Winning a national championship will do a lot for you — just ask Kevin Ollie.
A few days after reports surfaced saying UConn was negotiating with the coach whose stock has skyrocketed since leading the Huskies to the title in just his second season, Fox Sports is now citing a source indicating Ollie will meet with the Lakers about their vacated head-coaching position.
The Lakers announced Wednesday Mark D’Antoni had resigned from the position. Since then, names of candidates for perhaps the NBA’s highest-profile job have been floated, Ollie among them. According to insidesocal.com, a source familiar with Ollie’s thinking said on Wednesday, “He’ll listen, but he’s real committed to his alma mater.”
While he graduated from Connecticut, Ollie has his own link to Los Angeles, too, having grown up in the City of Angels and attended Crenshaw High School.
The 41-year-old has been hailed since leading UConn’s depleted and suspended program back to prominence. His profile spiked even more after receiving rave reviews from Kevin Durant, whom Ollie, a 13-year-pro, played with in 2009-10.
“Kevin Ollie, he was a game-changer for us,” Durant told Grantland over All-Star weekend. “He changed the whole culture, I think. He might not say it, but I think he changed the whole culture in Oklahoma City.”