MeanGreen_2008

I'll say this about Mangrum - The dude loves basketball and works harder than anyone I have ever seen! He's also just a flat out amazing athlete the ability of which he never got to showcase at UNT. You might see a glimpse of it when he made a steal and flashed down the court for a full on slam. Y'all forget about those? How bout chasing that KSU guard down, in OKC, for the block which wasn't a foul? Perhaps the 19 points in December 08? How was he rewarded? Not at all. Jones gave Collin no leash whatsoever when on the court and had him in knots about making mistakes. Yet he gave all the room in the world for a few other players to make all the mistakes they wanted. Collin was asked and expected early in his UNT career to play through injuries which led to surgery and frustration. His final year he put all his chips in and got himself as ready as he could possibly be. He was never more excited than he was for that season. He said he felt physically fit and healthy; he was ready to give everything he had for UNT and Jones didn't give him the opportunity. He was angry, embarrassed, and felt like he wasted 4 years of his life. He just wanted a fresh start and so he went to SMU. While there he gave them all of his love b/c they loved him back. Dougherty gave him wiggle room and worked with him. Collin came on against Memphis and had 13. How was he rewarded? With a start and he didn't disappoint. Started every game from there on out. A stretch that saw SMU make a great run to finish the season. Finally, yes Collin praised SMU every chance he got (you have problems if you follow his FB page and dont know him and then use it on a msg board; it's UNT BB for cryin out loud) but he never worked against UNT. His only interest in UNT was to show himself that he was more than what he exhibited while at UNT. He did that and ended his college career on his terms. He's now training his guts out once again to make a move for an NBDL team while finishing his masters at SMU. <Obviously I know him better than you so put my words above all the specualtion. And as for the rec center comment, it's a good thing UNT's colors are green to cover your envious green skin. Keep watching rec center basketball and convincing yourself your an expert on evaluating talent.