Jackson St. (12/18/11)

[NT03]

Agreed. I came out of my seat 3 different times watching him just get a rebound.

PS. The word "came" was used on purpose.

I didn't wear 3 pairs of underwear because I was cold

[M183]

Was there with friends-we'ver been going since the early 70s. Saw all the Blakely teams.

Clearly the most talented player I've seen at UNT. Most recruits we get have heart and develop talent. TM is already there.

TM is a quick jumper, with lots of bounce in his step. Makes the defense better by allowing perimeter players to overplay, what you normally see with top tier teams. Improves the offense by causing their defenders to collapse on him. Someone else said he makes it look effortless. Agreed. Has the look of "Never Nervous" Pervus Ellison, who was sometimes accused of less than full effort when in fact he always played hard.

Should be a fun season!

[Green Mean]

Tony Mitchell looked like a man amongst boys out there. Of course this is no shunning the other guys on the court but man TM definitely looked what has been hyped up for so dang long. This will be a really really fun season and the more games they ALL get under their belt I think the better they'll get and who knows what can happen if they can get in the tournament.

[Harry]

The other players seem to be in awe...

This post has been promoted to an article

[Maduro]

(did someone say he was 7'2?)

Mr. 7'2 never got off the far end of their bench. either he has zero skills or is totally out of shape... or both.

[oldschoollefty]

Tony had some great plays, but there were a lot of times he didn't seem to give one flip about the game.

I never saw where he "didn't give a flip". T Mitch going at half speed was still faster than most other players going balls out. Remember, he has but ONE practice with this team and 20 minutes of D-1 basketball under his belt as of now.

[oldschoollefty]

Agreed. I came out of my seat 3 different times watching him just get a rebound.

PS. The word "came" was used on purpose.

I had a hard time keeping my seat as well

...but still way too much information.

P.S. The word "hard" was also used on purpose.

[cl_1_2008]

I saw that someone accused him of going half speed. I don't think this was the case. I believe he was just trying to pace himself because he was tired as hell. He's currently not in game shape, which you would expect considering it was his first game(we had several people suffering from cramps in the first few games). This won't last too long, and that's a promise.

[Green P1]

I had a hard time keeping my seat as well

...but still way too much information.

P.S. The word "hard" was also used on purpose.

+1

[UNT90]

We've had a lot of very talented players who've had great careers and done wonderful things for this program. But GrandGreen is right- when it comes to pure athletic ability and basketball talent, Tony Mitchell may very well be on a level beyond anyone who has ever put on the jersey for us.

Missouri has been to 5 Elite 8's, 2 of them in the past decade. They've had a couple dozen guys go on to play in the NBA. Street and Smith ranked them the 38th best basketball program of all time... And Tony Mitchell is the highest rated recruit Missouri had ever brought in.

Kenny Lyons had the greatest career of anyone in North Texas history. Josh and Tristan won more than anyone else ever has. But it is not just possible, but PROBABLE, that we will never, ever see anyone this talented take the floor for North Texas ever again.

I can't believe how amazing this guy was right out of the chute. It's absurd how effortless he makes everything look. Tucking rebounds into his elbow while still on his way up... Globetrotter windmill lay-ins against 3 defenders... Sliding over 6 feet to block shots... And after just one and a half days of organized team practice. Other than 2 weeks of metric system Euroball, his first real competitive game in a year and a half.

Mind blowing. We've been joking a lot about Tony Mitchell Day and all that... But, in all seriousness... It isn't even accurate to call this guy a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Because he's more rare than that.

Whatever happens- whether he's here for a few months, whether he sticks around for multiple years, whether we get Six Seasons and a Movie... Enjoy this guy for as long as we get to experience him.

Yep. It has never been more obvious who the best player on the floor is at a North Texas game. Just crazy athletic. For those who say it looked like he was loafing, you need to stop looking at his facial expressions. Look at what he did on the court in 20 minutes. You don't get 14 and 10 in 20 minutes of a college basketball game by not caring. Silly.

TM's impact on defense will be huge the rest of the season. He effectively shuts down the inside game for the other team, which allows the perimeter defenders to stay on their man. This team is going to be crazy good on the defensive end really quickly. This will make up for some still to come lackluster offensive performances.

[CMJ]

I have this tradition I started several years ago, where I keep the same NT cap I wear for gamedays and then switch to another one at a loss. I rotate through the six or so that I own.

I am not expecting that many changes the rest of the season.

[Army of Dad]

Tony had some great plays, but there were a lot of times he didn't seem to give one flip about the game.

I didn't see that at all. His talent makes it look effortless. After every small miscue (like missing a free throw)he was telling his teammates my bad. You could see he had the nervous energy burning up some of his stamina but he just plays at an entirely different level and speed. My wife usually gets some great pictures and her camera has a continuous shutter feature, but Tony's solo fast break dunk was so fast all you see is a blur of his head and arm going out of the frame. He is so long and athletic that he blocked a shot after he jumped and was almost back down on the floor.

I saw a player that cares more than you could know. He payed his own way for a year, dug in and got the grades too. He looks to be on a mission to prove everyone that ever said he will never make it in college wrong. I am damn glad he is in green while on that mission because being on the other side wouldn't be near as much fun. The guys on the team are having fun too, I have never seen them all stand to watch the last possession before halftime when we are comfortably ahead before last night.

[KRAM1]

Great time last evening...I can only imagine how good this guy will be when all the rust is off and he has had time to work in practice more with the team.. Clearly a talent above everyone else on the floor for either team. A tad rusty, perhaps, but if that's "rusty" you can only imagine what the future holds. I'd hazard a guess that he will look even more "awesome" in Tuesday's game against Grambling after having a game and a couple of more practices under his belt...

Be still my heart...this is going to be a fun ride that no fan of the Mean green should miss.

But, all that being said...UNT has some other players on the court who will also "light it up" once they have a few more games of college experience....Jones, Williams, etc., etc. And, Alzee has really come alive...lots to like about these kids...the future is bright and the future may even get here sooner than some expect! Get those Sunbelt Tourney tickets and hotel reservations in Hot Springs NOW! We have ours! Well, the hotel reservation part at least...

[TheTastyGreek]

Some people give you completely the wrong impression just because of how their face naturally looks. I remember when I first saw Alonzo Edwards on the court... I thought the guy looked like someone who could get himself kicked out of a prison boxing league for poor sportsmanship. Between hearing him talk in Mean Green Sports videos, seeing his enthusiasm during the run at Hot Springs last year, and reading his Twitter feed, the guy couldn't be more different from that first impression. He's an intense player during games, but outside of that he seems very gentle and devout.

Tony just sort of has a natural expression on his face that makes him look perpetually sleepy or bemused. But that's damn sure not how he approached things on the court... Within 3 mintues of checking in, he was already hustling so hard and playing so aggressively that the man guarding him (#32, the chubby guy) was on the verge of drawing a technical foul out of frustration.

[MeanGreenHoops]

I've been watching NT basketball since the mid 80's and was there in Salt Lake for our first tourney appearance in 1988. I remember when we played North Carolina thinking how quick and on a different level J.R. Reid was. I have never witnessed the level of athleticism that Tony brings at an NT game since until now. He is flat out amazing. If you don't go see this guy play you either hate basketball or don't much care about North Texas.

I fully expect a game with 20+ points and 20+ rebounds this season. He will be Sun Belt MVP. Tell everyone you know they need to go see him play. It's ridiculous the talent he has.

[UNTcrazy727]

I didn't mean to say he didn't care the entire time because he was hustling a lot. But there were times his intensity would drop way off and he made a few careless throw ins, one resulting in a turnover. I just think its a result of him not being in game shape and simply because he's so much better than everyone else it's easy to get bored and lose focus. Its a natural thing to do.

I agree with everyone on that we're a trillion times better with him, I was just simply making an observation that was shared with many people around me.

[TheTastyGreek]

I didn't mean to say he didn't care the entire time because he was hustling a lot. But there were times his intensity would drop way off and he made a few careless throw ins, one resulting in a turnover. I just think its a result of him not being in game shape and simply because he's so much better than everyone else it's easy to get bored and lose focus. Its a natural thing to do.

I agree with everyone on that we're a trillion times better with him, I was just simply making an observation that was shared with many people around me.

Too late, apostate. If we had stones nearby, you'd be dead.

(Kidding, of course.)

(...?)

( )

[greenminer]

I didn't mean to say he didn't care the entire time because he was hustling a lot. But there were times his intensity would drop way off and he made a few careless throw ins, one resulting in a turnover. I just think its a result of him not being in game shape and simply because he's so much better than everyone else it's easy to get bored and lose focus. Its a natural thing to do.

I agree with everyone on that we're a trillion times better with him, I was just simply making an observation that was shared with many people around me.

I still think he was pacing himself.

Now, if we're two weeks into this thing and he is clearly pacing himself like yesterday, then this discussion has more merit.