Green to the Bone

Congratulations. Despite all my best efforts, I ended many semesters without getting my noodle fried even once.

That was the wrong form of discipline for high school players, but some sort of discipline was called for. The morning after the first New Orleans bowl, I was at the NO airport waiting to return when I saw two of our football players at the same gate. They had overslept and missed the team bus, and therefore missed the team plane. They had to borrow RV's phone and call their parents, who then had to pay for plane tickets home. One player told the other, "Man, coach is gonna call me a dumbass." Indeed.

This is a pretty positive view of our recruiting effort -- the kid says UNT was recruiting him all year and he made his decision after the NCAA and a single recent visit. Those who are legitimately concerned about recruiting (see other current threads) might take some comfort. Also see the thread on jucos versus community colleges (a nonexistent distinction) for the names of some former juco players who made history in the pros.

Yes, yes, yes -- I want more of this. Remember the expert opinions uttered before the Boise State-what'stheirnames game. Made the outcome so, so much better.

With the idea that JJ thinks going to the first round once is good enough and he can coast now for five years because he got his deal and screw everybody else. That's a pretty dark fantasy without any factual basis that I'm aware of. Those who just knew deep in their hearts that this team would collapse at the end because that's what JJ teams always do were wrong about that, too.

1. The comparison to SLC that I'm interested in is whether TD can import his offense. If he can do unto others in the Belt what he done to 'em at SLC, then sunshine and bliss will prevail upon the land and everybody but the opponent will be happy. 2. Enjoy getting worked up about this now, because the entire topic of comparing our unis to SLC is a short-term diversion. It will vanish in a puff of smoke, never to return, at the exact moment of the first kickoff against OU. 3. This SLC-comparison phobia is a product of paranoia born of years of abuse. It's OK. You're safe now. Nobody's going to hurt you anymore. The bad people are gone.

Dumb post of the week.

I, for one, hope JJ scours every junior/community college for hundreds of miles. To destroy the notion that CCs don't produce good athletes, or that they're inferior to JCs (Yes, I know the distinction between CC and JC is nonexistent; I went to a CC), consider this: -- 43 former Juco players were on NBA pre-season rosters this year; 10 of those were from Texas JCs. -- Nate Archibald, Artis Gilmore, and Dennis Rodman were all Juco players (Rodman at Cooke County JC, Texas). -- 141 former Juco players are on Major League baseball squads. Former Jucos include Curt Schilling, Mike Piazza, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and Albert Pujols. -- Richland College in Dallas County, a baseball phenomenon, plays in NJCAA Division III -- that means no scholarships -- but has had four players drafted by MLB and two others signed as free agents since 1999. They've also sent three others to unaffiliated minor league teams. Richland's baseball story is worth noting for UNT's future. The Thunderducks (is that a great name, or what?) were the Div. III national champions in 2002, '03, and '04, runners-up in 1999 and 2000, and national tournament competitors in '95, '96, and '05, when they finished fifth. Since 1998 they've had 15 All-Americans and two national players of the year, and have sent 60 players on to senior colleges, including A&M and Texas Tech. They sent two to NCAA D1 schools in 2006-07, one to Ole Miss and another to Tech. And every player on every one of those teams was turned down in one way or another by NCAA D1 colleges. The point of this is twofold: 1. Never run down CC or JC players. Rodman and Clemens are two scary dudes. 2. If and when UNT decides to play this new and exciting sport called baseball, I've got your head coach right here: Richland College Baseball Coaches Head Coach Joe Wharton Head Coach Joe Wharton (35), native of Dallas, Texas, is entering his 10th season at Richland. He has compiled a 343-193 (.640%) overall record with a 133-58 (.700%) record in conference. He led Richland to back to back to back National Championships in 2002, 2003, and 2004. Richland finished second in 1999, 2000, and 5th in 2005. He has led the Thunderducks to the World Series in six of the last eight years. He was named District C coach of the year by the National Junior College Athletic Association and Regional Coach of the year by Diamond Sports in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. Wharton was named NJCAA National Coach of the Year in 2002, 2003, and 2004. In the last nine years, he has coached 55 All-Conference players, 39 All-Region players and 15 All-Americans. Wharton graduated from R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton, Texas in 1989. He earned 1st Team All District Honors in both is junior and senior year. As a senior, he hit .410 and was 9-1 on the mound with a 1.35 ERA. Wharton attended Lubbock Christian University for two seasons where he hit a combined .350 and collected 23 doubles, 9 triples, 6 homeruns, and was 30-37 in the stolen base department. He compiled a 6-4 record on the mound recording 13 saves in 45 games. He struck out 77 batters in 51 innings. L.C.U. advanced to the NAIA World Series in 1991 held in Lewiston, Idaho where they finished 5th. He played his final two seasons at Baylor University. Wharton tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his knee three days after signing with Baylor and so was limited his junior season. He appeared in 16 games compiling a 3-3 record while striking out 33 batters in 32 innings and recording 4 saves. His best game came against the University of Texas in Austin on April 17th, 1992 in pitching two shutout innings of relief while striking out five in picking up the save. As a senior, he hit .345 with 12 doubles, 5 triples, 4 home runs, and also swiped 9 bases. He appeared in 21 games on the mound and had nine starts in which he won each start. In 85 innings pitched, he gave up 69 hits and struck out 85 batters while walking only 29 and ending up with a record of 10-3 with 3 saves. He led the Southwest Conference with a 2.54 ERA and was third with 10 wins. He was selected 1st team all Southwest conference his senior year and was voted Baylor’s MVP in 1993. He was nominated for the Golden Spikes Award which goes out to the Nation’s Top collegiate player. Wharton is believed to be the only collegiate pitcher in NCAA history to post a victory over two number one ranked teams in the country in consecutive weeks. He beat #1 Texas 7-4 on April 10th, and on April 17th, he beat then #1 Texas A&M 2-1. Baylor ended up 41-17 on the year and qualified for the Regional tournament in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where they were eventually ousted by L.S.U., who went on to win the national championship. The New York Yankees selected Wharton in the 18th round of the Major League draft in June of 1993. He spent parts of three years in the minor leagues before elbow problems would eventually end his career in 1995. Since 1999, Wharton has been an associate scout with the Kansas City Royals. Wharton received his Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Baylor University in 1996. He received his Master’s of Science Degree in 1999 from Texas A&M - Commerce. Wharton married his wife Monica in April of 1997. Monica is a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Manager at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. They have two daughters, Meaghan McKenzie (6), and Macyn Marie (4). Wharton’s parents, Don and Paula, reside in Farmers Branch, and he has one brother, Jeff who lives in McKinney with his wife, and four children. Coach Wharton's Career Coaching Record 1998 27-29 1999 48-14* 2000 37-24* 2001 37-17 2002 40-17** 2003 37-24** 2004 49-16** 2005 39-24*** 2006 29-28 Total 343-193 *World Series Runner Up **World Series Champions ***World Series Appearance

I like puppies. I also like kitties, but I think puppies are really cute.

I couldn't agree more. DFW needs a public school. This is an achievement, regardless of its eventual affiliation.

Fact check: The bill says the law school will be a unit of the UNT System until UNT-Dallas becomes its own school. Then it becomes a school of UNT-Dallas. At that point the law school will have basically no operational connection to UNT-Denton. The dean of the law school will report to the president of UNT-Dallas, who will report directly to the chancellor, just like Dr. B does now, and the same way all the UT System presidents (including Austin) report to the UT System chancellor. When that happens, it won't be accurate to call Denton the main campus and Dallas a satellite. They'll be completely separate colleges, like it or not. That said, who cares?

Frog's legs. Tastes like chicken.

OK, now I'm confused ... which one of those two is Bob Stoops?

Veterans, how does that compare?

I agree. We see this huge inflation of zillion-dollar programs and facilities, while other kids get in trouble, maybe even booted from a team, because a coach let them make a cell phone call home or bought them dinner or an alum gave them a cushy summer job. Not to excuse the violations, which deserve punishment, but if the purpose of the rules is to maintain student athletes' "amateur" status, doesn't this gigantic expenditure send a mixed and hypocritical message? What does practicing in a $26 million indoor facility that serves no educational purpose do to a player's "amateur" status? Some are going to argue that it's just the market at work. But isn't there a point where people are supposed to make value judgements?

When we build our new indoor practice facility, what color should it be?

Details, details. I just wanted it to be clear where the delays will be; some seemed to think we would run into a bureaucratic buzzsaw in getting the site approved. It's actually a money deal, not a land use deal. So let's vent where it does the most good.

Sorry for the long post, but here goes. A little clarification of the stadium planning process (or any other big university project) is in order. The idea that the new stadium will be tied up in local zoning reviews is almost certainly wrong. The Texas Local Government Code exempts state and federal property from local land use controls as long as the land is being used for a public purpose. The new stadium is a public purpose. Chapter 105 of the Texas Education Code, the chapter that deals with the UNT System, also specifies that the BOR has "sole and exclusive control" of the uses of university lands. Unless someone can make a novel argument or point to an obscure legal provision, that language giving the BOR exclusive control will prevail. That said, the practice of the university is to work closely with the city and county governments to make sure that everybody's plans match up as closely as possible. That's a repeated theme of the UNT and the city of Denton master plans. The new stadium will involve a series of interlocal agreements, memoranda of understanding, etc., between the city, county, state, and various special districts on utilities, drainage, traffic, and so forth. The city certainly can try to extract as many changes as possible in the process of negotiating the agreements, but surprises are unlikely. Planners already know generally what those agreements will entail. It also would not surprise anyone if the same people who objected to the athletic center taking over the golf course also object to the stadium; after all, the stadium will be bigger, louder, and will have very much brighter lights. Those kinds of contingencies are anticipated in the planning process. Any professional planner hopes for the best but expects the worst. Even so, given the ultimate approval that the athletic center received, the outlook for the stadium is favorable. When RV says 18 months from the start of turning earth, what that means is 18 months from the final go-ahead, not 18 months from now or from some ceremonial groundbreaking. He didn't pull that figure out of thin air; it's what the experts believe, and it's consistent with other stadium construction projects. Building a stadium is more complex than building a parking garage, but it isn't the most complicated job in the world: a skeleton, forms, and lots of poured concrete, then finish work. If there were a significant delay from now, it would probably be linked to funding rather than planning or actual construction. The university has handled a great deal of construction in the past few years and has significant projects underway now. They'll be able to handle this one, too, once the check is in the bank.

If we don't train them now, where will we get future GMG posters?

She gave aggressive answers to aggressive questions. We shouldn't want her fumbling and sputtering over an impolite question -- after all, university president is not a job for the faint of heart. We also shouldn't want (student) journalists to have a love fest with a person they cover. It's their job to ask tough questions. She can take care of herself. Granted, some of the questions could have used a little more polish, but that comes with experience. Also, someone needs to teach them the difference between a comma and a period. It's a mistake repeated several times in the transcript.

Long-term thinking: Build a long-term successful program. Recruit and retain four- and five-year players. Let the program be identified with a face that can become known outside Denton. Add credibility to the claim that this program is in for the long haul. Short-term thinking: Plan one year at a time; expect defeat every year. Tell recruits that God knows who'll be the coach by the time you start school. Play musical chairs with the leadership. Signal to players and fans that we have no confidence. Nuts because it embraces a loss-avoidance approach that says it's wiser to fear the consequences of failure than to pursue success. Nuts because building is never a short-term venture. Nuts because it's the same tired old attitude.

Anybody who doesn't think a 5-year contract gives the program better options than a one-year is just nuts.

I completely agree. I like the new names a lot. I'm just not crazy about the "Subject" Buildings (General Academic, Chemistry, etc.) and think we would do future students a service by emphasizing something more about honor and tradition, as has been done with the new names.