by Dick Weiss
Kevin Ollie, who coached UConn to an unexpected national championship, is suddenly the hottest coach in the country, college or pro.
The popular former NBA journeyman has been linked to several NBA coaching vacancies, including a job with his hometown Los Angeles Lakers, but he says is not looking to leave Connecticut and has not been soliciting job offers.
That is good news for the American Athletic Conference, which had the best year in men's and women's basketball of any conference in the country and is seeking to build stability by holding onto its most successful coaches.
"I love the university,'' Ollie said at the New York Athletic Club, where the Huskies' men's and women's teams were honored by the Winged Foot Athletic Club. "I am not looking for another job .Of course, you listen to different things. I have two ears. But, listen, I'm not running out there soliciting any other job. I want to be at the University of Connecticut.''
Ollie said he was hoping to work out a new contract with athletic director Warde Manuel. His current deal, worth a little more than $7 million, runs through the 2017-18 season. He made $1.6 million with bonuses when the Huskies made a dramatic run through the tournament, defeating SEC powers Florida and Kentucky in the Final Four in North Texas.
"We are talking and hopefully we can get together once all this quiets down,'' he said. "Have a nice talk and hopefully get everything situated.''
There is little question UConn wants Ollie, who played for Jim Calhoun, worked for Calhoun as an assistant for two years and was the hand-picked successor two years ago, to stay. The school has reportedly offered him a sizeable raise.
With no college head coaching experience, Ollie received a seven-month contract when he was hired to replace Calhoun. In December 2012, He was given a five-year contract. The Huskies are apparently willing to ramp up that number to make him one of the top 15 paid coaches in the college game.
Ollie certainly fits the criteria for a job in the totally unstable NBA, particularly in Los Angeles, where he grew up. He played 13 years in the league and developed strong relationships with influential former players like Reggie Miller and current superstars like Kevin Durant and LeBron James, who will become free agents shortly.
Durant, in an interview with Grantland, said that Ollie, who played for the New Orleans Thunder in 2009-10, taught him the ropes and changed the culture in Oklahoma City.
"He was a game-changer for us,'' Durant said. "I think he changed the whole culture in Oklahoma City. Just his mindset, professionalism, every single day. And we all watched that and we al wanted to be like that.''
Ollie had previously played a similar role with the Cleveland Cavaliers and was a positive influence on younger players, particularly a young James.
The Lakers reportedly have a laundry list of candidates and there are rumors they are looking to make a huge splash since Mike D'Antoni resigned from that position. Among others, the franchise was said to be looking at Ollie and John Calipari of Kentucky. Ollie would certainly fill the splash part. But jumping into shark-infested waters may not be his best decision. The NBA is totally insecure these days. Last year three coaches – George Karl of Denver, Vinnie Del Negro of the Los Angeles Clippers and Lionel Hollins of Memphis – who all won 50 or more games and made the playoffs, were gone.
This year, Mark Jackson of Golden State, who won 51 games and coached the Warriors to a second straight playoff appearance, was dumped after the team did not make it past the first round. Five other teams – the Pistons, Knicks, Timberwolves and Jazz all posted vacancies.
"The change, change, change thing doesn't really work, [and] you can see that in a lot of organizations," San Antonio Spurs coach Greg Popovich said. "When things don't happen quickly, I think some owners become frustrated. Some even take it personally – almost like a little bit of an embarrassment – because they've been so successful in their own way and have a hard time understanding the business."
The college game appears to be much more stable as Kelvin Sampson can attest. Sampson is the new coach at the University of Houston, returning to the college game after spending five years as an NBA assistant. He was a highly successful college coach for most of his career, leading Washington State to an NCAA appearance in 1994 and coaching Oklahoma to 11 NCAA appearances in 12 years, including a 2002 trip to the Final Four. He was a two-time national Coach of the Year with the Sooners before leaving for Indiana, where he spent two years.
Sampson is a proven winner and both he and 73-year-old Hall of Fame icon Larry Brown of SMU, who coached the Mustangs to the finals of the NIT, give the American a strong presence in the two major cities in Texas. USF has also taken steps to upgrade its program with the hiring of valued Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua.
Cincinnati has one of the best young coaches in the country in Mick Cronin and Memphis coach Josh Pastner can recruit with anyone in the South.
But the biggest plus in this league will be keeping Ollie, who has rapidly proven he knows how to reach his players and deal with adversity. When Ollie took this job two years ago, the Huskies had been banned from postseason participation because of academic statistics that occurred in a previous regime. Despite that, Ollie never let his players lose their focus and he coached the Huskies to a 20-win season.
This year, Ollie led the Huskies, who finished third in the American but were seeded an undervalued seventh in the NCAA East Region, to their fourth national championship in the past 15 years. Ollie connected with his players. UConn defeated 10th-seeded Saint Joseph's, No. 2-seeded Villanova, No. 3-seeded Iowa State, and No. 4-seeded Michigan State to become the first No. 7 seed to reach the Final Four since the tournament expanded in 1985.On April 5th, 2014, the Huskies defeated top-ranked Florida 63-53 in the first Final Four national semifinal. The Huskies then defeated the young Kentucky Wildcats 60-54 in the title game.
The American had a once-in-a-generation season. Storrs became the capital of college basketball after UConn won both the men's and women's championships. Sophomore Breanna Stewart of UConn was the women's national player of the year and both she and guard Shabazz Napier were selected as the most outstanding players in their respective NCAA tournaments. Napier, Russ Smith of Louisville and Sean Kilpatrick were all selected first team All Americans. Rutgers won the WNIT and SMU competed a special season with its NIT run.
The American, like so many other conferences, will be faced with a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately scenario next season. But keeping a rising coaching star like Kevin Ollie can only elevate its profile and increase its stability.