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This is an interesting pickup for us. This guy doesn’t conform to the typical transfer profile that we should be focusing on: highly productive player at a low-major/D2 or a formerly productive player at high-major/mid-major who needs a change of scenery. Brock Vice has played ZERO real college basketball. But finding a player who can be productive for us at the center position is going to take some creativity. Need to replace Tylor Perry or Jason Edwards? Not fun, but there are LOTS of fast young men 5’9 or taller who can dribble and shoot that the marketplace has undervalued. Ross Hodge can take his pick. There just aren’t very many 18-24 year-old humans who are 6’9 or taller. And the marketplace places a very high price on those who are that tall AND possess any degree of athleticism or basketball skill. Which brings us back to Brock Vice, who redshirted on a VERY good Creighton team that finished 25-10 last season (second-place in the Big East). The starting center on that team was Ryan Kalkbrenner, a 7’1 monster who averaged 17 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots a game. His backup also put up good numbers in very limited minutes. So Vice hasn’t been a productive college player yet, but atleast he has a good excuse. With both players in front of him on the depth chart eligible to come back to Creighton next season, Vice needs a change of scenery to get his oversized sneakers on the court. He’s 6-10. Can rebound AND shoot. Was an outstanding high school and AAU basketball player. And has enough meat on his bones and athleticism to have been a standout high school football player. This is exactly the kind of kid that Ross should be landing. We did not have a player like this guy on our team last season and it hurt us all year. Welcome to Denton!

1: One big problem with the NIL (aka pay for play) is that the universities are what draw the fans, not the players. People argue that "they deserve a piece of the pie", etc., but the big money comes from rabid fans and alumni of the schools, not from fans wanting to watch certain players. I wish they would form a minor league football and see how much interest there is...wait, we already have that. It's called the XFL, USFL, UFL and the players don't make much money ($5,500/wk) and there aren't many fans at the games. Put the Rengades in Alabama uniforms and the Stallions in Auburn uniforms and you'd sell out AT&T stadium. Why, because the players don't matter, the universities are what matter (as it pertains to attendance). Another example is the NBA D-League. What kind of money are those guys making? (I'll save you the Google search, they make $25K/yr). I have to assume that's peanuts compared to many of the NIL deals players are getting. If you want to get paid, go pro. Nobody is making you go to college to get a free education that will benefit you for the rest of your life. 2: I hate the argument that "coaches make big money and can leave for another job whenever they want to." See the last two sentences of the previous point. If you want to be able to do that, go pro. Make it your career just like the coaches have done. There are a very limited number of head coaching jobs at the college level and these coaches have put in LONG hours and worked their way up to the positions that they are in. Nobody was giving them millions of dollars when they were a GA busting their tail for nothing.

Tony Mitchell under an inspiring coach and quality nucleus.

Good luck to Rubin @ Michigan. Thanks for the memories. Just curious why he just didn't walk on at Michigan from Yates HS if he loved the history and family feel so much. Had a very good career at Yates but Michigan wasn't around when only UTEP, UNT and Nichols State came calling.

Good pick up for Hodge and co. Dude balled out at SFA. Just take a look at his highlights.

Sounds like he was a pretty good prospect coming out of high school. "Brock Vice is a Creighton Bluejay. The 6-foot-10 power forward Brock Vice (Germantown, Tenn. / Houston HS) has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Creighton and play for the Bluejays. He's ranked as the nation's No. 33 best center prospect by 247Sports and the No. 3 overall player in the state of Tennessee" Brock Vice is a Creighton Bluejay (247sports.com)

Second pick-up of the day, fourth overall from the transfer portal. I like the assists number. Hopefully Hodge and Forte get our offense moving more with guys like Floyd. Edit: This guy also has junior college experience AND winning. He won a NJCAA national championship with Northwest Florida State College. He's also from Tampa, so we could have a lot of supporters when we visit USF next season.

Shows to be 6’3”. I like that this isn’t another sub 6’ guy because I think teams neutralized Edwards at times last season when he couldn’t get a shot off.

Let's focus on those coming in. Men's Basketball Signs Transfer Center - University of North Texas Athletics (meangreensports.com)

Did Morris lie to the kid about us having a baseball program?

If you read that second story....it seems there would be 8 team divisions. And I love this: The new divisions would be realigned geographically, in part to benefit Olympic sports. These spread out leagues....benefit nobody. We could be here 100 years from now....and no one is gonna care about a game against Charlotte.

It’s a no brainer. In the old days I knew Dickey’s Sun Belt champion teams weren’t realistically going to get a shot at a national title, but we were at least playing in the same league…a home run recruiting class and a friendly schedule and we had a chance to have a Boise State type string of seasons. With this new system, there is ZERO chance of building a competitive squad…the second we show potential with all-conference type players, they’re gone. A Brandon Kennedy would be a one year player in today’s landscape. So, why wouldn’t the G5 schools try to form their own system? And, I would jack the price for a visit to a P4 stadium up to a $3M minimum that ALL G5 schools hold firm on. If Texas wants to go 12-0 they either have to play the other “big boys” or pay the piper💰

I fixed it for you and added SMU when the ACC folds!

“Rubin has always been apart of winning programs so this was a no brainer for us!” 8-24 is a winning program?

Yes. But not that that means anything any more.

Looks good on video and paper. Just can't get excited these day when guys are here today and gone tomorrow.

This is great news. I wanted us to get this kid last year. He originally signed with St. Louis....when Phil Forte was on their staff. But, like Layne Taylor with us, Brock got out of his letter of intent (with SLU)....and was back out being recruited. I hoped with the connection with Forte....that we'd get him last year.....but he went to Creighton.

I think you are vastly underappreciating what A-Scott brought to the table

Hidden camera on cousin oliver:

So much dread in this thread. immediately we must move to a pro business model. Is our current leadership cut from this cloth? Does he have what it takes to create a high performance team that generates interest and investment from the community, alumni and sponsors? Is there a major sponsor out there? The way Manchester City went from an also ran club to one of the top 4 teams in Europe, with Saudi money, is that investor out there? SMU does not pay any of my commitments. They have no control over me or UNT. This is a business game now and we need a sports CEO at the helm. They are out there as are millionaire and billionaires in our neighborhood. Forever loser squads have turned the tide. Fortune favors the proactive, stout, influencing executive that takes the reins and ignite continuous improvement action. GMG

There are approximately zero reasons to recruit high school players. Let's use China Spring QB for example. He will come in and probably not play year 1. But all year he will eat our food, lift our weights, live in our dorm, attend our school. Then year 2 he might be the starter. Throw for perhaps 3k yards, 25ish TD 10ish INT. And those numbers might not even get us into a bowl game or conference contention. So, we basically just did everything for him with absolutely no ROI, ZERO. Nevertheless, that's enough for him to be relegated to the pros at Utah, or AZ, or Arkansas as a surefire backup making 150-200k a year over the next 3 years. What would keep him here? Do we have 150-200K to keep a P5 backup as our starter? Every year. Year after year after year? Do we even WANT to do that?

The athletic department just absolutely sucks at promoting.....they can't even get a t-shirt cannon to work. The only thing they do to promote is a free Chik-Fil-A sandwich or a student has a chance to win a 40-inch tv.

Not really. 6-bid conference, an awesome arena and they fill the place up. They care about their basketball there.

He was not the same player his freshman year. I think Rubin is the standard for a developing player. His Frosh year, he was a source to eat minutes for the starters. Good on defense. He was not part of the offense. Soph year became part of the rotation, even handled the ball some. Jr year became starter, handled the ball a good bit, rebounded…..Sr year, he became the man. Added scoring to his game. Complete development of a player that got him a shot at Michigan. we need a Rubin in every recruiting class

We have complained for years about being left in the dark. The Mean Green Club was promised quarterly meetings that never took place, now there is little to no coverage of the spring practices, player movement is constant so the days of watching a last second scholarship player developing in to a Hall of Fame performer are long gone ala Johnny Quinn, there is little to no fan engagement, etc... It just keeps getting worse and without a push to really involve the fans, I foresee a bleak future. They, the AD, has to create excitement around the team/program or Apogee will just become a waste of money, the new basketball arena will never happen and future adds like baseball will just be an idea that came too late. The days of the G5's are on their way out. It will be whittled down to the top 40 or 50 programs as D1. We might as well go back to our D1AA days and play at the FCS level. I am just about done with sports from a financial commitment position. The greed has ruined it for me. There is zero loyalty towards the program by the players. It is all about them and how much money they can cram in their pockets and it appears our basketball coach encourages the lack of loyalty. I will watch on television, but that's about it, much like pro sports have become. I have no interest in attending a Cowboys' game live once the prices became ridiculous, same with the Mav's and Rangers' in that stupid new ballpark that was a waste of money. I had arrived at a point where I was only willing to invest in watching North Texas live, but the current situation has ruined that as well. The future of all of college sports is a disaster if some type of control isn't put in place. It is ridiculous and very sad. Guess I will end up spending my money on golf, fine food and drink, drugs, etc. and become a more interesting person.

I promise this'll be my last softball-in-football-forum spamming, I thought it was worth it since we're about to enter the most boring time of the sports year. There are three more chances to root for your Mean Green before football season. Those come this weekend in a crucial softball series with Wichita State, who won the AAC last year. Whether you buy tickets and sit in the stands, or cheer on from the outfield for free, get to Denton and support the ladies! Here's how the AAC is shaping up this year. The top two seeds get a double bye in the conference tournament and only have to win two games May 10-11 in Wichita to get to the NCAA Tournament. SCHOOL CONF CPCT. OVERALL PCT. HOME AWAY NEUTRAL LAST 2 SERIES Florida Atlantic 16-5 .762 36-12 .750 22-6 11-6 3-0 @ South Florida, vs. Tulsa Charlotte 15-6 .714 29-16 .644 15-8 9-7 5-1 @ UAB, vs. North Texas North Texas 15-6 .714 28-19 .596 15-8 10-9 3-2 vs. Wichita State, @ Charlotte Tulsa 12-9 .571 27-18 .600 13-3 9-11 5-4 vs. UTSA, @ Florida Atlantic Wichita State 12-9 .571 21-19 .525 7-7 9-8 5-4 @ North Texas, vs. Memphis UAB 12-9 .571 21-24 .467 13-5 3-15 5-4 vs. Charlotte, @ East Carolina South Florida 10-11 .476 31-18 .633 23-11 8-7 0-0 vs. Florida Atlantic, @ UTSA East Carolina 9-12 .429 32-16 .667 23-8 5-8 4-0 @ Memphis, vs. UAB UTSA 3-18 .143 12-37 .245 3-10 2-17 7-10 @ Tulsa, vs. South Florida Memphis 1-20 .048 5-37 .119 4-19 1-13 0-5 vs. East Carolina, @ Wichita State

From Brett V: UNT was among a host of schools that showed interest in Floyd after he entered the transfer portal. Southern Illinois, Marshall, Arkansas-Little Rock and San Jose State also offered Floyd a scholarship. Also.....Floyd said that last season was an okay season for him, and that he has multiple things to work on. I like the humility of the kid.

Hot Sports Opinion: Not counting Rubin as that is sacrilegious, I think we upgraded in the 3 for the 3 trade with our newbies over Noland, Edwards, and almost sacrilegious to say … Scott.

I wonder where he’ll play his senior year?

Why not both? Have you seen our DL depth lol

The Elephant in the room (IMO) is our lack of attendance. Let's not stop talking about it. ABQ is an awful, boring town. But the bball culture - specifically attendance - is what we are striving for. If that was in Denton, the SP would be selling out regularly under Grant/Ross. And, if I'm Jared, I'm not getting complacent. The opposite: i'm getting angry. Fired up. i'm not going to give in to Denton being Denton. Fight it or let the next guy try. These things should be huge motivators.

Lateral, New Mexico averages over 13,000 attendance and has little competition for attention. Also went 26-10 last year.

You realize a funding increase for Athletics from the BOR will not include NIL funds? Those bribery funds have to come from donors or boosters outside the school. $mut has over 40 years experience (and a death penalty) with paying players. Our Athletic Department has always done little to inspire and cultivate our fan base and students. Much of our Athletic growth was spurred by our location and school size.

One of the people who went on Twitter to congratulate Brock, and say we've got a good one here....none other than Darrel Ray Dickey

His junior year at Houston High School in Germantown.....he averaged 19ppg and 10 rpg. And he was a stud WR on their football team. https://slubillikens.com/news/2022/11/9/mens-basketball-brock-vice-signs-with-billikens.aspx

I’m not the type who’s going to say, “I’m done with college sports” and that be it. I’m moreso the guy whose interest is just going to wane to the point that I don’t watch anymore. It would actually free up a lot of time that I could be more productive🤣🤣

There’s no contradiction. The average fan/alumni aren’t paying NIL, it’s the big donors and corporations. And they’re only doing it because that’s the way it is under the current, broken system. My 2nd point is that comparing college coaches with college players is neither a fair nor equal comparison.

Back-to back National Polo Champs! Beat Smut in Virginia 17-8. The Phonies didn't have the horses to keep up with us...

North Texas.

I've been saying for a while now....that we need something different. We'll never compete for a natty in football....in the situation we're in now. And going to these mundane bowls....has gotten monotonous. (sp?) There are so many bowls now....it's ridiculous. So maybe a G5 tourney....competing for that level's national title....might be cool. Anyway...this certainly intrigues me.

I hear Los Pollos Hermanos has some excellent chicken.

This is like saying the quality of food at Taco Bell has increased significantly over the past four years...it's still subpar.

Once they move on, we need to as well. Let's focus on the guys that WILL be here not the guys that choose to leave. That is the new college landscape. I don't care about what they do at whatever school they choose to go to. I care about the guys that are here. Again, it is going to be a year-to-year situation with most of these guys.

just making sure @Andrew knows this option exists

Who are you comparing "Players these day" to? Never before has college players been paid and allowed to transfer each year. Don't know if kids today are any different than at any other time under the same circumstances.

That's the attitude of someone resigned to defeat. UNT is in a better location and I'm certain has deeper pockets than UTSA. You don't see UTSA using excuses of why they can't be successful despite some pretty clear limitations. Allowing the past to determine your future is silly to me. Find the right mix of people who capitalize on the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses. UTSA did it. Don't tell me UNT can't.

I'm gonna put that on a T-Shirt