Mailbag 1/22: Who Does The Recruiting?

Q: Just really curious as to who on the coaching staff is currently in charge of recruiting, as well as who had been doing the recruiting the past couple years under [Jim] Calhoun?

Lynn Prue

Windham

A: Not sure how far you want to go back, Lynn. When Kevin Ollie became the head coach in September, Karl Hobbs moved from director of administration to assistant coach and thus joined in the recruiting effort. Currently, Glen Miller, associate head coach, Hobbs and Ollie are doing the traveling and recruiting. Assistant George Blaney can help in recruiting, but does not do much, if any, traveling.

Normally, the head coach acts more like a “closer” in the process, but Kevin Ollie is young, energetic and new on the job and he is doing a ton of traveling, even during the season. He is in Los Angeles this week, for instance.

In prior years, Ollie, who joined Calhoun’s staff as an an assistant in 2010, and Andre LaFleur, who was on the staff 10 years, were the recruiting workhorses, with Calhoun as the closer. LaFleur left for Providence in April 2011, and Miller joined Ollie. They did the recruiting under Calhoun for the next 18 months, until the coaching change.

Neither Calhoun, who is now an advisor to the AD, director of basketball administrators Kevin Freeman nor assistant director Ricky Moore can participate in recruiting. A recruit can speak to them if he is on campus on a visit.

Thanks for the question.