GrandGreen

NT vs OU Thoughts Now everyone should know why DD's defense played so soft at the corners. I don't think I have ever seen anyone as overmatched as NT's corners against those OU receivers. NT stopped the runs up the middle, now to work on the pass and outside runs. Those critical of Meager should have to suit up against OU next time. Cox played a good game on special teams. NT fans should lay off Utah State. (Likewise every other team in the NCAA) Those that think that NT's poor defense was just a function of lack of talent should reconsider. That extra 5 yards on kickoffs did not seem to bother OU. Fitzgerald is the real deal. Those that think OU ran up the score, grow up. This was a horrible defeat, I don't care how you spin it. What would the score have been if the team, in TD's termonology, turned colors? TD and staff were taught a lesson they will learn from. The game was all a plot to get SMU overconfident. As hard as it is to believe, according to the TV announcers "team speed" was a factor. I don't like the new uniforms

Not a good start at all. I listened to one game and NT was not competitive. However, those teams are unfortunately in another league. Wichita State last year averaged over 2200 in attendance for volleyball, which is more than NT in men's basketball. To be honest you cannot expect NT with it's cracker-box gym and Belt affiliation to be able to come close to recruiting against this level of programs at this time. It is equivalent to the football team playing the UT and OU's of the world.

Those season tickets numbers can not be right. I don't think NT can sell 3500 more season tickets and only gain about $100,000 revenue. The cheapest season ticket as far as I know is $50. Good article, however; you know that the other Belt coaches are more than a little apprehensive about NT's new coach. At this point he has shown them up with his early commitments. TD recruiting strategy can be debated and the results won't be known until signing day, but if NT holds on and signs the majority of the commits, there will be a lot more pressure on the other Belt coaches.

I didn't think this was a good pick-up when McCoy was supposed to come here, but now it certainly looks a lot better. Once more NT should be very deep at the point.

Surely you are not a NT fan. Jamario had the greatest season ever for a NT running back and one of the best seasons ever by any NCAA running back. He has not played near as well in the last two seasons suffering from a variety of injuries resulting from very questionable coaching, a team that had a difficult time blocking anyone, and probably a physique that is prone to leg injuries. He did by the way gain over 600 yards last year, not exactly indicative of a one year wonder. If JT could reverse his stats and had gained 600+ yards in his first years, 300+yards in his second, and 1800 in his third; everyone would be singing his praises instead of making lame jokes. Apparently, the Internet makes critics and comedians out of a lot of us. But I find your comments more than a little distasteful and totally ignorant. Why do you think he is logging all those amusing miles that you refer to? Could it be that he has an injury that he is trying to mediate to play and help the team? I don't how much JT will be able to contribute this year, but if never steps on the field he is still a NT hall of famer and the third leading rusher in NT history. Now if we can just get a few more of those "one hit wonders" here at NT.

And your point is? Fry took a bad team and won a share of the MVC his first year, I don't remember saying he won the national championship or started a football dynasty in his first year. I will belabor the point and express once again it is not unusual for first year coaches to have success in their first year at a school. IMO it has more to do with the enthusiasm a new coach instills than the x or o's or talent level of the team. As far as talent, the cupboard is not exactly empty when comparing NT players to the rest of the Belt. You have your opinion, I have mine. Most obviously agree with you as most pundits have NT with 1 or 2 wins this season. I have given you a number of reasons why I think NT will be better than projected this year. If you want to label me and others unrealistic because we have a different opinion from the masses, that is certainly OK.

Kidnapping the thread even more, I am still amazed at that 74-75 class that Robbins and Tubbs assembled that Blakeley inherented. In those days the all state teams consisted of 5 players not the ever expanding honorees common now. Melvin Davis and Fred Mitchell were both first team all state and Kenneth Williams was second team at the state highest classification. Can you imagine NT now getting three of the top 10 players in the state? Also in that class was first team Juco All American Terry Bailey and Joe Pride who was the leading juco rebounder in the nation. Carl Jones, one of the best shooting guards in NT history was a transfer who had red shirted the prior year but became eligible with this class. Blakeley would have got even a better deal, if senior to be Bobby Iverson had not decided to skip his senior year. Bobby Iverson was a legitimate high school All American who was probably the most heralded recruit in NT history.

Yes I am serious. but that has nothing to do with OU being scared? Why do you think TD wants to delay announcement of the QB to keep his fans guessing? Yes, it will give NT a slight advantage if OU does not know who the starter is. They will have to study the tendencies and skills of both Qbs instead of focusing on one. Do you think that OU because they are a prohibitive favorites do not bother to scout or game plan the opponent? A taste of reality? You think it is going to surprise somebody that a 40 point dog with a new coach and system will get beat badly by a perennial top 5 team at their home field with their referees. Are you serious?

Why would you want it leaked when TD is obviously trying to keep it from OU as long as possible?

Don't disagree about having a goal to be a perennial top tier program, but frankly It is not easy to recruit to that level being in at a school with virtually no support and in the Belt. We have not had a coach since Gene Robbins who could bring in the top level kids. Some may have been fooled by the Trilli bs but he really recruited one highly sought player that actually played, Chris Davis. His recruiting however, was the best in decades until it was painfully unveiled that he didn't have a clue about coaching a basketball team. I think the jury is still out on JJ, and I think it was very foolish for RV to give him a five year extension based on one year. I do think that his recruiting has improved but frankly his first classes were very suspect. He has hit on a few transfers, but that IMO shows you how far NT has to go to be in the top 20% of programs. Most of these bound backs are at best average players at the highest tier and they transfer down to a Belt program and become "go to" players. To recruit to the level of a top 60, NT is going to have to start out recruiting power conference schools and it is a long, long way from doing that. I hope JJ can turn this program around because at this point there are no other options. NT is not going to eat another contract and JJ is a class individual and will not force the Administration to make a change like a certain football coach. I do have high hopes based on the team's late last year play particularly against Memphis. Memphis came out and expected to coast but at least NT got their attention and made them up their game. I would be very happy to see NT in your next three year time frame become a perennial Belt power and then worry about moving up the food chain. As far as wasting a ship on Hogans only time will tell, but it appears that JJ like most basketball coaches can find a way to remove players that they feel aren't up to team standards. Since the NCAA weakened the rule limiting the number of ships that could be given in basketball, its seems that turnover is rampant. As you know the scholarships are only for a year and although most teams generally give a recruit longer than that to contribute, they don't have to.

What a surprise. Obviously, someone that matters has a much higher opinion of her skill than I did. I wish her the very best.

There is nothing that could prohibit a reporter from writing about a player's academics. It is called freedom of the press. From a practical standpoint being the School and it's representatives are prohibited from divulging that information, it would be difficult to obtain and verify the information unless it was obtained from the player himself. A beat reporter can probably get this data off the record but as stated it would detroy the relationship with the University if he used it.

I stated she was able to recruit foreign players in her last couple of years. Before that I don't remember any foreign players signed that were not already in the USA playing at a junior college or at a prep school. I am sure Prevette was hired primarily because she came very cheap. Tennis is hardly a priority at most schools, but few schools would hire a head coach with zero coaching experience. It is like hiring Mitch Maher to be your head football coach because he was a great player nevermind that he has no coaching experience.

The internet is a perfect place for innuendo, rumor and opinions. However, people using the I have heard comments is not the strongest of sources. Heard from who? Sujay Lama teams were 57-25 in dual matches in the Big Ten. Who do you think NT could have hired that would have better qualifications? Obviously, no one at this point knows if the hiring of Lama will lead to the establishment of a dominate tennis program at NT or if he is another Stacy Stegal. Perhaps you think that Prevette should have been retained. I actually think that Dawna got a raw deal in a fashion. She was hired with virtually no experience and I can guess very little in the way of resources. The building of the new tennis center escalated the prominence of the program and frankly in my opinion she was in way over her head and a change was definitely called for. I do take exception to your implied why would anyone with any talent go to NT. Maybe a name coach and a great facility and a chance to be in on the beginning of very good program and oh yes, a very good University. You stated you would be shocked if Lama produces a winning Belt team. I not sure if you are referring to a winning record in conference or winning the conference, but either way I think the odds have definitely improved for NT success. I think you are very wrong if you don't think the changes that NT has made are going to greatly enhance the program. The coaching change plus the decision that was made when DP was coach to allow NT to do what ninety percent of successful NCAA programs do, rely on foreign players.

Lets see, Lama has just signed what has to be the greatest tennis class in NT history; and you want to pass on unsubstanciated comments and condemn the new coaching staff based on a possible disguntled player. Maybe it is true, maybe not, maybe the player just does not want to put in the effort that Lama demands. I am sure you know there are plenty of very successful coaches that are far from popular with their players. As far as the former coach, she did not produce a Belt competitive team and had plenty of years to do so. Maybe she did not have the support from the university to succeed. I would not know, however there are many people who have been replaced both in sports and industry because they did not produce, whether it was fair or not. I think I will give Lama at least a year or two with his own recruits before I am too critical.

Great news. I have always thought Banks has the most potential of all NT offensive linemen. He has yet to come close to filling that potential but at the very least should provide quality depth where it is needed the most. Ross who played te last year and now is apparently at dl weight is going to be an interesting player to watch. With his size and speed, he could develop into a star quality defensive lineman.

I think last year players that chose not to return may have concluded that their chance to play would be slim. I wonder why it takes NT so long to announce these signings. They have been on the NT roster for weeks and probably signed lone before that. I doubt the new staff cares much about mid major ratings. I thought it was rather lamb when the swimming coach last year touted NT being rated in this poll. As stated it does not even include all the schools that by whatever criteria have been relegated to Mid-Major status. Anyone have any guess on what NT seeding will be this year? My early completely ignorant guess. 1. Ranaganathan 2. Cruz 3. Franca 4. Joubert 5. Moreton 6. Wilhelm

I guess you are a fan of the DD philosophy related to playing the "big" boys, collect the pay check and try to keep the score down. In an athletic contest above the pee-wee level, you always go in for the win no matter what the odds are. Frankly, I had rather have a team that played to win and loses by 70 then a team that entered the game with a "no chance" attitude. I am playing you a little, I really don't think you are advocating less than full effort to win by the team. I just abhorred DD's game plan for this type of games. IMO Dickey did not want to waste any emotional capital on NT at OU type of games and thus gave up the only advantage a big underdog has. DD did not want to stress a game that he though NT did not have a chance at winning and did nothing to obtain the emotional high that most teams have when playing a top tier team.

DD took many risks in recruiting. Players like Gilmore are only here because they represented academic risks the "Bigs" thought were to great to take a chance on. We could make a list of DD's recruits that were big time talents but never or seldom saw the field because of academic issues. This is obviously not just a factor in DD's recruiting, but a even greater part of some of our Belt competition recruiting strategy. One problem is that some other Belt schools seem to be able to keep more of this type of recruit in school. It would be very disappointing if Gilmore does not make it as he was one of the players TD pointed to as having a big spring. The good news is that TD is not going to have to rely on taking the sane risks as DD to get quality players.

I guess it goes with the QB position, but there was a lot more wrong with the last two NT teams than Meager or any other NT quarterback. Everyone of the returning QBs had some good moments but all had more bad ones. I saw bad decisions made by all the QB's usually running for their lives or eating the ball after the receivers failed to get open in DD's very limited passing game. Meager seems to take the blunt of fan abuse which I have never understood. No one harps on individuals in the offensive line who were continually beaten, the interior of the defense which leaked like a sieve in many games or the corner-backs who played so soft almost guaranteeing first downs for the opponent on any short out pattern. I really don't care who is the QB other than I guess you had rather, if all things are even, have the younger players develop because they have more years to contribute. I trust TD will make the right decision and I am confident he will get competent play from the Quarterback. The question is can he find the QB that can be a huge difference maker and elevate the whole program.

Don't have that much concern about the front-court. Basically the same rotation as last year only a year more experienced. Don't see how the loss of Jackson or Edwards hurts as neither played any significant minutes. Yes an injury could hurt but it could at any position especially with only 10 eligible scholarship players. I guess if JJ had been that worried about depth or practice players, he could have retained Jackson, Edwards and Sturns.

My guess is that the starting guards will be Dennis, Bell and Thomas. Mangrum, McCoy and White will be reserves. Doesn't look bad other than no one other than Bell has proved anything at the division 1 level. I think NT has as good a chance as anyone winning the Division if not being the overall Belt champion. I don't believe NT would have beat Memphis with better backup point. It would have been closer but Memphis basically coasted to the victory down the stretch.

McCoy was a three star recruit. I believe his failure to qualify will hurt the team. Last year, Curtis Muse and now McCoy didn't qualify. NT will probably still be better at point than last year but this puts the squad at only 11 scholarship players versus the maximum of 13 unless there are additions for this year which doesn't seem likely. I hope the freshman White is over his injury problems and that JJ gets some major commits in the early period.