Comments on: Kevin Ollie to jump into coaching after 13 years in the NBA

By: mike

mike — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 11:13:31 +0000

I have followed UConn for about the last 20 years, I went to UConn and even was a radio broadcaster for UConn when I was there.
Ollie was a class act at all times. Came back to help during the summers, played in charity games to try to help Coach Calhoun. His career at UConn and in the NBA was never given the consideration as other flashy point guards, but he always knew what to do with the ball and where to go. Sometimes people think PGs should be like Derrick Rose and able to score. Many true PGs are able to have other people be successful, Ollie was exactly that type of guard. I think he will be an excellent coach on the next level.

By: Mike

Mike — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 11:05:26 +0000

I agree. This article was needlessly offensive and lacking in overall class. I am still not entirely sure what basis the writer has for accusing Ollie of “taking roster spots that may not have belonged to him.” As if NBA teams make a habit of handing over one year contracts, to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, for purely sentimental reasons. While Ollie may not have been the most gifted athlete, and never a star, he made a career out of relentless hard work, professionalism, and being a team player. Furthermore, what makes Ollie’s NBA tenure “relatively unsuccessful”? Based on whose career standards? How many college players, drafted or not, stick around the league for as long as Ollie did only to leave for a prime coaching position at one of the nation’s best college programs? My guess is “relatively” few. Ollie had a successful pro career and will make a terrific coach.

By: arsenalrules

arsenalrules — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:23:03 +0000

“Sub-par athlete”? “Took roster spots that may not have belonged to him”? “Largely forgettable”?
You sure spend a lot of paragraphs (4) and words to write about the retirement of a player you mock for having an obscure NBA career.
And in such personal, harsh terms, too.
What happened? Did Kevin Ollie refuse to give you an autograph when you saw him out at dinner – at some point during his “forgettable” 13-year NBA career?