Who was the coach of UConn before Dan Hurley? Huskies' coaching history explored

Kevin Ollie coached the UConn Huskies before Dan Hurley took over. He was initially an assistant coach for the Huskies and replaced Jim Calhoun as head coach in 2012. He joined the Brooklyn Nets as an assistant coach in 2023 and is currently serving as the interim head coach for the team.

Ollie led the Huskies to the NCAA championship in 2014, their fourth title in 15 years. Ollie was succeeded by Hurley, whose back-to-back championship wins took the Huskies' NCAA championship tally to six.

Ollie is one of four African-American coaches to have won the NCAA Championship.

NBA: Toronto Raptors at Brooklyn Nets

His 2014 championship triumph marked the pinnacle of his college basketball coaching career. He was fired in 2018 following an NCAA investigation into recruiting violations.

How have Dan Hurley, Ollie, and Calhoun contributed to the national standing of the Huskies?

Calhoun achieved championship wins for the Huskies in 1999, 2004 and 2011. In 2014, Ollie’s mentorship proved pivotal for the Huskies in winning the championship again. Then Hurley powered the Huskies to back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024.

After the Huskies were victorious in March Madness 2024, Ollie was all praise for Hurley and UConn:

"This year and the past year to win all those games with double figures and just run through the tournament. Coach Hurley has done a marvelous job there and UConn and the players and the coaching staff it's just wonderful and they got to make us blue blood now."

He was ALSO quick to take a dig at the critics:

"They trying to keep us out but like you said we have been running this team for 30 years and everybody knows it," he added.

What do you think about Kevin Ollie as a coach? Let us know in the comments.