Once upon a time, Kevin Ollie, the handpicked heir apparent to Jim Calhoun, who himself turned UConn basketball from a basketball afterthought into a powerhouse, had just squeezed every ounce of talent he could possibly get out of mercurial point guard Shabazz Napier to lead the 7-seed Huskies to the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship.
UConn Men’s Basketball National Championship Run
Take a look back at the 2014 National Champion UConn Men’s Basketball team’s regular season and NCAA Tournament run. 0:58 Barclays Center First Win 1:20 2KSports Classic Championship 2:03 Florida Win & Regular Season 3:17 American Tournament 3:52 NCAA Second Round vs. St. Joseph’s 4:36 NCAA Third Round vs.
Now, Ollie is no longer the coach and former Rhode Island head coach Danny Hurley is being tasked with bringing UConn back to prominence. Ollie and UConn are at odds over the the $10 million of remaining salary that he still had on his contract after he was let go following a 14-18 season in which highly-touted players simply didn’t perform up to expectations.
The charges for which UConn feels they had to cause fire Ollie for seem minor. For arranging a video call between Ray Allen and a recruit, setting up an “improper” training session, and playing a pickup game with a recruit on his unofficial visit, UConn believes they had cause to fire him.
University president Susan Herbst wrote in a letter, “…eventually even a series of ‘isolated’ or ‘de minimis’ violations can become a pattern of non-compliance, which is what occurred in the Men’s Basketball program under your leadership.”
Inside the fight over millions between UConn and ex-basketball coach Kevin Ollie | OTL | ESPN
Jay Bilas joins Outside The Lines to discuss the ongoing dispute between the University of Connecticut and former Huskies men’s basketball coach Kevin Ollie.
But Ollie and his representatives vehemently disagree. Last week his legal team threatened a lawsuit after UConn released documents related to an ongoing NCAA investigation as part of a Freedom of Information Act request.
He demanded a retraction following the release of transcripts from the NCAA, including allegations of a $30,000 payment to a recruit’s mother. Why is that dirty pool? Because UConn didn’t even list the alleged payment in its termination letter to Ollie.
His lawyers claim the NCAA transcripts detailed false claims and confidential information that was protected by FOIA laws because they’re related to an ongoing investigation and personnel matters.
