When Kevin Ollie took over as the men’s head basketball coach at the University of Connecticut in 2012 he had some big shoes to fill. Ollie was taking over for his mentor and longtime UConn head coach Jim Calhoun. During his 26 years with the UConn Huskies, Calhoun won 625 games, made four Final Four appearances, and won three national championships. When Ollie took over as the head basketball coach at UConn, he had to prove himself on just a one-year deal which was nothing new for Ollie. Ollie was a 13-year NBA point guard that went undrafted in 1995 by the NBA and he had to prove himself in the Continental Basketball Association with the Connecticut Pride for two seasons before getting his big break. During his time in the NBA, Ollie played for 11 different teams; mainly on one-year deals so proving your worth has never been a daunting task for him.
Ollie inherited a Huskies basketball program that was placed on academic probation and they were deemed ineligible for the 2013 Big East Conference and NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournaments. UConn’s probation led to the defections of forwards Roscoe Smith, Alex Oriakhi, guard Jeremy Lamb, and center Andre Drummond. Unfazed by all of this Ollie went to work to prove his own worth at UConn.
In their final season in the Big East Conference, Connecticut was 10-8 within the conference and they had an overall record of 20-10 which was a step in the right direction for Ollie and his basketball program due to the fact that he had to find a way to keep the team together without a postseason tournament bid to play for.
The Huskies came into this season as a member of the newly formed American Athletic Conference and they were itching to get back to the postseason. The Huskies finished their inaugural season in the AAC with an overall record of 24-7 while going 12-6 within the conference. UConn’s 12 wins within the AAC were good enough to be third in the conference. The Huskies made the AAC Tournament Championship Game, but for the third time this season they were unable to overcome the University of Louisville. Entering the NCAA Tournament, the AAC was underappreciated and in spite of entering the tournament with a record of 26-8, UConn was placed as the 7th seed in the East Region. But the Huskies had a lot in their favor as their second and third round games would be played in Buffalo, New York which was only 421 miles away from their campus in Storrs, Connecticut. The Huskies would need overtime in the second round to dispatch of Saint Joseph’s University before they met a familiar foe in the third round of the tournament. UConn took on the Villanova Wildcats who were their old conference mates from the original Big East Conference and it was the Huskies that pulled away for a 77-65 win. Things would dramatically change for the better for UConn as the East Regional would conclude at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Over the years Madison Square Garden has been a home away from home for UConn as they won seven Big East Tournament Championships there; so when the Huskies took the floor at MSG this past weekend they had a decided advantage over the Iowa State Cyclones and Michigan State Spartans as they would defeat both schools and go on to win the East Regional Title.
Ollie has done it his way with a team in his own image. In spite of starting the season ranked in the top 20 most people didn’t expect that much from this UConn team coming into the season, but heading into this weekend’s Final Four they are still standing with a chance to win the school’s fourth national championship.
Coming out of high school none of the current players on UConn’s roster were heavily recruited; just like Ollie was before playing for Calhoun at Connecticut. But the Huskies have gelled into a tough and scrappy team that will do whatever it takes to get a victory.
Senior point guard Shabazz Napier had the opportunity to defect from UConn like his former teammates did, but he decided to hang around in Storrs. Napier was a freshman when UConn won the national championship in 2011 so he has seen the best of times and the worst with the Huskies. But it has come full circle for him as a senior as he has enjoyed a tremendous final season at Storrs. Napier was selected as the AAC’s Player of the Year and he was selected as a first team All-American as he has averaged 18.1 points per game and made countless big plays to enable the Huskies to reach the point that they are currently at. More importantly the senior point guard is an extension of his head coach on the court. The same way that UConn’s players are focused on Ollie in the huddle, they are also focused on Napier on the court expecting him to make a big play for them.
The Huskies will head to the Final Four this weekend brimming with confidence and their berth there is a huge stepping stone for Ollie.
When Calhoun arrived at Connecticut, he took over a program that had to take a backseat to powerhouses in the Big East Conference such as Georgetown, Syracuse, and St. John’s at the time. Slowly but surely Calhoun built the Huskies into a national power due to the fact that he consistently put players in the NBA such as Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, and Kemba Walker. Aside from being the head coach at Connecticut, Ollie had that long NBA run as a player and he knows what it takes not only to get there, but how to stay there which will help him on the recruiting front.
Ollie is also a native of Dallas, Texas and this year’s Final Four is only a stone’s throw away in Arlington.
Ollie has gone from just another former player turned head coach to a man that is establishing himself as one of the best in the business.
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