Updated ESPN mock draft

[NT03]

Espn

[Andrew]

No Mitchel... I have been watching these mock drafts from day one and always assumed he would stay and this still confirms what I think. We will have one more year of T-Mitch with Williams and Jones! We just need to do something about our conference and our arena... SMU, TCU, Baylor, and now UTA all have a leg up on us in the area... I get around the area (hear things via people) and it is really looking harder and harder to contend in the metroplex with what UTA has done and the SMU/TCU moves. UNT needs to get on the ball and take full advantage of having Mitchel!

[H-towngreen]

I like what I don't see

[glick1980]

No Mitchel... I have been watching these mock drafts from day one and always assumed he would stay and this still confirms what I think. We will have one more year of T-Mitch with Williams and Jones! We just need to do something about our conference and our arena... SMU, TCU, Baylor, and now UTA all have a leg up on us in the area... I get around the area (hear things via people) and it is really looking harder and harder to contend in the metroplex with what UTA has done and the SMU/TCU moves. UNT needs to get on the ball and take full advantage of having Mitchel!

SMU's BB team has got more publucity for scoring 28 points in a game than moving to the BE, nobody should be worried about them except for them.

[UNTLifer]

Skiver, are you serious!? SMU and TCU have poorer facilities than the Super Pit and UTA is part of a conference that is all but done. Give it a rest.

[Andrew]

Skiver, are you serious!? SMU and TCU have poorer facilities than the Super Pit and UTA is part of a conference that is all but done. Give it a rest.

But all of the above are in a better conference or have a nicer facility.... Its time to take advantage of what we have in Mitchel and build on this program... a new arena ... a new conference would be a great start!

[Andrew]

I am in agreement. The pit is a great place to watch a game, but does not have the college basketball atmosphere I have felt in other arenas in Oklahoma, Texas or on the east coast. Funds are tight, but a new arena would really help this program. Just my two cents.

[NT03]

No Mitchel... I have been watching these mock drafts from day one and always assumed he would stay and this still confirms what I think. We will have one more year of T-Mitch with Williams and Jones! We just need to do something about our conference and our arena... SMU, TCU, Baylor, and now UTA all have a leg up on us in the

area... I get around the area (hear things via people) and it is really looking harder and harder to contend in the metroplex with what UTA has done and the SMU/TCU moves. UNT needs to get on the ball and take full advantage of having Mitchel!

Agree . It's only going to get tougher and tougher to land top talent here. We can make fun of smu all we want but they will make a splash hire & be moving to the big east soon. Big XII basketball has some of the best players in country & although tcu will struggle , they will start to get talented players who want to play in that conference. UTA has a damn good coach & new kick ass venue to help lure kids in. I really don't see how we've been able to hold on to coach Forrest for so long, he's done a kick ass job.

We need to make a move , new conference, upgraded arena. Next year could possibly be

The most talented team ever @ unt & we need to take full advantage of it

If not , I'm afraid we will be getting most of our talent from transfers or jucos. Not really a way to build a program

[NT03]

Skiver, are you serious!? SMU and TCU have poorer facilities than the Super Pit and UTA is part of a conference that is all but done. Give it a rest.

They will both start to see more $$ being in their new conferences b/w tv deals,units etc.

[CMJ]

Many of the most famous venues in the country are old, and even even with renovations, not as spiffy as the newer arenas being built. I bet people would bitch up a storm if we played our games in Hinkle Fieldhouse, or Cameron Indoor -- both of which are far older than the SuperPit.

[Maduro]

i'll take the pit over some of those big east venues any day. in fact, i would rather watch at the back row of the stage in arlington then be forced to sit on these metal bleachers...

[forevereagle]

Not sure how a mock draft means he is staying.

[risinggreen]

What? Daniel-Meyer and Moody are better than the Super Pit? Have you guys been to all three? Of course we need upgrades just like they are planning, but after the upgrades, our facility should be bigger and better than both if we put a little effort and money into it. UTA may have a newer, more modern, and smaller venue, but upgrades could make our place better than that place too. Don't really see that a knockdown of The Pit should be scheduled anytime soon.

[Cooley]

What? Daniel-Meyer and Moody are better than the Super Pit? Have you guys been to all three? Of course we need upgrades just like they are planning, but after the upgrades, our facility should be bigger and better than both if we put a little effort and money into it. UTA may have a newer, more modern, and smaller venue, but upgrades could make our place better than that place too. Don't really see that a knockdown of The Pit should be scheduled anytime soon.

SMU has already raised a good chunk for their major expansion plans. They certainly can't and won't sit steal in the Big East. I don't have a major issue with the Super Pit other than the need for a modern day sound system and jumbotron over center court. In time, we do need another facility for the guys to practice. We also need a better game day experience. (1 person taking tickets; sitting at a table out in the open)

Edited February 20, 2012 by Cooley

[MeanMag]

I am in agreement. The pit is a great place to watch a game, but does not have the college basketball atmosphere I have felt in other arenas in Oklahoma, Texas or on the east coast. Funds are tight, but a new arena would really help this program. Just my two cents.

Having a new arena does not change the atmosphere to be on par with those programs. The people do.

[UNT90]

SMU has already raised a good chunk for their major expansion plans. They certainly can't and won't sit steal in the Big East. I don't have a major issue with the Super Pit other than the need for a modern day sound system and jumbotron over center court. In time, we do need another facility for the guys to practice. We also need a better game day experience. (1 person taking tickets; sitting at a table out in the open)

Lighting at the Pit needs massive improvement,

[untjim1995]

I will go ahead and say that I HIGHLY DOUBT SMU, TCU, OR UTA are in better shape than we are or will be for the next few years. Even with UTA's new facility, they will average about 2500 for games--that is the purest example of commuter school ever. I am not worried about them in the slightest, unless we bring them into the SBC. If that happens, then I think you could see some issues with them, recruiting-wise. Yes, SMU and TCU have money and are in new conferences, but those conferences are unbelievably stout. Sure, their attendance should get a huge bump, since they get games against Kansas, Texas, OU, UConn, Georgetown, and Notre Dame, amongst others. But I don't see TCU getting their program up to a point where they can compete at the top end of the Big XII--and they have a better chance to do that than SMU ever will in the Big East. SMU will make DePaul look good in conference play, and TCU will probably be at the bottom of the Big XII for years to come.

This is where North Texas has it better in the college basketball world. Since everyone gets a chance in the NCAA Basketball model, playing in the SBC, which is not a bad league usually, or even in the new Alliance, which has some very good basketball teams, helps our program to have much better tournament opportunities than any TCU or SMU will have. Plus, if you are in a conference that UTA plays in, the best seed you could possibly see is still around a 14. We have seen years where a SBC champion, much like MUTS probably this year, will get a pretty decent seed, somewhere in the 8-13 range, where you at least have a chance. That's not even counting where Alliance teams usually get seeded. Attendance may not get the boost that the other private schools get, but we have seen increasing support for our team over the last few years in the SBC. I think we will be ok, if we can keep up the success that we have been building up. Next year, we could very easily be like MUTS this year if things go in the right direction for us. I feel like this is the best position our basketball team has probably ever been in decades.

[GrandGreen]

NT has been the best and most consistent programs in the Metroplex for years but it is going to be much more difficult to maintain that position in the future. All three of our Metroplex rivals have made giant steps in the last year.

Replacing the Super Pit would be a giant waste of money and would accomplish next to nothing. A shiny new much smaller arena is not going to significantly increase fans at NT, although I guess the crowds would look larger. There is nothing wrong with the SP, the problem is with the conference and the NT teams failure to break out from mediocrity.

JJ has been undoubtedly the most successful coach at NT in fifty years and has an impressive string of 20 game winning seasons and two NCAA tournament appearances. The problem is that with an one year exception he has been barely above a .500 coach in the Belt. What should have been the break out season last year, went up in flames because of going into the season two ships short and a rash of almost predicable injuries. This year the best recruiting class in NT history and easily in the Belt because of academics issues is struggling big time. IMO, and I know I am in the minority; NT should have at least won the Western Division both years.

The facts are that NT has been the best in the Metroplex because they have had good not great teams plus TCU and SMU have been very bad. UTA with one of the worst facilities in the nation has been up and down but IMO super competitive given their resources. By the way, neither TCU or SMU have to be anywhere near the top of their conferences to be better than the top of the Belt in a normal year. JJ is going to have to continue to recruit great players and actually gel them into a team, for NT to remain even with their area rivals.

[UNTLifer]

The conference affiliations are what they are, but I don't agree that the Pit is the lowest rated arena in the area. Sure, UTA has a nice, new shiny facility, but our major problems are what Cooley mentioned with poor sales staff and the lack of a center court scoreboard and other amentities. The atmosphere during the game will improve as attendance improves. I've been in the Pit during the 70's when we were close to sellouts and that place will rock. The fixes to the Pit seem easy, but when it is a shared facility and not owned by athletics, these things will take time.

[jdennis82]

Not sure how a mock draft means he is staying.

This.

I've always assumed he's gone even if projections have him as a late 1st rounder. Maybe I choose to assume the worst so it'll hurt less if it happens.

[emmitt01]

I will go ahead and say that I HIGHLY DOUBT SMU, TCU, OR UTA are in better shape than we are or will be for the next few years. Even with UTA's new facility, they will average about 2500 for games--that is the purest example of commuter school ever. I am not worried about them in the slightest, unless we bring them into the SBC. If that happens, then I think you could see some issues with them, recruiting-wise. Yes, SMU and TCU have money and are in new conferences, but those conferences are unbelievably stout. Sure, their attendance should get a huge bump, since they get games against Kansas, Texas, OU, UConn, Georgetown, and Notre Dame, amongst others. But I don't see TCU getting their program up to a point where they can compete at the top end of the Big XII--and they have a better chance to do that than SMU ever will in the Big East. SMU will make DePaul look good in conference play, and TCU will probably be at the bottom of the Big XII for years to come.

This is where North Texas has it better in the college basketball world. Since everyone gets a chance in the NCAA Basketball model, playing in the SBC, which is not a bad league usually, or even in the new Alliance, which has some very good basketball teams, helps our program to have much better tournament opportunities than any TCU or SMU will have. Plus, if you are in a conference that UTA plays in, the best seed you could possibly see is still around a 14. We have seen years where a SBC champion, much like MUTS probably this year, will get a pretty decent seed, somewhere in the 8-13 range, where you at least have a chance. That's not even counting where Alliance teams usually get seeded. Attendance may not get the boost that the other private schools get, but we have seen increasing support for our team over the last few years in the SBC. I think we will be ok, if we can keep up the success that we have been building up. Next year, we could very easily be like MUTS this year if things go in the right direction for us. I feel like this is the best position our basketball team has probably ever been in decades.

Or, to put it another way, NT will continue to draw based on fan interest in OUR team...whereas SMU or TCU may see an attendance bump based on the visiting team.

I feel just fine

[H-towngreen]

I think it's time we upgrade Apogee

[island eagle]

Agree . It's only going to get tougher and tougher to land top talent here. We can make fun of smu all we want but they will make a splash hire & be moving to the big east soon. Big XII basketball has some of the best players in country & although tcu will struggle , they will start to get talented players who want to play in that conference. UTA has a damn good coach & new kick ass venue to help lure kids in. I really don't see how we've been able to hold on to coach Forrest for so long, he's done a kick ass job.

We need to make a move , new conference, upgraded arena. Next year could possibly be

The most talented team ever @ unt & we need to take full advantage of it

If not , I'm afraid we will be getting most of our talent from transfers or jucos. Not really a way to build a program

They are going to be the cellar dwellers of the Big East. Getting clobbered twice a week is not going to help their recruiting.

[MeanMag]

All the schools around here have their drawbacks.

TCU could compete with Texas Tech and maybe Oklahoma this year. They are having a nice little season, but I don't really see how they can make the tourney in the big 12 anytime soon.

SMU has been downright dreadful in the past few games. It's like us against UTA, but for about 3 straight games now. If they make a splash hire, good luck getting anyone to notice. The attendance is terrible. More than the schools in this area that are joining new conferences, I'm concerned about the other teams in those conferences coming in a poaching some of the talent of the area. The thought of Big East teams parading through Dallas sucks as much for SMU as it does for us.

UTA has a nice new stadium, but the students that go there consider themselves University of Texas fans first and University of Texas at Arlington fans second. The name and vague association with Austin justifies in many students eyes, that they should root for UT Austin. Arlington will never be a college town. It has too many other sports less than 5 minutes from campus that will run it. I've been impressed with what Cross has done. I'll be really impressed if they can make a run in the WAC. But again, I like the move for them, because if we continue playing them annually they will help our RPI with their conference schedule.

Then there's us, which if the biggest drawback we can point to is facilities, I think we are doing alright. We've been addressing every facility except for the super pit, and in my mind, it's really only a matter of time. Rumor is that the dept has already brought in contractors to replace the end scoreboards with HD boards the entire length and size of the ones now. Hopefully there's some audio thrown in there, but if not, it shows that they are addressing some of the known deficiencies. We have the best recent tradition of winning and can send a player to the pros and it's already obvious that scouts know how to get to Denton.

Of course there should be a list of things to improve on. Some more expensive than others. Some glaring weaknesses such as hosting the LSU game, and the problems Cooley pointed out. I think we're in a good place, but now is not a time to sit back and be content with what we've got. The pit needs upgrades.

[NT03]

1329765321' post='627248']

They are going to be the cellar dwellers of the Big East. Getting clobbered twice a week is not going to help their recruiting.

South Florida use to be pretty terrible @ bb too. It will take time, but SMU & TCU will improve their quality of hoops.I'd rather play on a bad big Xii or big east team than a above average sunbelt team, but that's just m