Hello world, lets play ball!
Kevin Ollie is the best thing to happen to UConn since the hire of Jim Calhoun.
Kevin Ollie played 13 years of pro ball. Bouncing around the league, from Philly to Dallas to Orlando and everywhere in between, he can be considered a journey man to say the least. After his final season in the NBA in 2010, Ollie signed on with Calhoun to be an assistant coach. Ollie, in my opinion, was never that great of a point guard, but he was one of those players that knew the game and was a better coach-player than a player-coach. He was a heady guy who was brought in to show young players what to do, what they needed to do to be successful, and what needed to be done in order to be a positive professional in the league.
Kevin Ollie brought that type of class UConn. After seeing Calhoun run the team and how to be a good coach, Ollie replaced Calhoun after his retirement. UConn had a successful season in Ollie's first season, but was banned from post season play due to an NCAA sanction that was placed upon the program. And then came this season. A new conference, and a tough schedule led the Huskies getting a 7 seed in the NCAA tournament. After an exciting first few rounds, the Huskies advanced to the Final Four in Dallas. That's what has happened up to today. The reason that Ollie is the best thing to happen since Calhoun is because of the most important players on the UConn roster...Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright.
Both Napier and Boatright are guards. Both can be considered combo guards, with Napier being a more true point guard, but still considered a combo. Both are fantastic players, and would be okay under most coaches, but Ollie is no ordinary coach. Ollie has NBA experience, and has the ability to show these players what they need to do to get to the next level. Ollie is a classy guy, and can lead this team in a way that most could not. He can show these players that even if they are down, even if they are close to the brink, he can bring them back, they have the ability to be great and can take a game into the closing seconds with no fear.
Kevin Ollie is the best thing to have happened to the UConn basketball program.
Stay classy planet Earth
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