GrandGreen

What in the world would anyone complain about?

www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1800&ATCLID=3736490 I thought a very disappointing Belt meet. Finishing a distance fourth for both women and men IMO was far from satisfactory. NT was slowed by injuries but I'm sure the other teams had similar if not worse problems. Patrick Strong, NT's best cross country runner and at one time NT most heralded track star Brandi Stanfield did not even compete this spring. NT got strong performances by Wiggins, Talley and others as indicated in the write up but in general NT's track program is not competitive with MTSU or Western Kentucky. One of the best NT performances was not even mentioned in any official write-ups and that was Jordan Wehr with a pole vault of 17' 6 1/2" in the decathlon. A mark that is close to the all time record. Kind of an indication of how this meet went, is the performance of board favorite Brock Stickler who had the school record and best in Belt discus throw. He fouled on every attempt in a competition and did not score although his best distance this year was 10 feet better than the winner. I just don't understand with all the athletes in Texas, why NT doesn't dominate the Belt in track. There is just too many events in which NT has has little presence. Men for example had no entrees in the long jump or triple jump and only Sticker on a football ship in all the weight events. It seems that teams like MTSU and WKU manage their scholarships much better than NT, who seems to have no overall plan to develop competitive athletes in all events.

Huh, JJ runs a 3 guard offense (point guard, 2 wings) and he currently only has 6 guards and one of those, Mangrum has a horrible history of injuries. If anything, he has too many front court players; six for only two starting positions.

I keep seeing this quote about Trilli and the seats. Just what did he actually do? What Trilli did was pop off about liking the orange seats in the SP because they reminded him of UT. Fans did not take to that quote then Trilli became the champion of recovering the seats. Note, the seats were badly worn, at least the ones that actually got a little use, and obviously had to be changed soon. The effort with whatever Trilli contributed managed to get funding to replace a few hundred seats from fan donations. The balance of approximately 10,000 seat covers were replaced with school funds. Trilli and staff according to Trilli also painted the dressing rooms. Trilli in my opinion was a con man, and not a very good one at that. Any contribution he had to improving the SP were minimal. To be kind, he was the master of exaggeration. Sorry, to get off on a tangent, but I don't think Trilli deserves much credit for anything at NT other than almost killing the basketball program.

This does make Thomas sound like a better recruit. Official Site

You are right. They have changed the computation to eliminate the effect of students leaving early who are in good standing. While I did not find a clear example, I did find this quote on a NCAA site: Some of the retention increase can be attributed to an adjustment in the APR calculation that allows student-athletes earning a 2.6 grade point average and meeting other academic requirements to transfer without losing the retention point. Historical data reveal that student-athletes fitting this academic profile go on to graduate at rates similar to student-athletes who do not transfer. Thanks for the input, because I was not aware of the change. I don't think Dodge has lost many players due to academics, so improvement should be in line with RV's predictions.

Remember that this so called academic measure is actually more of a penalty for teams with a large turnover of players before graduation. Although, players that leave that are not in good academic standing count twice as much against a program's APR as those with satisfactory performance; the formula is based on the number of players that exit the program prematurely for whatever reason. For example, if you look at recruits from TD's first class that actually started school by my count 8 are gone of which only two are likely academic casualties. Programs going through a lot of change and difficulties such as NT are likely to have much greater turnover than the norm and are punished for this by this APR computation irregardless of the academic issues. By virtue of the APR computation, schools are actually encouraged to place athletes in questionable academic programs and gimme courses. If the NCAA actually wanted to do something, they could greatly limit the number of special admits given to athletes and closely monitor degree programs to ensure they truly consist of college level curriculum. Does anyone know why there is such an inconsistency between the NCAA reports and the NT official site on the results of the football APR? For NT to lose another ship would mean that that last years score would have to be worse than the year dropped from the average which seems unlikely.

Slightly good news, NT actually improved and gained back one ship. Official site

I doubt they can pay him less if they reassign him. Secondly, very seldom does an university actually reassign a coach. It is just not worth it. They tried that with Simon and it certainly didn't work. Putting a disgruntled employee in a position he doesn't want does nothing for the University. In essence these types of clauses are used to negotiate a settlement, not to be reassign head coaches. I doubt NT plays hard ball with any football head coach. They didn't with DD and IMO there were a lot of reasons to argue that he voided his contract for conduct. Most schools don't go that route because they don't need the negative publicity and it tends to scare off potential coaches.

Stephens signs juco guard. Looks like best recruit of spring for the ladies. Official Site

How in the world do you know the University is committed to him? Your second statement about real fans is just plain crazy. Real fans want the best for their team and that may or may not be to keep Dodge after this year. If Dodge has another disastrous year there is no way it would be in the University's best interest to retain Dodge. Some people worry about the cost of a buy out but that would be small compared to the cost of two more seasons like Dodge's first two.

Yes, it is amazing that the worst club in NCAA fb division has not got recruits fighting to get in. I am sure that TD could early sign his whole class but I think there might be a quality issue. This is flogging a dead horse. Anyone who thinks that NT is going to have early success in recruiting is delusional at best. There is very little to sell to recruits at this time. We have a coach fighting to keep his job and a horrible recent record. Yes, NT has a lot to offer but prime recruits are not going to be easily swayed in early recruiting to take a chance on a program in a downward spiral and a head coach that has not proved he belongs in college football. I think TD and staff are better off not signing long shots at this time and waiting to later in the year when hopefully there is more to sell. If TD can turn it around NT should be able with a new stadium on the horizon to substantially upgrade the level of recruits from what can be committed now. If TD does not turn it around and remains the head coach than NT will be basically in the same place they were in late recruiting last year, fighting for borderline players against other poor programs.

Outdoor track season is not over and both teams should do well. However, I am not sure they have the depth to win. I guess it has to do with the limited scholarships but there just seems to be too many events that they have no presence in. The very bad showing in the distance events has greatly hindered them the last two years. Volleyball was a mystery last year. Softball has a chance to break even this year, but the lost of their best player to injury has slowed down their progress. Their total destruction by ULL this weekend shows how far they still have to go. Great strides made by swimming and tennis under new coaches. Both golf teams have first year coaches this year and I hope that bodes well for the future. In the last three years there are new head coaches in w. golf, m. golf, softball, w. basketball, football, tennis, and swimming. Swimming and tennis have certainly substantially improved. Softball seems to be slowly improving. Men's golf finished well with a 3th place Belt finish for a first year coach who inherited a team that was 8th last year and 5th the year before. First year coaches in w basketball and w golf had rough first years. No need to comment on the football situation. Among the experienced coaches, the soccer program continues to excel and the men's basketball team has three straight 20 wins seasons and should be ready for a couple of big years. The track teams generally continue to be in the top third of the conference but in my opinion should have better records. The only sport other than football were the head coach may be in trouble if anyone cares enough, is volleyball. Headrick had a winning record in 2007 but has losing records in three of the last four years with a diaster at 6-22 last year. I don't know what the story was, but NT did not have any players but freshmen from the 2007 team return to play last year.

Article is about UNO finanical stress for their athletic programs, but also provides some insight at what other Belt teams receives through student fees. Link

Link to story I have no idea why Dr. B. agreed to be on such a program. There is just no way to win anyone over when you make that much in this economy. As an aside, one of the side comments on this link stated that UNT is trying to restrict their enrollment to an increase of about 2% a year. I did not know that, but do not disagree it is the thing to do.

Did not know that, I did know his twin brother who played for Kansas was supposed the better football player; but Ronnie disproved that.

How could I forgot Stan who at 6' 71/2 probably was the tallest running back in NT history for Fry.

A few that come to mind. Adrian Awasum in addition to being a great football player also played on the basketball team and is one of the top discus throwers in NT history although like Stickler did not compete much. Mike Guon years ago was on a track ship but ending up starting for the basketball team. Don McGree was a sprinter on the track team. Brian Lucas the 6' 7" quarterback who imo never got a chance with DD, ending up being one of the best Trilli era basketball players. Deterion Woodson a good cornerback was an even better sprinter running a 10.2 100 meters and getting to the NCAA's finals.

I guess no one should post anything relative to recruits because none of them have had a chance to prove their mettle. By the way Burwell not only sit behind the LSU signee but also a 6'1 freshman. Hawkins did not start until her senior year but did play on a powerhouse High School team with two all state players and had an offer from Weber State. I am sure SS sees these girls as being good additions to her team, but her quotes would lead you to believe that she had pulled off the recruiting coups of the year. If JJ had recruited a high school player that averaged 8 points a game or a juco that averaged 5 and did not start, I am sure there would be some concern. As someone who actually goes to the games, I had hoped that SS would pull off some much more high profile recruits than she has in the late period. I see these players more as role players than real difference makers. Hopefully, I am wrong. I am concerned based on these recruits that NT's recruiting is not going too well. Maybe SS's multiple suspensions of players, a point rival coaches probably don't mind pointing out, is not selling well. As far as negativity, there is always the ignore bottom or just don't read the post. Another approach might be instead of complainting about the negativity, actually make a valid counterpoint like your reference to Burwell's recruitment out of high school. A good point but I had rather have evidence that she was highly recruited out of juco.

It does sound good, but the girl apparently did not even start for TVCC. I fail to see how a player who based on partial stats did not average 5 pts or 3 rebound s a game is a great signing. SS's late season recruiting is looking more and more suspect. TVCC Capsule for Juco Playoffs TRINITY VALLEY CARDINALS Location: Athens, Texas Coach: Michael Landers (6th season, 179-18) Record: 25-7 National ranking: No. 23 Last national tournament appearance: 2008 (went 1-2) Regional/district final: Defeated Kilgore, Texas 56-44 Team scoring average: 75.8 Team defensive average: 63.8 Starters: Taylor Booze, 5-6, so., G (9.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg); Deshawna Banks, 5-8, so., G (14.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg); Shareese Ulis, 5-6, so., G (11.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg); Tawatha Tucker, 6-1, fr., C (8.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg); Jasmine Nelson, 6-2, so., C (13.1 ppg, 10.4 rpg). Top reserves: Brittany Brumfield, 5-7, so., G (3.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg); Ashley Grimes, 5-9, so., G (5.1 ppg, 1.6 rpg); Chynna Burwell, 6-4, so., C (4.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg). Noteworthy: This will be Landers last trip to the national tournament. He's leaving to become athletic director/women's basketball coach at Baton Rouge (La.) Community College. His wife, Kenya Larkin-Landers, is a former TVCC player and assistant coach, is an assistant coach at Louisiana State. ... Landers led Trinity Valley to the 2004 NJCAA title.... Nelson will join Landers in Baton Rouge, having signed a letter of intent with LSU. ... Trinity Valley is making its 14th national tournament appearance and has won 11 of the last 16 Region 14 crowns. The Cardinals have won five NJCAA championships -- 1994, '96, '97, '99 and '04. Salina native and current Oklahoma State women's coach Kurt Budke led the Cardinals to the first four titles. They're 37-12 in tournament play.

DRC Story I still don't get it, I would have thought SS could have got much stronger recruits than this one seems.

Sounds like a very strange signing to me by Stephens, who I had hoped would be a great recruiter. A 5'8" outside shooter who only averaged 8 points does not exactly sound like a recruiting gem. She also was held scoreless in the Colorado state high school championship. By the way I doubt her Colorado team would be in the top twenty in Texas. There is hopefully a lot of intangibles she has that are not showing up in the stats.

Looks like a great hire. I can't believe so many on this forum are predicting doom, I think there might be some envy involved. FIU has probably the worst basketball facilities and support in the Belt, they bring in someone who just might change that. Do you think the normal Belt hire would have any better chance than Thomas at FIU. If nothing else, this hire will bring expusure to FIU and the Belt, usually a good thing. FIU has little to lose with this hire, and a potential big upside. It seems to me this is another sign that the Belt as a conference is progressing up the NCAA ladder.

Interesting dilemma developing in the defensive line. New line coach Nelson is preaching that quickness is the name of the game, and basically stated big players are useless unless they have good feet. This coming after NT recruited a bunch of size in the defensive line with 4 players approaching or above the 300 pound level. They may all be quick but the odds are that players that big and available to a team like NT are not going to be both big and fast. I think the defense will be much improved but that can happen and they could still be one of the worst defenses in the nation. I see good talent levels in both the secondary and at linebacker, the defensive line still looks like a problem. I would have thought that out of Russo, Owusu-Hemeng, Cole, Sykes and Brown, NT could have found a good defensive end rotation to go with Gilmore. Obviously, whether do to injury or play done of these players have shown enough and Cantly and Akpunka started in the spring. The defensive tackle position looks even worse as the best player Thomas graduated and apparently the depth is so bad that they played Gilmore a lot in the spring. Playing Gilmore at tackle in the spring makes no sense to me unless they are serious considering using him at tackle again next year. Vito and many posters seem to think that the incoming jucos are the answer to the defensive line problems. I hope they are right but I can't even remember a juco defensive lineman that has come in and did much at NT in their first year since NT moved back into the FB division. The two best, Daniels and Pruitt did not start their first year and I can't remember any that have. I think Riley will be an improvement at QB but there is absolutely no depth. Those that think NT has a chance of improving with any of the other QB's are dreaming. Running back and offensive line should be the strength of the team. There are both quality and quantity available. Again, I wonder why people are so concerned about Gill; he does not weight 300 pounds but he has consistently beat out players that are. Wide receiver could again be a problem area, lots of bodies but no proven play makers. I do think NT could end up with a better overall receiver corp than Dodge's first two years, who excluding Fitzgerald were below average as a group. Based on what I've seen so far, I would think that NT will be better next year; maybe good enough to win two or three games and not get blown out of almost every game like last year. Before I am again branded as being overly negative; I did predict both of the past two years that NT would be able to compete in the Belt. I was not even close and I can't make that prediction again because although there have been a few positive steps taken by Dodge; I am not convinced he can turn this program around.

Jankovich was a promising coach when he was at NT, who did get fired and did not handle it very well. He was fairly successful against Southland Conference squads but not so much when NT moved to the the Big West, a much better basketball league. IMO he was just a little young and inexperienced when hired at NT. In his defense, he was put into an bad position when NT moved to the Big West and was smart enough to know that Helwig scheduling for income philosophy would spell doom. Obviously, firing anyone and hiring Trilli was a big mistake. Another example of bad NT athletic administration decisions, instead of trying to increase funding for basketball with reasonable scheduling and support a good young coach; they decided to play an impossible oc schedule to fund the program. Whether Janks oppositon to Helwigs' scheduling approach or Helwigs' desire to hire his buddy Trilli was the primary cause of his dismissal, it was a bad decision.