Kevin Ollie says he won't pursue other jobs, reportedly interested in Thunder

UConn head coach Kevin Ollie on future: "I have no plans to pursue other opportunities"

Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie says he plans to stay at the school and will not seek any other jobs, but Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reports that despite his statement, Ollie has significant interest in the Thunder coaching job.

Ollie was responding to an earlier SNY report that stated that he was a seriously candidate to replace Scott Brooks as the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

“As I have said many times, I am proud and honored to be the head basketball coach at the University of Connecticut and I have no plans to pursue other opportunities,” Ollie said in a statement. “We are already excited about next season and I am looking forward to preparing our team to be the best we can be on the court, in the classroom and in our community.”

Texas (Smart), Miss. St. (Howland) receive high marks in coaching hires

According to the SNY report, the Thunder believed that hiring Ollie could help convince All-Star forward Kevin Durant to re-sign with the team when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after next season. Wojnarowski reports that Ollie is a top choice for Thunder general manager Sam Presti.

Brooks was fired by Oklahoma City on Wednesday, and SNY's Adam Zagoria reported the Thunder are already talking to Ollie. 

Ollie has a 72-33 record in three seasons as UConn's head coach and led the Huskies to a national championship in 2014. UConn finished 20-15 this season and lost in the first round of the NIT to Arizona State.

• ​BELLER: Ranking the 10 worst games of the 2014-15 season

Ollie, 42, signed five-year contract extension worth $2.8 million per season last year.

Ollie retired as an NBA player in 2010 after spending the 2009-10 season with the Thunder and joined Jim Calhoun's staff at UConn. He was an assistant on the Huskies' 2011 national championship team and was named head coach in 2012 after Calhoun retired.

- Scooby Axson