jdennis82

Anxious to see how the Guyton and the staff approach the off-season program to help avoid the dramatic decline he saw late in the year... https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jalen-guyton-1/gamelog/2017/ Rk Date School Opponent Rec Yds Avg TD 12 Games 49 775 15.8 9 8 2017-11-04 North Texas @ Louisiana Tech W 5 37 7.4 0 9 2017-11-11 North Texas Texas-El Paso W 1 2 2.0 1 10 2017-11-18 North Texas Army W 2 27 13.5 1 11 2017-12-02 North Texas @ Florida Atlantic L 1 6 6.0 0 12 2017-12-16 North Texas N Troy* L 1 11 11.0 0 There's a next level to his game - overcoming increased defensive attention - and unlocking it should be the focus of his work this spring.

As usual, a very quality read from Mr. Brune... "I did some research to track every minute this team has played in C-USA action during what basketball stats deem “clutch time,” which is when a game is within five points in the final five minutes. Some of the information is fascinating and some is what you may expect, but either way, here are the numbers I found. These numbers are by no means official, but I trust my several hours and days of research more than enough to present them." I appreciate that the DRC has Vito serve the role of providing news of the programs on campus but I really appreciate NT Daily allowing Brune's work providing some deeper insight or uniquely entertaining color about our squads. I can see a Tim Cato influence in Brune's writing.

The more I learn of Kason, the more he sounds like Graham Harrell (Denton edition)... Attention grabbing High School career Coach's son Student of the game Leadership qualities Harrell took a redshirt year his first fall in Lubbock and then mostly backed up Cody Hodges his RS Freshman season. Seems like the ideal plan for a guy Littrell was quoted as saying, "We're looking forward to him coming in here and continuing to develop as a leader and hopefully be the leader here one day."

ADs and Conference Commissioners have been arrogant in assuming attendance numbers were guaranteed as they announced to all that their chief concern was TV dollars. Realignment motivated by media markets leads to lower visiting guest attendance and the ease of access to CFB on television makes attending a game less "necessary." In the end, though, the real problem is the length of games. Making a four hour (or more) commitment is a huge hurdle to many as they decide whether to head to the game or spend their time elsewhere.

Here's the Underdog Dynasty's CUSA write up on Bill Connelly's S&P+ Rankings... https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2018/2/11/16993086/lets-examine-the-2018-s-p-projections-for-conference-usa-fau-lane-kiffin-north-texas-la-tech-uab Their headlines: FAU is the clear favorite C-USA West is up for grabs This conference still has a long ways to go I think we should all be prepared to read many preseason articles pronouncing our Mean Green as poised for a step back in 2018 after having many things fall perfectly in to place in 2017. What I know is that I saw a 2017 squad that made its own luck and I'm confident the staff and players have set a culture that is driven to "accomplish the mission" and will avoid any sense of arrival. From that perspective, the final two games of last year may be a useful motivator for the upcoming campaign

Was interested in getting you guys' thoughts on Smart's chances. I haven't watched enough of the other squads in the league to have much opinion but thought I'd take a look at how he stacks up in sports-reference's Win Shares... https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/play-index/share.fcgi?id=vXEoF Rk Player Class Pos School G PER TS% eFG% USG% ORtg DRtg OWS DWS WS OBPM DBPM BPM 3 Nick King SR F Middle Tennessee 25 26.0 .567 .525 33.1 113.3 97.7 2.6 1.5 4.2 3.5 0.7 4.2 6 Darius Thompson SR G Western Kentucky 25 19.5 .577 .549 19.6 118.9 100.4 2.3 1.5 3.8 4.9 2.0 6.9 8 Dwight Coleby SR F Western Kentucky 25 24.3 .642 .608 19.8 121.7 94.4 1.9 1.5 3.5 1.8 4.1 5.9 9 Roosevelt Smart SO G North Texas 25 19.1 .587 .529 27.3 116.8 103.3 2.4 1.1 3.5 3.8 -2.6 1.1 Based on Win Shares (CUSA overall rank noted on the left), these appear to be his competition for Newcomer of the Year. Thoughts on how he stacks up and what he'd need to pull it off?

Here's the soundcloud link I use the Podcast Addict app and cant seem to find it there. As for a question: I really enjoyed your article asking players for NBA players they compare their own games to. You obviously reacted to their selections in the article but I'd be curious to hear your own comps.

*I'll admit that during football season, I spend less time over here on the hoops side of gmg.com, so if this was posted in September, I apologize for the re-post I got curious to check in on Mr. Holmen over in Australia and found that he won their league's MVP last fall. 2017 SBL AWARD WINNERS - http://sbl.asn.au/2017/09/09/2017-sbl-award-winners/ Acceptance Speech Pretty great to see his success overseas

Not sure if this video's been posted yet... https://n.rivals.com/news/north-texas-lands-a-steal-in-high-3-star-db-alex-morris

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2754651-the-best-qb-in-every-college-football-conference-for-2018 Conference USA: Mason Fine, North Texas Why He'll Star in 2018 Fine will be a junior, as will his top three receivers. Rico Bussey Jr., Jalen Guyton and Michael Lawrence combined for 158 receptions, 2,271 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2017. All Fine has to do is not force things and he'll continue to shine. His 15 interceptions were among the most in the country last season.

Hard to know if there's been a strategic focus on Oklahoma players that wasn't there previously or if we're having greater recruiting efficiency with the targets north of the border. It will always be critical to build our presence in the Texas High School football scene but with as heavily recruited as the state of Texas is - and the DFW region as well - shifting some of our focus to areas where the competition is less fierce could really pay off.

No real info unfamiliar to most on the board but I'm sure many readers of the NT Daily haven't seen these kids names before. I'll always appreciate efforts to grow awareness of the activities of the NT Athletic Dept to those on campus...especially when done this well.

This Although, I choose to think that most North Texas fans react to this news with by overcoming the appropriate level of disappointment with perspective and understanding. Those reacting otherwise is likely a vocal minority. Until a player formally signs, this should be all but expected. I only hope the change of heart is a result of receiving counsel from trustworthy, well-intentioned people around him.

This move has been assumed for a long time but glad to see it finalized. Appreciate what he's already contributed to the program and excited for what's to come

2). A healthy year for Bryce English...big fella deserves it

During the off-season and non-conference slate, I wanted to see evidence of a program culture change - both on and off the court. I think we've seen evidences of exactly that. To get an A, there would have needed to be a noteworthy upset win (Neb, GaTech, Geogetown, UTA) Gets a B+ from me and I remain excited that he'll have the squad as a dangerous out in the CUSA tourney come March

Stepping back to look at the larger picture, this program is making substantial progress and is further along in that effort than I expected. That's a huge credit to the staff, players, and administration. These last two games have shone a spotlight on areas that need to improve but I remain confident that the improvement will continue. Time to prepare to spoil Sonny Dykes' regular season debut with the Ponies

Listening to Bill Connelly's "Podcast Ain't Played Nobody" he partially joked that Harrell is the next Mizzou OC when covering the New Orleans Bowl. Prompted me to do some more digging to see if there was any further news to uncover hear and came across a couple SB Nation posts Bill Connelly outlines 25 options for the Tigers... Where will Barry Odom turn to replace departing offensive coordinator Josh Heupel? David Morrison compares candidates to Josh Heupel... The search for the next Josh Heupel I'm hoping we can keep him around Denton because I think his relationship with our QBs has been incredibly valuable

If we can get our running game on track early, I think the rest will fall in to place.

Hadn't seen this posted yet. Good read as we start gearing up for Sat... http://www.lindyssports.com/college-football/column/college-football-look-ahead/north-texas-offense-troys-defense-square-off-in-new-orleans-bowl/461182/ Pulled out these sections as it seems clear that this game pits strength vs strength

I must be in the minority but I think it's a smart hire for SMU. Has HC experience so should be able to step in and maintain what Morris began to build. Knows the state/region well. Probably would enjoy stability so he's less of a flight risk (as opposed to someone like Sumlin). Honestly, if Littrell had gone elsewhere, Dykes would've been on my shortlist of replacement candidates

Excited for Chico. My avatar of a goofy facial expression made on an episode of Beyond The Green will always be my personal tribute to the guy. Will always appreciate him for his commitment to and representation of our program and players despite very tough circumstances. Very classy throughout. One thing is certain, the gates will be locked in El Paso

This @Brett Vito got the Cal dates reversed. We already have ACU & Houston as home non-conference games in 2019

With the uncertainty in the air, time to start re-watching episodes of "Beyond the Green" on YouTube to demonstrate demand so that it's picked up in some capacity for 2018

Thanks for pointing that out. My manual process failed me. I've updated the initial post