Wow. Kevin Ollie.

[Tenspro2002]

Changes need to occur, whether it comes in the form of shaking up to rotations, changes to the coaching staff etc. but this team needs to play better. Not to come off as some sort of "elitist", but we are UConn. We hold the record for the most conference championships in what used to be the best basketball conference in the history of college basketball and have won four national championships in the past sixteen years. We are among the elite programs in college basketball, and the results over the past year and a half do not live up to the high standards that we have set for ourselves. If Ollie can make the necessary adjustments and get us going on the right track, awesome. If he can't, then maybe someone else is better equipped to lead this program.

If we want to consider ourselves elite, we should be elitist! I just can't stand the calls to "temper our expectations".

On the one hand, it's OK to be realistic. On the other hand, codifying a new standard of mediocrity is a surefire way to ensure you'll never be elite again.

 

[freescooter]

Someone wrote almost all of these things when Ollie was anointed. He was told he knew nothing about basketball. Look. Ollie is earning $3 million/year. He doesn't get to "learn to coach" for that nor does he get to hide behind his personal life. If his personal life is affecting his ability to do his job step aside and let Hobbs or somebody take over until he gets things straightened out. Otherwise for heaven's sake coach the damned team!

 

[tykurez]

Nothing makes freesccoter's chub harder than a good "I told you so" about Ollie.

 

[Kitaman]

Nothing makes freesccoter's chub harder than a good "I told you so" about Ollie.

He then climaxes after each loss.

 

[ASweet3781]

This team just isn't that good, I think we overrated the talent to start the year. Our awful recruiting for a few years is showing and we have no depth.

It's going to be a struggle when your team needs a First team AA to be successful, and that is where our depth has been for about 5 years.

Say what you want about Ollie's coaching, but he won a championship with sweet sixteen level talent.

If the fans overrated the team than what did the head coach do? He called it his most talented and deepest team in his 4 years as coach. He called Rodney Purvis a ferrari.

We don't have enough talent on this roster to finish top 3 in the AAC? Really?

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Yup. Regardless of the coaching miscues, when the guy with the highest usage rate on your team is in the midst of an awful shooting slump (10/48 in 4 games, or .208) it's gonna be tough to win some games (e.g. Temple). And when the guy with the second highest usage rate has a mid-game shooting slump and the two go a combined 3/21, it's gonna be tough to overcome that and win (e.g. Tulsa).

A good coach can mitigate such slumps by running offense that gets his players looks from higher percentage areas. Ollie needs to do this.

 

[freescooter]

Nothing makes freesccoter's chub harder than a good "I told you so" about Ollie.

No but Ollie is turning out to have all the weaknesses I thought he would have. He lacked coaching experience and was like the kid who gets named ceo when dad retired not because he was the most qualified but because of who he was and then everyone is surprised because he's running the program into a ditch. There is still some time to recover but another NIT year is definitely a ditch.

 

[Stainmaster]

If we want to consider ourselves elite, we should be elitist! I just can't stand the calls to "temper our expectations".

On the one hand, it's OK to be realistic. On the other hand, codifying a new standard of mediocrity is a surefire way to ensure you'll never be elite again.

I don't think that the standards that individual fans hold the team to have any bearing on the team or program's strength.

 

[Citrusdog]

The divorce may have a lot to do with it.

I agree

 

[Mazhude]

So, Ollie hasn't coached with the same intensity, craftiness, thoughtfulness for the last two years. I know some folks point the finger at his divorce for the change in his coaching, but has anyone mentioned the other big thing that happened to UConn basketball two/three years ago. George Blaney retired. He was a font of coaching wisdom and a rock of leadership on the bench... maybe, just maybe we are missing his influence more than we've realized.

Along the same lines, his first two years, weren't we all praising Ollie's NBA experience and the way he could draw up "NBA" plays out of time outs to always get the mismatch... what the heck happened to that skill set?

 

[lange10]

Yup. Regardless of the coaching miscues, when the guy with the highest usage rate on your team is in the midst of an awful shooting slump (10/48 in 4 games, or .208) it's gonna be tough to win some games (e.g. Temple). And when the guy with the second highest usage rate has a mid-game shooting slump and the two go a combined 3/21, it's gonna be tough to overcome that and win (e.g. Tulsa).

Bad offensive strategy has lead to this shooting slump. Daniel Hamilton can create for himself and others better than anyone on this team, yet when Tulsa sat in the 2-3 zone all game Ollie had Hamilton on the perimeter as opposed to the foul line. If Hamilton caught it at the foul line, he has many options: 1. the defense backs off and he shoots an open FT 2. the defense plays him and he attacks the hole 3. after he attacks the hoop if the defense collapses he finds the open man (which he is very capable of).

When they go man, instead of having Hamilton have to create for himself to get every single basket, maybe run a quick hitter to get him coming off a screen and catching the ball at the elbow with the ability to pull up or attack off the bounce. Hamilton is a great player. Ollie needs to start running sets that fit his strengths - one of which is not creating for himself in isolation situations.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I've been thinking this for a while, but since the divorce Ollie hasn't been the same guy. He shows no passion, no energy and his team reflects that.

I'm not ready to throw him under the bus, but last night's game was just painful to watch. I do think that travel has something to do with it, but Calhoun would have gotten ejected if that was what it took to energize the team.

Last year his marital issues clearly were a big distraction to the team. Distraction in the sense the weight of the divorce was a heavy burden to carry around and function at the highest level as a coach. He is human so that equates to a pass in my book. This year that is not the case at all. Sure there is an adjustment period but his settlement with his wife worked out in his favor. His lawyers were the best at their craft and the results brought home results that should have brought some reasonable closure. As a matter of fact in my opinion Ollie has every incentive in the world to have a big year this year if you look at it objectively from a purely financial perspective.

So right now we are really dealing with issues of coaching ineptitude (THE WHOLE STAFF) to a large degree as the season progresses and we become dangerously closer to losing At-Large consideration. As easy as it might be to wave the white flag on the season....if there is one thing Ollie has proven over his career as a player is that he has the inner fortitude to persevere through tough times and use it as a character building experience. This team is in serous serious trouble and Ollie talks so openly about going back to the LAB. The time is NOW to see if he can produce some results from this so called lab work through experimentation. This whole team/coaches need to bring a different WORK ETHIC to the table that was mentioned at some point in this thread or elsewhere. This whole Level 5 chit chat from KO has to actually become a reality or else its consecutive NIT appearances. If this team fails to make the NCAA Tournament it will be considered a colossal failure that could have been avoided by common sense coaching. Failures that start in practice.

 

[David 76]

Level 6?

 

[3rdbass]

Last year his marital issues clearly were a big distraction to the team. Distraction in the sense the weight of the divorce was a heavy burden to carry around and function at the highest level as a coach. He is human so that equates to a pass in my book. This year that is not the case at all. Sure there is an adjustment period but his settlement with his wife worked out in his favor. His lawyers were the best at their craft and the results brought home results that should have brought some reasonable closure. As a matter of fact in my opinion Ollie has every incentive in the world to have a big year this year if you look at it objectively from a purely financial perspective.

So right now we are really dealing with issues of coaching ineptitude (THE WHOLE STAFF) to a large degree as the season progresses and we become dangerously closer to losing At-Large consideration. As easy as it might be to wave the white flag on the season....if there is one thing Ollie has proven over his career as a player is that he has the inner fortitude to persevere through tough times and use it as a character building experience. This team is in serous serious trouble and Ollie talks so openly about going back to the LAB. The time is NOW to see if he can produce some results from this so called lab work through experimentation. This whole team/coaches need to bring a different WORK ETHIC to the table that was mentioned at some point in this thread or elsewhere. This whole Level 5 chit chat from KO has to actually become a reality or else its consecutive NIT appearances. If this team fails to make the NCAA Tournament it will be considered a colossal failure that could have been avoided by common sense coaching. Failures that start in practice.

I disagree about the divorce not affecting him this year. We are all different people and divorce and affect us differently. It isn't all about financial security after a divorce for some. He is a very religious man and family is very important to him. I can see where this could be huge blow to his persona getting divorced. I think it is obvious he is still having some hangover from the divorce.

I can give him one more year but if next year is like this he has to go. We can't afford to wait for KO to rediscover himself as a coach through this adversity. He must know this deep inside.

 

[freescooter]

On the talent question I have a couple of thoughts. First when you round up a couple of 5th year transfers to be key guys that indicates you have problems with the rest of your team. Plus these guys weren't NBA first rounders or they'd be there. Finally the reality is that they didn't come from Duke and Kansas. One played in the Ivy League the other at a lower level Big East program. I would argue that neither league is equal to the American at least At the top end. I know we can debate the big east but when PC is suddenly a power count me as skeptical. Bottom line is this team isn't that great talent wise but not well coached either.

 

[JimHurley]

I don't think talent is the problem at all. Gibbs was the 2nd leading scorer in a great conference last season. Purvis was a McDonald's AA. Hamilton is very talented just needs to get out of this slump. Miller almost averaged a double double last season. Brimah is elite defensively. And JA was a top 25 recruit. This team has plenty of talent we just can't seem to put the pieces together. Time is running out fast.

 

[August_West]

Level 6?

12 toes in?

 

[dtrumpet]

Yup. Regardless of the coaching miscues, when the guy with the highest usage rate on your team is in the midst of an awful shooting slump (10/48 in 4 games, or .208) it's gonna be tough to win some games (e.g. Temple). And when the guy with the second highest usage rate has a mid-game shooting slump and the two go a combined 3/21, it's gonna be tough to overcome that and win (e.g. Tulsa).

This is all true. But DHam has been slumping for essentially 3 1/2 games. Do we see anything different in the offense to help him out? Run a few plays for him early to get him ontrack, not just do the same stuff and just hope he snaps out of it? There is no evidence of that. Its been the same offensive story for the team and Hamilton over and over for almost 2 weeks. Thats on the coach.

 

[UconnU]

Ollie needs to send a message to these players. I say pull their meal cards until they figure the offense out, we were better before they had them anyway.

 

[imno1]

On the talent question I have a couple of thoughts. First when you round up a couple of 5th year transfers to be key guys that indicates you have problems with the rest of your team. Plus these guys weren't NBA first rounders or they'd be there. Finally the reality is that they didn't come from Duke and Kansas. One played in the Ivy League the other at a lower level Big East program. I would argue that neither league is equal to the American at least At the top end. I know we can debate the big east but when PC is suddenly a power count me as skeptical. Bottom line is this team isn't that great talent wise but not well coached either.

We probably aren't as skilled as we had hoped but we are definitely as talented as Temple, Tulsa, and Syracuse. They just played more to their capabilities than we did. We led in each of those games but their teams made adjustments. We didnt

 

[dwalks93]

UCONN has led in nearly ever game they lost (exceptions Gonzaga/Maryland.) However, down the stretch the other team made adjustments and UCONN has panicked and wilted once they lost the lead. That, simply put, is coaching and there is no other explanation.

KO needs to show some emotion. I've never seen a head coach more disengaged; not a word to his players or even the other coaches..You could literally watch the panic set in with 3 minutes to go last night when Tulsa took the lead. Was there a timeout? Was there a pep talk? Was there a scripted offense play call to get a good look? No, instead KO just let them play on and UCONN continued to throw up rushed 3 pointers. The bad shots were compounded with bad defense and it looked like UCONN literally quit.

Yes key players like Dham and Purvis were slumping. But allowing them to force bad shots will only insure the slump and inevitable losses will continue. Pull them out of the game, talk to them on the sidelines, get them a good offense set...basically do something.

There is no point in trying to analysis what is wrong with KO. It is enough to just say he is not doing his job and he needs to perform better. Half of life is effort...KO needs to show up on game night and display some passion.

 

[Harry Mangurian]

I'm not sure I've ever seen a guy coach a worse game while getting a paycheck from UConn and I've seen Paul Pasqualoni in action. The final ten minutes of this game were pure malpractice - and the first thirty minutes were no prize either.

He's making $3,000,000 a year and he's not doing the work.

Someone will try to put to the upside or pitch a you're-all-bad-fans tantrum, but the team is on the wrong track these days - Ollie's team doesn't play hard and they don't play smart. That's become the hallmark over the past two years.

Whoever coaches offense should get out of town NOW, not at the end of the season.
Once the discipline of JC was gone we became mediocre.
I have not seen ONE on those great last two minutes UCONN was famous for.
If things do not improve greatly when Brimah returns, KO should be paid off and a proven coach should be hired.
This p. poor performance will also drag down football recruiting.
I love KO as a player and role model, but the program is sinking.

 

[UC990411]

I don't think that the standards that individual fans hold the team to have any bearing on the team or program's strength.

The main issue in all of this mess is the fans and players (And MAYBE the coach) have different standards, at least I think.

 

[Papadukes]

I think KO is definitely distracted by something. It took me over a year to get back to normal after divorce. Divorce doesn't care how much you make or what you do for a living. He needs someone to help him get his mojo back. A look in the mirror and a long talk wit Coach Calhoun wouldn't hurt. I don't know if it's divorce or not but he's definitely not the same passionate driven dude. That's the only move I really care about because when you lose your mojo and get it back you're way better than you were before. Gonna watch some husky videos so I can be loud as hell at next game I go to.

 

[BLUEDOGHOUSE]

I disagree about the divorce not affecting him this year. We are all different people and divorce and affect us differently. It isn't all about financial security after a divorce for some. He is a very religious man and family is very important to him. I can see where this could be huge blow to his persona getting divorced. I think it is obvious he is still having some hangover from the divorce.

I can give him one more year but if next year is like this he has to go. We can't afford to wait for KO to rediscover himself as a coach through this adversity. He must know this deep inside.

The point I was trying to make also revolves around it being objectively reasonable from a business perspective to expect this issue to have come to some resolution by now considering our investment in him as a coach. In my opinion it probably has. KO is CEO of the UConn basketball brand. He is compensated accordingly with tremendous future upside. No one said it was going to be easy. When the team is under performing it shouldn't be a Sunday stroll in Central Park. That is why the post by the OP has value. The day this board doesn't have thread titles like this... after a loss like this 1 is the day I will never log in again (a relief to many no doubt...haha).

I understand the AAC is not the Big12 in basketball. At this point in our season we have put ourselves in a position where every game should be played with some semblance of desperation. Why? Because even though it is January... we are in trouble. Urgency matters at this point. Our practices should mirror what I would expect to see from a WV/Huggins practice pre Kansas. The team is void of leadership at the moment . So this is where the bridge has to be Ollie with a team that has potential like this team has.

We will soon finally see what Ollie has to bring to the table this year from an in game coaching perspective. So far he reminds me of a penny stock fully diluted. What investor would want to buy that? I still believe in him though.