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Wolf is Back!

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Too soon to tell, but I doubt those posters who think that KO is doing this to improve the "program's image" or to kowtow to the NCAA are correct. KO is a different kind of guy. Character matters with him as does accountability. He is making it abundantly clear that the bar at Connecticut is very high in terms of your personal actions. That is his expectation and I bet he doesn't care one bit what you, I or the NCAA thinks about it. JMO

Lots of positive comments along this line. Impossible to know, but there are two possibilities:

1. Ollie took the scholly as punishment. Wolf has known for a while, but has done all the right things and now has the option to return as a walk-on. Lasan Kromah was added as a 1-year stopgap due to Ollie taking the ship. I hope this is the timeline, as it is fair to all involved.

2. Ollie wanted Lasan Kromah, and used Wolfs situation as an opportunity to get this kid in here. This would not be ideal, and is the sort of, cough, roster management that I despise in college athletics.


From what we know of Ollie this situation is probably closer to #1. At least I realllllllly hope so.
 
I think what Uconn did was the right thing. Wolf is not likely to contribute much to the team anyway. I think when he was given the scholarship originally, Uconn was hoping that he would develop into a solid front court player. He hasn't. He can still walk on if he wants but I would think the Kevin Ollie would want to give his minutes to others with a higher upside. Now that recruiting is on the up-tick he can use the extra scholarship.

Anyone who thinks they are as good or better without him didn't watch much last year. They were a better team with him in there and to think they have anyone with a "higher upside"......well let me ask who does for sure?

There is no telling what Brimah brings and although I like Nolan a lot to leave him and Tyler as the only definite C's isn't a fuzzy picture for a team with high hopes. We know he's 7'1 which neither is, he can shoot it a little and pass it a little and alter shots.....want to let me know which of them is better at any of that? Nolan is a good athlete and showed promise but the Huskies are better and deeper if EW comes back!!
 
Lots of positive comments along this line. Impossible to know, but there are two possibilities:

1. Ollie took the scholly as punishment. Wolf has known for a while, but has done all the right things and now has the option to return as a walk-on. Lasan Kromah was added as a 1-year stopgap due to Ollie taking the ship. I hope this is the timeline, as it is fair to all involved.

2. Ollie wanted Lasan Kromah, and used Wolfs situation as an opportunity to get this kid in here. This would not be ideal, and is the sort of, cough, roster management that I despise in college athletics.


From what we know of Ollie this situation is probably closer to #1. At least I realllllllly hope so.

I really doubt Ollie took our potential starting center's scholarship away just so he could bring in a 4th guard who will likely play 10 minutes a night.
 
I know its not allowed to post it here, but nationally UConn has a reputation as a thuggish, dirty program. Whether that is deserved or not, and I'd say mostly it is not, UConn also needed to do something to begin turning that perception around. I believe that this fits nicely into that narrative. While you can argue that others like Syracuse deserve the rep more than we do, that is not really relevant. We got it. this will begin changing that reputation. If Wolf decides not to return, it will do even more to restore our good name. But the days of the head coach complaining because the AD enforces the rules on his players are over I think. this has the feel of a united front. Also a good outcome I believe. Whether we have another player who can step up is an open question, but sometimes you have to take short term setbacks for long term gain.
 
I know its not allowed to post it here, but nationally UConn has a reputation as a thuggish, dirty program. Whether that is deserved or not, and I'd say mostly it is not, UConn also needed to do something to begin turning that perception around. I believe that this fits nicely into that narrative. While you can argue that others like Syracuse deserve the rep more than we do, that is not really relevant. We got it. this will begin changing that reputation. If Wolf decides not to return, it will do even more to restore our good name. But the days of the head coach complaining because the AD enforces the rules on his players are over I think. this has the feel of a united front. Also a good outcome I believe. Whether we have another player who can step up is an open question, but sometimes you have to take short term setbacks for long term gain.

UConn is considered a dirty program because it went from rags to riches. New $ always immediately gets labeled dirty. Yes we've had our problems and maybe slightly more than average, but at the end of the day its jealousy. The internet is a terrible place to get the pulse of the public eye. ESPN comments will jade anyone.
 
UConn is considered a dirty program because it went from rags to riches. New $ always immediately gets labeled dirty. Yes we've had our problems and maybe slightly more than average, but at the end of the day its jealousy. The internet is a terrible place to get the pulse of the public eye. ESPN comments will jade anyone.

People consider Uconn a dirty program because of NCAA sanctions, APR penalties, and multiple players getting arrested. These things actually happened.
 
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People consider Uconn a dirty program because of NCAA sanctions, APR penalties, and multiple players getting arrested. These things actually happened.

These things actually got reported ......... they don't everywhere else and that's the truth. Far from clean but not nearly as bad as some that you never hear anything about.......under the rug programs!!
 
Well said!!! Enough is enough. Taking his scholarship seems to be petty. Charges were dropped. So he made some mistakes, so what? didn't we all do it at some point? I don't know his finance but this really hurts.
I don't know the full details of what did happen (there are only a few people who do) but he did, as a scholarship athlete, cause a disturbance (and quite a bit of bad press) in a situation where a representative of the university should have been far more intelligent and in control. I personally see nothing wrong with reinstating his participation privileges but not his scholarship privileges for the basketball program.

As far as paying for his final year, if he is on schedule to graduate, it would be foolish of him not to return (and in effect he would be paying roughly $10k per year for a top notch degree). Additionally, the training he will receive (towards a professional basketball future, even if it would be in Europe) on its own would be worth the cost. I don't know what his financial situation is or what his plans are but i don't see the stance that the athletic department (and/or basketball program) has taken as being remotely unreasonable.
 
People consider Uconn a dirty program because of NCAA sanctions, APR penalties, and multiple players getting arrested. These things actually happened.
...at pretty much every college campus across America. Most far more than at Connecticut.
 
If Wolf is as great as everyone seems to claim why wouldn't he transfer?
 
If Wolf is as great as everyone seems to claim why wouldn't he transfer?
I suspect he will try although its sometimes tough to find a school who wants to pay two years tuition for a dude who can only play one year of hoop.
 
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I know Whaler thinks that we can win with 4 guys under 6'5 because in his rec league, 6'5 seems pretty tall. For UConn to be more than a novelty next year, we need Wolf. I hope he comes back and makes the improvement that I expect from him. If Olander and a 6'8 frosh are UConn's centers, UConn will be staring at an 8/9 matchup the first weekend of March Madness.
 
If Wolf is as great as everyone seems to claim why wouldn't he transfer?

Pretty snarky. I'm pretty sure similar thoughts about his ability were had by many concerning Chuck O going into 2010-11. Wouldn't miss him if he was gone, etc.
 
I agree logically, but if he is a 'Man' and wants to correct a wrong then he should return. The cost will be nominal to his Euro pro salary, and easily paid back. He owes UConn for his lapse in judgement. In a way coming back IS a good career move, in more ways than one. Can he live his life telling his story of why/how he left UConn?

Its a proper amend for him to return. I really hope he comes back, not for basketball but for him as a young adult.

I also applaud UConn move taking the schollie, its the right thing to do.

It's easy for you to say that it will be "easily paid back". We don't know his financial situation, and getting a contract that pays a lot in Europe is not at all a sure bet.
 
People consider Uconn a dirty program because of NCAA sanctions, APR penalties, and multiple players getting arrested. These things actually happened.

These things happen at hundreds of programs across the country, over and over again, but we get a lot more coverage. In this way I think having the press from two major sports markets and ESPN in a home state does us no favors.
 
I know Whaler thinks that we can win with 4 guys under 6'5 because in his rec league, 6'5 seems pretty tall. For UConn to be more than a novelty next year, we need Wolf. I hope he comes back and makes the improvement that I expect from him. If Olander and a 6'8 frosh are UConn's centers, UConn will be staring at an 8/9 matchup the first weekend of March Madness.
I'd say Phil Nolan has the greatest chance of starting at the 5 this year, and I would personally be very very happy with that. Kid has a motor and showed a lot of potential in the last 4-5 games of last season.
 
These things happen at hundreds of programs across the country, over and over again, but we get a lot more coverage. In this way I think having the press from two major sports markets and ESPN in a home state does us no favors.

NCAA sanctions and APR postseason bans most certainly do not happen at hundreds of programs around the country.

I'm as big a defender of this program as anyone. I was just pointing out to a previous poster that the perception of us as a dirty program (regardless of how true or fair it is) is primarily because our name has been in the paper a lot lately. And if that hadn't been the case, maybe Wolf still has his scholarship.
 
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Anyone who thinks they are as good or better without him didn't watch much last year. They were a better team with him in there and to think they have anyone with a "higher upside"......well let me ask who does for sure?

There is no telling what Brimah brings and although I like Nolan a lot to leave him and Tyler as the only definite C's isn't a fuzzy picture for a team with high hopes. We know he's 7'1 which neither is, he can shoot it a little and pass it a little and alter shots.....want to let me know which of them is better at any of that? Nolan is a good athlete and showed promise but the Huskies are better and deeper if EW comes back!!

Agreed, reference to: http://www.the-boneyard.com/threads/plus-minus-wolf-vs-olander.32531/#post-482225
 
NCAA sanctions and APR postseason bans most certainly do not happen at hundreds of programs around the country.

I'm as big a defender of this program as anyone. I was just pointing out to a previous poster that the perception of us as a dirty program (regardless of how true or fair it is) is primarily because our name has been in the paper a lot lately. And if that hadn't been the case, maybe Wolf still has his scholarship.

Sure... sure.. then how come there are articles like this as of 2011: NCAA: Only 17 Division I (FBS) Schools Have Never Committed a Major Violation. There were like 15-20 schools in the last two years to have APR violations. NCAA violations happen EVERYWHERE and the APR is a game. We're just getting get better at playing it and offer special classes for our atheletes. I'm sick of this constant crap about how our program is dirty... and our players are worse than everywhere else... from our own fans. It's completely and utter BS.

The real issue with our program was that our athletic director was Jeff Hathaway who completely failed to support our most valuable sports and provide the compliance staff and academic environment our program needed. That would have gone a long way towards keeping UConn's image clean.
 
These things actually got reported ......... they don't everywhere else and that's the truth. Far from clean but not nearly as bad as some that you never hear anything about.......under the rug programs!!
I think that's the bigger story here Mau. Do you think the Wiggins/Dyson car incident gets enforced or reported at almost any other college? We've certainly had our share of indiscretions but our Mayberry police department certainly hasn't helped. The laptop incident and the few domestic battery incidents aside, many of the other things cold have been handled internally. Ever since laptopgate though, there's a perception about our program that gets kept alive unfortunately every time something minor happens.
 
Because he got 3 free years of a Uconn education and thinks its worth it to pay one year on his his own to stick around and play with his buddies and go after a title.
And a degree.
 
If I'm Enosch Wolf I'm leaving UConn and transferring to another school.
 
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I know Whaler thinks that we can win with 4 guys under 6'5 because in his rec league, 6'5 seems pretty tall. For UConn to be more than a novelty next year, we need Wolf. I hope he comes back and makes the improvement that I expect from him. If Olander and a 6'8 frosh are UConn's centers, UConn will be staring at an 8/9 matchup the first weekend of March Madness.

LOL. You are a absolute genius. Half your posts here are idiotic holier than thou bleeding heart nonsense... But when the school actually disciplines a student athlete you have a problem with it because he's tall.

If the difference between being good an being a 'novelty' is Wolf - I'll break it to you easy - your team isn't that great.
 
This is disrespect to Wolf. We need a legit 7 footer so I hope he comes back.

On the topic of us getting a ton of guards:

Locking in Purvis was a GENIUS move by Ollie. It's perfect that he can step in when shabazz leaves and can spend a year under their wing

But still we need someone who will feast on the glass desperately. I'm praying that Tyler returns as a new man and Kentan/Brimah are beast
 
I want Wolf back as much as anyone, but let's be honest, Brimah and Facey only need to cover 13.4 minutes 3.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG .9 BPG, .6 APG to fill Wolf's shoes statistically, ohh and 2.2 fouls per game.

Looking at the 15 games he played before Wolf's suspension versus the 8 games after, Nolan went from:
8.6 -> 15 MPG
1.1 -> 2 PPG
1.3 -> 3.6 RPG
.3 -> 1.0 BPG
.1 -> .5 APG

I have hopes Nolan will get even better with more PT next year. I think 4, 4, 1.2 is realistic for him at minimum. I think Facey has even more potential. Wolf would be great because I think he works hard and having 5 more fouls down low would be great.
 
LOL. You are a absolute genius. Half your posts here are idiotic holier than thou bleeding heart nonsense... But when the school actually disciplines a student athlete you have a problem with it because he's tall.

If the difference between being good an being a 'novelty' is Wolf - I'll break it to you easy - your team isn't that great.

No player, especially no big man, has ever gotten better in the history of UConn. Got it.
 
Nolan could be good, and is the main option if Wolf is gone. I just don't know how big a jump he can make.
 
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