akriesman

What I care about: 1) Does he preach hard work and defense first ? 2) Can he rebuild the roster every year from the portal ? 3) Are we sure he Is not Tony Benford in disguise when it comes to coaching (he could recruit) ? I am certainly willing to give him a chance. But, I cannot help but feel that the successful system we have had in place for the last 7 or 8 seasons is lost. I really wish we had a Hodge protege ready to step up. In the end, we only have ourselves to blame due to the poor NIL and lowish attendance, considering the abnormal success the basketball program has achieved recently. Worst case, it was a great run and put UNT somewhat on the map.

Tough draw. I think whoever wins between NT and UC Irvine wins the championship.

If someone on Hodge's staff gets an opportunity to be a head coach at North Texas, they will take it. McCasland wanted Hodge to go with him to Tech apparently. But, Hodge took our HC Job. It's all one big stepping stone in the NCAA and we are the 2nd or 3rd from the top. I loved the Hodge hire. I don't feel so confident about the next one.

I thought this was fake news and the rumor was spread as a joke (not by Jon Rothstien).

I am still leaning towards promoting from within. Stick with what works until it doesn't. Whoever is coach, we must maintain the defensive mentality that has worked so well for us. We don't need superstar athletes. We need hard working team players that can shoot at a good percentage.

Yes. Both 15 and even 16 slotted teams have had huge upsets. When it happens, it's one of the greatest things in college BBall.

From a prestige standpoint, it's still NCAA followed by NIT and then the others. Larger tournament fields > smaller fields IMO.

Yep. The McCasland at Tech success certainly won't help. We have a wonderful system in place. Hodge learned from Mac. Hopefully, someone is learning from Hodge and can take over some day. If we pull in somebody new from the outside, he will want to implement his own system with his own set of beliefs on how to build a program. Why upset the apple cart ? It's very risky and can ruin the momentum that has been building here over the last 7 of 8 years. Coaching trees are incredibly successful in the NFL. That may be the perfect way to run a consistently successful mid-major program.

Thought about not posting this. But, haven't seen it mentioned yet. ESPN has Hodge as the #12 most likely mid-major coach to move up., https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/44099476/mens-college-basketball-2025-mid-low-major-coaches-power-conference-potential-2025

That UTSA loss has to haunt the team. Losing a close game at Memphis and at UAB is nothing to be ashamed about. 20-6 is a terrific record and I think we are all proud of that. However, losing to UTSA at home really stings and badly hurt the NET. Win that game and NT is 21-5 and 12-2 (same record as Memphis in both cases)

Well, I definitely recognize Tony Worrell and those ears 😉 PS: I just looked to see what he is up to today. I didn't realize that he passed away in 2015 at the age of 49. Very sad.

Awful loss. No question about it. With that said, did anyone really believe they were going to win out ? They are 16-5, which is pretty damn good. My worst fear would have been winning out, getting another NET ranking of 38 and then getting snubbed by the NCAA again. Now we know that winning the conference tourney is the most important thing. And, this team is definitely capable of doing that. I just wish this loss would have come on the road against a better team.

Pay Ross. Have a coach in waiting, in house, just in case Ross gets purged. Continue the tradition of being a hard-nosed, defensive basketball team. There is a rare, golden opportunity here. Keep it going.

#24 St Thomas ? I thought that I have heard of every D1 basketball program. But, this is a first.

On my part, just an assumption as we have not been a big spender. As a "G" school (G5 or G6 now), I think a lot of us are on the lower end (not named Memphis with their sponsors).

When Grant was here, they were grooming Hodge to be the eventual HC. Now that Hodge is having success, I hope they are grooming the next possible HC that can keep the defensive system and culture moving forward. We have had an actual identity for the last 6 years that is pretty unique and a perfect fit for a school that is at the lower end of the NIL support. We need to keep that going. If we hire a coach from the outside, we lose that identity as he will install his own system. Groom from within. That is the key to sustained success IMO.

My God. Watching the CUSA Stadium reviews made me so thankful we are out of there. Sam Houston looks like Fouts, only much smaller. Kennesaw State only seats 10,200.

How many OU players sat out the bowl due to the portal ? The reason I am asking is because Navy is really not affected by the portal and NIL. Either way, nice win Navy.

A strong P2 coach complaining about the portal. That is exactly what we need to see change occur.

Seems to have all the tools. Time will tell. But, looks like a great signing. To EM's credit, it does seem like he can attract some pretty good QB talent because of his system. Come to UNT, put up big numbers and transfer out for $$$. Hate the portal and would love to be able to keep our players. But, have to give credit where credit is due when it comes to recruiting QB's here.

Opening up the transfer portal before the end of the bowl season is ridiculous.

In the past, I would have been shocked and very upset at losing a top player. Now, I just expect it. I just don't care about college sports that much anymore and that is very sad.

I hope Chandler stays and I am not so sure that he wants to transfer. He was lighting it up here for 1/2 the season before things really cooled off. The late season drop will probably prevent him get an offer from a big power school with an offense that he could flourish in. Morris is also only 6', when the average college QB is 6'2" and many are over 6'4 He also seems like a guy that wants to start and would not want to end up in a Chandler Rogers position at a place like Cal.

Not impressed. This is not the same team that started 5-1, even though the D was good today (it's Temple after all). Game was a snooze fest.

I like the aggressiveness in general. But, you have to punt the ball on 4th and 7 from your 40.