Mean_Green09

Yes I do think a lot people were to quick to blame Benford, about certain issues. I've been critical of both the players and coaches. Back in January I had this to say: Here's the deal. I'm convinced there is enough talent within this team to be able to compete on a high level. I give last years team a reprieve bc you had a post guy with a limited low post game and no outside shooting. Plus the injuries. This years team is loaded with guards who can score. They are lacking a low post scoring threat, but you don't need that to win in college basketball. So where does the blame fall? It ultimately falls with the guy that get paid to do a job. He is paid to teach recruit develop and game plan. If his team fails it's his fault. If his team is failing in the fundamentals it's his job to fix it. The best coaches know how to push the right buttons. They know how to get their players to respond to their coaching. I've found the best are the guys who mix fundamentals in with game strategies. Every player needs refreshing of the fundamentals from time to time. If your players aren't executing its your job to fix it. Take out and teach them what they did wrong. If they can't fix it well you brought them here so it still comes back to you. As the head coach you are responsible for all aspects of your program. You are responsible for all failure and success. There is no reason this team can't figure it out by the end of the season. I hope they do. If we don't see development and progress in the players then it will come back to the coach.

6'0 240 F/G Non Drinker Haven't been in the gym much lately. Can still knock down the 3's though. Got a baby hook and a floater. When I'm in shape can defend anybody on the floor and shut them down. Played 4 yrs in HS. Played intramurals in college. Play every summer in hometown festival 3 on 3 tourney. Feel pretty decent about my game. Should be better in a month.

If want to play with the big boys and grow your program you have to ante up eventually. For those of you that mentioned Duane Akina you are living a dream. He can't afford to take this job. That would mean taking a couple of thousand less than he made at Texas. He was making $400,000 there. Probably got a severance package so makes no sense for him to come. We are looking at a guy trying to make a name for himself or and old crony of Mac.

Yes a good guard group can compensate for a weak front court or the lack of one. Villanova is always a good example. They normally go with 4 guards. I don't believe our guards are good enough to be considered a good group. Decent group, but not good. When the big dance rolls around I seem to always favor the teams that are guard heavy. They just perform better.

I'm calling for the upset. Not much makes sense this season. So why not us beating La. Tech!

He is not a presence IMHO, just a body. He is the second leading reb on the team. We werent playing zone last night it was man defense. The last dunk by Obi last night was not his fault. Alzee made a terrible play trying to steal and let his guy get to the middle. Voss stepped up and Jordan Williams collapsed. Meanwhile Brandon Walton never even turned his head to see what was going on behind him. I know Im probalby being to hard, bc Voss has been the best of bigs. That being said though I've been extremely disappointed with his defensive effort. If he were on my team he'd have to play better D to see the floor. When he an another big are on the floor at the same time and we get into that zone Voss goes to play a wing on the back line. Its always in those situations that he gets out flanked and loses his position. That and just watching a guy drive in untouched who was literally a foot away from him. It was that play against Tulsa that made me throw-up. Here is our matador defense. We just wave the little cape and let everyone go on by.

I agree, Run & Chuck

On offense he has been okay. Defensively not even close Bro, not even close. Lost little sheep

It wouldn't matter if we fired him we'd still suck. There is little hope at this point. I'm seriously flabbergasted at the play of our post guys. They just baffle me that they can be that bad. I'd just go small the rest of the year and play zone because we cant defend in man. No Voss, Coleman, Gaines, or Flannigan. They all can just sit. We should just run and chunk as many 3's as we can. Fire away. Shot within the first 12 second of the shot clock. Who am I kidding who really cares.

Grayshirt

Caleb Chumley wasn't listed as one of their signees by MeanGreenSports. Wonder if he will have the grayshirt

Why?

I'd love to have him, but if we dont get him much rather him end up at Northwestern than Houston. You cant really argue with that decision. The academics, the big conference, tradition. I dont think he will have to sit and wait to play. If he is good enough he will see the field.

Just an awful idea

I agree with most of what you say. Substitutions don't effect the wins and losses for this team though. There is no such thing as a proper substitution pattern. I've seen the coaching staff put numerous individuals in a position to succeed only to see them not make the play. At some point these guys need to make that play. I agree at the top of this disappointment is Coach Benford and his staff. Right under him is the players. See I have no problem in holding everyone accountable. If you've been a part of a successful sports team it's something that has to happen. I can coach and teach you where you need to be, but I can't hold your hand like a child and make you do it. There has to be effort from you. So he needs to go find the right guys now. We have a few and then there is 3-4 guys who don't have a clue out there and who hurt this team

All I'm saying is both the players and coaches are responsible for what happened today. Why has the defense been effective in more than one game, but yet today it wasn't? Is that a total coaching failure on Benford? Or do you not agree the players get some fault here too.

If you think the players aren't at fault too your wrong. Really wrong.

We all do, but he couldn't fix some of our problems. He could mask some on offense, but the defense oh my

Be happy you didn't watch this game. The little kids at halftime put up more of a defensive effort than UNT did. There are a few kids on this team that I wouldn't let back on the floor until they understand defensive rotations. We are forced to play 2-3 zone bc we can defend off the dribble. We can't rebound in the zone bc the backside defender is too weak and can't block out. Coaches and players are responsible for the debacle today. You can't pin it to one area. I know most will say it's Benford fault, but it's not just him. It was the entire program that failed today. I was extremely disappointed and upset. Talent is nothing without energy and effort.

Correct, but going into the conf tourney most believe MTSU was going to get the bid. There wasn't 2 teams who you could say that had a great chance of getting automatic bids. This year you have La. Tech and USM who are capable of getting automatic bids and who knows about where UTEP ends up. So who knows CUSA could come away with 3 bids. I'm pretty sure the Sun Belt is going to come away with only one bid this year.

I get where your belief is, but the numbers lead me to believe that we have played tougher this year than last. You look at last years non conf opponents they ended up with a winning % of 52% compared to 58% this year so far. You look at our SOS from last year it was around 251 based on which ranking site you trust. This year its 218. Plus I do believe the competition in our conference is much tougher. Instead of a 1 bid league we could possibly see 2.

Let’s talk some UNT basketball today. It’s been an interesting season so far. One game UNT looks like a top 5 team in CUSA the next game they look like a bottom feeder. Right now I have UNT ranked 12th in MGN’s basketball power rankings. It’s not that I think UNT is that bad, because believe me the talent is there to be a top 5 team. The reason they are ranked so low is the inconsistent play and poor execution at times. One minute you see great ball movement, the next minute it’s stale. One minute you have good defense, the next you have a guy getting beaten off the dribble and no help defense. It really is frustrating. With that let’s get into some topics. I’ve got 3 areas that I want to get to 1. The Players 2. The Schedule 3. The Coaching. Read the Rest Here: Friday Basketball Thoughts Hope all you guys enjoy the Super Bowl and I hope its a safe one for you and your family.

La. Tech @ UTEP is my game of the week choice. Give me Tech by 3

Sorry add Trevor Moore and T.J Tauaalo both who are not rated on Rivals