Ollie Fired
- Thread starter TripleDribbleMan
- Start date
UConn Fires Men's Basketball Coach Kevin Ollie
" The school announced Saturday morning it was "initiating procedure to terminate" Ollie's employment for "just cause," which would mean he would not have to be paid the roughly $10 million remaining on his contract. It could, however, be the starting point of negotiations for a buyout. "
"The "just cause" would come from a pending NCAA inquiry into the program which, multiple sources have confirmed to The Courant, includes improper workouts."
AD David Benedict said: "It is unfortunate that this decision became necessary. As with all of our programs, we hold men’s basketball to the highest standards. We will begin a national search immediately to identify our next head coach.”
Let the speculation begin ....
" The school announced Saturday morning it was "initiating procedure to terminate" Ollie's employment for "just cause," which would mean he would not have to be paid the roughly $10 million remaining on his contract. It could, however, be the starting point of negotiations for a buyout. "
"The "just cause" would come from a pending NCAA inquiry into the program which, multiple sources have confirmed to The Courant, includes improper workouts."
AD David Benedict said: "It is unfortunate that this decision became necessary. As with all of our programs, we hold men’s basketball to the highest standards. We will begin a national search immediately to identify our next head coach.”
Let the speculation begin ....
I give Benedict a lot of credit for doing something. Chances are they will negotiate a buyout way less than $10 million unless there is serious teeth to the NCAA investigation. I can’t get worked up about “improper workouts”. That sounds like BS to me.
Mind blowing dirt to follow.
This guy was scandalous. What I'm curious to know is how long the school knew about Kevin's weak *** behavior.
10 million is going to force things out in the open which would have been better for us had they remained unsaid.
This guy was scandalous. What I'm curious to know is how long the school knew about Kevin's weak *** behavior.
10 million is going to force things out in the open which would have been better for us had they remained unsaid.
I dont care what comes out of this supposed investigation.
The result we needed has been obtained, the inept Kevin Follie cannot ruin this program any further.
There are good candidates out there that we can go after.
The result we needed has been obtained, the inept Kevin Follie cannot ruin this program any further.
There are good candidates out there that we can go after.
The new coach will want to bring in his own guys. I am not too concerned about decommitments at this stage.
On that note I hope the new staff has room for Ricky & KFree, seeing anyone associated with JC being shut out was disgusting. These guys deserve to catch a break
Killings and Chillious should be taken off-shore fishing in cement boots.
Worst coaching staff in history
Worst coaching staff in history
Wow!
Pretty surprised it happened this quickly but it was the right decision. I wish nothing but the best for Kevin moving forward but this move had to be made.
Let’s get the right people in place to move our program forward and get back to UConn basketball.
Pretty surprised it happened this quickly but it was the right decision. I wish nothing but the best for Kevin moving forward but this move had to be made.
Let’s get the right people in place to move our program forward and get back to UConn basketball.
I think it happened quickly because of the “improper workouts” of Jalen Adams and Terry Larrier which, apparently, almost disqualified both for the SMU game in the AAC tourney. With the team already being investigated by NCAA this, and possibly the exit interviews of players, could probably be viewed as the last straws.
Saturday night, Ollie issued a statement to ESPN, saying he intends to fight through his union, the American Association of University Professors.
"The University of Connecticut, which has been my home and my family since I was 18 years of age, has decided to initiate the procedures to terminate my employment for cause, which I am contesting," Ollie said in the statement. "As the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies, which is one of the greatest honors and privileges of my life, I have always diligently promoted an atmosphere of compliance for all involved in the program, directly or indirectly. … I am confident that I have strived to model behaviors which are consistent with this objective. This process has just begun, and I intend to work vigorously to defend my honor and my integrity, and to defend my good name to the fullest extent provided under the law, the university grievance procedures and the NCAA compliance process."
Legal Expert: Contract Favors UConn
Alicia Jessop a sports law professor at Pepperdine University, said the language of Ollie’s contract may give UConn an edge. What constitutes “just cause” to fire him is “very broadly” written which will favor the university, she said.
“There isn’t a burden of proof established in the contract on what the university must prove to show just cause so that gives them some leverage,” Jessop said. “The contract is not favorable to Ollie unless he is vindicated by the NCAA investigation.”
Kevin Ollie Fired; UConn Claims 'Just Cause'; He Says He Will Fight
"The University of Connecticut, which has been my home and my family since I was 18 years of age, has decided to initiate the procedures to terminate my employment for cause, which I am contesting," Ollie said in the statement. "As the head coach of the University of Connecticut Huskies, which is one of the greatest honors and privileges of my life, I have always diligently promoted an atmosphere of compliance for all involved in the program, directly or indirectly. … I am confident that I have strived to model behaviors which are consistent with this objective. This process has just begun, and I intend to work vigorously to defend my honor and my integrity, and to defend my good name to the fullest extent provided under the law, the university grievance procedures and the NCAA compliance process."
Legal Expert: Contract Favors UConn
Alicia Jessop a sports law professor at Pepperdine University, said the language of Ollie’s contract may give UConn an edge. What constitutes “just cause” to fire him is “very broadly” written which will favor the university, she said.
“There isn’t a burden of proof established in the contract on what the university must prove to show just cause so that gives them some leverage,” Jessop said. “The contract is not favorable to Ollie unless he is vindicated by the NCAA investigation.”
Kevin Ollie Fired; UConn Claims 'Just Cause'; He Says He Will Fight
ESPN report on Ollie contesting of termination:
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...ontest-uconn-huskies-decision-fire-just-cause
This could get messy..................
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...ontest-uconn-huskies-decision-fire-just-cause
This could get messy..................
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This means a ROUGH ROUGH year for next year unless the new coach gets some of his recruits to join him AND they are good ones. Still, it cant be worse than the last two years.
If Adams comes back and the new coach can bring in a capable big man or two, the team could be decent. But if Adams doesn’t return, I would expect a rough first season - possibly a third straight losing season, based on what would be coming back.
I heard this a few years ago but this proves what delusional moron KO is, also shows how egotistical he was too ... You have one of the best resources in all of CBB ....you know the guy who handed him the job on a silver platter... but KO wants to cold shoulder Calhoun when he was obviously lost ... I guess KO thinks he's smarter than a HOF'er...how'd that work out for ya Kevin ???....what a f#%king loser !!
"Calhoun was around the program quite a bit over Ollie’s first few years, but their relationship cooled. “Kevin and I, from a basketball standpoint, haven’t had an incredibly close relationship the last couple of years,” Calhoun said “In basketball, we’re not talking personally.”
more:
“Things go wrong,” Calhoun said. “Injuries happen, situations happen. We all make mistakes in the business, and sometimes you make a few mistakes and it starts compounding. The [AAC] was better than we thought it was, the competition was better. I pushed for Kevin Ollie, I have no problems taking full credit for that. Two years later he won a national championship with the kids that we had coached, recruited, and the last few years have obviously been a struggle.”
"Calhoun was around the program quite a bit over Ollie’s first few years, but their relationship cooled. “Kevin and I, from a basketball standpoint, haven’t had an incredibly close relationship the last couple of years,” Calhoun said “In basketball, we’re not talking personally.”
more:
“Things go wrong,” Calhoun said. “Injuries happen, situations happen. We all make mistakes in the business, and sometimes you make a few mistakes and it starts compounding. The [AAC] was better than we thought it was, the competition was better. I pushed for Kevin Ollie, I have no problems taking full credit for that. Two years later he won a national championship with the kids that we had coached, recruited, and the last few years have obviously been a struggle.”
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I took it from that comment that Calhoun was disappointed in Ollie not having consulted him on various issues that cropped up the past few years. Isn’t that what Calhoun was being paid for?????????
True ... that's what makes it even worse......KO distancing himself from the state employed BB consultant, who knows more about coaching than KO will ever know in his lifetime.
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He had success too soon and he must have started to believe it was all because of him, not what he inherited. I'm all for self efficacy, but not delusion.
Everyone gave Ollie credit for sticking around the NBA, but he was never bright/hard working enough to turn into a contributor on one team.
Hopefully he grows from this as a man and a coach. But more importantly, we get uconn men's basketball back. Especially this time of year, when we all had a grin on our face, no matter the seed.
Everyone gave Ollie credit for sticking around the NBA, but he was never bright/hard working enough to turn into a contributor on one team.
Hopefully he grows from this as a man and a coach. But more importantly, we get uconn men's basketball back. Especially this time of year, when we all had a grin on our face, no matter the seed.
His issue was a lack of offensive talent, not brightness or work ethic issues. How many guys who were career 6 ppg career scorers in college have 10+ year NBA careers? Name one?
This just happened but...how crazy would it be if we lost more players to an assistant being fired last year than we lose to the HC getting the axe this year?
Not sure why you are comparing Kemba as a player to KO as a player. Ollie averaged 6 points per game in college and that he even lasted more than 1 year in the NBA is amazing. He couldn’t shoot and had no offensive talent. He was a somewhat tenacious defender but I never saw him even remotely as an NBA player. Even take a guy like Marcus Smart who is a terrible offensive player in the NBA- he could score in college. That’s a much better comparison because he is the same size as Ollie but had much better offensive talent. Ollie didn’t really have the talent to last in the NBA as long as he did, so he did something right.
A better comparison for Ollie would be Taliek Brown, who was a McDonald’s AA. Like Ollie, Brown couldn’t shoot a lick, was offensively challenged and a tenacious defender. Unlike Ollie, Brown didn’t play in the NBA. He was as good or better a player than Ollie was at UConn, at the same position. He actually averaged close to 8 ppg for his UConn career and was statistically a better scorer.
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Ollie believed he deserved another chance:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nh...ie-believes-he-deserved-one-more-12754084.php
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nh...ie-believes-he-deserved-one-more-12754084.php
Here's another take......Gotta love the people out there white knighting for poor Kevin because of a line like this:
" Kevin Ollie has been treated shabbily by the university that he described in a statement as “my home and my family since I was 18 years of age.”
How about when KO kicked Glen Miller ( who played for Uconn too since he was a kid and spent 14 years as a coach).... to the curb, a few months before his contract was gonna renew, with no $10 million buyout to try and collect ? Kevin forgets about that or cold shouldering the guy who handed him the job (and probably Hobbs)
......Karma's a *****
" Kevin Ollie has been treated shabbily by the university that he described in a statement as “my home and my family since I was 18 years of age.”
How about when KO kicked Glen Miller ( who played for Uconn too since he was a kid and spent 14 years as a coach).... to the curb, a few months before his contract was gonna renew, with no $10 million buyout to try and collect ? Kevin forgets about that or cold shouldering the guy who handed him the job (and probably Hobbs)
......Karma's a *****
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Blades, I agree with you that Ollie’s treatment of Miller was far more shabby than what UConn did to Ollie. Ollie deserved to be fired. I think the problem the media is having is the invocation of “just cause”. It’s currently the perception that there is no just cause and it’s simply being done to negotiate a buyout. If UConn had come out and crapped on Ollie and said what the just cause is with greater specificity, nobody would be saying anything along these lines. I think UConn can’t comment on the NCAA investigation so it may be hamstrung as far as what they can say publicly. So I think these comments about Ollie being treated “shabbily” are premature at best.
Also what was the reason given for Miller being fired? At the time we heard speculation that he took blame for the offensive woes. However the offense last year was 10 times worse!!!!!! Maybe the worst D1 offense in the country and certainly among the worst. So I am with you as far as Miller and your general point on this. The White Knights need to dismount their horses.
Also what was the reason given for Miller being fired? At the time we heard speculation that he took blame for the offensive woes. However the offense last year was 10 times worse!!!!!! Maybe the worst D1 offense in the country and certainly among the worst. So I am with you as far as Miller and your general point on this. The White Knights need to dismount their horses.
Good point ....and that's a huge variable that none of us know exactly, how it will shake out .... except the NCAA (or as Jacobs said...."We don't know if the school will cite problems with personal or ethical conduct away from the NCAA investigation ")
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Not that anyone cares that much, but I wonder what’s next for KO after he is finally bought out? I have talked to some people who seem to think he will not get another head coaching job, either college or pro. But I would assume he might make a good NBA assistant coach if given some limited duties? Anyone have a guess on what is next for Mr. Ollie?