TheTastyGreek

Alonzo and Kedrick both looked good in their minutes, while Niko let a pass from Tony go right off his hands and out of bounds. With Tony getting max time to find his legs, Roger Franklin playing great, and Alonzo/Kedrick making the most of the extra maneuvering space Tony's presence allows them... Niko just happened to be the odd man out tonight.

Also lost in the shuffle- Holmen didn't play much if at all in the 2nd half of the Jackson State game, spent a lot of time in the locker room/tunnel. Didn't dress out for tonight, either. Tyler Hall didn't dress out tonight, either. Forrest Robinson seems like he's being shut down for a medical redshirt. He still isn't walking transfere right, and I don't think he was even in the building against Jackson State.

Love it.

A'Mod Ned thinks FIU has gone soft.

If I were Pittsburgh and I saw this game... I'd remind Mario Cristobal how important his inner city Miami ministry ought to be to him, and give him the opportunity to re-dedicate himself to working through it.

Side note to the recently eliminated "q-word"... I also got sick of hearing people complain about how relevant our Pirate obsessed friend may or may not be, in terms of having threads on the North Texas Football forum. Once again, the forum is saved. Mr. Leach- who was a controversial but frequently mentioned fan consideration for head coach at North Texas, will now be CLEARLY relevant to North Texas football discussion whenever his name is mentioned anywhere on this forum. And people can finally transfer bitching about it every single time his name gets brought up.

I don't know who -1'd you, but I put a positive one back on the ledger. I definitely disagree... But it's probably grounds for a dedicated thread. CBL has a nice analogy that usually ropes in the WCC vs. the OVC. Given that we're not the RPI standard bearer this year, seems timely to talk about it again. HBBIQ subject matter, coming soon!

Agreed, on both counts. It's been a hard road for them in hoops, though. Luckily, there's a new Big East whipping boy on the way in.

If the department wants to spend a lot of money on fancy video equipment for a facility they don't own, they're welcome to buy an 80" TV for my house. I'll even guarantee that I won't EVER host a high school robotics competition on a night with a men's basketball game. I'd love to see the University put a video board in the Pit. I'd love to see the Athletics Department spend that kind of money anywhere else. Even more than a video board, the University needs to spend a few thousand dollars carving out a new ramp path through the curbs across North Texas Boulevard and painting the crosswalk on the opposite side of exiting traffic. We'd empty out the Fouts parking lot a lot faster and safer if 95% of traffic didn't have to stop or turn out across pedestrian traffic.

He's got a much more complicated transcript to straighten out, too. He came through JUCO and Grambling, and the grade issues predate his time here at North Texas. With Tony, he's got 2 semesters at our school, and that's it. Patton has 4 years of college at 3 different places. Assuming he does have the problem solved, it isn't as quick and easy a rubber stamp as what we needed for Tony's eligibility. Also, it sounds like he still doesn't have formal approval for immediate eligibility (like what Franklin got to avoid a redshirt year). We pulled the request when the academic ineligibility became apparent. In this case: 1- Does North Texas think he's in good academic standing? 2- Does the NCAA certify him as academically eligible? 3- Does the NCAA grant him an immediate eligibility transfer waiver? All Tony had to do was show 2 long semesters in residence at North Texas, with at least 24 credit hours and an acceptable GPA.

If that's how it all shakes out, it'd be dope. Or fresh. Definitely the good kind of funky.

Here's Sun Belt Basketball postseason utopia in a nutshell. If you could guarantee me this scenario, I'd even take the regular season losses and the 15 seed to see it happen. Middle Tennessee wins out on the regular season. 12-2 in OOC (including a post-New Year win vs. Vanderbilt), 16-0 in the SBC. 28-2 overall, NIT autobid as the regular season champion. Denver wins out on OOC (Wyoming, Citadel, and Colorado State), loses one SBC game to Middle Tennessee (the only way it could be better would be if the game were at MTSU). 11-2 in OOC, 26-3 overall. We win out on the year other than regular season losses to MTSU and Denver. OOC record of 8-5, 21-8 overall. Middle gets the 1 seed, Denver gets the 2, we get the 3. Denver makes it through round one, loses to us in 3 or 4 overtimes in the semifinals. Final record, 27-4, RPI somewhere in the mid to high 30s. MTSU makes it to the finals, loses to us. Final record of 30-3, RPI somewhere in the high 50s. We win the tournament, final record of 24-8, RPI would probably be somewhere in the 85-95 range. Automatic NCAA tournament berth. In my imaginary world, there are no upsets in the mid and low major conference tournaments. Other than us, the regular season/RPI champion wins every single one. Middle and Denver would both have amazing mid-major credentials for a potential at-large bid. Denver could conceivably have wins over 5 NCAA tournament teams (St. Mary's, Utah State, Southern Miss, us, and Texas Southern). Middle would have 30 wins. Either one could get an at large bid. Even in my imagination, it wouldn't be both. Denver could get a 12 or 13 seed, we would be a 15, Middle would have a very good seed in the NIT... It'd be a bonanza for our league's reputation and coffers. I'm bored at work.

In a perfect world, Denver loses 1-3 more games this season. All of them come against us, with the final one ideally in the SBC finals if the bracket layout will allow it. If that can't happen, then I hope Middle Tennessee wins every game on their schedule (starting with Mississippi on Wednesday), but loses to us in the regular season and the SBC finals. The best thing that could happen for the Belt would be 13-14 conference wins apiece for those two schools.

Too late, apostate. If we had stones nearby, you'd be dead. (Kidding, of course.) (...?) ( )

Tony Mitchell euphoria completely destroyed my ability to function as a normal human being. Even though I couldn't take my eyes off the court for more than 15 seconds... At least you know that I care about making sure nobody takes your seat. Even if it's an old friend I haven't seen in 7 years. A more devious man would have exploited my complete obliviousness to the world around me and stolen my wallet. I obviously wouldn't have been able to tell the cops it was you.

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.

I'm just glad DePaul finally has a conference mate they can look down on. It's been a rough decade for them.

The alternative was HBBIQ, though even that seemed to get used ironically or condescendingly. I love it, and I think we may need to work them into the lexicon rather than getting sucked into the tar and just inadvertently engaging in sustained dumbassery.

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.

To borrow a phrase from the K-Staters... We've seen a lot of LBBIQ criticism and analysis after the past 2 games.

You can never, ever have too much pitchin'.

SIX SEASONS AND A MOVIE!!!

...America holds its collective breath in anticipation of the greatness of Tony Mitchell!!