GrandGreen

Eagles are the most majestic of birds, and they do not belong in captivity. On top of that, the red tape and expertise involved would be far from inexpensive.

The idea to give away ticket to increase awareness and bring in new fans, is a great idea other than I've seen it tried at NT many many times. I am sure it may bring a few fans but overall; it just doesn't work other than to cheapen your product.

Not going to rank team based on how good I think they are, but I will based on predicted minutes. 1. Mitchell - Best player in conference by large margin 2. A. Williams - Best all around player on team last year 3. Jones - Was all conference caliber last year and may have just scratched the surface 4. Patton - Fast jumper that can play defense 5. Taylor - Should be NT's best outside threat 6. J. Williams - Second best athlete on team 7. Holmen - More effort on defense and rebounding could get him a starting spot 8. Coleman - Big 9. Niko - Finesse player that needs to play tougher 10. Hardwick - Would be the recruit everyone is talking about in a normal NT year 11. Walton - Tough and got his shoot going late in year 12. Franklin - Good inside game but small 13. Outlander - Too early to play much 14. Norris - OK player but plays at a loaded position Mitchell will get all the time he wants and fouls allow. Alzee will get time at both guard spots. My guess is that good defenders will get more time than shooters. There are just so many players on this team that could have big upswings in ability. Patton is an unknown but I think he could be the best defender among the bigs with the always exclusion of MItchell. Coleman is raw and may not see as much time as many predict. Taylor has proven to be a great hs and juco players but does that translate on a loaded team. Holmen was the best player on the team in the Belt tournament, can that continue? Does Jordan's talent blow everyone away. Jones was all conference quality last year despite some poor shooting. Walton was a very good all around player by last season end. Niko seemed to stay in JJ's doghouse but was not afraid to drive to the basket and provided a spark of offense among the bigs. On paper, the second team would beat most historical NT squads. I can see the whole starting lineup being all conference material, with Mitchell and Jones first team. .

Who knows: I hope NT played a pressing fast break offense using lots of players. IMO, MItchell and Jones are the only sure starters. Alzee will get plenty of time whether starting or off the bench. I am not sure that Taylor is a starter. With Jones starting at point and Mitchell at PF, the others will come down to who is the best and that is not evident. Do you go with the best shooting guard at the 2 which would be between Taylor and Walton with Taylor probably the better or do you go with the second best player on the team last year and best guard defender, Alzee.? At the three, I think Franklin will have a tough time getting minutes and that shows how deep this team is. Holmen was the best player in the tournament, Patton has a strong all around game and Jordan Williams has fantastic potential. Coleman is the only true center but is he good enough to start at this point? I don't think they will play Mitchell there, but Patton could play the position and NT would have a very fast five. My guess at starters: Coleman, MItchell, Patton, A. Williams and Jones, partly because I don't think Benford is in as love with the three as JJ was. Holmen, J. Williams, Taylor and Hardwick will be the first off the bench. NIko will play more than you think because this team's biggest need is at post. Walton is a very tough player but minutes are going to be tough to come by. I see few minutes for Norris, Outlander, Franklin

Exhibit 1, SMU does not have high enrollment standards for athletes.

As long as its not 94 feet of heat. On a serious note, I think with NT's depth and athleticism, a press and fast break game are in order.

Only ranking I have seen is the top 30 recruiting classes and NT was not included.

No major hotel or investment group is going to invest $60 much less $60m in anything they don't think will render a good return on their investment. Now a municipality or university is a different thing, there is a big chance that they will be taken advantage of on the deal. Just look at almost any publically financed facility's deals. The pro teams or hotels usually make money and seldom lose anything, and the public is fed vague and misleading data about increased local economic activity and enhancements to the visibility of their city. So occupancy and cost per room rates mean little to NT unless they are actually a partner in the hotel/convention center; which I doubt. The factors that should concern NT are the lease revenues they get and the lost of the land leased and the intrusion into college activities that will occur.

Ken Murczek has done a great job winning the Western Division his first year in 2010 going 20-13 after the team went 12-21 the year before. Last year the team slumped a little to a 17-17 record and 7-9 in the conference. I think he is putting a team together that could really be very good. He has added Hanna Forst who played in the spring a sophomore transfer from U of South Carolina. He has signed I believe the first hs volleyball All American Carnae Dillard ever at NT. Also unannounced to my knowledge but on the current roster is a juco All American from California , Karissa Flack. With these signings and others plus a good nucleus of returning players, he seems to be putting together a team that could rival other NT premier girl teams; soccer and tennis.

Looks like a great facility to me, however it really underscores how ridicule the college sports arms race is.

I really disagree with those saying this is nothing, it sounds to me as bad if not worse than the death penalty. They will not be competitive for years, I think they could recover from the death penalty much faster.

Forrest was hurt last year, which combined with his small hs background didn't really help him last year. He was a 3 star recruit which before his recruiting class, JJ had signed a total of 1 from the hs ranks. He definitely has potential but must get a lot tougher than he has shown. I am not sure why he left NT but my guess there was more to it than playing time. It is not like NT was loading with bigs last year or this year. Outside of Mitchell, there is a very big but unproven Coleman and Niko who shouldn't scare anybody from a competitive standpoint. Whether NT actually placed him at the juco or not: odds are that he has seen the last of NT. The early commit of Nunn and Casimiro seem to indicate that NT does not expect him back and even if they did; it seldom works out. The player doesn't show the necessary improvement and the school doesn't want them or they show a lot and they look for greener pastures.

My guess is that MItchell's rebound numbers will be down, but his ppg could be substantially up. Every one should know that stats are more a function of your team than the opposition. NT sans TM was a bad rebounding team last year. With the addition of Patton and Colmen and Jones full time, a very good rebounding guard, NT should be a much better rebounding team. Mitchell could be the best rebounder in the nation, but his numbers could be down because the team won't depend on him as much. I thought Mitchell despite having few peers at jumping had a very under developed inside offensive game. If it was not a dunk, he usually passed when he got the ball inside. From what I have read, he is working hard on his inside game and that should make him almost unstoppable in the paint even with the double teams he will face. Benford will stress the inside game much more than JJ, so even with a better offensive NT team; I think TM ppg will improve. My guess: ppg 17.5, rpg 8.9m, blocks 3.5 and turnovers will be substantially down.

I am not sure that winning football increases academic reputation, but it does greatly increase the awareness of the school. It is in effect very expensive advertising. The irony is that schools like UT that are very good academically, field athletic teams were the vast majority of players would never be admitted to the school through normal channels. Hypocracy at it's best and I am not picking on UT because I expect their player standards are in line with the rest of the powers if not higher.

A lot of shaky justifications for doing the wrong thing abounding here by people with little idea of what they are advocating. All scholarships are now one year renewable, but with a lot of people wanting to return to 4 year commitment primary because of schools that are doing what many are suggesting. Get rid of your recruiting mistakes or simply upgrade talent at every opportunity. There are I bet, few recruits that are not told that they will have a scholarship for their college career has long as they stay eligible, give out good effort and obey all the rules. Only the most marginal of players would play for an University that recruited them with the pitch; you will have a ship as long as you are an asset to the team and we can't sign anyone with more potential. Per NCAA rules, scholarship are renewed or not in writing by July 1 so what many have advocated is a moot point. So save your arguments for the good of the program for next year. What is done is done.

Yes, the end justifies the mean. Bs, the team has 13 ships already and my assumption is that nobody has been told that their ship has not been renewed, In fact, the AD has been on record that he will not allow a new coach to get rid of players because of their ability, So this is not just a matter of not renewing a ship that is done all the time but you can not do that in any case with incoming players and the time is long passed for not renewing ships, Sure, coaches can always have the conversation were they strongly hint that a player does not fix into their plans and life as a future player maybe less than idea, This is done all the time, partially by new coaches but again not often this late,

NT fans are a strange lot, a whisper that so and so recruit is not that great of a commit and half the board is up in arms. However, it is perfectly alright for many for NT to either not honor a commit or just bump someone off the basketball team. SMU does this, and it is scorned; but if the player is good enough many don't seem to mind if NT and/or staff does the same thing. It is way late, for NT not to renew a basketball ship and backing out on 2013 commits doesn't help. From a fans view, who cares if x player is mistreated; heck he just should be better. My guess that most of us would view it different if related to the player. We have to see about Benford, but I don't want a win at all cost coach. I don't think mistreating player is a good strategy in the long run. Most teams in the Belt do it, Jank and Trilli at NT did it to no avail. I think one of the reason that JJ was successful was that he was a player coach and had next to no turnover compared to most of his peers. I particular like those who wouldn't do something like pulling a ship or backing out on a commitment unless it was a potential great player. I guess bank robbery would be out of the question, unless it was a really big heist.

People, read; he did not state MTSU was the Flagship of the conference, only that they could be. Similar to him stating every school in the Belt and probably old WAC could be the next Boise.

Obviously, whether you play or red shirt Warner depends on a number of factors. Primarily when he gets well and recovered enough to play and secondly how much does NT need his help. I do hope that if he is not ready until mid-season that the secondary has shown enough for NT to be comfortable red shirted him.

Mentally, safety may be a tougher position; but corner-back is a much more difficult position to fill. Players with the speed and instinct to play corner are rarer than any other defensive position.

I think a lot of you are looking at his stats and comparing to US high school stats. His regular team not the international team, average age was 26 and there is no comparison even with the best US high schools. One service has his skill level rating as low but his potential high. I don't think Benford would be interested if he didn't think he had a high ceiling. A lot of people maybe are thinking Barnett, Howerton and Knox but my guess is none of them would be remotely close to playing on a Brazil national team. NT has signed a lot of 6'10 projects because the NT's of the world don't get big men that are play ready. I don't think that Coleman and Casimiro are sure things either but I believe they have much more potential than the ones named.

Have you read many translated articles?

Don't let the stats fool you, Tony Mitchell's were not a lot better in the same tournament. I do wonder were he is playing next year. If it is at NT, someone else is gone.

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/ Vito on his blog reporting new commit from 6'10 Brazilian. Sorry, already reported in Basketball recruiting section, the correct place to post.

Makes a lot of sense, trying to stage a midnight madness event at the VB or old Snake Pit would be counter productive.