NT80

CUSA has to be the goal for NT. The WAC has more credibility in football than the SBC does, mainly because of Fresno, Boise and Hawaii. The WAC would have been a good temporary step up for NT, although expensive, but a better spot to go to CUSA from. The SBC is like slick mud for us, no respect and no traction to go anywhere, which can prove to be even more costly in the long run if we don't achieve that CUSA invite!

Is that the same logo held prisoner by the Exes?

If you didn't learn from the logo-gate survey, Jackson will do what he wants, and ignore or manipulate the results to prove it.

For Immediate Release November 21, 2005 SEAHAWKS ENTERTAIN MEAN GREEN IN HOME OPENER WILMINGTON, N.C. – After tipping off the season by winning three of four games during an extended trip to the Rockies, the UNC Wilmington men’s basketball team returns to Trask Coliseum Tuesday for its 2005-06 home opener. The Seahawks got off to a blistering start by capturing the Black Coaches Association Invitational in Laramie, Wyo. UNCW surprised the field by knocking off Butler, host Wyoming and Northwestern in succession for the school’s first in-season tournament championship since 1997. UNCW then ran out of steam last Friday in a 73-54 loss at Colorado, where the Buffs forced the struggling Seahawks into 26 turnovers while blocking six shots and coming up with 17 steals. “All in all, I thought it was a very good experience for our players and staff,” said fourth-year coach Brad Brownell. “Anytime you can spend eight days together on the road, it will help with bonding and the unity of the team. “In terms of basketball, the tournament allowed us to face four very solid teams who played different styles. It should help us in preparing for the different teams that we’ll face throughout the season.” Brownell’s club kicks off its home slate against a team that thumped the Seahawks last November in Denton, Texas. The Mean Green jumped out to a 38-30 halftime lead and never looked back in a 76-69 decision at The Super Pit. The Seahawks will be looking to win their seventh straight home opener. UNCW has not dropped its home debut since Princeton squeezed out a 61-54 overtime verdict on Nov. 21, 1998. Overall, the Seahawks own a 22-7 mark in home openers since joining the D-I ranks in 1976-77. UNCW has won eight of its last 10 openers at Trask and Brownell’s first three teams have each been victorious. “Since we lost to North Texas last year, it should be much easier for our staff to get the attention of our players,” Brownell said. “Our fans will be surprised with the talent that this team has. They have good size and a lot of speed and athleticism. “I like this game because North Texas will be like a conference game for us. They have a lot of talent and it should be a good test for our home opener.” The Mean Green lost standout Leonard Hopkins to graduation, but the cupboard is far from bare. Junior guard Calvin Watson, sophomore forward Quincy Williams, junior guard Kendrick Davis and senior center Jeffrey Simpson give Coach Johnny Jones plenty of firepower. “Calvin Watson is an exceptional 3-point shooter and scorer,” Brownell noted. “Quincy Williams and Jeffrey Simpson are two interior players with experience and Kendrick Davis transferred in from Arkansas. “They seem to be off to a good start. North Texas is one of the teams that can match our depth. We found that out last year and they apparently are the same way this year.” Brownell says the game will be difficult in terms of preparation. “Their first game was against a Division II school and we won’t have any tape to evaluate. Just like Colorado, we’ll be going off last year’s information.” As a result, the Seahawk coach is banking on getting a lift from a home crowd that has produce a 64-10 record at Trask Coliseum over the last six seasons. “It’s critical in college basketball to perform well and win your home games because road victories are hard to come by. We’ve been fortunate over the last couple years to play well on our home floor. For us to have the kind of season we’d like, that must continue with our non-conference and CAA games.”

No excuse about youth either. Announcers noted both teams are overall young and will have a lot of players back next season. They showed Fresno's OOC schedule since 2000, very impressive and with many wins. They look forward to playing the BCS games. They "wanted" to go play LSU this year! But instead Appy St. took the extra game.

"Chuck Cox writes about high school sports for the Denton Record-Chronicle." That says it all about his qualifications on the college game. As for his opinions...

ULM - 71, SMUt - 64 on Sunday.

Humm, where else have I seen that happen before....

Is this guy DD's cousin or something? I've never read so much kissing-up before. This "small group" of Mean Green fans he refers to is the only thing keeping this program viable.

At 2-7 all positions should be under evaluation, but it's too late now even if you find someone that can spark some positive performance. I would have started Phillips just because he earned it.

There is some good debate in this thread. This is not about firing DD and not about just this season. DD is a class guy that runs a clean program and is a player's coach. I could live with DD if he can take us up. Is he motivated enough to still do it? Does he have enough ability to adapt to changes to move us up? This season has brought out the reality about where are we. We have some young players, but we have many experienced players...either way it's just an excuse, good or bad. We have been consistant about one thing...losing to OOC teams and beating SBC teams, until this year and now we lose also to SBC teams, granted by only 9 points. The disturbing trends I see are the continued large losses to the UT's, Tulsa, La techs. The 0-for-OOC every season. We did better with less in the 1-AA days in OOC. They used to be inspiration games for fans, now they are just given body-bag games and a check. The Bowls were great. They are over. What's the next step and who takes us there and how? Can DD rebuild and get better than we were the past 4 years and up to a Boise or Fresno level. I hope so if he's here for 5 more seasons, but if he can't we lose all we've gained in fan base and repsect over those 5 long years. How long do we have and what's the goal?

The Bowls were great, no doubt about it! I will always thank DD for taking us there. Many fans however think that we can stop there, that we arrived at our destination....a 1-A Top 75 school. WRONG. Bring out the Lifetime contract? NO WAY. The media and others judge us on the National 1-A scene, where do we fit, how have we compared to other 1-A teams outside the SBC? POORLY. We are truly the Best of the Worst, that's it. Our entire conference is ranked #109 and LOWER. I don't expect to beat a LSU or even a poor Kansas State (yet) but I want a coach that is disgusted with losing (and losing badly!) to a Tulsa, La Tech, or especially a 1-8 program that's only existed 5 years. WE MUST HAVE HIGHER GOALS THAN THE SBC.

Look beyond DD's titles of conference championships (and this is not the SEC we're talking here) and see we've won only 5 other 1-A games in 8 years. FIVE WINS IN EIGHT YEARS?? Talk about time being bought. A conference championship is not immunity from bad overall football = 29-51.

What are the rumors on the Pony boards? Is Bennett in real danger of being gone after this season? Do fans want Copeland gone first? A new AD "usually" wants to name his own coach in the $ sports, since it affects his success too.

The coach's 2-9 season record, 30-37 overall record, including a conference championship, are all very similar to our situation. Some say DD is untouchable because of his conference championships. I say we should focus more on his overall record, including the OOC record and fan's confidence in the direction of the program. Are you happy with football at NT?

All I want for Christmas is......

MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State fired football coach Joe Pannunzio on Friday, a day after the Racers finished a 2-9 season in which they went winless in the Ohio Valley Conference. Pannunzio was 30-37 in six seasons at Murray State, including a conference championship in 2002. Before being hired by the Racers, Pannunzio spent five seasons as an assistant to Tommy Tuberville at Mississippi and Auburn. The Racers ended the season Thursday with a 49-20 loss at Tennessee-Martin.

Great news! Kill the Parrot! It always looked more like a Vulture to me.

from the thread on Game Predictions, Moot writes: QUOTE(MootPoint @ Nov 17 2005, 09:45 PM) "Actually, I am now unfortunately aware that DD has apparently thrown in the towel this week; practices are jokes and they are getting out very early. . . ." .............................................................................................................. My take: I don't think we should be paying for a coach that throws in the towel during the season, no matter how bad it gets.

I don't think we should be paying for a coach that throws in the towel during the season, no matter how bad it gets.

Nice pic. You can see where the new stadium will be across the I-35E, there on the golf course.......someday soon hopefully!

I like Todd Dodge but there is a big difference between running an affluent one-high-school-town program and trying to repeat it at the 1-A level. NT tried it with Dennis Parker. SMUt has additional problems besides just needing a coach.

He would get my vote also. I've heard him say more positive things about NT in 5 televised games than DD has in 8 seasons.

Men’s basketball Jones could use freshmen early on in 2005-06 season UNT coach Johnny Jones has maintained through the offseason that he had one of his best recruiting seasons last year. If early returns are any indication UNT’s last recruiting class could make an impact early in the year. “Those guys have continued to impress,” Jones said. “Harold Stewart has done a tremendous job, has moved up the charts and is backing up Quincy Williams at power forward. Justin Howerton has continued to get better and so has Harold Edwards. “We have guys who are very capable who will have to get acclimated very quickly.” Stewart scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in UNT’s first exhibition game against Abilene Christian, while Edwards scored three points. Howerton added two points and four rebounds. Former Sanger standout Chris Higgs chipped in an assist. UNT had several freshmen who contributed last year, including Michael Sturns and Quincy Williams. Sturns averaged 4.3 points a game and added 39 assists, while Williams started eight games and averaged 4.4 points and 3.6 rebounds a game. UNT to face Nicholls State at home after schedule change UNT has picked up an extra home date in December (Sat., Dec. 10) when its game against Nicholls State was moved from Thibodaux, La., to Denton. The switch will give the Mean Green five home games in December. Women’s basketball Jacksonfares well in debut after missing full season Redshirt freshman Amber Jackson made a solid impression in her debut with the Mean Green in a loss to the Oklahoma Flyers last week. Jackson scored nine points and blocked two shots in UNT’s second exhibition game of the season. She sat out the Mean Green’s first exhibition of the year and missed all of last season with a knee injury. “Amber responded very well,” UNT coach Tina Slinker said. “You forget it’s her first college game. She struggled a little defensively, but we know she will be able to score for us.” Slinker said that players normally need at least half of a season to get back to form after major surgery, a process Jackson is going through to open the season. The 6-2 freshman will open the season at the power forward spot, but Slinker said she would like to move Jackson to small forward later in her career to take advantage of her unusual combination of size and quickness. Ajekwu aggravates shoulder injury, will continue to play UNT junior post Mia Ajekwu aggravated a shoulder injury that forced her to miss the last 13 games of last season and is wearing a brace. The injury is not expected to limit Ajekwu, who averaged 11.3 points a game last season, the second-highest total on the team.