Lovesto Pumpfake

Coach, I have seen the Mangrum kid play a lot, and have gotten to know him pretty well. I'm curious as to your reservations. He's a pretty tough competitor, plays well against 4-5A competition in AAU ball, can shoot the lights out either off of screens or by going 1 on 1. His Dad is an ex-NFL QB, so he's grown up around athletics & doesn't shy away from contact or competition. He's still young and pretty thin, but is still growing & putting on weight while not losing his quickness. I'm certainly not attacking your post, I'm just curious. Outside on not looking like a recent Mangrum we have had in the program, and Collin being an adequate defensive player but probably not a Bruce Bowen-like stopper, what are your reservations?

Not to mention when the injury is broken bones in your shooting hand. Even though a player is cleared to come back and play in games doesn't mean he's 100%. These guys shoot 100's of time a day in practice, but when a cast comes off there is muscle atrophy and weakness to get over, not to mention soreness and pain from the injury. It take some time to get your timing, rhythm, strength and touch back. So, it's probably best he didn't come back & start firing up shots immediatly.

Thin means lack of weight, not height. 6'10" is plenty tall enough, but 225lbs will get you pushed around anywhere in D-1. Sean May of UNC is only 6' 7.5-9", but he weighs 265-280, depending on who you talk to. As you saw last night & over the entire tourney he uses his butt/weight as a weapon, and has had great success. He's not a leaper, not much of a shot blocker, but eats space with his bulk. Bumping and holding your ground against a legit 6'11"+ center is the key, not swatting his shot. Shawnson Johnson was a shot blocker, but will always be a forward because of his build. Barnett is fair as a shot blocker but has success against most big guys because he can keep them from getting the inside position they wan and are used to and knows how to get position inside. He forces big guys out 2-3 feet from where they are used to shooting, thus making them take a shot that is out of their comfort zone and less accurate. Don't get me wrong, I think Verwers would be a great pick up for the Mean Green, but Verwers has a thin frame, and adding weight will be difficult for him. UNT has a better chance adding weight to Howerton, who, while thin right now, has a frame to support 250-ish. Let's get some bulk in here to go with our speed & quickness. I hear we have 2 unexpected 'ships available, so maybe the coaches are already on that.

Nice to see your basketball expertise is as keen as usual, GK. Verwers would be a very thin power forward at best. With fans like you, UNT needs no future difficulties.

It's great that the Pit Crew is growing, especially since there really has never been much spirit at UNT BBall games in the last 3-4 years. The players really appreciate it & it helps pump them up a lot. If UNT plans on making the Pit a real home court advantage then it is vital that the traditions you are starting get into a every game thing, and that the young guys & girls pass the info & ideas on when they graduate A group that you may want to check out for inspiration & creativity is the UCSB Gaucho Locos - possibly the #2 student crowd in the country, behind Duke. Their website with some interesting stuff & ideas is www.gaucholocos.com. I've seen a couple games from their "Thunderdome" on ESPN & the place is pretty wild and very creative. A friend (late 30's) who goes to many of the UCSB games says the atmosphere they create is the most fun he's ever had at any sporting event - like a cross between Animal House & Hoosiers plus a lot of volume. Opposing teams hate to play there due to the noise & harrassment - just what we are looking to do. You somehow need to get the UNT Band more involved, too. They sound great but they are a bit stiff. Maybe you can get them to loosen up & get louder. Get them (and you) to dress up - hats, face paint, etc. Good Luck Crew, keep up the good work!

It's people like you who keep trying to keep Texas and Mean Green Hoops down. I guess you would say the same about Florida and California? Football is huge there, isn't it? Indiana is probably the only state in the country you would call a "basketball state" as all of their school teams seem to stink at Football every year. Oops, the INDIANALPOLIS Colts are dang good, so, well, Indiana must be a Football state, too. Please go to the Football board and worship there. We like the hoops here.

Whoever y'all are that are putting this together, know that the players and their families really do appreciate your efforts. Last year the sight of the large group of students in the corner going NUTS during the games was truly inspiring. Now if we could just organize the UNT band to help you.... First things first, y'all are doing a great thing. One thing I hope for is that the UNT Pit Crew show a lot of class and to take it easy on the foul language, unlike the SMU Mustang Maniacs fan group. I have attended SMU games against even D2 schools and they are absolutely crude & vile, and actually lost the support of the alums and season ticket holders near them. Imagine what it was like when Bobby Knight was there! The Cameron Crazies of Duke and Stanford 6th Man groups show their support and use their wit by doing their research on the opposition and use that info and their humor , plus lots of noise and movement, to distract the opposition and to display their displeasure at various a referee's calls. Hopefully the UNT Pit Crew can rival their support and show class and restrain unseen in Big D. Go Mean Green, and Go Pit Crew! PS - Anybody talk to the guys that run Rudy's BBQ? They seem loke good guys with lots of UNT spirit, maybe they'd contribute on the shirts and also the pre-game spread.

No way can Sturns run D1 point, possibly not ever.

Welcome to the Mean Green Board. Please tell us some info about your son, such as size, weight, position, stats, who else is recruiting him, etc. With all the guys that were seniors we can probably use your son right away.

A couple of observations by a non-student & non-alum, but someone who goes to every possible college & HS game in the area. 1. - What is with the UNT cheerleaders? Unless they are all suspended for grades or drinking (?), there is no excuse for only 3 or 4 to show up. And those that do show up do the basics until the last 5 - 8 minutes of the game, then they sit on their hands & watch. That's when they need to be up & yelling, leading "DEFENSE!" chants, encouraging the students and especially the alums to get off their butts & make noise. Hey, the routines are great, but they gotta get more people up out of their seats. 2. - The Super Pit Ushers - Are they all sedated? Have they been told to speak to no one, help no one unless asked, and, for heaven's sake, not be outwardly friendly & outgoing, especially to UNT students? There are a few on the west side that seem to enjoy being there & helping, but most act like they are prisoners on work furlough. Have they always been that way? 3. - The ShoJo factor has been exposed. He is a great offensive talent & shot blocker, but the SB teams have scouted him and seen that if he is double-teamed he becomes a non-factor. He has to learn to pass out of the double team or make his move quicker, before the extra defender gets there, or he becomes a liability. The rest of the team stands around when he is thrown the ball, therefore hanging Shawnson out to dry. When Barnett is in the game the ball moves more, it still goes into the post, but the other 4 keep cutting, resulting in passes for lay-ups & dunks, rather than the ball being thrown out to half-court with 6 seconds left on the shot clock. I would love to see the plus/minus stats on the UNT team, because as much as some of the guys are athletic & flashy, the offense suffocates when they are in the game together. 4. - I hope the coaches are recruiting hard, because we are losing a LOT of size and experience after this season. Replacing DeGrate, Smith, Rogers, and Johnson will leave a big hole in the stat sheet & the front line. Barnett is improving (still only a soph), and Thomas & Harris just need more PT.

Shawnson proves to be human, and Barnett did a very good job filling in in the post. The offense worked, the ball moved around a lot, and Justin did a great job of shutting down their bigger guys in the middle, especially in the 2nd half. Jerome had a great game - 40 minutes with 1 turnover. Glad to see this happen to a good guy in his senior year. Off to Arkansas - Go Mean Green! Let's get'em both!!!

Unfortunetly, $$$ raises it's ugly head again. UNT hoops, unfortunetly, doesn't pay it's own bills, and Football is king here at UNT & just about everywhere else in Texas. The UNT Ath. Admin. will only awaken to hoops if the team goes on a big winning streak or if LOTS of students start coming to the games and become a factor in the home team winning. Honestly, I wish very good luck to you in getting the students out, I'm behind you any way possible!

Interesting opinions. I am a fan of his, but I am surprised that nobody has noted that, although he is doing very well personally, UNT has won only 1 game with Johnson at center, and that was an overtime win at UT Pan Am. No doubt Johnson is a serious talent, and we're lucky to have him, but the balance of the team appears to be way off. I'm sure that Roniger's leaving contributes to this, also. JJ is taking a big, big chance with his program as Johnson has only been here for a short time. He's a great talent for sure, and his game is pretty dang good, but there are also guys that have been here for 4 years that may resent his being brought in for 1/2 a year and getting a huge amount of floor time. Granted, if those others were as good then they would be playing more. Besides a physical presence, when Barnett comes into the games he seems to give the team a spark, whethter through passes, rebounds, whatever. The IU game is a prime example. UNT was down 16 or 18 when JJ put him in, and the lead was down to 6 or 8 when he took him out. For whatever reason I don't think they got into the game together again. I'm not saying he takes the team on his back offensively, but the ball seems to move more when he is in, and the team appears to be more balanced. Playing Barnett and Johnston together forms a pretty formidable front line, and with Barnett's passing ability, the guards and small forwards would be freed to cut to the basket more, or just move to an open spot for a pass back out. Johnson's forte is offense, not passing;when the ball goes into him in the post it rarely comes out. Therefore there seems to be a tendancy to watch him rather than moving without the ball, which allows the defense to collapse. Hopefully things will change and improve soon, and the next few games are critical. Otherwise, Johnson's senior 1/2 season will be good, but the team overall may have a rough conference record and some unhappy other players, and not just the seniors.

OK, I have not been around UNT forever, but I have been to many, many college basketball games, and it seems that UNT is suffering from the same "high-dollar, Corporate Courtside Seats" illusion as many other colleges. I cannot believe those courtside seats mean that much to their owners as they are empty 80% of the games I have attended. Sure, there are some true-green fans that attend the majority of the games in those seats, but most of those seats are empty most of the time. I'm not trying to make trouble for the UNT Athletic Department, I'm just curious what other think about those primo seats that are empty most of the time. Not wanting to stir up the muck without sticking my own neck out to try to help, here are some of my off the cuff ideas. Please let me know yours. Suggestions: #1 - Make the courtside seats the UNT Student Section. Chances are that the courtside area would be filled if the students knew they would courtside rather than isolated in a regular section. Possibly it would kick-start a rise in student game attendance? Keep the Ricky V., Dr. and Mrs. P, and any other high-dollar folks/sponsors who actually attend games on the floor if they want to stay, even knowing what they will be surrounded by, but put the other poorly-attending $$$-folks higher up & spread them out so their absense won't be quite as noticable. #2 - Sell the court-side seats as Day-of-Game sold seats only. Make the seas available to those who are already coming to and are at the game to insure they are filled. Sure, they might not be filled for the Eastern SW Illinois Panhandle State Teachers College game, but they would have been empty in this system, too. #3 - Make them available to season ticket buyers who attend the games. Create a system of offering the seats to long-time ticket holders by asking them to sign in at a table each game they attend. the Ticket Office staff then compiles the list and calls those who have attended the most a chance to sit courtside for specified bigger games. What do you think? Should they stay as they are, or should UNT do all things possible to keep them filled?

Let's just try to get him here and show him a good time. If we can show him we are building our program and our students are having fun while attending the game maybe he will adopt us. He didn't show up for SMU vs. TTech (he's a big fan of Bob Knight) 2 years ago, and they invited him, so let's not get too dissappointed if he doesn't show up. Nobody gets hit up for $$$ more than him, and if we can just get the publicity of having him here on the local news, hopefully broadcast live from The Pit, would be worth sending the $1m bus & a few dancers. Also, let's not forget his wife just had a baby girl, so a tiny UNT cheerleader oufit should be forwarded along with the invite.