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whatever happened to K.O? here's the answer
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:32 am
by bill russell
Honesty might help explain why O'Neill is working in Tucson instead of Canada. The Raptors only won 33 of their 82 games in his only season as an NBA head coach, four years ago, but their record only provides a half-truth to the way his time in Toronto came to a close.
The franchise was adrift. Vince Carter was on his way to being known for spending more of his time writhing on the floor than actually playing on it, and the front office had dissolved into a poisonous pool of dysfunction and back-stabbing.
One example arrived following a February stay in Phoenix, when someone within the organization leaked word to a beat reporter that O'Neill had exploded inside his hotel room. A $300 lamp was destroyed in the outburst, but only after the coach had received a telephone call explaining that swingman Jalen Rose had broken his left hand...
"I broke the lamp in Phoenix, I told everybody," O'Neill said with a chuckle over the weekend. "I don't know who was upset, or who instigated the whole article, nor does it matter. That's OK. Every organization, college or pro, has the wherewithal to hire and fire whoever they want and to go in whatever direction they want.
"It's just the way it is. I ended up getting fired. No hard feelings. I took my money and went on my way."
he's got a nice job coaching the arizona wildcats. this is a good piece from the Post
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:45 am
by Don't_Reach
Besides the fact his style of play is horrible to watch, i don't dislike KO...he was just an ordinary X's and O's coach who preached defence
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:50 am
by ayo_23
pretty sure he was the coach when we kept the Warriors to 2 points in the 4th quarter.
good job, KO.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:52 am
by 1982
i don't know about ordinary, i'm pretty sure he was the man who made the pistons the defensive team that they were.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 3:54 am
by MacDaddy
Wow. If he really believes that he was fired because he broke a lamp, and not because he coached the Raptors to a 33-49 record playing the most unwatchable style of basketball that's ever been put on a court (including 18 occasions when they failed to break 75 points) and proceeded to alienate everyone both on the team, in the organization and the media, then he's deluded.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:35 am
by Indiana Jones
if you're trying to make us feel better about having sam as our coach...well, you've succeeded. sam's waaaay better than KO. enjoy your college team kevin...and take it easy on the furniture in arizona...
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:53 am
by gcsw
I'm sure if KO had this current roster, Raps' record would be much better. Actually any ex NBA coach would have done better than Sam who is easily the worst coach in NBA history.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:01 am
by Darrick Martin
gcsw wrote:I'm sure if KO had this current roster, Raps' record would be much better. Actually any ex NBA coach would have done better than Sam who is easily the worst coach in NBA history.
Pretty bold statement especially considering he is the reigning COY. I'm sure you don't trust B.C.'s instincts either then eh?
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:02 am
by Nivrad
gcsw wrote:I'm sure if KO had this current roster, Raps' record would be much better. Actually any ex NBA coach would have done better than Sam who is easily the worst coach in NBA history.
Strong words.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:26 am
by thecc
Ha ha. I remember KO getting upset about being asked about the lamp incident. Eventually he admitted to it, but was offended that the media would ask him about it.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:32 am
by Basketball_Jones
I always thought he was an adequate coach, but he lacks some important aspects that hold him back from being a head coach in the NBA. He needs the roster to fit his style of play rather than adapting to what he has, and he has trouble establishing a good rapport with his players. At least, that was the impression I had of him in Toronto.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:37 am
by Snoop_Dogg_LA
If you recall when Kevin O'neill was here we pretty much set the record for most injuries by a team in a year. Just had really bad luck. Toronto fans are just hard to please. We lose and everyone is upset. We finally start winning and some fans like one of the post above still bashes our coach and players. Sometimes I think instead of being happy we're winning they would prefer to lose so they have something to complain about.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:45 am
by Taiyab_K
He was Jewish right....he looks like Larry David and a Doctor that I go, both are Jewish.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:49 am
by HumbleBumbleBee
didn't he have a hot wife?
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:50 am
by DIEHARD_005
One thing's for sure- Diet Pepsi saw record profits in that 2003-04 season.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:29 pm
by r2k
Kevin O"neil did a pretty decent job during his time here except he was a PR disaster for a conglomerate like MLSE. He had a team with very limited talent playing .500 ball at the all star break (25-25). In the second half of the season, the team was decimated with injuries to Vince Carter, Jalen Rose and Alvin Williams. Add the fact, that Glen Grunwald was picking up players like Dion Glover and Rod Strickland off waiver wires to irritate him, it is easy to see how the second half of the season ended up the way it did. With that being said, if he managed to get the team into the playoffs he probably still would have been fired because after all he is Kevin O'Neil.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:35 pm
by Cassius
We'd have easily made the playoffs if Alvin had stayed healthy. We were, as noted above, .500 with a complete midseason overhaul of personnel and playing style.
The Vince-Alvin-Jalen-Donyell-Bosh lineup was playing great but then Alvin went down, our defense got exposed and the Milt era began.
Then Jalen broke his hand, the lamp went boom and that was it. I'll tell you this much, we make the playoffs that year, Babcock never gets hired and there's no way Hoffa ever dons a Raptors jersey.
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 4:05 pm
by SMG
yuck. Didn't we score something like 80 ppg with him, lol?
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:05 pm
by Mad Balla 15
Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 5:06 pm
by ruckus
Coming from the guy that loved the Rockets-Knicks final, I couldn't stand Kevin O'Neill b-ball.
I don't even think the defence was all that great. I think they bored the opposing teams into submission.
Anyways, I find it funny that we always go the opposite direction when it comes to coaching changes.
Butch vs Lenny - inexperienced, hands on vs too experienced, asleep at the wheel
Lenny vs KON - no D vs too much D
KON vs Smitch - horrible player relations, micromanager vs great player relations, hands off