ing the mid-1990s, Ollie was a four-year starting point guard and a two-time captain. He played in 124 games for the Huskies, averaging 6.7 points and 5.0 assists. A third team All-Big East pick, his 619 assist total still ranks third on UConn’s all-time list. He graduated in 1995 with a degree in Communications. But Ollie was far more concerned with team statistics than individual ones. During his four-year UConn career, the Huskies had a record of 92-33, 51-21 in the Big East Conference and made three NCAA Tournament appearances. During Ollie’s last two seasons, when he served as a team captain, UConn’s record was 57-10 overall and a dazzling 32-4 in the Big East, capturing two Big East regularseason championships, and reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, respectively. Yet it was after his UConn career that Ollie was most impressive, displaying unmatched perseverance, intestinal fortitude, and a never-say- die attitude as he fought his way through years in the Continental Basketball Association and the U.S. Basketball League to get his chance in the NBA. Once there, Ollie would simply not give up his dream, signing a series of
FAST FACTS Born: Dec. 27, 1972 (Dallas, Texas) Raised: Los Angeles, Calif. (Crenshaw High School) College: University of Connecticut (BA-Communications ’95) College Basketball Career: 4-year starting point guard; two- time captain; UConn All- Century Team. Professional Basketball Career: 13 years in the NBA with 11 franchises (final season 2009-10 w/Oklahoma City); 2 years in CBA w/Conn. Pride; 1 year in USBL w/ Conn. Skyhawks. Assistant Coach: 2 years fulltime assistant coach at UConn under Jim Calhoun. Head Coach: UConn, appointed Sept. 13, 2012. Family: Wife, Stephanie (UConn ‘97); Son, Jalen (born 6/22/96); Daughter, Cheyanne (born 2/6/01).
UConn coach Kevin Ollie accepts the Ben Jobe Award from Jobe, the former Southern University coach. 10-day and one-year contracts, dealing with trades and frustrating roster cuts. “One time, I was cut on Christmas Eve,” said Ollie. “What a Christmas present that was.” Yet Ollie would not be deterred, earning a reputation throughout the league as an outstanding teammate, with strong moral fiber, impeccable character, and a vast knowledge of the game. His perseverance finally paid off with a multi-year contract from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who also wanted Ollie to mentor a young LeBron James about acting as a professional. Oklahoma City brought Ollie in to do the same for Kevin Durant. During a 13-year NBA career, Ollie played for 11 different franchises in 12 cities and learned from 15 different NBA coaches. It was apparent that Ollie would eventually become a coach. Ollie couldn’t have had a more successful debut season to his coaching career than in 2010-11, as he helped guard Kemba Walker produce one of the most spectacular individual seasons in UConn history in leading the Huskies to the program’s third national championship. The 2011-12 season culminated in another NCAA appearance and another UConn guard, Jeremy Lamb, drafted as an NBA lottery selection. “Kevin Ollie epitomizes what we want a UConn athlete, a UConn student, to be
all about, and when you say that, that’s heavy stuff,” Calhoun said. “Any fox hole you need to jump in, there’s your guy. Anytime you need a person who won’t quit, there’s your guy.” Born in Dallas on Dec. 27, 1972, and raised in Los Angeles, Ollie resides in Glastonbury with wife Stephanie, who is also a UConn grad (1997), and their two children, son Jalen (born 6/22/96) and daughter Cheyanne (born 2/6/01).
UConn All-Time Head Coaches Seasons Coach W Pre-1915 No Coach 45 1915-19 John Donahue 11 1919-21 M.R. Swartz 14 1921-22 J.W. Tasker 15 1922-23 Roy Guyer 8 1923-27 Sumner Dole 39 1927-31 Louis Alexander 35 1931-36 John Heldman, Jr. 19 1935-36 J.O. Christian (Interim) 3 1936-45 Don White 94 1945-46 Blair Gullion 14 1946-63 Hugh Greer 287 1963 George Wigton (Interim) 11 1963-67 Fred Shabel 72 1967-69 Burr Carlson 16 1969-77 Donald “Dee” Rowe 120 1977-86 Dom Perno 139 1986-12 Jim Calhoun 625 2012- Kevin Ollie 27 Totals 1594
2013-2014 University of Connecticut Basketball Media Notes December 2, 2013 vs. Florida UConnHuskies.com
L 44 23 14 5 6 25 19 42 10 59 7 113 4 29 32 88 114 243 10 887
PCT. .506 .324 .500 .750 .571 .609 .648 .311 .231 .614 .667 .718 .733 .713 .333 .577 .549 .720 .730 .642