flyonthewall

There once was an alum named UNT90 Who said the a.d. did not think things seriously He left in a huff When he should've taken a puff Maybe he shouldn't take it so personally?

There once was a man from nantucket When he peed he peed green in a bucket He vowed not to read this board But he came back for more Read one thread and said "f&@$ it"

Geez Tony, if public accounting isnt keeping you busy enough, maybe you would like a part time job in the flooring industry?

FYI the keyboard player for the dirty pesos is Kyle wade smith. Son of former board of regent c. Dan smith.

Nice write up except for the fact that it doesn't mention apogee, he has three grandchildren now, and he is well past 55 at this point.

Unt 90 we are not poor. In 30 days we raised 3 million for basketball. Fire benford crusade fine.... But we are not poor. You need to quit with the we are poor crusade, because it is just not true.

I am not saying that no one said that. I am saying to eliminate a coach because it is the first time he was a head coach would be dumb, and if Rick V. said that he probably said something like "We would like to find someone with head coaching experience, but we are also willing to take a good assistant if available". He found Mike Peterson by calling to ask him if there were any good assistants in the ACC that he thought he should interview, because of their past relationship at TCU and Peterson's success at Wake. Peterson said "Why not me?", and that is how that got started. Vito has no idea what the real truth is. He does no prying to find out. I read some of his articles about things that are "occuring" and just laugh at him. If he went one layer deep in to the spin it would be amazing what he could actually report. So anything vito reports on is either two weeks old news normally or just not the way things really are.

Who told you that? Every good head coach in every sport was an assistant at some point. That is just dumb to say that "only coaches with head coaching experience should apply"

I don't understand what part of the problem is not being fixed. We have removed every excuse every coach could ever have to be successful. Practice facilities, weight rooms, sports medicine facility, upgrades to existing venues, new venues for soccer, volleyball and football. If that is not fixing problems I don't know what is. We had a coach leave in basketball that this athletic director hired. He went to his alma mater LSU. There is no amount of money that could have kept him here. An assistant coach with a track record at some big time basketball programs was hired. He brought with him some assistants with track records as head coaches. You just can't fire a coach after one year. You have to give him a chance. Last season was a failure, complete and total failure. The year before was a failure also though. Mediocre at best in OOC games. Just above 500 in belt play. A good run in the tournament and some good bounces in the draw with Middle getting beat early to make it to the championship game, only to get beat by Western FFFing Kentucky with I believe a losing record (or near .500) in the final. With our all american superstar getting schooled by a 6 11 guy that looked like the second coming of manute bol. Are you saying that year before last was a good year based on preseason hype? Or was it just a signal of what was to come regardless of who was coaching this season? Are you going to say that the all american looked good in that last game against western, with JJones coaching? I had it recorded and when I got home the announcers mention several times about his lack of hustle. I wonder about this every day. Did Johnny know what he had coming back and knew even though he was about the 5th guy that LSU talked to that he wanted to go there? Because if he didn't he might not get another chance?

I question the commitment of our administration also, and because they seem complacent, decided to become part of the solution.

Seriously, we have a small group of alums that are providing the where with all to do these difficult things, like buy out contracts, pay assistant coaches more etc... That is how we paid McCarney et al, and how we paid Benford, et al and Peterson et al. This group watches (watched) the same games you do (did). This group talks about the same things you do (did). This group wants to win as bad as you do or they would not put up the hundreds of thousands of dollars (collectively 7 figures) that it takes (took) to do certain things. In meetings this group talks about how the SCHOOL should be paying coaches salaries etc...and donor dollars should be going to facilities and funding student athlete scholarships. But unfortunately, that is not the way it works here, and it is not the way it works at SMU, TCU, and many other places. We are working to get our student fee in line with our competition. The more you donate, the more we are able to do these difficult things that you are talking about. But to say we do not have commitment is just not fair to a lot of people who are doing everything they can do to make things better for everyone. If I was ever negative about any kid, or put the blame for a basketball season on any kid publicly, then I wish I could take it back. At the same time I do not see any reason to publicly bash on an internet forum any coach, admin, player or anyone else involved in North Texas Athletics. There is a time for "private conversation", and a time for "public conversation". I know you are mad Mr. UNT90, but recruits read this board, and some of the things that you say could be harmful. Some of the things you say leave me saying "Why am I doing what I am doing for our school?" We are not too poor. We are finally tapping the wells of our many very wealthy alums that want exactly what you want. It is been bad in the past, but we are light years ahead of where we were ten years ago. Can you at least admit that? That we are finally in every sport giving our student athletes first class facilities to compete and practice in. That there is no excuse for any coach to not have the tools to come here and succeed? That is the goal. To remove every excuse. Our weight room is not nice enough? B.S. it is as nice as any in the country. Our basketball gym is top notch. Our football stadium is a palace. If a coach cannot win here, he or she should be gone. Period. That is what I believe, and that is what your athletic director believes. And I still think that if Johnny Jones would have been here with this team, the record would have been very similar. Blast me on this if you want to, and I respect your opinion. But we had no one who could shoot from the outside, and it killed our inside game. David

Finally you are pointing jabs in exaaacccctttlllyyy the right direction!!!!!!!! Bingo, our regents.

Not getting, giving.

Well at least you "duded" me. People don't "dude" me in my world. I am crawling back in it for a couple of more weeks until I just can't take any more again.

We prefer fundraising connections form our music and arts departments, which are top notch, apparently. To each their own, I suppose, but I sure wish my alma mater cared about sports like WKU does, much less how every other school in Texas does. Our music and arts departments raise very little money. I have to say you are just wrong on this. And to say your alma mater doesn't care about sports more than WKU is crazy. Our basketball coach left on his own accord, to go back to the one and only job he ever really wanted. There is nothing we could have ever done about that. We could have offered him the same money and he still would have left. Show me how we don't care....By building apogee? Geeze, I freaking care!!!!! When you say your alma mater doesn't care you are slapping me in the face. You and I and the 1500 or say crazy faithfuls just have to keep preaching. We are light years ahead of where we were 10 years ago with infrastructure or "architecture" as John put it in his post. Give people tools to be successful. But to say that your alma mater doesn't care is just wrong. Regents donating millions to athletics, some on record (C. Dan Smith, Ernie Kuehne, Gail Strange) and some off the record because they want it that way, but it is happening. good lord we need some wins badly in football this year!

Change the word "raised" to "pledged" in thirty days. Change the wording to basketball enhancement fund, which included the goal of practice facility, upgrades to scoreboards in super pit, support of student athlete scholarships, and a fund to support future expenditures on coaching either through change or the need to pay more because of conference realignment, then you would would have an accurate article. Change the amount that Ernie donated, then this have been an accurate article. The overall premise is good i guess, but it is full of exagerrations and things that just are not true. The practice facility did not cost three million dollars. Does anyone do any fact checking around there or do they even care? It is true that Ernie was the largest donor, I will give the writer that, the rest is just spin, and for the life of me, i don't know why?

I guess I am just different. I am not saying that this season was not a failure. This season was a complete failure. We underachieved. I talked this thing up for the entire football season. Then I traveled with my wife to Manhattan Kansas and watched us get beat by a division II team???? I am just saying that Tony Benford is the coach of my team, and I see no positives about publicly berating him, or anyone else involved with the athletic program that are doing everything they can do to make our program better. I know what our record was, our athletic director knows what our record was, our president knows what our record was, our board of regents knows what our record was, our students who care about basketball know what our record was. I just see no point in blindly posting and spewing all of this hatred. Coach Benford and his staff are going to do everything possible to make this program into something special. They know better than anyone what is going to happen if they fail. Why not get behind them and support them?

Emmit for the love of god. Get behind this guy. You had an opportunity to talk to him in Hot Springs, did you take it? You drove to Hot Springs to watch this loser, as did I. Why did we do that? I got so pissed off at a stupid muts fan at breakfast talking about "how they hadn't played a game and it felt like they already won judging from the long faces". Wonder how he feels now (unless of course he was only a fan of womens basketball). He is our coach, and he is going to be our coach. Get your arms around it and support. I rate this season an F. A failure, a missed opportunity, but these kids are playing for our school, and these coaches are coaching for our school. If the ship does not get turned around then people are going to get fired. That is reality, but right now these guys are ours and they need our support.

I never said that you didn't support. I never claimed that you were high on meth. Kick, scream, bitch, get on board, get off board, I don't care. You are not doing recruiting or anyone any good with rants. Benford will be here next year.

We are so insolvent that a group of donors led by Ernie Kuehne started and completed a basketball practice facility dedicated only to basketball. A new digital scoreboard was installed in front of the scorers table, and a new sound system and a center hung scoreboard has been ordered for the pit. When you add all of those things up, it does not come close to the 3 million that was donated. What do you think the balance is going to be used for? Lets see, donated to "basketball enhancehment fund". The problem is, no one except 15 people who scream on this board want to see Benford fired. So strap it up and get ready for next season, With Tony Benford as your head coach. I will be there sitting at every home game I can attend. I thought I was part of the solution, by doing everything in my power to give coaches and players tools to succeed. By attending every game I can home or road. But because I support Coach Benford, then I guess I am part of the problem. While you are dogging the best athletic director we have every had, why don't you start with Ernie and put on this board that he is the stupidest donor we have every had, because he supports Coach Benford and thinks he did a good job with what he had to work with this year. Call him out and say how stupid he was to write his SECOND million dollar check to support your university. This is a team sport. In the university setting the team is Coaches, players, fans, donors, university support system. We are finally getting people around here that are supporting financially the way it needs to be supported. They are not on your side right now, and that is why Benford will be here.

I know for a fact with Fran F. it was not about money. The decision was made that Benford was the better choice, with the package of Evans, Lundy etc coming with him. So everyone is correct, if this turns out to be a huge failure, this falls squarely on Ricks shoulders, and I promise you he takes responsibility for his actions and understands the consequences. He has accomplished every goal he ever set out to at this place, including elevating the basketball program. He is going to bring us baseball, (the renderings of the stadium are beautiful according to Don Lovelace). We have to win in FB, MBB, and WBB. He hired Johnny Jones and had no control over him leaving. We have a core donor base in place that within reason will make sure hiring coaches will be about the best candidate, not money. This hire was not about money.

I am saying that if the guy coaching in Baton Rouge would have been here, and the first game of the season our only outside threat breaks his foot, we would have this odah as a center instead of coleman. PJ Hardwick would not be here, insert another back up guard. maybe we have 4 more wins and 4 less losses. But you can make the arguement that there would be a number of people that would be calling for MY GOOD FRIEND JOHNNY JONES job. All theoritcal I know, but you could certainly argue this. I told all of my friends that this was going to be the year. I have egg on face also with all of this. I am made fun of every day at my beloved Denton Country Club about how bad we stink. All of these guys played golf with Johnny when he was here. But here we are. injuries, new system, no shooters.... I can go on and on. Nobody is more dissapointed than me, but here we are. The perfect storm happened in the wrong way, but to condemn the coach is ridiculous. A body of work cannot be judged over 3 months, and I am not going to do it.

Saying this is a mistake hire is as knee jerk as it gets. I will agree that the record is trending the wrong way. But I can't say that it was a mistake hire. 20 wins and a postseason bid next year. More wins the following year and a 11 to 14 seed in the tournament. That is where the bar is set. But this year cannot be the judge of this hire.

I cannot believe I watched the entire game, and didn't miss Keith Coleman one time. hmmmmm.

Right before the second half started, the older ref told us "there is a 50 percent chance that jerk doesn't make it through the game". Take it from someone who has first hand real life experience. They were looking for a reason to t him up or throw him out.