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Friday, December 5, 2014

Some telling quotes from UConn coach Kevin Ollie after loss to Yale?

Not trying to take anything out of context (or, as Roger Clemens would say, content) here, but I think Kevin Ollie was taking a not-so-subtle jab at Omar Calhoun with this quote following Yale's stunning, 45-44 win over UConn on Friday night at Gampel:

Asked about Ryan Boatright's effort, Ollie reponded:

“Ryan’s got to do a better job with the four turnovers, just careless turnovers. But I applaud his effort out there, because a lot of people are sitting on that bench, hurt. I know his ankle hurts, but he got up there and played. I’ve got to applaud that.”

Calhoun, of course, has yet to play this season after suffering a preseason right knee sprain. Meanwhile, Purvis -- who missed Sunday's Texas loss with a high ankle sprain -- gave it a go. He came off the bench but missed all three shots in eight first-half minutes and never returned to the floor.

“He’s limping around, I just didn’t think he was effective,” said Ollie. “I just thought our energy picked up in the second half and I was going with the guys that were playing hard. Not saying Rodney wasn’t playing hard, but that group in there -- Sam (Cassell) starting, (Terrence Samuel) coming in -- got us back in the game.”



On Jack Montague's game-winning shot:

Ollie: “(Ryan) Boatright had Montague. He was pointing for the switch and Sam took a couple of steps in. Montague just came off and got open, then Sam was late to retreat. It was just a communication (breakdown) again, things that we went over in practice to stop. We’ve just got to do a better job reacting to late-game situations, and switching. Boat called the switch, but we just didn’t react fast enough -- kind of like in the Texas game.”

“That corner’s not my favorite corner."

Ollie was accountable: “I know I’m not playing, but I’ve got to do a better job in those last (second) situations, finding the guys that are going to communicate and follow the game plan.”

Confessed Cassell: “(Boatright) called a switch. I thought I saw a guy come through the middle. The guy went to the corner. It was my fault.”

“Both shots hit me to the heart, just seeing both of those shots go in the same way. It’s just crazy.”

With Javier Duren inbounding from near the opposite corner with 3.5 seconds left, the plan was for Duren to hit Justin Sears with a lob pass.

“The design was for me to cross from one side of the 3-point line to the other, and I guess the man who was guarding me must have got caught up in traffic, and I felt like I was open,” Montague said. “Javier found me out of bounds, and I let it loose from there.”

Maybe not option No. 1, but not a surprise to Yale coach James Jones.

“I told (Montague) some time during the game that he’s going to make a big shot. I was just waiting for it all night, and it finally came.”



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