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Kevin Ollie believes he’ll be at UConn for duration of his five-year deal

Kevin Ollie

Kevin Ollie

David J. Phillip

Kevin Ollie spurned the NBA two weeks ago, agreeing to a five-year deal with UConn.

Several NBA franchises had targeted Ollie as a potential coaching candidate following UConn’s unlikely run to its second National Title in four years. If NBA teams want to make another run at the NBA journeyman turned college coach, they might have to wait.

“I have a five-year contract and I believe I’m going to be here the whole five years,” Ollie told Don Amore of the Hartford Courant on Tuesday at a golf event in West Hartford.

“There’s no place else I’d rather be,” Ollie added. “Questions about leaving [UConn], I kept telling you all the same things and you kept coming up with other questions. But I’m not going anywhere.”

Ollie’s new deal, signed on May 22, runs through the 2018-2019 season. He will be paid $2.8 million in the first year of his new contract, making him one of the 10 highest-paid coaches in country. If Ollie, 41, were to make the jump to the NBA in any of the final three years of his deal, he would have to pay a buyout of $1 million.

The 13-year NBA veteran was linked to multiple coaching vacancies this offseason. The Cleveland Cavaliers, owner of the No. 1 overall pick in this month’s NBA Draft, were reportedly pursuing Ollie the hardest while the Los Angeles Lakers were considering reaching out to him.

In two seasons as the UConn head coach, Ollie has amassed a 52-18 record. Despite losing All-America point guard Shabazz Napier, the returning and incoming perimeter for the Huskies makes them a preseason top-20 team.

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