Am I Naive

Harry · May 17, 2007

With the NCAA bid and a nice looking recruiting class, I can't say that I have felt better about Mean Green Hoops since following the program. It appears we are recruiting a higher caliber of player and have some stability with Johnny signing a fairly long term contract. I am actually looking forward to next season and it has been awhile since I could say that.

I've always believed that our hoops program had tremendous potential and it appears that we are finally starting to gain some momentum!

CMJ · May 17, 2007

Unless we have a rash of injuries, I expect a 20 win season at minimum next year. We should compete for the conference title, both regular and postseason. The future is bright!

emmitt01 · May 17, 2007

With the NCAA bid and a nice looking recruiting class, I can't say that I have felt better about Mean Green Hoops since following the program. It appears we are recruiting a higher caliber of player and have some stability with Johnny signing a fairly long term contract. I am actually looking forward to next season and it has been awhile since I could say that.
I've always believed that our hoops program had tremendous potential and it appears that we are finally starting to gain some momentum!

No, Harry you are not naive. We went into this offseason with a few needs that we had to address.

1)Who is going to replace the scoring of Calvin and Kendrick's scoring? We signed Tristan Thompson and Collin Dennis will be ready to go. This is a higher caliber of player than we are used to in my opinion. We are actually "reloading" instead of "rebuilding" when we lose players.

2)Who will run the point? Ben Bell has another year and we went out and got TWO capable point guards in McCoy and White. My opinion is that White agrees to sit a year to have several years to be "the man" and we are set for a while.

3)Who will be our replacement for the big men? This may be the only place where Johnny has yet to put the puzzle together. If we can find a quality big then I think Johnny is to be heavily commended and I will be giddy about basketball.

I have to say I'm even more excited about basketball than I am football. Yes, Dodge will do wonders for our football team in year one but I think when it comes to immediate impact this year Johnny's boys will bring us more success in 2007-2008.

untbowler · May 17, 2007

2)Who will run the point? Ben Bell has another year and we went out and got TWO capable point guards in McCoy and White. My opinion is that White agrees to sit a year to have several years to be "the man" and we are set for a while.

One would hope White would be willing to sit a year to learn College Pace and also to make sure his shoulder is completely healed and ready to go.

I am not a b-ball fan but the future does look bright if JJ get this team firing on all cylinders.

Charlie NT 73 · May 17, 2007

I agree- the future is looking very good! JJ is doing a very good job in recruiting

the quality players NT needs. I do beleive that NT can be a BB power! I remember

the old MVC days, games at the "Snake Pit"-down on the court in your face blood

and guts games! What happen to this excitment? Where did it go?

The last time I was excited about NT BB was with Coach Blakley, and his run

and gun fast break offense--man his teams were something else, and loads

of fun to watch! Then, he is gone-I still do not understand what happen and

why he left NT. After Blakely left, NT BB disappeared, vanished, and was dead.

With Johnny Jones running the show now, I do beleive we as NT fans, have

finally got the karma and born again NT BB energy comming back!

For the "new" NT fans, its is your turn to feel and see what it was like

in the "old" days of NT basketball!

chrisfisher · May 17, 2007

No sir. You are not naive. There is alot to be excited about! I started following UNT basketball in 05-06, two seasons ago when I enrolled. For the first season, I thought we had a pretty good team, but were missing a player or two needed to accomplish big things. For 06-07, with the addition of Wooden and Bell plus several other factors such as Quincy and Watson playing really well, I knew, despite the detractors, that we had a good thing going and expected that we'd have a fantastic season. All I can say is that the months can't go by fast enough because I am super excited about the 2007 season. If our new signees and Collin Dennis are "as advertised," we are headed straight back to the NCAA tourny. You can bank on it.

GrandGreen · May 17, 2007

Hopefully last year was a breakout season and JJ can continue to develop a strong program. But do not forget that last year team was a fifth seed that peaked at just the right time and became a very good team at tournament time. I too think NT can be a better team next year, the impetus to NT's strong finish IMO was the rapid improvement of Bell and Stewart. With those two returning plus what should be the Belt's best front court duo in Williams and Wooden, NT has a very strong base. With the signing of two very heralded recruits to fill in back up point, and 5 players to vie for wing; NT should definitely be a front runner for the Belt championship. Some people still love to rag on Sturns, but he should be ready for an outstanding senior year. Magrum certainly didn't turn many heads last year but he did not hurt the team when he was on the court. He played adequate defense was unselfish and showed a lot of hustle . I would not assume like many that he won't be in the mix if he can improve his shooting. The three newcomers have all great potential. Any of the three; McCoy, Dennis, and Thompson, could develop into something special.

In summary, next years team should be very good even more athletic than last year's team dubbed "most athletic team in the Belt". The front court should be much improved, the point guard position much stronger and the wings should be at least comparable to last year.

As far as starting a dynasty in basketball at Denton, I think that the support giving the team must substantially improve for NT to be a premier program even in the Belt. There seems to be a band wagon effect now that I hope continues. JJ nor anyone else is going to be able to escalate the program with the kind of attendance NT has had in recent years. In the seat attendance at home games averaging maybe 1500, student attendance of a few hundred rather than thousands, the Belt tournament championship game with maybe a hundred NT fans including the band and cheerleaders.