Kevin Ollie is out at UConn. The head coach of the men’s basketball team has initiated the process to fire Ollie for just cause, the university has announced.
UConn fires Kevin Ollie just 4 years after winning national championship
Ollie’s downfall has been jarring.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The Huskies saw their season end on Thursday to SMU with a 80-73 loss in the AAC tournament. It capped another disappointing year for the program, with a 14-18 overall record and a 7-11 mark in conference.
Ollie’s fall from grace at the program has been jarring
Kevin Ollie led UConn to a national championship just four years ago.
It was an unlikely run, with the Huskies beginning the tournament as a No. 7 seed. They took out No. 2 Villanova, No. 3 Iowa State, No. 4 Michigan State and No. 1 Florida on their way to the title game, where they faced a talented but underseeded Kentucky squad led by Julius Randle.
Behind 22 points from Shabazz Napier, UConn won its fourth national championship since 1999. Ollie was suddenly the hottest name in coaching, earning considerable NBA buzz but never making the jump to the league.
Since then, it’s been all downhill.
UConn missed the tournament at 20-15 the following year, then snuck in as a No. 9 seed that was dropped by Kansas in the round of 32. The last two seasons for the Huskies have been sub-.500, with a 16-17 campaign last year ahead of this season’s even more disappointing campaign.
UConn’s roster has been ravaged by injuries and transfers over the last two seasons. Steven Enoch, Juwan Durham and Vance Jackson were three former highly-touted recruits who chose to leave the program. Former McDonald’s All-American Alterique Gilbert has played just nine games over the last two seasons because of shoulder injuries.
Ollie exits UConn with a 127-79 record over six seasons.
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