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Hey guys – me again… This board has been a great read the last few days You’re fan base basically went through the same “transformation” I went through when Iowa State hired DMac. We fired Jim Walden after 12 years of COMPLETE AND TOTAL futility and I was hoping for a “spash” hire… I was like “Dan who???” when they announced McCarney. But then I watched his introductory press conference… Wow… I had the same reaction y’all (is that proper use of y’all?) are having now. He’s impressive, eh? The best part is the fact that it’s not coach-speak from him. The man will to follow through and do what he say’s he’ll do. Trust me… good times are ahead for you folks. I am so extremely happy for everybody at UNT right now! I never in my wildest dreams thought I was as sentimental about DMac as I am, but this whole thing brought out the fond memories of him at I-State Believe me, I’m a MEAN GREEN fan now! It’s good to have a Texas team I can actually root for (can’t stand UT, A&M or Tech for obvious reasons). TCU and SMU… meh… don’t care... UNT on the other hand… I’m going to be sporting the MEAN GREEN gear up here in northern Iowa! Speaking of that… where is a good place you can get UNT hats, etc. online? Good luck fellas… go out and kick some ass now! I’m going to probably be bothering you on this message board from now on… lol… sorry in advance.

Criticizing JJ right now is pretty stupid, in my opinion. Even I get frustrated by some of the things he does, but the fact remains that we've won 16 straight games against unranked teams (thanks, CMJ!), a streak that dates back to January of last year. The last time we lost to an unranked in-state team, home OR away, was 2008. People bitch because we can't handle a press, then all of a sudden we're breaking the press consistently. People bitch when we don't press, then we go out and win two games because of a suffocating press. People bitch when we start slow, but we win anyway. People bitch when we don't maintain huge leads, but we win anyway. People bitch that we don't do X, then we do X and they start bitching about Y. People bitch because we don't have a 6'4" pass-first point guard with NBA ready assist skills dishing to a 7' interior monster that scores 15 per game and shatters backboards on a nightly basis. It's always some damn thing. In this case, someone was complaining that we aren't starting their hypothetical lineup that not only completely doesn't fit the offense many of these players have run for the past 3-4 years continuously, but also ignores who our strongest players are and how they play best together. Right now, we're in basically a 7 man rotation: The 4 guards, the 2 starting posts, and a split between Holmen and Edwards for the 7th spot. It's not ideal, but it's not unprecedented as a successful approach at the college level. Especially with the lineup we're putting on the floor now. The guys have all proven they can handle the workload we'll need from them all season, and they've proven it here, in this system. Tristan: Averaged 30.3 mpg in 09-10 Josh: 35.8 mpg in 09-10 Dominique: Injured early in 09-10, but averaged 30.3 mpg in 08-09 Add it up, and our three starters have all proven over the course of their most recent full season that they can combine to play 96.4 minutes per game. That leaves 23.6 minutes per game available for guard subs. And guess what? Shannon handled 23.2 mpg in 09-10, even though he started the year as a 2nd option to Richard Thomas. If anything, he can do MORE court time than what he showed last year. Looks to me like, barring injury... Our guards have already shown they can handle the minutes we'll need from them over the grind of a full season. If one of them gets hurt, then we'll see how we react to it then. But for now, you don't revamp your entire offense IN CASE someone gets hurt. Not when things are rolling along nicely. Not when everyone has proven they can handle the workload. Odufuwa: Averaged 31.5 minutes per game in 2009-10, and he's pulling 32 per game right now. Right on track with what he did last season. Kedrick is pulling 29, and he's looking GREAT so far. That leaves about 20 minutes to be distributed among Knox, Holmen, Edwards, and Spencer (assuming he comes back soon). And I think they'll be able to handle it just fine. Whatever JJ does that may frustrate any of us, it keeps working. This year, we've had four in-state teams come at us, each with something to prove by beating us. Each of them took their best shot, each coach wanting to take us down to show their bosses and their fans that their own program had taken a step forward. Each team played absolutely brilliantly for long stretches or nearly all of their game against us. And every time, we took their best shot and wound up standing at the end. Right now, things are good, good, good. We're injured, and it's still going good. We're shorthanded, and it's still going good. One of the nice things about it is that this year, more people seem able to enjoy it without being paranoid that doom and gloom are on the horizon. We've already taken one or two seasons' worth of shots, and we're still 5-1 with what looks like an easier than usual road ahead of us. Criticize away, but keep a sense of perspective and acknowledge that where it ultimately matters, we're doing brilliantly.

Coach Mac came over to the Pit Crew and talked to us for a couple minutes. He said its great that we were behind the visitor's bench and we need to "stay on their asses all night." He expects the same when football starts. I like this guy.

So it would be like a state championship....? Todd Dodge knows how to win those...

Captain Obvious here, we will never get top talent unless we recruit top talent. I coached at the high school level from 1985-2000. Countless times I would offer to talk to athletes about UNT, only to be told by UNT coaches that they are to good for us. I never understood why we did not try. We were content to get slow guys from Bridgeport without trying for the more athletic guys from Dallas and Houston. I finally gave up and quit trying to help. I seems that Coach Mac is not afraid to reach out to the top talent. He knows they won't come here unless they are asked. Yes, we will have to work harder than Texas and TCU. Let's give the blue chips another choice and not be afraid to be told no. Maybe one or two will say yes.

OK, so I talking to a UTA AD Staffer who is a UNT grad and used to work for the UNT AD. He tells me that next year's game with UTA will be played at American Airlines Arena as part of a three-game showcase! How cool is that? OK, I can hear the "usual suspects" complain about having to go to Dallas, but it could be a great atmosphere, and maybe on a weekend if there will be a three-game event set up including SMU. Too bad it won't be as a tournament with UTA, SMU and UNT, etc. The UTA staffer told me they have tried to schedule TCU and SMU regularly as well, with about as much luck as we have had.... Could be a great day to be a college basketball fan...and for some of you...you won't even have to cross the lake to get to a game. Imagine that! I hope this takes place and the place is packed. Of course the Mean Green will once again defeat UTA...as it should be! GO MEAN GREEN!

This is a year old, but everytime I read id, I tear up. It is a great story that Im sure will touch your heart. From a Lakewood police officer to a little boy. As you guys know we buried 4 of our finest recently because of a senseless act of revenge. One Lakewood officer received renewed faith from a little boy after the killings and he wrote him a letter, please read, he what's to remain anonymous... by DREW MIKKELSEN / KING5 News Posted on December 16, 2009 at 5:47 PM LAKEWOOD, Wash. - A Lakewood police officer, who wishes to remain anonymous, said he was inspired to write the following Christmas letter earlier this week. The officer credits one small boy's donation of support to the Lakewood Police Department as the big reason he has regained hope for this holiday season. The officer sent it to friends, family members and other law enforcement officers. A Tukwila police officer received the officer's permission to release it to the public: I'm not much for writing Christmas letters, and in fact this year, I didn't even feel like making the effort of buying and addressing Christmas cards at all. I'm sure you all have heard of the terrible tragedy that occurred here in Lakewood two weeks ago today - four of our officers, four people that have become my friends over the past 5 years as we all worked here together, were gunned down as they sat in a coffee shop. Three fathers and a mother - all of whom were dedicated to their jobs and their families - now dead. The grief at our station and in our community has been overwhelming and we have all now just barely begun to process what this means for our department and for police departments all across our state and nation. Several times since this event happened, police agencies have responded to reports of individuals across King and Pierce Counties causing commotions and claiming to be planning to kill more officers. We do our best to maintain our composure and continue to do our jobs the best that we can. It is hard not to remain bleak and jaded with these events so fresh in our minds. But something happened today, just 20 minutes ago, which made me want to send out a Christmas letter. I'm here at work and was just out in our secure parking lot helping another officer load collection bins into his car to take to a local Lakewood Police Independent Guild fundraiser event. I heard a woman, standing with a boy who couldn't have been more than 3 or 4 years old, calling, "Excuse me…." through our locked gate. She had apparently been trying to get to our front counter but found no one there, it being Sunday, and had just happened to see us in the parking lot. I walked over to her and saw that the little boy was holding a plastic baggy containing a dollar and some change, and was clutching a well-worn stuffed dinosaur. The woman told me that her son, AJ, had seen the stories on tv about our 4 slain officers. She said that they had driven to our station all the way from Kingston because her son was so intent on helping the children of these officers. I opened the gate and the boy handed me the plastic baggy containing all the money from his piggybank and a note on which he had written "AJ….From me to Pleec. I Love You." And then, with tears in his eyes, he handed me his stuffed dinosaur. AJ's mom explained that he wanted to give the children of the slain officers the most precious thing that he owned, and that was his dinosaur, Bruno. I told AJ that I would take the money that he wanted to donate, but that I thought the best thing he could do for the children of our 4 officers was to keep Bruno safe with him but to keep those kids in his heart when he hugged his dinosaur. He agreed and gratefully took Bruno back from me and held him tightly as if he never wanted to let him go again. We have seen many, many acts of generosity and kindness over the past 2 weeks. We have hugged more friends and strangers than we could have ever imagined and have mended broken ties with people we haven't talked to for years. Yet nothing has touched me deeper, or given me more hope for the future, than AJ and his stuffed dinosaur. I gave AJ one of our department challenge coins, explaining to him that we only gave them out to the bravest and most deserving people we came across. I hope he will realize someday how much more than a dollar and some change he gave to me and to the Lakewood Police Department today. So anyway, none of that is about Christmas, but it is about hope and love and I thought it was appropriate to share this holiday season. I hope this letter finds all of you well and eager to spend the holidays with those you love. Squeeze everyone a little tighter and hug them a little longer today because life really is precious. Merry Christmas!

News from the players, Their all sold are on the Coach Mac train Were getting rid of the Under Armour and placed a bid with NIKE, thank god. Another great news is that Coach Nelson is staying as the Defense Line Coach. GMG

That's just... Like... Your OPINION, man.

Is it true we hired McCarney? Yeah I know there are other sources of information and a thread dedicated to that topic but I wanna talk about it here.

This talking during presentations isn't a North Texas thing, so don't launch another "only at UNT would this happen" debate. It's an everywhere thing. I've been to dozens of meetings and conferences where the same thing happened. It's usually in a venue where there's food and drink, especially of the spirituous variety; where the meeting room is large enough to allow the people in the back to feel separated from what's happening in the front, and where there are no direct sight lines from the speaker to each person in the room; and where the PA isn't loud enough to drown out all else (the bold is a note to all event organizers). It also strikes me that our cell phone culture has made it much worse. When people think it's OK to continue a phone conversation while the cashier is trying to speak, I guess they also think it's OK to converse during a presentation. Meanwhile ... It always gets me pretty excited to go into a restroom with some guys and discuss the different packages, too.

Victum? Damn near killed 'em.

I think we need to seriously re-evaluate the English department at UNT. Also, I like Gary D, but I don't think he keeps his job.

Wasn't the best game... but watching LaMarcus Reed III fall flat on his ass after getting stuffed by the rim was 100% worth the price of admission.

I had the good fortune to meet both coaches McCarney and Canales and I was impressed by both and enthused about where this program can will go. I told Dan McCarney that I wasn't totally convinced that he was the best choice until I saw his interview but he allayed any fear or question that I had about the direction of the program. He said the right things sincerely...not coachspeak. If you can't get excited about this program with these two (and probably another half-dozen enthusiastic coaches to come) then you need them to throw some dirt over you because you're dead anyway.

in October, I made one last, very nostalgic trip to see my final game at Fouts Field -- alas, it was the Arkansas State game -- since I had started attending then-NTSU games in 1960, when I moved to Denton as a 9th grader. I attended games (absent 4 years away in the Navy) regularly through 1975, when I left Texas. Now, after watching the press conference (from far away) and reading alot of the posts, I'm very excited to eagerly await the 2011 schedule, and to pick out at least one game (maybe more if I hit the NY lottery) to begin a another tradition of (a) watching games at the new stadium, and ( watching a truly promising era begin. I am very happy that Canales was not only retained, but given some sign of respect for what he has meant in just a short time (the associate title).

This isn't me advocating for him to be kept around. I leave those decisions to Coach Mc. I just wanted to praise the kid for doing a pretty good job this season. Our pass blocking got much better as the year went on. And our run blocking was phenomenal. Jeff's only 25....26? Anyway, no matter where he lands....I think he has a bright future. Being thrown to the wolves as he was....he did pretty darn well, IMHO. Kudos Coach Bryant.

Hopefully better than UA. None of our gear is even available on their website.

Okay, you get a gold star.

That jackass Craig Miller said nothing but nice things. Anyone have any idea what his angle is?

Well...I'm sure all with get over the frustration including RV and coach MacCanrey (sp). The new coach has 500,000.00 reasons to be able to get over it. I'm sure he's seen much worse in the real world and on recruiting visits. At least lets hope so. UNT reputation is in tact and a live and well. I hope the new coach hires coach Deloach.

Hey buddy....I edited my last post to let you know that the students tonight were great. The alums and townspeople....not so much. The Pit Crew has been great all year. Thanks for the spirit that you students add to the place. My problem is with my fellow old farts.

Because arguably four of our five best players are the guards, and one of them already starts on the bench? Because Tristan and Josh and George have already spent most of their recent careers here averaging 30+ mpg and, at least for the time being, subbing them out isn't really a worry unless we have foul trouble? Because Hogans is elevating himself to double balls status (currently he is the balls-and-a-half, with each game that he shows improved scoring touch pushing him closer to that elite double balls ranking)? It seems to me that we're 5-1 and our only loss came to a contender for an NCAA 1 seed, and we don't really need to go tinkering too much at all with what we're doing. I'd like to get the guys a little more rest, but if we need them on the floor to win, we have to keep putting them out and leaving them there. Here's a better question: How about we just enjoy yet another strong start to what looks like yet another strong year, and quit trying to be nit pick superfans that refuse to appreciate the success that's happening? If JJ gets a new job after the season, send in your resume and tell them how you'll coach your ass off. Shanice had a binder, a baby, and a winning smile, and it got her a coaching job here. I wouldn't completely write off your chances.

They introduced him to me at halftime. Thats really all that matters.

Not sure what La Tech brings to the table. They'll most likely get left behind, and probably rightfully so.

Now put the "NT" on a green helmet.

get into your car right now and come support our boys in the pit! tip at 7, UTA fans will make the travel and we cant let there presence out do us!!!! UNT basketball saving the sunbelt one game at a time lol! GMG!!!!!

Yeah, they never really protected the house under the old deal

How about we start with "Letswinagame" and then we can go from there.

If you're not sporting wood today, your dick doesn't work.

Oh...i can!

http://www.newstimes.com/default/article/UW-officials-see-benefits-in-TCU-s-departure-843316.php Do MWC officials know we have more alums in the DFW metroplex than either University of Texas (Austin) or Texas A & M University? Doesn't that translate to more televisions in NT Exes homes which can translate into ratings? Isn't it ratings is what the TV networks want rather than what a school did 75 years ago? What kind of coffee would that and a buck buy you in today's NCAA? Will the MWC stay at 9 members or expand their footprint to 12 schools (and a larger TV coverage footprint) as to protect itself from any other defections while expanding their conference with the 5'th largest TV market, ie, the North Texas Metroplex and..............the one school that can deliver the best TV ratings because of UNT's "lights out," humongous (and still growing) constituency? On behalf of Prez' Rawlins and AD Villarreal, should UNT turn Chuck Neinas loose on this re-alignment project, too, with him camping on the office doorsteps of MWC Commish' Craig Thompson? GMG! UNT versus SMU (1) North Texas just brings far more to the table with a larger fan base, (2) UNT with an enrollment that all but quadruples SMU's (3) Approx. twice as many UNT students now living on/near campus than SMU and TCU's combined enrollments. (4) With close to 100,000 NT Exes in the DFW Metroplex, we dwarf SMU's alumnus numbers (5) Our football stadium and basketball facility combo vs. SMU's ? Let MWC officials visit both schools and decide for themselves--Anyone want to place some bets on who they'd pick as the school with the better facilities? (6) Easy major airport access from either DFW Airport (25 minutes from Denton) or even Alliance Airport (15 minutes from Denton City Limits sign) ! (7) Big Mac "D" Attack On The Way At The New Mean Green Stadium with Chico the Man Wide Open Offense, Too! GMG ! !

I was very happy to see him at the game, and he and RV were also pumping the crowd up near the end of the game. He also exchanged a greeting with JJ as the team left the court. It is very disappointing to hear about this however. I wasn't a big fan of the hire(I'm still on the fence, bringing Chico back helped) but it's like the President to me: respect the position. The guy is here and isn't going anywhere, so let's show him that UNT is quality. No reason to get off on a sour note with the guy.

I'm actually a fan of the pro combat uniforms, but unfortunately, Nike chooses which schools it gives these uniforms to. Other schools that have Nike as their provider, Houston and Memphis, come to mind without any research end up with very bland uniforms that end up all looking the same except for color.

Only way to end this nonsense is to whip everybody, get into a BCS conference, make national noise, and fill the V with tens of thousands of rabid, local-market, TV-watching fans so that berating UNT becomes bad for business. The V, or maybe the Flying V, is what I'm calling the stadium in recognition of the end zone design and in honor of the AD who got it built.

fau - 61 msst - 59

What'd I say? Nail biter no matter what! Rick

Kraft should sponsor our stadium since it will be full of Mac and Chico, which will prove better than that old pantry staple, Mac and Cheese.

A nearly identical press release with positive quotes from well-known coaches went out when we hired Dodge. That release included a quote from the pre-2010 version of Mack Brown saying Dodge was the best QB coach in Texas, from NFL to pee wee, and would carry that legendary talent to a great outcome at North Texas. That doesn't denigrate any of these DMac quotes. Just provides context.

“The energy level is going to be unreal around here,” Canales said. “I go like you can’t believe and he goes at the same level. We don’t need coffee. We don’t need Coke or Diet Coke. We just go. That’s one thing about us. You’re going to get two guys who have such passion and desire and drive. A lot of good things are going to happen.” Best quote ever

Does anyone else think that a "McCarney back pat" hurts? I could hear it every time he gave Chico and RV a man hug and all I could think was "how can I get one of those".

This.

The additional announcement is that Chico is staying?

We can't expect people to look all the way down or to the top left of their screen just to see who's playing.

We knew this was (probably) coming, but it still hurts.

It's good that Gretchen hired her so that RV is off the hook for the hire.

Perfectly stated. I didn't think our fans needed to rush the court, but I understood that it could happen so I had my kid and the kid of another season ticket holder step out of the aisle to be out of the way if it did happen.

JJ is 3-0 at home versus Big 12 schools. I'm not saying...

Oh no, not another realignment thread!