Ollie Not Hiding Under a Rock

Dreary day here at the Travelers Championship pro-am day. Rain has cancelled the remainder of the morning round. Jim Calhoun, playing in a group with pro Ryan Moore, as well as George Blaney and Michael Bolton (not the guy from 'Office Space,' either), got in 14 holes before rain ended their day.

Kevin Ollie and Ray Allen played in a group with Jim Furyk. Hopefully they didn't try to emulate his swing.

Afterwards, Ollie talked about a few things, including the prevailing thought that he will be Calhoun's successor some day at UConn.

Yes, he's heard the rumors.

"Unless you're hiding under a rock, you hear your name," he said. "But I don't get caught up in that. I take it one day at a time. God has given me this day to be on this Earth, and that's the only thing I'm concentrating on. If it does come to me being the head coach there, I'd love the opportunity. But anything can happen. I'm just going to go out there and try to be the best coach I can be, learn from a Hall of Fame coach, learn from Coach Blaney, who's got over 400 wins. Learn from Glen Miller, who's been a head basketball coach for 17 years. I've got a plethora of people to learn from, and I'm just an empty cup trying to get better each and every day."

Ollie also talked about Kemba Walker and where he may go in tomorrow night's NBA Draft.

"I'm just hearing that he's definitely going to be a top 10 pick," Ollie said. "He's comfortable taking it all in. The place he's in right now is great. He deserves everything he's going to get. He's going to be a great player when he gets to the NBA because of his drive, his passion and his will to win are all off the charts. Every level he's been at, he's been a winner, so I don't see that changing when he gets to the NBA."

He said Utah and Sacramento appear to be potential landing spots, but hopes that isn't true for one selfish reason.

"I'm kinda biased, I wish he was on the East Coast," Ollie confessed. "I'm getting kinda old in age, so I go to sleep on those TNT games at 10:30 p.m. Hopefully he'll be East, but it looks like he'll be out West somewhere."

Ollie said he's talked to Walker "throughout the year" on what to expect about the draft process, being an NBA player, etc.

"Now, he's just enjoying the process, listening to his agents, I know he's probably called Coach Calhoun," Ollie said. "Just letting him enjoy this. This is his time. It's going to be a great, great opportunity for him to hear his name get called, hopefully meet David Stern. Hopefully the kids that are in our program now see his determination, see his due diligence, see his preparation each and every day and try to emulate that some way, somehow."

Oh yeah, the obligatory 'is Calhoun coming back?' question:

"We just see him every day, working so hard, beating me into the office. At 8:30 a.m., he's grinding away. Hopefully he's coming back, but you just never know. He deserves this opportunity to sit back and talk to his family, come up with the best decision for him and his family."