That's a hell of a team": UConn legend Kevin Ollie on Dan Hurley's squad after 2024 NCAA championship success

Brooklyn Nets interim coach Kevin Ollie was all praise for the UConn Huskies after the men of Dan Hurley clinched the championship victory for the second year in a row on Monday. Ollie, who led the Huskies to a 2014 championship victory as a head coach, called the current Huskies squad “a hell of a team.”

Kevin Ollie shared the views during a media interaction on Friday. A reporter asked the former NBA player how the 2014 Huskies championship would have stacked up against the current UConn team. Ollie conceded that the battle would have been tough as he went into the specifics:

"Man, that group on Monday was pretty good. We didn't have the bigs like they had. We had two little guards that was ferocious. So that would have been a tough challenge for us but boat right. And Shabazz playing up on their guards. It'll wreak some problems. But that's a hell of a team."

Further, Ollie went on to list the incredible feats of UConn and the leadership capabilities of Dan Hurley as a coach:

"This year and the past year to win all those games with double figures and just run through the tournament. Coach Hurley has done a marvelous job there and UConn and the players and the coaching staff it's just wonderful and they got to make us blue blood now.

"They trying to keep us out but like you said we have been running this team for 30 years and everybody knows it."

Kevin Ollie worked as an assistant coach in the final two seasons of the legendary Jim Calhoun’s stint at UConn. In 2012, Ollie replaced Calhoun who led the Huskies to three championship wins. In 2014, the Huskies under the mentorship of Ollie defeated Kentucky Wildcats to clinch the NCAA championship fourth time in 15 years.

After the championship victory, Ollie signed a five-year contract with the Huskies worth $2.8 million per year. He was fired in 2018 after investigations by the NCAA and was charged with three Level 1 violations.

Kevin Ollie on why the 'blue blood' questions are no longer relevant for the Huskies

Kevin Ollie got his wings as a basketball player at UConn before he scaled heights playing for several top teams in the NBA. He had coaching roles at UConn and the program is special to him.

When asked if UConn has established itself as one of the blue blood programs in the country, Kevin said:

“We should not be asking that question anymore. We know what it is. They try to still keep us out of there, but we’re just gonna make sure our work proves it and they can’t keep us out [any] longer.”

The Huskies didn’t just get their hands on the NCAA title the second time in a row but the team did it in style. They didn't lose a game in the tournament and won with a record 140-plus-point differential.

What do you think about the contributions of Kevin Ollie, Jim Calhoun, and Dan Hurley to the current standing of UConn Huskies as a college basketball powerhouse? Let us know in the comments.