COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA TOURNAMENTS : Go East, Young Man . . . : Ollie Did--Now He’s Back With UConn

Kevin Ollie isn’t quite home yet, but this will do.

The Connecticut senior point guard will play closer to his Gardena home than at any time in his four seasons with the Huskies. Ollie considers the NCAA tournament’s West Regional his homecoming party, and he is determined to make the celebration last.

Second-seeded Connecticut (27-4) meets third-seeded Maryland (26-7) tonight in a regional semifinal at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. The game starts about 30 minutes after Mississippi State plays UCLA in a game that begins at 5 p.m.

“This is basically home for me,” Ollie said. “It’s close enough to L.A. so that all my family and friends who couldn’t come back East to see me play can come up the coast and see me.

“It’s just a great feeling to know that so many people will be here supporting me.”

Ollie was a member of Crenshaw High’s 1989 Division I state title team that defeated Oakland Skyline High at the Coliseum.

“I’ve got a lot of great memories about this place,” Ollie said. “It brings back a lot of great feelings.”

The Ollie contingent will include 20 family members and longtime friends, many of whom last attended one of Kevin’s games when he was among the West Coast’s best players at perennial state power Crenshaw. The group will be led by Ollie’s mother, Dorothy, who each season attends a few of her son’s home games in Storrs, Conn.

“I’m exceptionally proud of him because he’s succeeded academically as well as on the court,” Crenshaw Coach Willie West said of Ollie, who will graduate in May with a degree in communications.

“Connecticut is a long way away from Los Angeles. He went into a different situation and did well.”

Forward Donny Marshall said Ollie is the Huskies’ undisputed leader, and he shares co-captain duties with Ollie.

“He is very determined, very goal-oriented and very self-motivated,” Marshall said. “No matter how hard you work, just watching Kevin shows you how much more you need to do.”

Ollie is a skilled ballhandler, good passer and decent shooter. But so are hundreds of others around the country.

What sets Ollie apart is his defense. At 6 feet 4 and 195 pounds, he has a unique blend of strength and quickness.

“He does a great job of breaking the press and getting their offense going, but he’s really not just an offensive-minded player,” Maryland center Joe Smith said. “He’s a great defensive player too. He really gets on people.”

But not everyone has noticed. Ollie averages 10.1 points and 6.5 assists. He was selected to the All-Big East Conference third team and is second on the Huskies’ all-time list with 607 assists.

Yet outside the Big East, Ollie’s name isn’t often mentioned in discussions about the nation’s elite point guards. After reviewing tape of Ollie in action, Maryland Coach Gary Williams wonders why.

“It’s funny, because in the (Atlantic Coast Conference) we’re supposed to have great point guards and we do have some good ones,” Williams said. “I really hadn’t seen Ollie play, but when you do see him play and you look at his size, his ability to dribble the ball, to shoot the basketball and the way he plays great defense, he’s right there.

“It’s hard to believe he hasn’t gotten more attention when you talk about the point guards throughout the country.”

Ollie couldn’t care less. Dorothy Ollie taught her son not to concern himself with what others say or do. Dorothy raised him after she and his father, Fletcher, separated when Kevin was 4.

“She was my mother and my father when I was growing up,” Kevin said. “She steered me away from all of the violence that is in Los Angeles. She showed me there was another avenue where I could be successful.

“She made me turn into a successful young man. I attribute all of my success to her.”

Which is why leaving her was so hard. Ollie was highly recruited and could have attended UCLA, but he decided he wanted to see the East Coast.

Dorothy and Kevin were impressed by Connecticut Coach Jim Calhoun and the school’s academic reputation.

“It was a real difficult decision, but we made it together and she supported me,” said Ollie, who has returned to Los Angeles for less than two weeks each summer in the last four years.

“I was kind of sad to leave her, but it was the right decision. I think I’ve gotten the best the West Coast and East Coast have to offer.”