The transition from player to coach been rougher than expected for NBA journeyman turned UConn assistant coach Kevin Ollie -- but for a bizarre reason. Ollie suffered an eye injury Wednesday while stretching with the team when an elastic band slipped off his foot, snapping him in the eye.Ollie missed the Huskies' 79-52 win against Stony Brook Thursday. Head coach Jim Calhoun said Ollie might not be able to travel with the team to the Maui Invitational Tournament later this month. The problem is the pressure involved with that long a flight could cause a problem for his eye.
"I never saw it happen [before]," Calhoun told the Hartford Courant. "He was stretching as he always does with the guys. He was grabbing his foot and [the elastic band] let go and hit him in the eye."
Ollie told ESPN's Andy Katz that he left the court and headed to the locker room to find his eye filling up with blood.
"The vision is back to where it's blurry and it's getting better, but the blood has to drain," Ollie said. "Every day the vision is getting better."
Ollie spent last season on the Oklahoma City Thunder bench as a player, where he was a veteran presence and mentor for the up-and-coming young team. This season he'll be mentoring an even younger group, and doing it in a suit.
It's a triumphant return to Storrs, Conn for Oillie after a successful college career for the Huskies. In 1994-95 Ollie averaged 9.8 points and 6.4 assists per game during his senior season under Jim Calhoun.
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