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Three games into the 2016-2017 season, Kevin Ollie’s UConn Huskies are already in must-win territory.
Starting the season with two losses that weren’t even close against lowly teams is a disaster. It’s not unreconcilable, but we are quickly approaching UConn-needs-to-win-the-AAC-Tournament territory. And it’s way too early in the season to be doing that.
With young teams, there is always a chance for great growth across a season, and we’re just going to have to be hopeful that this group can pull it off with the assembled veterans, a group of guys brought in while this program’s ability to pull in talent was at its weakest. If not, it will be a rebuilding year. There is no doubt the future remains bright.
So keep that in mind before passing judgement on Kevin Ollie and his abilities as a coach. The long-term approach is how UConn has consistently built winners during the Jim Calhoun era. Kevin Ollie had to do things a different way because his circumstances were different and he is a different man.
Ollie will be going with his third starting lineup in as many games, with Amida Brimah, Terry Larrier, Rodney Purvis, Alterique Gilbert, and Jalen Adams starting.
Bottoms up.