Kevin Ollie

Kevin Ollie
Kevin Ollie
Born	December 27, 1972 (age 53); Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Former professional basketball player, basketball coach
Years active	1995–2010 (player), 2010–present (coach)
Known for	Head coach of UConn Huskies men's basketball team; interim head coach of Brooklyn Nets

Kevin Jermaine Ollie (born December 27, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player and coach, most recently serving as the interim head coach for the Brooklyn Nets in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Previously, Ollie led the UConn Huskies as head coach and is distinguished as one of only four African-American coaches to secure an NCAA men's basketball championship. He earned a communications degree from UConn in 1995. Over thirteen seasons spanning from 1997 to 2010, Ollie competed with twelve NBA teams, including three separate tenures with the Philadelphia 76ers, after beginning his professional career in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in 1995.

Upon retiring from playing in 2010, Ollie transitioned to coaching at UConn as an assistant before being promoted to head coach in 2012 following Jim Calhoun’s retirement. In his sophomore season as head coach, he guided the Huskies to win the 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. His tenure ended with his dismissal in 2018.

Early life

Born in Dallas, Texas, Ollie was raised in South Central Los Angeles by his mother, Dorothy, a schoolteacher and ordained minister, after his parents Fletcher and Dorothy divorced when he was seven years old. While his father relocated to Dallas, where Ollie spent summers working various jobs, his mother single-handedly raised him along with his two older sisters, Vita and Rhonda.

Playing career

Ollie developed his basketball skills at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, California before competing collegiately for four years (1991–95) at the University of Connecticut. Following college, he played with the Connecticut Pride of the Continental Basketball Association between 1995 and 1997, subsequently launching his NBA career.

During the 2008–09 NBA season, the Minnesota Timberwolves appointed Ollie as team captain. On August 1, 2009, he signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder at the veteran minimum salary. After that season concluded, Ollie retired from playing and accepted an assistant coaching position with the Connecticut Huskies.

NBA star Kevin Durant credited Ollie with transforming the Thunder’s team culture during the 2009–10 season through his leadership and professionalism, positively impacting players such as Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green, and James Harden. Likewise, former Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Jim Paxson recognized Ollie’s role as a stabilizing "bridge" point guard and a constructive mentor to younger talents like LeBron James, praising his work ethic and approach to basketball.

Coaching career

In 2012, Ollie succeeded hall of fame coach Jim Calhoun as head coach of the UConn Huskies, having previously played under Calhoun and served as an assistant coach. As an assistant in 2011, he contributed to leading UConn to eleven consecutive postseason victories, securing both the Big East tournament title and the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball championship. On December 29, 2012, Ollie committed to a five-year contract extension with UConn.

During his inaugural season as head coach, the Huskies posted a 20–10 overall record and finished eighth in Big East conference play (10–8), but were barred from postseason competition due to an NCAA-imposed ban related to earlier Academic Progress Rate violations.

On December 2, 2013, UConn defeated Florida and climbed to #9 in national rankings. The Huskies ended third in the American Athletic Conference (AAC), advanced past Memphis and Cincinnati in tournament play but fell to Louisville in the AAC Championship game. They earned a #7 seed at-large berth for the NCAA tournament and became the first #7 seed since 1985 to reach the Final Four by defeating Saint Joseph’s, Villanova, Iowa State, and Michigan State.

On April 5, 2014, UConn overcame top-ranked Florida in the Final Four semifinals before defeating Kentucky 60–54 on April 7 to secure their fourth NCAA men’s basketball championship within fifteen years.

Ollie signed a new five-year contract on May 22, 2014, valued at $2.8 million annually. However, on March 10, 2018, he was terminated for cause following an NCAA investigation that resulted in a three-year show-cause order due to multiple violations spanning four years up to 2017. The NCAA cited Ollie for "failure to monitor" and inadequate promotion of compliance standards. Sanctions included a reduction of one scholarship for the 2019–20 season, two years of probation, a $5,000 fine, recruiting restrictions, and vacating wins involving an ineligible player during the 2017–18 season.

Violations encompassed unauthorized summer pick-up games classified improperly as team activities; impermissible coaching conducted by a video coordinator; and booster-provided extra benefits such as training sessions and lodging arranged through a private trainer. Ollie filed a grievance seeking $10 million in back pay.

Any institution employing Ollie before July 2, 2022—the expiration date of his show-cause penalty—would require NCAA committee approval. Ollie contended that he faced disparate treatment compared to predecessor Jim Calhoun concerning NCAA infractions. After Ollie initiated court claims related to this grievance process, UConn opted not to pursue further proceedings. Arbitration was ongoing as of February 2019; on January 20, 2022 an arbitrator ruled that UConn had improperly terminated Ollie and ordered payment of back wages.

On April 12, 2021, Ollie was appointed head of coaching and basketball development for Overtime Elite.

On June 3, 2023, he joined the Brooklyn Nets staff as an assistant coach under head coach Jacque Vaughn. Following Vaughn’s dismissal during the 2024 NBA All-Star break, Ollie was elevated to interim head coach.

Awards and honors

In 2014, ESPN placed Ollie at number ten on its list of the Top 50 college basketball coaches. Even while leading a team facing NCAA penalties and excluded from postseason competition, he guided them to a 20–10 season in his second year and achieved a national championship title.

Personal life

Ollie is a devoted Christian and participated actively in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes throughout his NBA tenure. He and his former wife Stephanie have two children named Jalen and Cheyenne. Stephanie initiated divorce proceedings in January 2015.

Regular season

|- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| | style="text-align:left;"|Dallas | 16 || 0 || 13.4 || .333 || — || .720 || 1.3 || 2.0 || .4 || .0 || 2.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Orlando | 19 || 0 || 11.4 || .411 || .000 || .689 || .9 || 1.7 || .4 || .0 || 4.1 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| | style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento | 7 || 0 || 9.7 || .308 || — || .800 || .9 || .4 || .4 || .1 || 1.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Orlando | 1 || 0 || 4.0 || .000 || — || .500 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || 1.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 40 || 0 || 7.3 || .449 || — || .757 || .8 || 1.2 || .3 || .0 || 1.8 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| | style="text-align:left;"|New Jersey | 19 || 0 || 8.5 || .185 || — || .632 || 1.2 || 1.3 || .3 || .0 || 1.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 51 || 4 || 15.0 || .430 || .333 || .729 || 1.4 || 2.4 || .5 || .0||3.8 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| | style="text-align:left;"|Chicago |52||17||22.0||.383||.500||.838||2.5||3.7||.7||.0||5.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Indiana |29||0||19.9||.400||—||.804||1.9||3.4||.9||.0||5.4 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan="2"| | style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee |53||4||21.3||0.459||.200||.747||1.9||3.4||.7||0.1||5.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Seattle |29||1||26.6||.441||1.000||.759|||2.9|||3.8|||1.1|||0|||8.0 |- | style="text-align:left;" |

| style="text-align:left;" |Cleveland 
| 82||7||17.1||.370||.444||.835|||2.1|||2.9|||.6|||0.1|||4.2

|-

| style="text-align:left;" | 
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia 
|26|||0|||6.1|||.355|||—|||.667|||0.7|||0.7|||0.2|||0|||1.1

|-

| style="text-align:left;" | 
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia 
|70|||23|||15.3|||.431|||.333|||.837|||1.4|||1..4|||0..5|||0|||2..7

|-

| style="text-align:left;" | 
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia 
|53|||23|||17..3|||..433|||..100|||..822|||..14|||..25|||..04|||..00|||..38

|-

| style="text-align:left;" | 
| style="text-align:left;" |Philadelphia 
|40||||07||||420||||000||||800||||05||||10||||03||||00||||18

|-

| style="text-align:left;" | 
| style="text-align:left;" |Minnesota 
|50||||21||||170||||407||||000||||833||||15||||23||||04||||01||||40

|-

| style="text-align:left;" | 
| style="text-align:left;" |Oklahoma City 
|25||||00||||105||||400||||000||||10000000||||10||||08||||04||||00||||18

|- class="sortbottom" ! colspan=2 |Career !662 !100 !15..6 !410 !310 !792 !15 !23 !05 !00 !38

Playoff Performance

|- | style="text-align:left;"|2000 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 10 || 0 || 6.5 || .500 || .000 || .889 || .5 || 1.2 || .2 || .0 || 2.0 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2001 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 23 || 0 || 5.3 || .370 || .000 || .929 || .4 || 1.0 || .0 || .0 || 1.4 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2002 | style="text-align:left;"|Indiana | 5 || 0 || 23.6 || .423 || .500 || 1.000 || 2.4 || 4.6 || .6 || .0 || 5.8 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2008 | style="text-align:left;"|Philadelphia | 3 || 0 || 6.3 || .250 || .000 || 1.000 || .3 || 1.0 || .7 || .0 || 1.3 |- | style="text-align:left;"|2010 | style="text-align:left;"|Oklahoma City | 1 || 0 || 5.0 || .000 || .000 || .000 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 || .0 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Overall | 42 || 0 || 7.9 || .406 || .500 || .935 || .7 || 1.5 || .2 || .0 || 2.1

College

Victories recorded during the 2016–17 and 2017–18 campaigns have been officially vacated.

{{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2014–15 | name = UConn | overall = 20–15 | conference = 10–8 |} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = conference tournament | season = 2015–16 | name = UConn | overall = 25–11 |} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry | championship = | season = 2016–17 |} {{CBB Yearly Record Entry |}

NBA

|- | style="text-align:left;"|Brooklyn | style="text-align:left;"| | 28 || 11 || 17 || || style="text-align:center;"|4th in Atlantic|| —|| —|| —|| — | style="text-align:center;" |Did not qualify for playoffs |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Total | 28||11||17|| || || —|| —|| —|| —||

External links