Kevin Ollie has inked a five-year extension with the defending champion UConn Huskies that could net him as much as $15 million, according to ESPN.
Considered one of the hottest commodities in all of basketball, the 41-year-old Ollie was also rumored to be the potential target of several NBA teams now seeking to fill openings, including the L.A. Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers. ESPN adds Ollie's extension is valued at $2.8 million per a season and with incentives could reach $3 million.
"My heart is here at UConn,'' Ollie told ESPN in the aftermath of the school's Thursday announcement. "I want to stay invested in the student-athletes lives on and off the court. I want to be here.''
In just the second-year of a five-year pact he signed to replace former coach Jim Calhoun, Ollie led the Huskies to their fourth NCAA title since 1999. His new deal more than doubles his previous salary of $1.25 million and makes the initial seven-month pact he hastily entered into with the university in 2012 a distant memory.
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Among the defending champs' most high-profile matchups this season are a battle against Duke at New Jersey's Izod Center and games against Florida, Stanford and Texas.
Ollie also played 13 NBA seasons and has been saluted as a great basketball mind by the likes of former teammates LeBron James and Kevin Durant.
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