Ollie leaving his post at Overtime Elite
Former national championship winning Uconn head coach Kevin Ollie is stepping down from his position as head of coaching and basketball development with Overtime Elite, the league announced Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
Ollie, 50, had been with the league, which features elite basketball prospects from ages 16-20 and says it guarantees them salaries of at least $100,000 a year, since 2021.
Longtime former Uconn assistant Dave Leitao will take over for Ollie, according to reports.
Overtime Elite has become a legitimate competitor to college basketball when it comes to enticing top prospects. The league features six teams and around 70 prospects this season, two of which, twin brothers Amen and Ausar Thompson, are projected to be top-10 picks in the NBA Draft in June.
Based in Atlanta, it boasts a 103,000 square-foot facility where athletes compete, study and earn money while being coached by former professionals. Players also have the option of declining a salary, earning sponsorship money and maintaining college eligibility.
Ollie took over at Uconn ahead of the 2013 season and won a national championship the following year. Success on the court dwindled thereafter, and he was fired in 2018 amid an NCAA investigation into rules violations. Ollie, who had $10 million remaining on his contract at the time, sued Uconn for wrongful termination and won an arbitration case that awarded him $11.1 million. He then settled with the school on an additional $3.9 million to cover claimed damage to his reputation and attorney fees.
Leitao was an assistant at Uconn from 1986-94 and then again from 1996-2002. He’s also had stints as head coach at Depaul and Virginia.