MeanGreen61

Fans show up for Selection Sunday Adam Rosenfield Issue date: 3/13/07 Section: SPORTS A packed crowd of students, alumni, fans, administrators and future students in the athletics center listened as the NT men's basketball team's seeding in the NCAA Tournament was announced on ESPN. The Mean Green enters the tournament for the first time since 1988 as the No. 15 seed and plays the University of Memphis Tigers, the Conference USA champion and the No. 2 seed in the South Region, 11:30 a.m. Friday in New Orleans on CBS. "It was always a dream of mine to take over a program," said head coach Johnny Jones. "You want to find a group of young men who will believe in your system, and this team has done it to its fullest potential. Mean Green basketball is alive and well." Jones said he was concerned about where to have the Selection Sunday party for attendance reasons, but didn't expect a turnout of more than 300 people. "I wasn't going to have it at my house," Jones said. New Orleans is a familiar place for Mean Green fans because the football team made it to four-straight New Orleans Bowls from 2001-2004. The football team also played Memphis in the 2003 New Orleans Bowl, losing 27-17. Fans held their breath as each of the 16 seeds were announced. "I was definitely feeling the mood of the crowd," said Josh Ness, Highland Village junior and Student Government Association presidential candidate. "I'm happy we don't have to play any of the No. 1 seeds, and I think we stand a really good chance at beating Memphis." The overall No. 1 seed is the University of Florida in the Midwest Region, followed by the University of North Carolina in the East Region, Ohio State University in the South Region (NT's region) and the University of Kansas in the West Region. Five Texas teams qualified for the tournament, including the University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech University, Texas A&M University at College station and Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi. The Selection Sunday party began at 4 p.m., as Athletics Director Rick Villarreal went through some administrative items and fans watched the conclusion of the Texas-Kansas Big 12 Championship game. The basketball team was then introduced to a rousing ovation. "It's lovely to get some support from fans," said junior forward Keith Wooden. "Out of all the spots we could play at, this is the best spot, as it gives our friends and family a chance to come." NT received an allotment of 550 tickets at $50 a ticket. Plans for student packages were also in the works. "Every kid grows up wishing they could play on this level," said sophomore forward Harold Stewart. "We're happy we're here, but we're not done yet." Plans were made to leave Thursday morning, with no return date set. If the Mean Green wins Friday, it will play its second-round game Sunday against the winner of the University of Nevada at Reno-Creighton University game. "This is a great way to start off Spring Break," said NT President Gretchen Bataille. "This is an incredible group of young men, and the great chemistry led to an excellent year. We gotta go all the way."

Mean Green with an ATTITUDE. I'm wondering if the 'Spring Break' will have most of our players doing voluntary workouts & studying the new system instead of playing beach ball. Me thinks this team can be a pleasant surprise for us and an unpleasant surprise for opponents this season!

6 of 13 conference schools have teams in post season play. MEN North Texas - NCAA South Alabama - NIT LADYS Middle Tennessee - NCAA Louisiana-lafayette - NCAA Western Kentucky - WNIT Arkansas State - WNIT Not Bad...

UNT starts Spring practice today Dodge, Mean Green begin working on field today 11:08 PM CDT on Monday, March 12, 2007 Brett Vito/Staff Writer Ever since Todd Dodge arrived at North Texas in December, Brandon Jackson has spent a lot of time talking about his new head coach — frequently with people he doesn't even know. "When I go to the mall and have my North Texas stuff on, people will stop me to ask about coach Dodge," the senior wide receiver said. "That's how I know that people are excited about coach Dodge and the season." The experience has been a common one for UNT players and the new coaching staff, which will take the next step in the transition to a new era in the history of the program today with the beginning of spring practice. UNT will have its first official workout under Dodge at 6:30 p.m. at Fouts Field. The Mean Green will practice again on Wednesday and Friday before taking a week off for spring break. UNT's workouts will resume on March 28 and culminate with the spring game at 3 p.m. on April 22 at Fouts Field. UNT's spring session will be the most anticipated in the recent history of Mean Green football thanks to the arrival of Dodge, who left arguably the most successful high school program in the country at Southlake Carroll to try to revive a UNT team that went 5-18 over the last two years. Dodge has been on the banquet circuit drumming up support for UNT and preparing to install new offensive and defensive philosophies since a few days after he led Carroll to the last of four Class 5A state titles last season. "I definitely sense a feeling of excitement around the program and the most important people that is true of is the players," Dodge said. "They have a little sparkle in their eyes right now. Everyone on this team has a new beginning." UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal attributes the buzz around the program to Dodge's efforts to connect with the Mean Green's fan base. "There is a very positive feeling with our coach out speaking all the time about what he feels can be done here," Villarreal said. "The players are echoing that feeling. When they are out in the public saying those things it has a natural way of creating excitement." Part of that excitement is due in large part to the offense Dodge will install this spring. UNT used a ground-based attack that produced a pair of national rushing champions under former head coach Darrell Dickey but is now turning to a spread offense that features the passing game under Dodge. UNT will also return to the 4-3 defense after playing in a 3-4 last season. "I am really excited about the offense and throwing the ball around," Jackson said. "We have been learning a lot. We can't wait to get out there and see how it will come together." UNT will take on that task in what the Mean Green's players expect to be a totally different atmosphere. "Everything is a lot more enthusiastic and positive," senior defensive end Jeremiah Chapman said. "It's been inspiring to be with coach Dodge and his staff. It's nice to have a proven winner here." UNT's fans are just as anxious as the players to see if Dodge's winning ways will translate from Carroll to UNT. "I have been around North Texas football since 1985 and I have never seen more excitement about the program," UNT booster and fan Curtis Clinesmith said. "To get coach Dodge to North Texas shows things are going the right way. It shows a commitment to the program." Briefly … UNT offensive linemen Josh Alexander and Jack Crumes and defensive lineman Kenneth Okonkwo will all miss spring practice with injuries. BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com. UNT's three key questions The following are three key questions UNT must answer during spring football practice that will begin today. Who's Dodge's quarterback? One of the more intriguing position battles of spring practice will be at quarterback. The Mean Green has three players who have started at some point in their careers in Woody Wilson, Matt Phillips and Daniel Meager. All three will start on the same level as redshirt freshman Nathan Tune in a position battle Dodge has declared open. "I have not seen a ball come out of a quarterback's hand yet," Dodge said. "Being a quarterbacks coach, I am very interested in that." How will UNT's defense shape up? UNT will return to a 4-3 alignment this season after playing in the 3-4 last year. UNT didn't have an abundance of depth along its defensive line last year and will be looking for players to step forward this season. How well will UNT protect the quarterback? UNT lost a pair of senior starters in tackle Joel Foster and guard Dylan Lineberry, one of the Mean Green's best overall players, after last season. UNT will do a lot more pass blocking with several new linemen. How UNT adapts will be critical to the Mean Green's success. UNT practice schedule UNT's practices are open to the public. The following is a schedule: March 13 — 6:30 p.m. practice, Fouts Field 14 — 4:30 p.m. practice, Mean Green Athletic Center 16 — 3:30 p.m. practice, Mean Green Athletic Center 28 — 4:30 p.m. practice, Mean Green Athletic Center 30 — 3:30 p.m., scrimmage, Fouts Field April 2 — 6:30 p.m. practice, Fouts Field 4 — 4:30 p.m. practice, Mean Green Athletic Center 5 — 6:30 p.m. practice, Fouts Field 9 — 4:30 p.m. practice, Mean Green Athletic Center 11 — 4:30 p.m. practice, Mean Green Athletic Center 13 — 3:30 p.m. scrimmage, Fouts Field 16 — 4:30 p.m. practice, Mean Green Athletic Center 18 — 4:30 p.m. practice, Mean Green Athletic Center 20 — 3:30 p.m. practice, Fouts Field 22 — 3 p.m. Spring Game, Fouts Field

LOCAL NEWS UNT ticket allottment going fast 11:41 AM CDT on Monday, March 12, 2007 By Monty Miller Jr. / Staff Writer Tickets to see the University of North Texas men’s basketball team play the University of Memphis Friday in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament are selling out fast, as hundreds of area alumni and fans plan to make the trip to New Orleans to see the team play. The NCAA allotted the Mean Green only 550 tickets for the event, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday, and ticket agents expect those to be gone by Tuesday. Tickets are $50 per day. Tickets orders are accepted online, but ordering the ticket will not guarantee that the ticket will be available, said UNT season ticket manager Jackie Vaughan Monday. “Our priority goes to our donors and season ticket holders and then to the general public,” Vaughan said. Tickets are also available by phone or in person at the UNT ticket office. The game will be played at New Orleans Arena. A team hotel has been designated for UNT: the Astor Crown Plaza on Canal Street in downtown New Orleans. North Texas defeated Arkansas State to win the Sun Belt Championship, 83-75. That win earned the team its second-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament. The first came in 1988, when UNT lost to North Carolina in the opening round. MONTY MILLER JR. can be reached at 940-566-6875. His e-mail address is mwmiller@dentonrc.com .

Well stated Deep.

UNT NCAA tickets selling briskly 02:19 PM CDT on Monday, March 12, 2007 By MONTY MILLER JR. / Denton Record-Chronicle Tickets to see the University of North Texas men’s basketball team play the University of Memphis Friday in Round 1 of the NCAA Tournament are selling out fast, as hundreds of area alumni and fans plan to make the trip to New Orleans to see the team play. For room reservations at Astor Crown Plaza, the team hotel, call 1-800-684-1127. The NCAA allotted the Mean Green only 550 tickets for the event, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Friday, and ticket agents expect those to be gone by Tuesday. Tickets are $50 per day. Tickets orders are accepted online, but ordering the ticket will not guarantee that the ticket will be available, said UNT season ticket manager Jackie Vaughan Monday. “Our priority goes to our donors and season ticket holders and then to the general public,” Vaughan said. Tickets are also available by phone or in person at the UNT ticket office. The game will be played at New Orleans Arena. A team hotel has been designated for UNT: the Astor Crown Plaza on Canal Street in downtown New Orleans. North Texas defeated Arkansas State to win the Sun Belt Championship, 83-75. That win earned the team its second-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament. The first came in 1988, when UNT lost to North Carolina in the opening round. E-mail mwmiller@dentonrc.com

Big Easy means big fun for UNT By TROY PHILLIPS Star-Telegram Staff Writer The North Texas contingent celebrates the team's announcement in the NCAA Tournament field and a matchup with Memphis. DENTON -- Several hundred more people in green packed into the Mean Green athletic center's special-events room Sunday than occupied the stands in Lafayette, La., at Tuesday's Sun Belt Conference championship game. It appears UNT's fans have gotten the message: This really is happening. Assigned a No. 15 seed, UNT (23-10) was dispatched to New Orleans for the first round of the NCAA Tournament and will face No. 2 Memphis (30-3) at 11:30 a.m. Friday. Off the bat, it won't be easy for one of the best teams in UNT history. Memphis, ranked fifth in both polls, is on a nation-best 22-game winning streak. Heavy speculation that UNT would garner a No. 16 seed or be put into Tuesday's play-in game in Dayton, Ohio, for the bottom two seeds, fell by the wayside as the four regions were announced. As the No. 16s and 15s went by one by one, the elbow-to- elbow packed house at UNT threw up cheers and loud sighs of relief. It came down to the South Region, the last announced, and No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 16 Central Connecticut flashed up to a roar. Many in attendance didn't seem to realize that in Memphis, UNT drew about the toughest No. 2 seed it could get. "They're a program, for the most part, that we're very familiar with," said UNT coach Johnny Jones, who was interim head coach at Memphis in 1999-2000 after two years as associate head coach. "So I guess that's a good thing for us." Jones said he's gotten to know Memphis coach John Calipari well, so the Tigers will know a little about UNT, too. Both teams use three-guard lineups that funnel the offense through the backcourt, with inside games that rely on rebounding. For UNT, the New Orleans connection almost fits too well. Jones is from DeRidder, La., in the southwest part of the state and played at LSU. His phone rang nonstop Sunday, friends from the New Orleans-Baton Rouge area vowing to offer support for UNT. As a tournament destination, UNT will be in familiar territory, with the Sun Belt Conference headquartered in New Orleans and nearby UNO being a Sun Belt member school. "That's the [site] we really wanted to be at," UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said minutes after challenging every fan in the room to get over to the ticket office and start booking travel. UNT, involved in 14 games (7-7) that were decided by four points or fewer, doesn't look or sound ready to shy away from its big moment. "We know we're the underdog, but we're excited right now," guard Michael Sturns said. "We're going to give it all we've got. Being so close, it'll be great if our friends and family and our fans can come and support us. We really feed off that." NORTH TEXAS VS. MEMPHIS, 11:30 A.M. FRIDAY Troy Phillips, 817-390-7760 tphillips@star-telegram.com

Here's the thread that got their wet diapers twisted. Johnny Jones on Bham radio http://www.ncaabbs.com/forums/memphis/phpb...pic.php?t=62773

Memphis -18 vs North Texas. http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-basket...odds/las-vegas/

There's probably a logical explanation. Doubt there was any conspiracy or sinister plan to hoodwink fans into gathering at the AC.

Pleeze do not pour salt in our wounds

Here's the post from the Belt board by Manzano Wolf It was announced on CBS Evening News today that on Monday there will be a » story about the Marine that plays for the Mean Green. The national news » this evening showed him and gave NT some great publicity.

A 15th seed may be possible. A 14th is really a stretch & very doubtful.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/...8.2cea4918.html

Gotta say our team didn't go to Lafayette to play in the tournament, they went with a mind-set that they would WIN. Saw the "finish" shirts they wore in other articles. Then read about this 'net practice' that took place before they left. It's a wonder they didn't 'practice' receiving the trophy........or maybe the did ! North Texas head coach Johnny Jones wanted his team to have a vision of its future before leaving for the quarterfinals of Sun Belt Conference tournament last week, so he had the Mean Green finish practice the same way he wanted to end the event. UNT cut down the nets at the Super Pit. “You have to paint that picture for your team of what is out there,” Jones said. “If we do the small things, this is what is going to happen.”

Beleive Tulsa is playing Tulane tonite. Should be a Tulsa win giving Rice & Tulsa 2-0 records in the CUSA tourney and helping us.

Owls beat a pretty good UCF team 53-51.

Amen. Regardless of rating/ranking the conference champs should have an auto bid without a play-in game.

Gotta love the title of the article. Mean Green Machine Justin Howerton of North Texas clowns around while cutting down the nets after the Mean Green won the Sun Belt tourney.

They did it Lance Thomas Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: SPORTS The Mean Green is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 19 years after last night's 83-75 win over Arkansas State University Indians in the Sun Belt Conference finals in Lafayette, La., a mark NT has not reached since the 1987-88 season. "I am very excited for our basketball team, our program, the city of Denton and our university," head coach Johnny Jones said in a post -game press conference broadcast on KNTU-FM, 88.1. "This is something that we have been pushing for for a long time. It is something that we talk about all the time in practice, and everyday in our meetings. Not just talking about having an opportunity to play in championships but having an opportunity to win and we are very blessed and fortunate to be sitting here today." Senior guard Calvin Watson led the Mean Green down the stretch with 24 points, shooting 6-7 from behind the arc. The high level of play for Watson during the Sun Belt Conference Tournament earned him the tournament's most valuable player. "This win is what we play for," Watson said in a post game press conference broadcast on KNTU-FM, 88.1. "You can't take anything away from Arkansas St. Those guys are a very close-knit group. They play hard, they defend, and they shoot the ball really well." Junior guard Ben Bell also took home some hardware for the Mean Green, being named to the all-tournament team. In the game last night, Bell put up 10 points and five assists, but in the previous two games, Bell dropped 15 points to help him earn the honor. Senior guard Rich Young added 15 points and five assists, contributing to the NT win. "We have been talking about it [reaching the NCAA Tournament] all year," Young said in a post game interview broadcasted by KNTU-FM, 88.1. "That was our goal from the beginning. From the two-a-days, and all the preseason work that was our goal and we finally accomplished that." Young received the starting nod from Jones because senior guard Kendrick Davis had a stomach flu. Davis did not play in Monday night's game but received limited minutes last night. Davis however did not put up any points in the game. The win over Arkansas State gives the Mean Green 23 wins on the season, marking a school record. "I'm happy to be a Mean Green," junior forward Keith Wooden said in a post game press conference broadcast on KNTU-FM, 88.1. "I happy to play for Coach Johnny Jones, it's the reason I came here. I love NT, I mean I wouldn't trade it for the world so I am ecstatic about it." The Mean Green wait for selection Sunday coming up this weekend to find out where exactly its first round game will be held. Probable sites would be either New Orleans or Chicago.

Lifted this from another thread. Prez celebrating with students & fans ? Mingling with the masses ? Gotta love It ! UNT President Gretchen Bataille celebrated the championship and tournament bid Tuesday night inside the UNT Lyceum with students and fans. “It goes to show that if you do it right, you can win,” Ms. Bataille said. “I’m excited about this team.”

“I just think it was one of those games where the refs let the game get real physical,” Banks said. “We had one of those games where you couldn’t look for the call, you had to go on. ... +++++++++++ “They pressured him into a lot of quick shots,” Nutt said. “They tried to muscle him and they got away with a lot of hacks, with a lot of hand checks, a lot of holding, and it wore him down. He spent a lot in the last couple of days, too.” JONESBORO SUN ARTICLE http://www.jonesborosun.com/story.php?ID=26475

You can buy an education, but intelligence isn't included.