The UConn Basketball Season Is Officially Over

[dbaum_]

Another disappointing season for the men's basketball team has officially came to a close. The Huskies finished 14-18, their worst record in roughly thirty years and today's final game was a fitting ending of how this season played out. SMU did not even have their two top scorers and still UConn could not capitalize on opportunities and resulted in another disappointing loss. This team all year never developed any chemistry or showed a drastic improvement in playing collectively as a team. It was mostly everyone on offense waiting for something to happen or forcing up a bad shot due to bad execution. Jalen Adams would seemingly have to carry the load almost every night and put the team on his back just to be competitive in the game. Christian Vital and Terry Larrier statistically had decent years, but when the rest of the team is not contributing it's hard to win games. Our bigs were not consistent at all throughout the course of the season and were a liability virtually every game. It was another showcase of the recruiting not being where it once was and a lot of questions will be asked this offseason of where this program is going.

That leads to the obvious question for all of us UConn fans.
What will happen to Kevin Ollie?

Many current students, fans and alumni have voiced their opinion on what the university should do with Kevin Ollie and from what I have heard seems to be favoring letting him go.

Even on this forum throughout the years, everyone has made valid points on why he should step down and have someone else take over. I love Kevin Ollie and respect who he stands for as a person and as a leader. But when it comes down to being a basketball coach, this year in particular really highlighted the struggles he had improving this team and executing when it mattered. The offense always seemed to be flat with no ball movement and no plays being ran. The defense was suspect to say the least at defending the perimeter and in the paint where opposing teams were easily scoring on a consistent basis. Not to mention the blowout losses UConn endured losing by 20+, 25+ and even 30+ which I never thought I would see. Whenever the team got down and the deficit was too large, it seemed like the team just went through the motions to get out of the arena. This is something as a life-long UConn fan and alum that I honestly could not believe what was taking place. Growing up in CT and witnessing the great teams in the past of Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Rudy Gay, Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier and a lot of other names I could mention, the program in recent memory has always been successful and stood for something great. We have always been a consistent program with national championship aspirations literally every year and have expected our team to be in the mix every March.

Now with the current state of the program and the recruits Kevin Ollie has brought in, it is evident that the program is not heading in the direction that we all thought it would. Those glory days with the national championships and being a constant threat seem to be far away when they really were not. I know Kevin Ollie technically won the 2014 National Championship as the head coach but as we all know, it was done with Jim Calhoun's recruits and the players he developed. It is evident that ever since Calhoun left the program, the weight has been put on Ollie's shoulders to carry that tradition of UConn basketball and in recent years it has not lived up to expectations. Many will hold that title to Kevin Ollie's name and he does deserve some credit for earning it, but since then the program has gone downhill and there is no real positive direction moving forward. Even this past offseason, recruits and other members of the basketball team decided to either transfer or not be apart of the program for various reasons and that trend might continue as long as Ollie is the head coach. Terry Larrier has already stated he is not playing for UConn anymore and my honest opinion is that Jalen will also forgo his senior season and declare for the NBA draft. Even with a 14-18 record this year and Jalen being the catalyst, next season will be even worse.

In the end, the right decision has to be made with Kevin Ollie for the future of this program and for us to be back where we once were. UConn winning four national championships and being a top team is what we strive to be and with the current state of the program, who knows if we will see that again.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Actually the team ended 14–18, not 14-17, after today’s loss.

I believe Kevin Ollie should be terminated. The deterioration of the program in the last 4 seasons has been nothing short of remarkable. It’s a case study on how to run a program into the ground and down the toilet. What Ollie has done hasn’t worked- not recruiting or development or in structuring offense. About all you can say is that his teams have performed acceptably on defense, but even that aspect has declined without any shotblockers to protect the rim.

 

[andersonfro]

Not only has the team been historically bad, it's been abjectly boring. Just unwatchable basketball. My enthusiasm for Uconn hoops has been overtaken by contempt teetering on indifference.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

They were unwatchable and mostly because the offense was consistently bad. Low assist totals, bad shots, poor shooting percentages and poor 3 point shooting (although good FT shooting but since they didn’t get to the line or draw fouls, didn’t matter), bad turnovers. If you look at some of the assist totals they border shocking. Did Diarra play a whole season of basketball and fail to record an assist? WTF? Polley wasn’t much better. The team had utterly no structure or consistency. Although Calhoun’s teams didn’t play the best halfcourt offense, they rebounded and blocked shots and were able to compensate what they lacked in halfcourt offense with transition offense. Ollie teams have been consistently weak on the boards and haven’t been a good transition offense team since 2014.

In his press conferences Ollie has frequently praised obviously inferior opponents, in an attempt to dupe fans into thinking the other team is really good instead of observing that UConn is really bad and played down to the level of the foe. This act wore thin with me very quickly especially after the early season home losses to Wagner and Northeastern last year. And then he did the same this year against teams like Columbia which took UConn to OT despite the fact that such teams always were blown out in past years. He just isn’t the guy for the job. UConn now needs a major fix it upper just to reverse some of the damage Ollie has done.

 

[dbaum_]

Agree 100% KSTW.

When UConn lost to Wagner and Northeastern last year that is when I started to become very worried. Even against smaller conference schools and inferior (to some degree) competition, we still struggled and could not even get a win on our home floor. With more than half the losses being by double digits and the wins being against average/below average schools this season alone, this team did not show up when it mattered.

Another important thing to point out is the lack of emotion and fight this team displayed throughout the course of the year. There were games where we would make it close and put together runs, but there was no real will or passion collectively to lift each other up. Even when Brimah was on the squad he would always lead by example showing emotion and be a force on the defensive end. That type of energy can be contagious and have other players step up but rarely was seen at all this season.

Let's just hope for the best this offseason and the necessary changes are made regarding our program.

 

[CaNOLEE]

This roster is not devoid of talent. I see pieces in place.

The problem is the coach can't develop or put the pieces together. They simply just don't get any better, individually as well as collectively.

A very good college coach could have won 25 games with this team. Ollie is 56-45 with his own players in a non power 5 conference at the winningest school over the last 15 years prior to him taking over.

It will be criminal if he keeps his job.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

I don't think any coach could have won 25 games with this team. I think a maximum win total might have been 19 or 20. Certainly there was enough talent to avoid a losing season. But this team has no inside scorers at all, can't shoot the 3 and has no rim protectors, and those are very hard things to overcome.

 

[Calhoun_for_President]

This roster is not good. No NBA talent and I agree with KSTW about the limitations.
This is one of the worst shooting and rebounding teams in the country.
When they played NCAA tourney level teams the talent gap was obvious.

On top of that the style is so damn boring I can't even make it through a full game.

KO must go

 

[the Blades]

Regarding the roster ...the question is ...WTF type of line-up would he use next year if he did come back ? KO is so in love with short guards( and coaches) and anorexic wings that mostly play under the rim.... would it be:
PG... Gilbert... 6-0/171
SG.....Adams...6-3/195 ( if he's back or...Ankinjo...6-0/160.. if he isn't)
SF..... Vital ......6-2/188
PF.... Polley....6-8/190 ( or Wilson... 6-7/183 )
C ...Carleton...6-9/242

Does he even realize that HEIGHT, size, skill and STRENGTH is a necessity especially in the frontcourt to win vs. top 100 teams in CBB ? Or if you want to play (ugly) position-less BB like he seems to want to do..... how about going with a bunch of skilled 6-4 to 6-8 guys...( like SMU under Larry Brown)... SMH !...It's just one more thing he seems to be clueless about as he created this weak roster.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

That lineup you mentioned would be severely rebounding challenged. UConn did win with small dynamic guards in the past (Moore-El Amin), but that team had monster rebounders up front with Voskuhl and Freeman. Carlton is an okay rebounder who needs help. The Lithuanian kid coming in has a big body and could be a banger but he likely will not be ready so again have to look for a JUCO or grad transfer. Cobb and Onuorah were no help inside this year. The interior personnel are not good and major help is needed up front.

 

[the Blades]

That's kinda my point KSTW, Uconn played many times over the years with small guards, but never 3 of them (seldom with even 2) in the same line-up with a skinny power forward and an undersized center.

It was usually the opposite tandem upfront who could D up and board... Thabett/ Adrien with Stanley @ the 3...Oriakhi/ Roscoe (Kemba played with a 6-5 Lamb in the backcourt who could board)...Armstrong/ Boone w/ Rudy.....Okafor/ Boone w/ 6-6 Denham Brown @ the 3 .... Even when Bazz and Co. won the NC they went 6-10, 6-9, 6-7 upfront. But leave it to KO to try and reinvent the wheel...and play little boy basketball.

one more: KO's SR year Calhoun played 3 guards but 2 of them where 6-5 (Ray Allen and Doron) plus he had Donny who was 6-7 and got after it & Travis at 7-0 ..

Here's another joke : Calhoun's point guard (Taliek Brown) in 2004 was stronger than the power forward (Terry Larrier) KO was running out there this year....and he wonders why they can't rebound.....SMFH !

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

The talent recruited by Ollie was overassessed and/or incorrectly used and deployed, Purvis (allowed to run around Court like he was playing football), Hamilton (master of bad off balance shots), Sterling Gibbs (miscast as a point guard), Antoine Anderson (overplayed in 3 guard sets), Enoch (his defense was a problem I could never fully understand and I still wonder why), Vance Jackson (had good basketball IQ but wasn’t given a defined role), Durham (no defined role). Onuorah and Cobb (can’t play) Diarra (unless the team is in transition he is useless- no assists for a season from a guy who can’t shoot or score).

Does anyone know when the exit interviews will conclude and Benedict will announce the firing or retention of Ollie? But for the buyout/money issue it’s a no brainer to fire the entire staff, so if that’s not a impediment, announcement should be made immediately after exit interviews are completed. I wonder if in KO’s exit interview with Benedict he will use the same BS excuses we hear announcers making for him?

 

[USNA90]

The injury excuse is the one that bothers me the most, more so this year than last year. Look what SMU did to UConn without Milton - a legit, proven star. They had lost a bunch of games without him, yet somehow managed to overcome the loss of not only Milton, but Foster as well in order to trample UConn. After 25 games, UConn should have figured out a way to play without AG.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Here is an interesting article by Jeff Jacobs in which he refers to Ollie's buyout clause as a "life preserver", and prominently mentions as candidate sucessors Tom Crean and Thad Matta (he assumes Hurley may get targeted by Pitt and let's face it, P5 is always better to a coach):

https://www.nhregister.com/sports/j...n-basketball-has-hit-rock-bottom-12739664.php

I am not a big Tom Crean fan. If you read up on why he was fired at Indiana, much of it centered on his teams lacking fundamentals and not playing good D. He was also viewed as a sore loser and became world famous for his "blow by handshakes", see this:



Another one with Bo Ryan:



There was a classic blow-by handshake with Crean blowing by Thad Matta , which I could not find. It's actually his best blow-by handshake.

 

[the Blades]

The injury excuse is the one that bothers me the most, more so this year than last year. Look what SMU did to UConn without Milton - a legit, proven star. They had lost a bunch of games without him, yet somehow managed to overcome the loss of not only Milton, but Foster as well in order to trample UConn. After 25 games, UConn should have figured out a way to play without AG.

True... it wasn't like Calhoun ever lost a PG or 2..... AJ gets his brain aneurysm in 04-05 and Calhoun was forced to play with only Marcus Williams and a walk-on
to back him up as a 2nd ball handler but still goes 23-8 and makes the NCAA's... the following year he loses Marcus for a semester with the laptop crap ( w/ AJ out for the year) & has to find 2 leftovers in the summer. But still starts the season at 11-0 ( 30-4 on the year ) with Craig Austrie at PG ( & Rob Garrison ...WHO ?..behind him )

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Rob Garrison was a good player. He later transferred to Niagara, got more PT and either started or was in their rotation. He was not a Big East level player but a good lower D-1 player. Better than Antoine Anderson.

 

[the Blades]

Here is an interesting article by Jeff Jacobs in which he refers to Ollie's buyout clause as a "life preserver", and prominently mentions as candidate sucessors Tom Crean and Thad Matta (he assumes Hurley may get targeted by Pitt and let's face it, P5 is always better to a coach):
https://www.nhregister.com/sports/j...n-basketball-has-hit-rock-bottom-12739664.php

I thought Matta had health issues....since Jacobs wants to throw crazy names out there, I'll play.....how about John Thompson III... he sucked his last 2 years in the new Big East. But he's a northeast guy who knows the territory...has a better career record at G-town (278–151 .653 ) than Ollie does at Uconn (127–79 .617 ). JT3 never had a losing record before that...plus he made the NCAA's( with a FF) in 8 out those 11 years (with 3 NIT's)

 

[the Blades]

Here is an interesting article by Jeff Jacobs in which he refers to Ollie's buyout clause as a "life preserver", and prominently mentions as candidate sucessors
https://www.nhregister.com/sports/j...n-basketball-has-hit-rock-bottom-12739664.php

Also this was an interesting line by Jacobs:
" Could UConn conceivably bring back Jim Calhoun, 75, for a year until it grew certain it had landed the big name it wanted? "

 

[the Blades]

Rob Garrison was a good player. He later transferred to Niagara, got more PT and either started or was in their rotation. He was not a Big East level player but a good lower D-1 player. Better than Antoine Anderson.

True... I know who Rob was ...just being sarcastic...no way he ever plays in the BE ( he averaged 1.4 pts / assists in his 2 years at Uconn) except that JC needed to grab a body right before school started because of those 2 f#ck-ups getting suspended...... and yet somehow Calhoun still won without a BE level PG.

 

[CaNOLEE]

Go look at Virginia's roster. I believe they have only 1 top 50 recruit. But their coach maximizes their ability and gets them to play selflessly/defense. Like our coach used to do.

And 5* Jalen Adams and top 35 recruit Terry Larrier wouldn't be pro prospects under Calhoun 10 years ago? Or any top 25 coaching staffs now? JC would have had a good chance developing Whaley into a Hilton Armstrong type player(and probably an earlier return) and Carlton into a bigger/better Gavin Edwards. Not to mention Wilson. And all the players we had transfer because they sensed this was a sinking ship.

Players used to improve in their careers here, not stay the same or even regress.

Can't kill Ollie about Gilbert. That has been simply bad luck. But the evidence otherwise is overwhelming.

 

[Calhoun_for_President]

Gilbert showed me nothing in the limited time he played. Nothing
Until proven otherwise he is just another overrated flop in a long line of them under KO.
Rodney "the ferrari I cant drive" Purvis, Terry "stringbean" Larrier, Sterling "worst player in my family" Gibbs.

We would have won exactly ZERO games more with a healthy Gilbert.

These players stink, Benedict sucks, and KO is god awful.

I will lay my head tonight and pray every night hereafter until the inept KO is KO'd from UCONN basketball forever.

You ruined a legacy in 3 years you hapless FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Die

 

[andersonfro]

Sterling Gibbs could ball until he came to Connecticut

 

[CaNOLEE]

For Pres, Gilbert can play and we would have probably won a few more games. But that doesn't change how I feel about the 'coach'. We need a new one with 100% certainty.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Some of the posts here assume that Gilbert will be healthy, 100% and can play. More likely is that he will hurt his shoulder again at some point and need another surgery. He may need to retire. He might also be semi-healthy and ineffective, a la Omar Calhoun after his hip surgery. Simply assuming that he will be back and playing at a high level is naive, fairyland thinking. The reality is he should be recruited over. If he comes back and can play it will be a bonus.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Also, we know that Larrier isn’t returning. It’s probable that Jalen will not return and that Gilbert will not be healthy. So the best returning player will be Christian Vital, and beyond him, there is nobody who averaged more than 2 points per game. Next year’s team could be last place in AAC, especially if KO returns to coach them and the downward spiral is allowed to continue. This is closer to reality than anything else that’s been posted here.

 

[Calhoun_for_President]

Gilbert showed me nothing in the limited time he played. Nothing
Until proven otherwise he is just another overrated flop in a long line of them under KO.
Rodney "the ferrari I cant drive" Purvis, Terry "stringbean" Larrier, Sterling "worst player in my family" Gibbs.

We would have won exactly ZERO games more with a healthy Gilbert.

These players stink, Benedict sucks, and KO is god awful.

I will lay my head tonight and pray every night hereafter until the inept KO is KO'd from UCONN basketball forever.

You ruined a legacy in 3 years you hapless FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Die

The lord works in mysterious ways
PRAISE JESUS HALLELUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUJAH