reality is. What I've said is that he was late on kids or not in on kids or perhaps even lower priority with kids because he thought he had the majority of his needs met. The idea that he doesn't know how to sell himself and his experience or that he doesn't know how to sell the university is preposterous. Plain and simple. The man has already shown that he can recruit at a very high level. That criticism of him is unwarranted...