TheTastyGreek

IF we win out on the regular season... ...and IF we manage to go on a 4 game winning streak in the CUSA tournament (NOTE: We haven't won more than 2 in a row all season)... ...and IF we win the play-in game... ...and IF we somehow manage to be the first team ever to score the 16 seed upset over a 1 seed in NCAA tournament history... ...we'll still only finish 19-19 if we lost in the next round, and once again Benford will have failed to finish a season above .500 in his tenure here. SO... My answer is, if Benford wants to keep his job, he needs to be above .500 at the end of the season. Win out, win the tournament, make the Sweet 16, and finish 20-19. And that would only earn him the opportunity to coach out the last season on his existing contract. No extension. Otherwise, pack it up and get the f--- out of Denton, pronto.

...and shady recruiting hits a new low.

Usually, every game recap (since they go up very soon after a game ends) features a photo from the most recent home game. That's largely true everywhere you look, save a few places that use previous season game photos for the same opponent.

I love you, Vito. I hope Benford and McCarney can get together and commiserate over the unfairness of doubters and haters. Both should have a LOT of free time to coordinate schedules in about a month or so.

There's a sports fan/future Stanford engineer over on the football recruiting forum that I think you'd love.

It didn't, at least not really. He was already walking back from us back in November when he decided not to sign and gave a nonsense excuse about signing for both sports at a time when he couldn't actually do that. Reclassifying is new, but not coming to us is 3-4 month old news, nothing to do with Frazier.

Reclassifying (link includes info about recent eligibility changes) means one of two things. 1) A player moves up his graduation date, meaning that a scheduled Class of 2017 graduate has his academics completed ahead of schedule and already has a qualifying standardized test score. He or she can reclassify to be a 2016 graduate, and start college (and his NCAA eligibility clock) a year ahead of his expected 4 year high school tenure would ordinarily allow. This is very unusual, for all the reasons one would reasonably assume (player is younger, smaller, less time to develop before college, accelerated academic calendar, less time to earn qualifying SAT/ACT scores, social issues, etc.). Not totally unheard of, examples include (at one point) Thon Maker, Isaac Humphries, Derryck Thornton, and potentially Zach Brown. Usually, guys in this category are blue chip recruits, either looking to accelerate the start of their pro career, or looking to develop at the college level rather than facing limited competition (especially post players) at the high school level. Guards may be looking for a one-and-done path to the NBA (and the gold at the end of that rainbow) a year faster. Centers may decide it makes more developmental sense to spend two years playing against D1 post players instead of one year beating up on 6'4" high school opponents and one year at university against equal competition. 2) A player moves back his graduation date, meaning someone originally scheduled to graduate in 2016 would enroll in college in the Class of 2017 instead. Two ways this usually happens... Either the kid gets strategically held back in elementary or (more common) middle school, so that they have a year to grow and practice and play AAU, while still having 4 years of sports eligibility when they start high school. Just like college eligibility, the NCAA (and most states) start the high school clock based on first date of enrollment (see NCAA rule 14.3.1.2.1). Or, they wait a year before starting college, going to prep school instead. This is less useful than it used to be... The eligibility rules have changed, so that kids can only get one of their ten required core courses done in a prep school year (I think it used to be up to four). But, for a recruit who needs time to get ready for standardized tests and entrance exams, or who has scholarship potential but didn't get interest from their senior year of high school, prep school is a great chance to take an extra year to prepare and/or audition before making a 4 year commitment. Prep school isn't necessarily a red flag in a 5th year situation... Alzee Williams did a year at prep school after high school before signing with us. And Hollis is (presumably) enrolling at API after graduating from his current high school. However... API is very similar to Prime Prep, and other 4 year private school alternatives, which could be problematic for kids who are there instead of a normal public high school. There's a good two part series on API that mentions some past stories of local kids who ran into NCAA clearinghouse trouble (or temporary issues) going that route. Specifically, Emmanuel Mudiay, Jordan Mickey, Karviar Shepherd, and (not in the article) our own Tony Mitchell. API's roster for this year includes 3 players who are ranked top 10 in their respective classes, two of whom will be back next year to graduate in 2017. This year's seniors are committed to Baylor, Cincy, and Alabama. The article already mentions that this year has seen practice appearances by coaches from Baylor, North Carolina, Louisville, Arizona, and Nebraska. Hollis will be a part of that environment next year, meaning that if he has high major or power conference chops, he won't fly under anyone's radar given the audience that will be watching his practices and games. Whatever is motivating the decision, it seems very, very unlikely that we'll see Hollis in a UNT uniform.

I can't imagine it will make a roach's ass worth of difference to Benford, unless he takes an assistant job somewhere else in time to recruit Hollis next year. For Benford, this is meaningless at worst, good news at best (since he might actually coach him if he recruits him elsewhere for 2017).

That's awesome. But, if you think that anyone is going to stop making parking pass jokes just because that situation is in the past... Well, either you haven't called me, or I haven't called you.

So, if I understand right... We have 9 scholarships to give (and that's assuming Fine gets one right away), and 33 hours until Signing Day? Why the hell are we offering uncommitted recruits or guys we're trying to flip blueshirt offers? Are we thinking we can redeem unused scholarships for prizes like tickets at Chuck E. Cheese?

I have no idea who "Odufua" is/was. BUT! Who wants to play a fun trivia game I call: How Many Times Did George Odufuwa Play 38 Minutes (or more) In A Game? Three hints that may help out... 1) Odufuwa was at UNT for a total of 98 games. 2) During that time, UNT had five single OT games, one double OT game, and a triple OT game. 3) It only happened a total of five times in his UNT career. The third one is kind of a giveaway... But, can anyone guess the right answer?

I never saw a message... No PM received, no text message since the contest started. Unfortunately, the 15th of February is also taken. PM me your next best guess and I'll put you on the calendar. And, as anyone participating can assure you, I've been pretty diligent about letting people when their entry is official.

For the record, I do not see official entries from @UNT90 or @Censored by Laurie If you guys made a comment in a thread, I probably missed it. I don't see you on my calendar or in my private messages. Never too late to enter! Four starry-eyed optimists have already seen their entry date go by.

Pretty sure I love you both.

I realized it might not make sense, so I edited while you were typing (apparently) to make my intent more clear. Also, what if we'd shot at 300% instead of just 100%? We'd have won this game, that's what. Gotta work on these things in practice.

I blame poor free throw shooting. We've only hit 9 in this game (as of 1:59 to play). Improve there, and maybe we'd have won this game and maybe be over .500. /mostthreads

It's not the quality of the basketball I'm worried about. It's the quality of the company that I will be avoiding. And that's the last time I'm discussing it.

I've actually talked with RV a number of times, usually (not always) very pleasantly. And though I'm very critical of retaining (not hiring, I've always said that I don't fault him for the initial hire) Benford, I've also been (I think) very reasonable on criticizing vs. praising Rick in the past. As far as participating in the basketball game... I've donated to it twice in the past. And at this point in my life, I'd rather reenact the events of 127 Hours with my own dick than spend an afternoon playing basketball with you and Mark Miller.

I forgot to include him and Ray in my vision of Hell. Best of luck to him in whatever district Lamar is in. I hope they win lots of state championships.

One piece is missing, but I hope we can sign him by the end of March.

I believe that in Hell, I'm chained to a rock at the Athletics Center. Every day when the sun breaks, it's an all day press conference. The same all day press conference. And through everything that follows, terrible Eugene Levy Scrappy pecks at my chest and devours my beating heart, using nothing but his floppy, costume beak and talons. First, Rick Villareal goes to the podium and tearfully announces Johnny Jones is leaving the basketball program to go coach at SMU. This is the easiest torture to bear, because it's a sharp pain, and the presentation ends quickly. Next to the podium is Todd Dodge, who gives a monotone speech about what a wonderful husband and father JJ was, and then does an extended, in-depth video analysis of the 2011 SBC Tournament championship game against UALR to "grade out our performance". I am unable to close my eyes or turn my head away. At the end of his presentation, Dodge collects a urine sample from everyone in the room to test us all for marijuana. The head of the Mean Green Club screws up and puts the wrong name and address labels on every cup of urine. It doesn't matter, because Eric Capper winds up carrying the tray of pee cups out of the room. He lets his attention drift while tweeting at Johnny Quinn that bobsledding is for "pussies and Longhorn fans", and stumbles into me, soaking me with the piss of everyone in attendance. Rick Villarreal returns to the podium to announce that he has hired Tony Benford to replace Johnny Jones. I am unable to close my eyes or turn my head away. But, the pain I feel in my soul briefly blunts the misery of terrible Eugene Levy Scrappy chewing at my heart. Dan McCarney takes the stage for a slideshow presentation titled: "Iowa: Precious Memories". Unfortunately, the slide projector is... not good. We got a model that was rejected by every other college athletic department in the state, and the projector can't get the picture to hit the wall 30 feet away. An A/V technician shows up to replace it with a functional projector... But the A/V Tech is only 5'11" tall, so McCarney refuses to let him on the stage. Instead, McCarney just describes every old photograph in excruciating detail. Then, Coach Mac runs up and down the 3 small stage stairs for 30 minutes while scolding us all for not bringing more friends to watch him do it. The conference breaks for a catered lunch. From Jimmy Johns. And every sandwich is already slathered with mayo. After lunch, we get going again with an hour devoted to the Ritual Worshipping of False Idols. First, the Todd Dodge Football Plan is presented and venerated. It is written in a magnificent rainbow of crayon colors. Next, an athletics department acolyte carries forward the Shanice Stephens Interview Binder. It is a Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper resplendently adorned in rainbows and unicorns. All pray over it, solemnly. Next, the Graven Image of the Emfinger 5-Star Recruit is borne forth. The air fills with the smell of incense and bullshit. Finally, a wise old fan presents the legendary Hayden Fry Vision for a Brighter Tomorrow. Divine word tells that only His Holy Fry-fulness could ever be worthy to look within and attempt to interpret its most perfect wisdom. So, none dare to open it, but many reach out to touch it, hoping that it can heal their illnesses and cure their maladies. It does nothing to heal the damage that terrible Eugene Levy Scrappy has done in devouring my heart. And I'm not able to get very close to it (I'm chained to the rock, remember), but from a distance, it appears to be just a brochure for the Mayflower Transit moving company. After the religious component of the press conference ends, a tearful Rick V announces to all that Tony Benford has officially hired Bill Cosby and Jared Fogle as his first two assistant coaches. Then, Rick hands the microphone back over to Dan McCarney again, this time for a new slideshow entitled: "A Discourse on Winning a National Championship Ring at Florida". While Mac was distracted by Jimmy Johns at lunch, that A/V Tech snuck up and replaced the projector with one that is physically capable of throwing the images against the wall from more than 10 yards distance. Unfortunately, the new projector doesn't work effectively with a 1970's slide carousel, so we get another round of interminable, repetitive descriptions. The speech goes on forever, and it all sounds very similar to the same speech Mac had given before. At one point, while Mac polishes his national championship ring, he breaks it. A woman in the audience tries to console him, and Mac accidentally breaks her neck. As a lynch mob begins to gather, Mike Canales runs up on stage with the Heart of Dallas Bowl trophy. Chico gives it to Mac, and tells Mac all about the bright future they're sure to have together. With Mac happy and distracted, Chico shoots him in the back of the head, sparing him from the wrath of the mob. Immediately afterwards, Rick steps back up to the podium and announces that he's signed Dan McCarney's corpse to an 8 year contract extension. As the day winds down, Eric Capper walks through the audience, handing out a press release for the "Jerry Joans farewell press conference". The flyer is purple ink on black paper, and the date for the press conference is somehow given as 6 days in the past. It refers to us as "North Texas State" and lists the address for Fouts Field. The lights are dimmed, and a mystic steps on stage to conduct a seance. The conjurer summons the Ghost of Tina Slinker, who spends 10 straight minutes laughing in Rick Villarreal's face, then sticks around to play a video game season on NBA Live 16 on Playstation. The Ghost of Tina Slinker goes 35-47 in her virtual video game season, missing the playoffs. Slinker's game is voted into the UNT Sports Hall of Fame as the best performance by a Women's Basketball coach in over a decade. Rick, face streaked with tears, takes the microphone and announces a 10 year home-and-home football series contract with the UNT-Dallas intramural co-ed flag football team. As everyone prepares to leave for the day, an unfortunate announcement is made... Our tickets to exit the building have not been delivered! Rick blames it on the post office refusing to work on Arbor Day, and everyone promises to hand out the exit tickets directly early the next morning. Since we're all going to have to spend the night at the Athletics Center together, the crowd decides to take turns giving their ideal vision for a new Southwest Conference as a way to pass the time. And, as terrible Eugene Levy Scrappy rips out the last pieces of my heart, the last words I hear are Rick Villarreal interrupting someone (who was describing at length how an all-Texas conference could work for everyone) to announce that he's extended Tony Benford to a lifetime contract. With that, the last of my heart is gone. Everything goes dark. And then, my eyes open, and it's morning, and the whole process starts all over again.

Two additional points to add here now that I've been able to get on a real computer and do some research. 1) It is VERY unusual for CUSA teams to play with a lame duck coach. And when I say "CUSA teams", I'm talking about the current 14 members, not teams (like Cincinnati, Marquette, Memphis, and Louisville) that are historically much better and more serious about basketball than CUSA today. So, even notorious washouts like Isiah Thomas, Alan Major, Sergio Rouco, and Ron Jirsa didn't make it to a lame duck season. There is only one clear-cut lame duck I've been able to find among our 13 conference mates since at least our hiring of JJ 15 years ago. Keith Richard went into the 2007-08 season as a lame duck for Louisiana Tech. This is an instance where I think they'd actually wanted to fire him the year before, but couldn't because he won 20 games and made the NIT (in 2007). He'd been the coach at La Tech for 8 years before his lame duck year, 30+ games over .500, two NIT bids, only one career season below .500 in his conference. That would be when he went 8-10 in 2003-04 in a 2-bid WAC, back when it had Tulsa, UTEP, Nevada, and Fresno State. I think they wanted to move on (otherwise, they would have extended him), but they couldn't fire him after 20 wins and the postseason. So they carried Richard over into his last contract year, he lost 20 games for the only time in his La Tech career, and he was allowed to drift out to sea. There are two other possible lame ducks from the past 15 years. One is James Green at Southern Miss and the other is Willis Wilson at Rice. James Green resigned before the end of the season in 2004. Conveniently, early enough to allow Southern Miss to hire Larry Eustachy before the start of the Sweet Sixteen (and much of coaching silly season) that year. It's not clear from anything I can find whether or not he would have had any years left on his contract after that season. Willis Wilson was let go by Rice in 2008 after the worst season in school history (Rice went 3-27 and 0-16 in conference). Wilson was the head coach for 16 years (started in 1992), and was a 5 year assistant and 4 year player for Rice prior to that. I'm not sure whether he was a lame duck in that final season, but all the language in the news articles say he "was not retained" and none mention additional years on his contract (though none mention he was in his last year, either). So, no lame ducks in 8 years. In the past 15 years... Minimum of one, maximum of three. 2) Western Kentucky could shame us into a firing. Ray Harper was hired midway through the season before Benford joined us. This is his 4th full year at WKU, 4th and a half total. The only time Harper hasn't won at least 20 games was his half-season... When he was only the head coach for 19 total games. Back in 2012, the last time we weren't awful, Harper is the one who stopped us one minute short of the NCAA tournament in JJ's farewell game. Harper has 2 NCAA bids, at least one win over a Top 25 team, 3 20+ win seasons in 3 full years... And he may be fired after this season. I just don't think, if Western Kentucky fires a guy with his credentials and results despite only 19 more games as a head coach than Benford, that we could credibly roll into another season with Benford at the helm. With or without an extension.

I think it's more a consequence of personal reputation, and RV's position is going to be what seals it for Benford. You can make a lot of claims about why we didn't fire Benford last year or the year before. But one major factor, and it's obvious every time Rick makes a public statement or answers a podcast question about the basketball team, is that RV is desperate for any way to be able to claim Benford ultimately wasn't a failed hire. The guy has literally deluded himself about the present and the recent past trying to justify not firing Benford already. Put aside the subjective stuff and just look at the counting numbers... Mistaking how long it took JJ to have a winning season, mistakenly saying we won 18 games under Benford in a tenure where we've never even cracked .500... There was a whole thread (on my phone or I'd link it) I started after a podcast appearance last year where Rick had confused himself just enough to make Benford seem barely palatable. Every hire an AD makes is a risk to their own reputation. And Rick's "recent" history (I think @BillySee58 has some figures on hand covering the past decade and a half) is not flattering, so he's been loath to admit the mistake and move on like a real basketball program would. It's personal pride reasons fueling self-delusion or denial. But RV's desperation to see Benford win and salvage his own reputation, which has kept Benford around this long, will also be the end of the line for him. Because extending someone with Benford's history or keeping him and spending a year with a losing lame duck coach is so unusual outside of the absolute dregs of D1 sports, it'll make Rick look foolish. Publicly (among anyone bothering to pay attention), and perhaps more importantly... Among his peers. Obviously, this is my opinion of how Rick will handle the situation... But, the one positive about our godawful history of coaching hires is that you don't have to look far into the past to find an example of a similar dismal situation. Rick handled the Todd Dodge situation almost exactly the same way, and even that guy didn't get a lame duck year. He got fired as soon as it was obvious he couldn't have a winning season in year 4. Since basketball always has the theoretical possibility of a conference tournament win and an NCAA bid, that's not likely to happen mid-year in basketball. But, when the year is over and the record isn't above .500, I'm convinced it's finally going to be the end.

No, I don't think he'll resign... I'm saying we can't bring him back for a lame duck year, and there's no way to sell an extension for a guy who hasn't gotten above .500 in four years. If he doesn't have some sort of miracle run to close out this year that sells an extension of 1-2 years, then he can't realistically coach us next year.

There's no reasonable way Benford comes back without at least a one year extension, and there's no way we extend him even a year if he finishes another season without a winning record. Frazier coming here is great. The right coach could turn this around in a year or two instead of needing three or four. I'm looking forward to looking forward to basketball again.