“Jeremy Lin is a good enough player to start in the NBA and possibly star,” Lin wrote in May 2010.

Weiland told the Wall Street Journal there were two current college players his numbers say give them high upsides on the NBA level. One of them is Marquette forward Jae Crowder. The other is 6-8 forward Tony Mitchell of North Texas

The relevant section from Hoops Analyst:

Tony Mitchell, PF North Texas: A top 20 prep prospect in 2010, Mitchell was recruited to Missouri a year ago. That didn’t work out, so he headed for North Texas to start his freshman season a year late. So far he’s been dominant. Is it crazy to rush him into the #2 spot? I don’t think so. The negative is this is for only 13 games in the Sun Belt Conference. The Sun Belt isn’t exactly the ACC, but it’s a decent mid-major. In a draft that’s painfully thin at the top, Mitchell is a better pick than anyone other than Davis at this point. Of course if the final month exposes some weaknesses, we’ll reassess.

I moved back to my hometown of San Antonio after living in Denton for 6 years and the only college ball I get to watch now takes place in what resembles a high school, or more fortunate junior high school, gym. I’m not talking mess or anything… and the games are entertaining enough. It just isn’t the same as being at the Pit.

This past weekend my husband made the trip up to Denton to watch our last home game of the season and I had to miss out to attend a friend’s wedding. I was sad to hear we lost and it sounds like it wasn’t for lack of trying but rather just one of those games where we couldn’t pull it out in the end. Hopefully things go better for us in Little Rock.

Now that I’ve left Denton it seems like the school is seeing some major improvements (ie the opening of Apogee Stadium) and we have some major talent on our basketball team –see Tony Mitchell. I even hear attendance is picking up at games. We’re starting to get some serious buzz and I feel like I’m missing out. Time being all evil and whatnot it chose not to be on my side when it came to the popularity of my alma mater.

I think UNT is headed to a great place where athletics are concerned and I hope somewhere in the near future we will no longer only be known for Mean Joe Green, but for the legends this generation is about to turn out.

Any way Super Pit, thanks for the memories. It was awesome being a season ticket holder and having a badass view for some really fun games.

There was a look of frustration on Mitchell’s face as Jacob Holmen was unable to find both he and Tyler Hall on the inbound play with 27 seconds left. He had the same look as Tyler stepped out of bounds on the play that practically lost the game.

That is the good news.

The bad? Well when everyone is shooting terribly, best player included, it is very difficult to win. Shouldn’t we be able to expect a victory over a team of ULL’s quality at the Super Pit?

The Cajuns are getting a lot of credit for keeping Tony Mitchell quiet. Roger, Kedrick, Brandon, and everyone else who was clanking open shots is more responsible. With no incentive to stop triple teaming number 13, ULL maintained that same damn five point lead for most of the game.

It is as simple — and as complicated — as that.

Vito threw out the oft-repeated longing for Chris Jones and Jordan Williams.

Sure they would have helped — but hitting free throws would have likely done the job here. When the two were declared ineligible, they ceased to be factors. Making them the go-to excuses for losses when we have the necessary ingredients to win Sun Belt games is lame.

The goal has always been to do well in the conference tournament. Saturday’s loss put UNT in the fifth position — we are still looking at a bye.

We have two games left: UALR and Denver, both on the road.

It has been pretty well established that playing well in the immediate games prior to the tournament portend some success. That is the thinking, at least. The reality is that we nothing is guaranteed. Having an extra tournament game to play doesn’t mean an early exit. Similarly, having a bye does not guarantee the squad doesn’t turn in another terrible shooting night.

–

Worst part of the loss? We send the seniors, Kedrick Hogans, Alonzo Edwards, and Tyler Hall, out with on a terrible game. They didn’t even look affected by the situation. Hall was even playing fairly well until late.

It was just one of those days. So far this month we have managed to play very well and still drop three out of five. This loss makes the FAU one even more heartbreaking. Everyone played so well out in FLorida and we wasted it.

I’m expecting a monster game from Tony on Thursday. Everyone else just needs to turn in an average night in Arksansas to crank out a win.

Started in just 2010, the previous two years’ winners were Keith Benson and Matt Howard of Butler and Oakland respectively. Let’s hope Tony Mitchell can bring UNT to the list this year.

Good luck Tony!

It makes sense. The administration is trying to look all cool and stuff by rebuffing advances of the Karl Bensen-led WAC and pretending it loves the current situation.

I don’t love being in a conference with FIU, FAU, or really, if pressed, with MTSU. I’ve long advocated a more regional conference. Pretty much everyone is cool with it except for some old-schoolers who think we should automatically level up to the Texas Longhorns present the Big XII (now with less Aggie).

Going into the Texas division of the Conference USA/MWC/Sun Belt Monster Conference presented by Southwest Airlines would be … fine. I suppose. We probably would have to make some kind of weird trip out to Florida or Hawaii anyway but that is kind of cool. I know a few of you made it out to Miami for the football opener last year and had a blast. Trips are cool. A nice drive down I-35 to San Antonio/San Marcos would be a pretty damn sweet.

Nothing has happened yet. I don’t like speculating on conference realignment because it is such a mess. The good news, like always, is that we are in a much more tenable position than we have been at any point in the last decade. Better facilities, better stadium, good baskebtall team, name coach, right track.

By the way, I don’t know how I feel about the new branding stuff. Ugh.

GMG

On Monday afternoon, Iowa State women’s basketball coach Bill Fennelly tweeted McCarney had suffered a stroke.

Officially, there is no word on the reason for hospitalization.

More reading of the same press release: ESPN Dallas, Mean Green Sports, DMN,

Although Johnny Jones thinks at that point the squad could have converted some opportunities and pushed it out to 30 points, we all know what he really means.

Seriously, though. I spent the day at various times looking over the Sun Belt standings, planning my rooting schedule (I was torn between rooting for MTSU and UALR). Although I did know that my projected seedings were dependent on North Texas winning out, I must admit I was feeling confident.

How am I feeling now? Well like I shouldn’t have felt so damn confident. It was hard not to, with the way the dudes were dominating the game and one Tony Mitchell balling so hard. I think everyone is coming away from this with a similar nasty taste in their mouths.

We can’t blame this loss one Tony getting into foul trouble or missed shots. No, everything was going green until FAU got hot and we didn’t convert. Johnny Jones called it a trend that he means to correct. No doubt the message board is looking at CJ and JW as culprits (haven’t checked).

This is just an ugly loss in a league where ugly losses are common. Hell, you can even call it unlucky. Holmen, who had a monster game, missed two potential game-winners in regulation, and then in overtime.

Chalk this one up to bad luck.

Chalk this one up to me calling it like a dumbass.

I’ll chalk it up to the bad juju FAU put on us by not offering some way to watch this game. I know they are FAU and thus, terrible. Still, can’t I guy get a terrible web-stream? What is this, the Southland Conference?!

I also want to blame Time Warner Cable for cutting out on me (again) and Whitney Houston for distracting me during the crucial 19-point-lead giveaway.

Effing Eff.

Next Up: ULM, who are terrible. It’s like knowing you aren’t going to be allowed in post-season play means you don’t even give a damn. Or maybe being located in Monroe, LA is what does that. Who knows? All I know is that the specter of shame that would come from losing to that horrid team should propel the squad to a nice victory, with or without a Tony Mitchell Box Score Special.

Again, we are just looking to play some good basketball in this month leading up to the conference tournament. It’d be nice if we could skip the first day of tournament basketball so as not to have a situation like this, where Roger Franklin is missing the front ends of FT trips because his legs feel like Jello.

If not? Well remember that Josh White and Tristan led the squad to within a Bozeman-clutch-shot-over-Shannon-Shorter of a Sun Belt championship.

The regular season is a glorified conference tournament preparatory tour at this level. You’ll see when MTSU drops their first game. All that matters is that damn tournament and we have the only NBA-level talent, yo.

GMG.

Yeah. Late in the game, scrappy FIU was hanging around, making things interesting when B-Dub went off. Three straight threes and a two pointer for good measure equalled 11 points in a row. One of them, a nice heat-check three that he cashed while being bumped in the air (with no foul called) was the killer. It was the kind of three that you can’t defend. The kind that makes you stare at the shooter in disbelief, aghast at your bad luck.

You know, the kind that puts the game nearly out of reach and quiets the 300 people in the gym. It is good to be the king. Or in this case, Brandon Walton.

Credit having been assigned. How about that windmill dunk from our once-in-a-generation-recruit Tony Mitchell? Yeah. Can we get that on Sportscenter? Where do I sign up for the DVD?

He turned in a typical game — that is, awesome: 17 points, 12 rebounds and a couple highlight punches. Hopefully that #vote4Tony campaign works it’s magic. I’d really like to see a second-year CJ, JW, and TM running through the Belt next season. If it isn’t meant to be, I can live with just the one awesome, highlight-filled extravaganza.

Guess what? We still have an outside shot to win the division. Yeah, I know. Even after dropping some big games and losing some key players to injuries and academics. The final five games look like this:

Remaining Schedule

Sun Belt standings as of right now:

Standings

Yep. We have a game against each of the teams ahead of us. We just need them to lose enough games to the right teams to put us within reach. It is complicated and not necessarily worth worrying about, especially if we don’t win out. As it stands, we are in line for a 4th seed.

Bracket.

Tie breaking procedures.

It is all laid out plainly. We are aiming for at least a bye. However getting the three-seed would match the team against the winner of the 6 v 11 game. That could either be a tired team or one who has tons of momentum. Scary. I could live with the 4 v 5 matchup. Both teams will be at the same level of fitness (presumably).

What really matters is playing the best basketball at the right time. There is a month to go. Now is the time to start ramping up and North Texas is doing just that.

GMG

Hell we just might have.

There is, however, an underlying tone of … something. It don’t know if it is disappointment or frustration or something else. Having built a program before it would seem he would understand the difficulty in recruiting to a historically moribund program. Perhaps he thought it would be a tad easier considering the proximity to the most fertile college football recruiting ground this side of southern florida.

Dan McCarney is not a quitter and he is ever positive. I’m not worried, just intrigued.

It has been chiché to say “No coach will tell you they had a bad class”. This one was … okay. We managed to nab a stud on the offensive line in Boone Feldt, ESPN 150′s 10th ranked center in the nation. He will be the starting center going into next year.

Dan said there were no shocks or surprises in this class. I wonder if that was the reason for the relative lack of excitement on twitter for these guys. Other than a few shoutouts from high school classmates, there was no “JUST SIGNED WITH UNT!” updates. Of course, I could just suck at twitter. . .

So, the state of the program is thus: we are unknown, and have few positives outside of a shiny new stadium with which to woo recruits. The carrot, as it were, is the opportunity to be a part of a culture change. “We have lots of challenges ahead of us”, says the coach. “we need guys that want to take those kinds of things on.”

That kind of thing is hard to do. I think we probably end up with less talented, more motivated guys when we open up Spring Camp. Is that good? Yeah. Unmotivated talent is a drain. Guys that can play okay combined with a desire to succeed and a coaching staff that can teach them how? Well we might just do something pretty good, ya’ll.

Let’s get into some totally random, quick observations after looking at their minute-long highlight videos on Mean Green Premium, shall we?

Mark Lewis RB  5-10, 210 –looks shifty. and quick.

Boone Feldt OL 6-3, 276 — dominating the competition. Looks beastly.

Brad Horton 6-6 DE 230 –looks quick.

Carlos Harris WR 5-8, 175 –fast and shifty. has breakaway speed. good returner.

Connor Trussell OL 6-5, 285 — yeah pushing people around.

D.Q. Johnson JUCO DB -5-11, 185 — Can make tackles –blocked a kick. good in special teams. Apparently really fast.

David Busby S 5-11, 180 — reads the play well.

Devante Davis CB 5-11, 185 — can tackle. blowing dudes up. blew through a blocker to beat up a runner. He played LB??

Dustin Clark LB 6-1, 205 –fast. special teams guy?

Dutton Watson DT 6-3, 250–quick and big off the end.

Jamal Marshall DB 6-3,185–fast. chased down a guy from across the field. play recognition.

Jamarcus Jarvis RB 5-10, 195–shifty. quick. fast. breakaway speed.

Jarrian Roberts LB 6-2, 220– strong.

Lajaylin Smith LB 6-0, 218– quick and fast

Malik Dilonga DE 6-4, 250– Big. strong. quick.

Mustafa Haboul DT 6-0, 247 — quick. strong.

Nic Schrapps WR 6-3, 197– big and good hands. not that quick or fast.

Rex Rollins S 6-1,185 –big hitter. had some time as RB. — pretty damn fast.

Rodrick Lancaster 6-2, 200– WR –fast and plays big.

Ryan Rentfro OL 6-4, 280– Yeah. Sure is blocking and stuff.

Sir Calvin Wallace DT 6-2, 300– monster. big and strong. gets into the backfield with some quickness too.

Xavier Kelly CB 5-11, 165– quickness and speed.

Cam Feldt OL 6-5, 308 –will start JUCO transfer

Marcus Trice DB, 5-8, 190 –will start JUCO transfer.

Other:

As always, this list likely includes a bunch of guys that won’t be on the roster in three years for various reasons. Rankings and stars are tabulated on a lot of things that do not necessarily translate into on-field success. Like coach said, a lot of this is about evaluation: what you have, what you can be, and what these recruits can be.

Here’s hoping we have some gems in this thing.

Go Mean Green.

hat tip: ESPNDallas.

Jacob Holmen is not practicing today. He is on crutches and in a walking boot. I will find out what his status is after practice. It does not look good, though. At least not to me.

Now if only he’d get around to using twitter instead of just having an account. Who does a live-blog anymore? This isn’t 2005, ya’ll.

Alas, such is the state of media-coverage of our beloved Green and White.

That said, you will find the most up-to-date recruiting info on that site, not this one. I have long held that recruiting creeps me out in some respects while wasting my time in the rest.

I simply find the most of it a crapshoot. Sure, generally high recruiting classes equal high win totals. I’m expecting Danny Mac to do a decent job here and have the patience to let the classes develop.

Using Coach McCarney’s nephew’s rule of thirds –laid out in the Coker Chronicles Podcast — we should look for 8 guys to be all-conference contenders, 8 guys to be on the team but not particularly special and 8 others to leave the program for some reason.

I have no clue what will happen and so am not particularly worried. Our improvement last season was subtle. The big selling point — Apogee — was mitigated by the Texas Rangers and terrible weather. We squeaked out a record with some creative people counting. Our most hyped player suffered from injuries and bad luck.

Compare that situation with ArkSt’s. They won a lot of games and landed the biggest name in recent offensive coordinating history.

SMU? Well they just have won a lot more games than we have and have a former NFL guy/ offensive guru.

Forgive Danny Mac if he can’t woo top guys immediately. If you don’t you may also not realize the depths to which this program had sunk under the previous regime.