Basketball is a rhythm game. Long layoffs are hard on rhythm. They can either break a bad streak, or kill a good run. Everyone in Denton was hoping for the former. Sadly, we were all treated to a disaster of a game.
No one shot well. No one. North Texas went 30% from the floor, 56% from the line, and 0% from distance. Southeaster Louisiana shot 25%, 56%, 21%. It was that bad.
Yeah you read that right. The Mean Green went 0-11 from three point range. Is this the new nadir for the season? Lehigh comes in here with scoring machine CJ McCollum (24.9 ppg) on Thursday. He put up 29 points against Saint Francis last time out by the way. The Mountain Hawks put up 83 as a team. Normally that would not matter. Each game is it’s own story, right? Any given night, anything can happen? Sure. But this iteration of the hoop squad can’t score with any kind of ease. Whatever the impetus was — the coaching change, the hype, the loss of Brandon Walton — the symptoms can now be felt in every aspect. This kind of game wasn’t not very surprising. It is more shocking when they guys go out and get easy buckets and don’t miss bunny layups
It is hard to stay positive. Loyal? Sure. I’ll always be a fan. Optimism? No. That is gone. I have been searching my brain for similar story that ended well to make me feel better. I can think of none.
Tony Mitchell’s time at North Texas looks to be full of could-have-beens judging by this current trajectory. Fifty or so scouts will descend upon the Super Pit to watch two possible NBA talents duke it out on Thursday. What once was one of the most intriguing match ups coming into the college basketball year is now intimidating. Another 8-point, poor-shooting night from our star and this diseased season might taint his pro prospects.
That would be the worst.
There will always be North Texas basketball. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to know that my school might have ruined a potentially decent NBA career with terrible coaching.
Superlatives:
- Shout out to the rim for taking a beating and still hanging in there.
- Shout out to all 2K that showed up and stayed until the end. Reading 50 Shades of Grey has had an effect on you, no?
- Tweet of the night: “Everyone playing is on scholarship and one guy will play in the NBA and everything” – via guy who shall remain nameless.
- George and Hank — they’ve had to put up with so many ugly games as radio/tv announcers for the combined football/basketball programs. Here’s hoping they get a magical season to call damn soon.
Notes:
I’ve created a forum for you to get away from other boards in case you want that. Also in case you don’t. Sometime soon (this week) there will be another MGN Podcast. In the mean time you can check out Deranged Pengwin, another podcast I do. It’s full of cursing from ostensibly educated people. Be warned.
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