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From the DRC: Smith undergoes surgery on shoulder Junior forward Will Smith had an operation to repair his left rotator cuff on Friday. Smith said he had been playing with the injury since late in his freshman season. According to Smith, he can resume weight lifting this summer and should be cleared for full contact by September.

I'm impressed. Both you guys seem to know your hoops and players. So, here's the real questions for you: Will UNT be better next season? How much can Hopkins and Will Smith, if both are recovered from their injuries, plus Mitchell, the LSU transfer, and the other returnees improve our record?

I couldn't make it up to Denton for this; can anyone that did go say how it went or what was the attendance? Hoops banquet article

I agree that a committment should have some penalty if it is broken, and for the coach too if he leaves. Too many coaches can just walk away from their contracts and now players are wanting to do the same thing.

I believe he will have to sit out a year after he transfers, Murray St. is D-1. It's not like football where a 1-A can go to 1-AA and not sit out.

That's not good. I can understand losing a kid to a Big12 or SEC school, but not to PV.

Sports - AP Coach Roy Williams Returns Home to N.C. By DAVID DROSCHAK, AP Sports Writer CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Roy Williams returned home to North Carolina, hoping to win the national championship that eluded him for 15 seasons at Kansas. The basketball coach, who grew up in the North Carolina mountains and learned his craft as an assistant to Dean Smith, resigned as the Jayhawks' coach Monday to take the job at his beloved alma mater. "I was a Tar Heel born. When I die, I'll be a Tar Heel dead. But in the middle, I have been Tar Heel and Jayhawk bred, and I am so, so happy and proud of that," Williams said during a news conference inside a practice gym at the Smith Center, before a crowd of cheering boosters. Smith and former coach Bill Guthridge stood nearby, and the Tar Heels' players wore suits and sport jackets. Outside, a crowd of students gathered, and they could be heard cheering before the announcement. Williams met with his Kansas players in Lawrence earlier in the day to inform them of his decision. He left Allen Fieldhouse nearly in tears, and later flew by jet to Chapel Hill. "Other than serious injury or death to my family, I've never had anything more difficult than what I've been through this afternoon with my team, and telling those 13 young men that I was leaving them," he said at the news conference. The decision came one week after Kansas lost to Syracuse in the NCAA (news - web sites) championship game in New Orleans. Williams replaces Matt Doherty, who resigned April 1. Williams returns to North Carolina three years after rejecting an offer to take over the Tar Heels' storied program. When Doherty resigned, there was immediate speculation that Williams would be the front-runner, but he angrily refused to answer questions about the job after the loss to Syracuse. Williams took the Kansas job only a few months after Larry Brown coached the team to the 1988 national title. After going 19-12 in his first season, Williams guided the Jayhawks to the NCAA tournament 14 straight times. The fourth-fastest coach in Division I history to reach 400 victories, Williams (418-101) won nine conference championships and took the Jayhawks four Final Fours, including two appearances in the title game. "It's sad for the program and the players who are here," said Jeff Boschee, who graduated from Kansas last year and attended Monday's half-hour meeting. "It's tough for them." Other players had different reactions. Wayne Simien, who dislocated his shoulder in January and later had season-ending surgery, appeared angry after the meeting. "I gave my right arm for him, literally," said Simien, wearing a sling. At North Carolina, meanwhile, there was elation. A school that saw Williams leave as a highly regarded assistant now welcomes him back as one of the most respected coaches in the country. "This has been a very, very long process," UNC freshman Sean May said. "It's good to finally have a coach — and a great one at that." Williams played for Smith as a freshman with the Tar Heels during the 1968-69 season and was his assistant from 1978-88. During that time, North Carolina advanced to the national title game in 1981 against Indiana and won the championship the following season, when Michael Jordan hit the winning shot. Doherty, a former assistant to Williams at Kansas, had been coach at Notre Dame for just one season when he was hired at North Carolina, after Williams turned the school down. Doherty, who played for the Tar Heels in the early 1980s, had a terrific first season on the sideline, winning AP's national coach of the year award in 2001. But the Tar Heels slipped badly the next season, going a program-worst 8-20. Doherty's young team went 19-16 this season but missed the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. Doherty also was criticized for alienating some players and athletic department staff. Williams' fierce loyalty to his players kept him at Kansas when he was first offered the job in Chapel Hill, and many Jayhawks fans hoped he would stay in Lawrence for good. In June 2000, Williams spent an agonizing week following the retirement of Guthridge, who had succeeded Smith. Williams was forced to choose between two programs that desperately wanted him. After a weeklong vacation at his home in South Carolina, and a day spent in Lawrence thinking it over, Williams announced his decision to 16,000 Kansas fans at Memorial Stadium. "I'm staying," Williams said simply. Given a second chance at North Carolina, he decided to go. "The last time I decided to stay, it was because I thought it was the right thing," Williams said Monday night. "This time, I decided to leave because it was the right thing." Smith talked to Williams, his close friend and golfing buddy, about the job last week. On Wednesday, Kansas fired athletic director Al Bohl, with whom Williams had a chilly relationship, but the school said the move was not made to placate the popular coach. That same day, North Carolina notified Kansas that it intended to speak with Williams about its coaching vacancy.

The coach is forming a strong team foundation... North Texas Softball

Do tough teams want to schedule UNT just because we are a new program? Has it been hard trying to get those same tough teams to come to Denton for a return game? And finally, where will the team play in 2004 and will the UNT field be ready by the 2005 season? thanks

Yes, Erskin blew an easy layup, but he got to play in a final-four game so he will still have some good memories from his college days. From Trilli-ball to Final-four, not many see the lows to the highs like that in their career.

That's a pretty tough schedule, especially some of those OOC games. The conference schedule looks like only nine games, four at home? I thought Ark. St. was going to field a new team next year too? It will be good to have a spring team sport.

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I liked the movie but thought the storyline wasn't realistic. Willis' mission was to go get a female doctor and bring her to safety. He had her on the helicoptor; mission accomplished right? No, Willis, after feeling sorry for left-behind people, returns her, himself, and his squad to the jungle to try to walk out. He ends up getting several of his men killed for his romantic romp. Willis' military career would have been over had that happened in real life. 2 stars out of 5 stars for bad script.

You may know this already but Collin County Com. College (Plano) this week elimated it's baseball and softball programs. It's effective after this season to save budget $$. They may have some players that might help UNT's program. CCCC Softball web site

Won't happen; that would make them appear as though they are the Flagship of the Texas State University System, which they are not. SFA and other schools in that system will oppose the change, as well as other Texas schools. Look for maybe "Texas State Univ at San Marcos" or something like that instead.

Who said a $50 million athletic budget couldn't buy much?

Coach Deane couldn't have been happy when a former basketball coach like Tubbs became the AD. Now he's been replaced by him, even after he led Lamar to the Dance in 2000. Lamar Athletic Site article about Tubbs

Ethan B. Szatmary: Oh yeah, baby 03/19/2003 Ethan B. Szatmary As Dick Vitale would say, "Oh yeah, baby!" It’s tournament time, and my mind is racing faster than Dickey V’s mouth after a triple espresso. After suffering my first tournament pool loss in three years last season, I decided to go to a few experts to help with this year’s brackets — area coaches. What did I learn? Kentucky, Kentucky, Kentucky. The closest any Denton area team came to the tournament was a little dissing from Dickey V, but that doesn’t mean the Denton Record-Chronicle staff isn’t ready for some serious hoops starting Thursday morning. When attacking Auburn’s inclusion into the tourney over Boston College — the winner of the Big East, East Division regular season — Vitale said: "Auburn played a bunch of cupcakes in the early season schedule — Wofford, South Carolina State and North Texas State." After calling the Mean Green by its old moniker in the early Sunday SportsCenter, Vitale had his facts straight by the late night edition and was calling UNT a cupcake by its rightful name. While Vitale may have misnamed UNT, he still had the record straight, as the Mean Green’s 7-21 record qualifies for no postseason status other than patsy. While Vitale’s lack of faith in the Mean Green may have stung, it didn’t stop UNT head coach Johnny Jones from giving his two cents worth about the tournament. As an LSU and Southeastern Conference alum, Jones went with Kentucky (29-3). "Defense wins championships, and they’re playing as we well as any team in the country right now. I think they’ll be cutting down the nets." Jones added that he thinks Texas (22-6) can make a run to the Final Four, but only if they can get by his Tigers. "They [the Longhorns] have to go through LSU in the second round, and that won’t be easy," he said. "They’re a veteran team that shoots the ball well, and they beat Arizona (25-3) this year. If Texas can get past LSU, then I like them to get to the Final Four." Jones added that No. 5 seed Mississippi State is a dangerous sleeper in the East bracket. Not only did the Bulldogs (21-9) beat Oklahoma, 54-45, in the early season, but they’re playing their best basketball right now. Mississippi State was the first Southeastern Conference team to play Kentucky tough this season in losing the SEC title game, 64-57. While TWU head coach Devin Gabbard handles women’s basketball, he didn’t have any qualms weighing in on the men’s tournament. Like Jones, he picked Texas and Kentucky. "To be really honest with you, I think Texas has the easiest run at it," Gabbard said. "Whoever comes out of Arizona’s bracket [the West region] will be good and beat down, since that bracket has so many good teams with Illinois (24-6), Duke (24-6) and Kansas (25-7). Kentucky or Texas has the easiest route, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see either one of them win it all." As far as local high schools goes, it comes as no surprise that Calvary Academy is pulling for Kentucky, as well. After all, assistant coach Cameron Mills has two national championship rings he won with the Wildcats. Liberty Christian head coach Mark Knize has a personal reason for picking the Wildcats, too. He’s worked a couple of summer camps with Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith. "He gets the most out of his players," said Knize. "Plus, when we met, he wasn’t like a big time college coach. He was like a high school coach — humble and approachable." If these coaches are right, then Kentucky is the team to pick. The problem is, everyone is picking the Wildcats to win. So in order to win the tournament pool, one has to pick some sleepers in the rest of the brackets or hope the Wildcats get upset. Tip No. 1: Fill out more than one bracket. In one bracket, pick the favored team — in this case Kentucky. In the other bracket, pick a longer shot. Texas would be a good one, since Gabbard is probably right and they have the least competitive bracket. However, there are a lot of ‘Horns fans here about, so that’ll be the second most picked team this year. Tip No. 2: Pick some sleepers for first round upsets and one sleeper to the Final Four. Last year, both Indiana and Missouri were surprise Final Four participants. Two years ago, North Carolina did the same. Mississippi State is a good start. At No. 5, the Bulldogs didn’t get a very high seed but were playing better basketball than East Region No. 4 Louisville (24-6) or No. 2 Wake Forest (24-5) at the end of the season. Oklahoma (24-6) missed a lot of free throws and allowed Texas to come back and beat it in the regular season finale, then the Sooners almost coughed up big leads against Texas Tech and Missouri in the Big 12 Tournament. OU is definitely susceptible for an upset. East Region No. 3 Syracuse (24-5) is another team that would fit into this category. The Orangemen are young with three freshmen starters, but they can hoop. West No. 4 Illinois also factors in as a less likely Final Four entry. The Big Ten didn’t have a great year, but it didn’t last year either and Indiana made it all the way the national championship game. The Big Ten is usually the most physical major conference, and that rough play often translates to at least one battle-tested team. As far as early round sleepers go, West seed No. 6 Creighton isn’t exactly a true Cinderella, but the Jays are more than capable of knocking out Duke in the second round. Also, don’t be surprised to see South Region No. 13 San Diego (18-11) upset No. 4 Stanford (23-8). The Cardinal has a recent history of early season disappointment. The trendy upset picks are No. 11 Southern Illinois (24-6) over No. 6 Missouri (21-10) and No. 12 Weber State over No. 5 Wisconsin (22-7) in the Midwest Region, as well as UNC-Wilmington (24-6) over No. 6 Maryland (19-9). Southern Illinois and UNC-Wilmington both pulled off first round upsets last year. Whether that makes the Salukis and Seahawks more or less likely to do it again, who knows. Probably less. As far as Weber State goes, the Wildcats lost to North Texas — enough said. Tip No. 3: Never underestimate the heart of a champion. Maryland won the national title last year but comes into this season as a No. 6 seed. While the Terrapins will likely not repeat, they are a very dangerous team for No. 3 Xavier and No. 2 Florida in the South Region. Tip No. 4: If a team looks like it doesn’t belong in the tournament, then don’t ignore that team. This one is hard to follow. But, two years ago North Carolina squeaked into the tournament and Missouri did the same last season. They both made it to the Final Four. This year, all of the pundits are saying Auburn and Alabama (17-11) should not have gotten in over Boston College or Texas Tech. What does that mean? Either Auburn or Alabama will surprise some people.

When is the last time UNT played ND in sports? Were they ducking us?

Sounds like a good reason to go for a visit. As more new shops and restaurants spring up along I-35 in Denton, we need to encourage them to show some UNT spirit, and tell them when they do good!

Who are the top teams in the Sunbelt conference? Are there any Top 25 teams in this region, I believe Oklahoma State is?

Great! Thanks for the updates.

NOOOOOOooooo! Someone put a clamp on this rumor. Now is not the time for UNT to be losing one of it's version of the "triplets" (RV, Pohl, BOR). We are finally climbing out of our 20-year hole. RV would not just bail on us without a much better job lined up. As far as the Athletic Fee, the BOR corrected some of the loss and we managed to get 2/3 of it installed. Maybe tomorrow at the scrimmage and recruit-video meeting we can get the straight scoop.

North Texas wins second ICHL title UNT beats SMU, 9-4, in Sunday's postseason tournament final 02/26/2003 By STEVE GAMEL / The Dallas Morning News It was one of those surreal moments Chad Hubbard will never forget. The sophomore forward was playing in his first Intercollegiate Hockey League postseason tournament final Sunday, but he used his nervous energy to score four goals and lead North Texas past SMU, 9-4, for its second consecutive ICHL title. His parents, Terry and Beth, watched from the stands for the first time this season. "They've watched me before, just not this season," Hubbard said. "They flew in from North Carolina, and to do something like that [four goals] at that moment was pretty neat. I didn't think that could happen." The win capped a postseason in which UNT outscored two opponents, 18-10. Sophomore Jon-Michael Cook had four goals in a semifinal victory against Texas. For his parents' sake, Hubbard wished his goals were more impressive. The first two came after UNT built a 3-2 lead after the first period, and the puck was placed so perfectly to him in front of the goal, that he said all he had to do was turn and shoot. On the third, he and teammate Bryan Roos confused the goalie by skating around the back of the net. The keeper followed Roos, and Hubbard slipped it in. "The fourth was even more easy, because we were shorthanded and somehow the puck got cleared to me [on the opposite end of the ice]," Hubbard said. "The only other person down there was the goalie, and it happened so fast nobody knew what happened." Hubbard scored three times in the third period to build as much as a 9-3 lead. Cook added his fifth goal of the tournament with 8:33 remaining. SMU, which had beaten UNT, 6-5, early in the season, wasn't allowed more than one goal in each of the final two periods. "Everybody knew we could win, but we also knew this was the second-best team in the league and we couldn't take them for granted," Cook said. "We started sluggish, but once we got on a roll, we pretty much wore them down." Hubbard added the season for UNT (13-3) would have been wasted had they not won the tournament. Two of their losses were by forfeit, and they hoped to make a return trip to the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division III National Championships after becoming the first Texas team to reach the tournament last year. However, the team didn't play enough ACHA games to qualify. Either way, the athletes marveled at how far the program has come. Two years ago, hockey wasn't a recognized club sport on the UNT campus. They went 14-1-1 last year, and between 75-100 fans showed up Sunday. The trick now, Hubbard said, is to give them a reason to come back. "It shows we have gotten everyone's attention, and hopefully we can keep it going," Hubbard said. "[sunday] will impact North Texas in a good way."

Ch.8's Wednesday evening 6pm news had a reporter in Denton live showing the I-35 traffic. He was near the Radisson with the camera looking over his shoulder, a nice view of Fouts! Earlier in the morning the Performing Arts Bldg was the background, plus they showed many UNT students enjoying the snow day off, including Clark Hall jazz musicians performing for students stuck inside. A lot of good UNT media for a slow news day.