bono

some of you may be familiar with Michael Gruber aka "Grubes" - former ticket personality who now attends unt. grubes is well known for live tweeting during ranger games. recently, someone on twitter said he should live tweet from UNT basketball next season and grubes replied and said that he would. something to keep an eye out for next season. @tweetgrubes (19,200 followers)

That is from the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in Houston 2010. I was at that event and Tony dominated like no HS player I have ever seen over a 2 game span. After that event I thought Tony might be the best HS player in America. http://sports.espn.g...tory?id=4699976 Standout players Tony Mitchell, PF/SF (6-8, 215) Mitchell was simply terrific, displaying high-level athletic ability on both ends of the floor. He finished around the basket with power dunks on clear paths and in traffic. He rebounded at rim level in and out of his area on a consistent basis. Mitchell also is an excellent ball handler for his size and is great pushing the ball after pulling down a defensive rebound. He is a threat to go coast to coast if not brought under control by the transition defense. When Mitchell was not looking into the rim on one of his many dunks, he hit the midrange jumper with needed time and space. He also posted smaller defenders and elevated over them with ease to score in the lane. Mitchell can run the floor like a gazelle, and on defense, he has the speed, quickness and lateral movement to guard the 2, 3 or 4 position. He must add strength and work to extend his shooting range, but this live-body forward will keep Tigers fans on their feet with his high-wire act. He was by far the best player this weekend.

just a personal impression from someome who has no prior ties to UNT.

I admit I am too busy doing other things to keep up with conference realignment. I may be behind here. Is UNT playing a CUSA schedule starting this season? I have gotten so sick of realignment stuff I cant keep up. someone let me know because I think I am behind on this topic... also - what will the conference basketball schedule look like?

Talent at UNT Tony - former Mizzou Franklin - former Ok State Coleman -former Nebraska PJ - former Mississippi State. a coach yesterday told me that he went head to head with yogi ferrel (indiana) in a game he saw and held his own. Norris - former Memphis Williams - high major talent w rivals listed offers to Baylor, Arkansas, Ok St, Kansas St, many more Jones - high major talent and under ranked. best offers were colorado, new mexico, tcu, smu, uta Alzee - dont know offers just know he can play

this is accurate. not fair, but accurate. there is a reason mid majors win in the tourney every single year. they have great players. the really talented ones have even tended to succeed again. butler, vcu, gonzaga, etc have followed runs with runs - because they have had excellent players. but during the entire season these teams and players are under-exposed and under the radar nationally.

texashoops.com ranked him above perry jones and phil pressey. everyone who saw him play that season knows he is a major future pro - top 5 in the draft type talent. I would call him under the radar because most of America has no idea just how good he really is - media included.

I saw anthony play in houston a couple of years ago. he is very athletic and unt has a roster of athletes who could be at high majors. best of luck to anthony. Your website is very impressive. I am not coaching AAU this season but may need to talk to you about fund raising/ads and other ideas from your website in case we decide to do it again next summer.

Frisco Heritage HS Wilmer-Hutchins HS Denton HS Hillcrest HS Crowley HS Denton-Guyer HS Lovejoy HS Ponder HS Boswell HS Pinkston HS Houston Prospects Believe 1 Believe 2 Wiley Elite TX Dream 2014 Texas Blue Chips Wichita Falls Rider HS Burleson Centennial Denton-Guyer 2 Ponder HS 2 Milsap Liberty Christian Houston Prospects 2 Argyle HS Believe 3 TX Hoopsters Elite Houston Phenoms Boswell 2

I was able to attend the UNT team camp yesterday as I coached a HS team during the event. I would say that I was impressed with Benford and staff, but that would be an understatement. first of all, I remember benford being in pinkston to recruit tony mitchell. i know he would get out and recruit, and i think that tony's interest in marquette was primarily due to benford. with respect to the camp - benford was constantly engaging with the coaches and asking about them, their teams, offered to share any drills or help he could give them, etc. he very impressive and engaged. the 1 hour practice that the UNT team went through was high paced, purposeful, and engaging. benford was constantly coming over to talk to the HS coaches to explain what they were doing, and he was also very involved in coaching the kids to the point where he was sweating his a$$ off by the end of the practice. he also had tony mitchell speak to the HS kids, and he did that on purpose to force tony to be accountable. he has to live up to the standard he is setting. and then you have a veteran like rob evans out there getting after the kids, and bringing his years of knowledge to the staff. benford did one thing that really impressed me, besides being engaging and extremely knowledgable. he told the coaches that tony averaged 4 turnovers per game, and they were going through drills that would force tony to work on his foot work and be purposeful. the things that keep tony from complete domination are turnovers and fouls. benford has already identified these issues and is addressing them and coaching tony like he needs to be taught. i told tony that he needs to listen to those guys because they know what they are talking about. benford discussed their offensive philosophy, primarily to get a target # of post touches. I think this should be a beneficial strategy for this team with the talent on the roster. with paint touches and good player and ball movement this team should be virtually unstoppable in the sun belt. benford stated that all practices will be open. I think benford was a fantastic hire who can take this program to another level with the move to CUSA.

I sent the guy an email. that is just an absurd headline for an article that quotes a tweet. how someone can come up with that headline when Tony has not stated anything is beyond me.

I don't understand the lifting weights comment?

Well I called to make sure after I read the following article (which is inaccurate as it states that he has declared, yet he quoted a tweet not Tony): NBA Draft 2012: Tony Mitchell Declares For Draft Apr 16 4:08p by Field Yates Read More: North Texas Mean Green The North Texas basketball program has been dealt another blow, as star freshman forward Tony Mitchell has opted to enter the NBA draft, following head coach Johny Jones' decision to take the same position at LSU. Mitchell led the Mean Green in both scoring and rebounding in his only year at the program, averaging 14.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. He was originally committed to play at the University of Missouri, but was ruled ineligible before ever stepping foot on the court and ended up at North Texas. Mitchell now joins a deep draft class, but should still find himself safely in the first round. When it appeared that Mitchell would return for his sophomore season, ESPN's Chad Ford said this about him as a player: Mitchell is one of the most talented players in the country that very few people know about. Playing at North Texas can do that to you. He was widely expected to declare for the 2012 NBA Draft where he would've been a likely first round pick. The NBA Draft will be held on Thursday, June 28. For all the latest news and notes about the local players in the NBA Draft, stay tuned to SB Nation's exclusive storystream.

Tony still plans to stay at UNT and will not enter the 2012 NBA draft. There have been 2 reports that he has declared. This is not true. Nick Smith gave me permission to tweet it, email it, etc - so here you go UNT fans. There was one particular report that was titled "Tony Mitchell declares for NBA draft" but it linked to a tweet, so I called to get the truth on these reports.

Just out of curiousity I ran this comparison. I know the competition level is lower, but the numbers Tony puts up are as good or better than the rest. the 3 pt and ft % numbers show just how skilled he is for his size. competition has less of an impact on those #'s http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/compare?add=ricardo-ratliffe&p1=4-tony-mitchell&p2=perry-jones-iii&p3=thomas-robinson&p4=jared-sullinger

I think Tony is arguably the best player in America. He was rated ahead of Perry Jones III in Texas, who is having a big year at Baylor. he has to stay out of foul trouble, but until someone actually stops him on defense they shouldnt under estimate the ability of the "one man show" to lead North Texas to a Win. should be a great atmosphere. Hope it is packed. I am taking 5 others and all are non-UNT people who are on the bandwagon.

3 more years is not happening... for one he has already completed a year of college. #2 - If he stays for a 2nd season I would find it highly unlikely he does not declare in 2013 a more realistic campaign would be "one more year"

One of the reasons I am such a big fan of Tony is because he was the most humble and gracious kid at Pinkston, even being an absolute freak on the court and basically a superstar during his time there. He has always gone out of his way to give thanks to teammates, coaches, etc. You can even see it in his game, as I would argue that he passed the ball way too much in the 1st half last night. After the game he had 2 public comments that tell you a lot about his character: 1. on twitter he call UNT fans the best in America. Tony has posted before that he "loves everyone" and all the support while he was out. that is the kind of young man that he is. I hope UNT can start to fill the Pit more and more as the season continues. 2. Coach Jones had emphasized the importance of playing WKU at home, and Tony took it to heart. Again, because he feels an obligation to others - former players, the program, etc: Head coach Johnny Jones made sure to let Mitchell, Franklin and the rest of UNTs eight newcomers who played know just what an unusual opportunity the game presented. To get them back here and have an opportunity to compete was good, Jones said. They are what we considered the team with the most tradition when we first arrived in the league 11 years ago. Our fans were excited to have them here on our floor. Josh White and Tristan Thompson, who finished their careers as two of the best players in school history a year ago, had just one shot to play WKU at the Super Pit in four years. Mitchell was just one of UNTs players who were motivated by the tale. Coach Jones told us that the old guys like Josh White and Tristan Thompson [almost] never played against them in this gym, Mitchell said. We have to give a shout out to those guys. We did it for you. Just wanted to give Tony some props for his character off the court now that everyone is starting to see what a fantastic talent he is on the court. Keep it up T Mich!

I don't understand the point of this initial post, but these kind of threads show up on the Baylor and Texas boards too. Is everyone supposed to be talking about how great everyone else is? That tonys effort wasn't all that great? Enlighten us to the appropriate response to last nights game...

One of the first things I stated when I initially posted was that Chris Jones is one of the most underrated guards in Texas and would be a great player. Everyone appreciates Jones and it will take the whole team effort, there is no doubt. that said, everyone is thrilled about Tony because that was a BREAK OUT game.

11-14 fg, 3-3 3 pt, 9-11 ft, 34 pt, 16 reb, 2 steal, 2 assist

34 pts and 16 rebs in a big conference road win. It needed its own topic. Discuss....

in another quote he mentioned that it was the Mississippi State transfer from UTEP - Arnett Moultrie

I will be around all year, regardless of the outcome tonight. opened LSU -7 and down to 4.5 so some folks in vegas believe in the mean green tonight

I have been to the Jackson St. and Grambling games, and on the way up Tuesday we passed a little place called Mr. Frosty. I am sure many of you are famililar with this establishment, but being new to the "mean green scene" this was my first experience. Needless to say - my chili cheese burger and root beer float were fantastic. UNT then went on to win by 42 points, including an alley oop almost 360 dunk by Tony. I believe I will frequent Mr. Frosty again tonight, and if UNT defeats LSU my diet will most likely suffer for the good of the team when I travel to remaining home games. Mr. Frosty and UNT hoops - Let's Go!!