GreenFlag

I was very pleased to see the coordinated effort of the students. The Pit Crew seems to be catching on and growing in numbers. I hope to see it continue and GROW. Keep going guys. My floor seats were moved this year. I was a little miffed to be separated from my buddies but who I sit by now are world class hecklers. Nothing personal or classless but boy can they get under the opponets skin. They even got an fu from one of the ASU players. They also happen to work within the athletic department. By the end of the season I should be well versed in my heckling skills.

The Sags have Southern at 263 and UNT at 104.

Then tell us then.

Ok, here's a good question. When Tim Jankovich and Jimmy Gales were terminated, both made reference to how difficult it was to recruit to North Texas. Why?

Your memory doesn't even come close to serving you correctly on this one. He had a bullseye on the back of his head after the first draw play on 3rd and long. BTW, I think 2001 was his fourth season. If my memory serves me correctly then Harry is the only non-idiot around here because he was the ONLY, and I mean ONLY guy around here not bitching about Dickey very early on. I'm glad I was wrong about him. Hell, thinking about how DD built the program got me to start thinking about this. Even early on with DD the upgarde in talent was clear even when it wasn't showing in the win-loss column. If you think I'm taking aim at JJ you are WRONG.

Let me explain. JUCO's are fine but the drawback is 2 years and gone. Utah State has been very successful with JUCO's. They just seem to be able to reload with them every year. Sure I would like to win now but being able to see young guys unseat some of the older guys in the starting rotation would be nice. I just want to see the program IMPROVING. I know comparing the fb program to the bb program is like camparing apples to oranges but I would like to see JUCO's compliment a solid foundation of 4 year players like we do in fb. If we are improving the program every year then I am a happy man. If we are going the JUCO route then fine, let's win next year and every year after. Whatever works. That just seems like shaky ground to me.

All great points GMoney but I do disagree on two fronts. 1) DD had major heat on him well before the ULM loss. He was preaching patience but there was none. 2) There seems to be a MUCH quicker turn time in BB than FB regarding turnover of the team. JJ has recruited a lot of JUCO's that are 2 years and out. Seven of the twelve recruits by JJ have been either JUCO's or transfers. There were only four players on this years squad that Vic recruited and that was Hopkins, Smith, Rogers and Barnett. Man I hope next years freshmen are some serious studs. What I would like to see is some freshmen unseating upperclassmen for starting positions ala Brandon Kennedy, Jonas Buckles and Scott Hall in FB a few years ago. That was when I knew the fb program was getting better. With all of that being said, I like JJ and he seems to have gotten some bad breaks as far as guys not showing up or quitting. But isn't that a big part of how coaches at the Div 1 level are deemed effective? I really do like the guy but I have some concerns.

I saw all but 2 home games. It was a tale of two teams, the one with Shawnson and the one without. We flat out stunk without Shawnson. Yeah, I know we beat Baylor but big whup. We were the same place we were 2 years ago WITH Shawnson. We have equal talent with a better coach. We all know JJ is better than Trilli as far as X's and O's but I just don't see the production in recruiting. This next season will be very important to JJ's career.

I think most of us expect nothing less than dominating the Sun Belt in football. Why is there far less expectations in basketball from the average UNT fan? Why is it ok to be middle rung in a lower conference in bb? I don't think it is going to be ok anymore knowing that bb will probably impede our entrance into CUSA. This conference shakeup stuff is good when it forces us to be honest about our situation and where our strengths and weaknesses lie. I am like most around here a football fan first and basketball is a distant second. I am a season ticket holder to both and do the basketball thing out of duty. I would really like to be sucked in to basketball like I was to football but there just isn't the buzz around the program in terms of recruits, how we are improving, how we are building a "program" like there is around the football program. So, if any of you "basketball heads" want to chime in on what it's going to take I would like to hear from you. I'm mixed on what I think of JJ right now. Here is what I know. He is far better X and O's than Trilli and a class individual. That's it. As far as recruiting...I don't think we are getting better yet. Are we on the right track and I don't know it?

Steve, you have asked a great question. I agree with some about expectations-they just aren't there like they are for football. I do believe BB will be a major focus after FB proves not to be a "flash in the pan." I think that once the fan base believes that our FB program is truly "fixed", that intolerance for unsuccessful BB will increase. Fortunatley for JJ, our new found success in FB is taking a little bit of the heat off of him and the BB program in general. This is giving RV an opportunity to have the luxury of allowing JJ the time to build the BB program like DD did with the FB program. I think we need to see steady improvement starting this year. Year one under JJ was a fluke and last year was just plain unlucky with injuries. His recruits need to start to show something. Some kind of depth needs to start emerging. If this does not happen THIS YEAR, I think we start to see the heat getting turned up big time by the fans.

Please help here. I thought I heard the start time had changed to 8 pm, is that right, it's not on the website.

No one on the team matches Unjel's intensity or desire. I'll never understand how a "fan" of UNT could slam one of our student athletes who gives 100% all the time.

What a difference a year makes! I have been a proponent of playing UTA in BB for some time only to get blasted for it in the past. UTA could always be counted on for one of the better-attended games every season. The nay sayers in the past reminded me a lot of the froggies who gave every excuse in the book why their highest attended and most competitive home game this year was not necessarily a good thing. Of course the opponent was UNT. The frogs were bitching about the opponent but they were there at Amon Carter en masse and so were we in good numbers. That loss was the most painful one of the season for me. I see frogs hopping around everywhere; I don't know a single Arizona Wildcat or South Florida Bull. Now Mavericks, there is a virtual stampede of them here in Arlington. My next-door neighbor is a UTA grad. My "we have spirit, yes we do, we have FOOTBALL how bout you?" cheer has been dormant for too long. Face it; we are all local rivals with a lot on the line when we play. I would like to see us schedule a home and home every season with UTA. It would take me all of 5 minutes to get to the game. Not only would it be convenient for me, but for the other 100K UNT alums in the Metroplex. BTW, the round robin tourney thing was tried in the past with UNT, SMU and TCU. Either the Dallas Morning News or The Dallas Times Herald sponsored it in '84 or '85 maybe? I have no idea how well it worked or why it did not take off. I'm still looking forward to the day when the majority of non-BCS athletic directors and presidents take their collective heads out of their asses so we can start playing regional opponents that spark interest and increase attendance.

I hope Will is ok but his left leg looked inverted at the knee when they carried him off the court. This team is just not as good as last years squad. The new guys are big, strong and fast, just not difference makers yet. We are in dire need of an inside scoring presense. Damn I miss Leonard.

I'll be there and bringing a nephew.

For the first to e-mail me. You must be able to pick them up in Arlington. Great for you, sucks for me.

I'm there as well as GreenEyedMonter.

So what do you think about a war on Iraq?

May I suggest a great read? "Having Half A Clue How The Media Works You Bunch Of Dumbasses" by shaneb. It is a follow up to his hugely successful "How To Piss People Off And Alienate Them As Well." shaneb, your posts have a remarkably similar tone to the e-mail to the writer had. Both could be more constructive and more effective as well. How about being a leader in that arena shaneb? How about a well worded response posted here so those with "less than half a clue" can pattern their own reaction?

Justin was 6-10 coming out of HS. He looked 7-0 on the bench last year.

Hello there Mark, what are your thoughts on the hire?

I can't get the image of "the whole office is huge athletic supporters" out of my mind.

Let's see, NT Exes sends me a birthday card signed by David Layton and numerous pieces of correspondance. Rick Villareal accepts an invitation to speak in front of 65 of my fraternity brothers at a golf tourney this summer to speak the Mean Green gospel and sell the program. It was his second golf tourney to work that day! I get a call from Abbey, a secretary for Chuck Benson who is an advancement associate housed in the Gateway Center. She would like to know if I would like to have lunch with him. I say sure, he has offered to come to see me in the Metroplex (nice touch) but I pass and say I'll come to Denton. I asked her how she got my name and she replies "probably athletics". What??? We have athletics working with the advancement center and probably the other way around. This isn't the same North Texas that would call (telemarket) once a year. This is the North Texas that is doing everything right. It is so nice to see UNT reaching for it's full potential.