whatever happened to K.O? here's the answer

[The_Hater]

he's got a nice job coaching the arizona wildcats. this is a good piece from the Post

Really? During the preseason Arizona was considered a top 20 team with a couple of 1st round NCAA prospects in Bayless and Budinger yet they're currently ranked outside the top 40 at 14-6.

[Hank_Scorpio]

He was Jewish right....he looks like Larry David and a Doctor that I go, both are Jewish.

You are asking if Kevin O'Neill was Jewish?

[Shaazzam]

Aye lad. O'Neill be a fine Jewish name, don't ya know.

[raptorscam]

One of the most telling facts about KO's time was the fact that while he was coach, the ACC changed the "pizza pizza" contest target from 100 points to a mystery number that was drawn from an envelope but usually ended up in the 80's or low 90's. They realized it would take double-overtime for the Raptors to break 100 so the contest was pretty pointless in its usual configuration.

[Hank_Scorpio]

Aye lad. O'Neill be a fine Jewish name, don't ya know.

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

^ Actually, I believe the Jewish lineage runs through the mother, and the surname tends to come from the father so there likely are at least a few Jewish O'Neill's out there. I think I have a friend who is a Jewish Macarthy, but I'm not sure if he's Jewish or not.

* Please refrain from providing advice on ways to find out, I'm not really sweating it either way.

[industry_killer]

first off ko was not jewish in fact he was and is a very devout catholic who used to go to mass everyday. second he probably would have made the playoffs with that team if they would have stayed anywhere near healthy as they werent that bad, just not good.

[RapsVC15]

KO was a good coach, other than his undying love for Michael Curry, he was alright. Would have loved to keep him on as an assistant and give him the full control of the defensive duties much like Thibodeau with the Celtics.

[The_Hater]

KO was a good coach, other than his undying love for Michael Curry, he was alright. Would have loved to keep him on as an assistant and give him the full control of the defensive duties much like Thibodeau with the Celtics.

Honestly, what did you like about him as an NBA head coach?

[Michael Bradley]

I remember KO being one at one thing: out of timeout plays. Or maybe my memory is messing with me.

Honestly, I think KO was a better coach with the pre-trade team that had AD and JYD in the front court. If you're going to slow the pace down to the point where time almost stops, then having good defensive players/rebounders is essential, although IIRC, KO was not a fan of offensive rebounds. Whatever the case, after the trade, he had a roster that couldn't play defense and he himself couldn't coach around offense, so it was oil and water out there most nights. The fact that the bench consisted of Lonnie Baxter, Dion Glover, Mengke Bateer, Robert Archibald, Jerome Moiso, Michael Curry, and Milt Palacio didn't help matters either.

God, that was an awful team.

[The_Hater]

I remember KO being one at one thing: out of timeout plays. Or maybe my memory is messing with me.

Honestly, I think KO was a better coach with the pre-trade team that had AD and JYD in the front court. If you're going to slow the pace down to the point where time almost stops, then having good defensive players/rebounders is essential, although IIRC, KO was not a fan of offensive rebounds. Whatever the case, after the trade, he had a roster that couldn't play defense and he himself couldn't coach around offense, so it was oil and water out there most nights. The fact that the bench consisted of Lonnie Baxter, Dion Glover, Mengke Bateer, Robert Archibald, Jerome Moiso, Michael Curry, and Milt Palacio didn't help matters either.

God, that was an awful team.

That was an awful bench and GG is to blame for most of it but KO did have a huge say in the type of players he wanted. And Curry, Palacio and Archibald were among the players he requested GG bring in for him.

KO favoured hard working, defensive oriented guys which while it sounds like the right direction on paper, if they don't have NBA level talent it doesn't get you very far.

[RapsVC15]

-= original quote snipped =-



Honestly, what did you like about him as an NBA head coach?

Defensive minded, hard nosed, a great motivator.

Everything was coming together quite nicely (I think we won something like 7 straight after acquiring Jalen and Marshall), Bosh was developing nicely, espn actually had us as one of their dark horse picks out of the East, Vince was actually trying, then the injury bug hit hard, played the rest of the year with tons of 10 day contracts, nbdl types, and it showed in our record. Then Grunwald gets canned, and inevitably so does O'neill. I think he got a bit of an unfair shake here in Toronto.

[The_Hater]

-= original quote snipped =-



Defensive minded, hard nosed, a great motivator.

Everything was coming together quite nicely (I think we won something like 7 straight after acquiring Jalen and Marshall), Bosh was developing nicely, espn actually had us as one of their dark horse picks out of the East, Vince was actually trying, then the injury bug hit hard, played the rest of the year with tons of 10 day contracts, nbdl types, and it showed in our record. Then Grunwald gets canned, and inevitably so does O'neill. I think he got a bit of an unfair shake here in Toronto.

Considering his only NBA team started out 25-25 and then nose-dived with an 8-24 finished when it became pretty obvious that the team appeared to quit on him, motivation skills are among the last things I'd give KO credit for. Why do you think it is that he was fired so soon after the season ended?

I agree with he's an excellent defensive coach and very hard nosed but his abrasive style, poor talent evalution and poor commumication and motivation skills never should have come within 100 miles of an NBA head-coaching job.

[Pchu]

-= original quote snipped =-



Considering his only NBA team started out 25-25 and then nose-dived with an 8-24 finished when it became pretty obvious that the team appeared to quit on him, motivation skills are among the last things I'd give KO credit for. Why do you think it is that he was fired so soon after the season ended?

I agree with he's an excellent defensive coach and very hard nosed but his abrasive style, poor talent evalution and poor commumication and motivation skills never should have come within 100 miles of an NBA head-coaching job.

He wouldn't have gotten his first coaching job if not for Peddie's interference.

[Pchu]

I will say this about KO.

His Raptors would probably make the playoffs if Carter, Rose and Alvin Williams weren't all hurt at the same time. I think Bosh wasn't 100% and he was only a rook back then. The team wasn't deep and using Michael Curry and Milt Palacios for more than 20 minutes would kill any team.

Having said that, he should never be a NBA coach. His abrasive, micro-managed style fits as a college coach more than a NBA head coach. He is almost a carbon copy of his best pal Rick Carlisle, except the Rick is better at spacing his players around.

A side note:
For people who watched the movie Hoop Dreams, KO was featured as one of the coach who tried to recruit one of the kid to college. Also, Chuck Swirsky's voice is also in the movie as well.

[raptorsam]

i remember seeing him in hoop dreams

[rwbatema]

Well, KO's defensive skills might be a bit over-blown.

He liked to play offense as slow as possible there by reducing the overall score, and he always wanted 5 guys back on defense. The result is no offensive rebounding and no fast break points.
These two things (and others I'm sure) crippled the offense but managed to make the defense appear above average.

Even if no one agrees with me on that, you have to agree with this: That season of basketball was the most unwatchable crap ever called basketball. In fact that was the last time I ever bought a basketball ticket (it was a 10 pack) and I still feel ripped off.