OldTimer

UNT women look to avoid letdown 01:57 AM CST on Thursday, December 8, 2005 By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle DENTON – UNT women's basketball coach Tina Slinker warned her team Wednesday about a potential hangover heading into a game against UT-Pan American tonight at the Super Pit. UNT (5-1) beat rival SMU for the first time since the 2001-02 season Saturday, has won three straight and is off to its best start since winning its first eight games in the 2000-01 season. UTPA is 1-6 and has lost two straight. "I think it's really important for us to maintain our focus," Slinker said. "If we don't, it will take away all the good that we did against SMU. We talked today about how important it is to come back, not be flat and have the same motivation we had to play SMU."

Men's basketball: UNT freshman happy to be in Denton Former Aggie recruit Howerton set with Mean Green 08:46 AM CST on Tuesday, December 6, 2005 By Brett Vito / Staff Writer For a few months last year, North Texas center Justin Howerton thought he would be on the opposite sideline for the Mean Green’s game against Texas A&M tonight in College Station. Justin Howerton The 6-10 freshman visited Texas A&M with his family and orally committed to play for the Aggies and head coach Billy Gillispie before his senior year. Those plans changed over the next few months and ended with Howerton deciding to play for UNT. “I was looking forward to going down there,” Howerton said. “Later on I talked to coach Gillispie and he told me that it would be better if I looked somewhere else where I could get more playing time. “I wouldn’t have minded going there at all, but North Texas has turned out to be a great fit for me.” UNT (2-2) was more than happy to land Howerton, a player ran­ked No. 52 among seniors in Texas by TexasHo­ops.com, a Web site that rates the top players in the state each season. Howerton earned that ranking by dominating players among the smaller schools in the state while averaging 17.8 points and 11.7 rebounds as a senior at Howe, which is located just a few miles from UNT. Howerton also made an impression on UNT coach Johnny Jones while playing on the summer AAU circuit. “We are very happy Justin ended up here,” Jones said. “He has a great deal of potential and has continued to improve in practice.” That extra time playing against senior centers Jeffrey Simpson and Justin Barnett has helped Howerton begin to make the transition to the college level. The change has been a tough one at times for Howerton. So far this season, he has scored just six points while playing in one of the Mean Green’s four games. “Justin has two seniors in front of him,” Jones said. “He will get some minutes this season, which will be beneficial for him next year.” Howerton said he struggled with the speed of the college game in the opening weeks of practice, but has begun to adjust. Facing a pair of upperclassmen in practice has helped speed up the process. UNT might need a lift from Howerton off the bench in a game against Texas A&M, which comes into its game against the Mean Green with a 4-0 record. The Aggies knocked off Penn State 60-55 on Saturday. Acie Law leads the Aggies with an average of 17.0 points a game. The junior guard is one of four returning starters from an A&M team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT last season. “A&M is a very good team with a lot of guys back from last season,” Jones said. “They have continued to improve.” UNT comes into its game against A&M off of perhaps its best half of the season in an 83-76 victory over Chattanooga. The Mean Green trailed by seven at halftime before outscoring the Mocs 48-34 in the second half. Junior guard Kendrick Davis scored a game-high 20 points to lead UNT to the win and leads the team with an average of 16.8 points a game. UNT will look to build on its win over Chattanooga tonight when Howerton makes his first appearance at A&M, where he once thought he would be playing in maroon and white. “It won’t be strange at all,” Howerton said. “I will talk to the A&M coaches. I don’t have any hard feelings toward them.” UNT moves game The UNT men’s basketball team has moved its Dec. 23 game against Houston to Denton and pushed up the game time from 7 p.m. to 1 p.m. The change was made to accommodate the Houston football team’s 7 p.m. game against Kansas in the Fort Worth Bowl. The game is the second UNT has added to its home slate this season. The Mean Green also moved their game against Nicholls State on Dec. 10 to Denton due to hurricane damage in New Orleans. “This gives us a chance to bring a good team here to Denton,” UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. “They are the type of competitive team we want to bring in.” BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

Its our fans fault.

Actually there is 1 minute to go and Tulsa has the ball. 4 turnovers result in Tulsa scores.

nfm

Lets see....we have added 12 tennis courts and a club house, we have purchased Liberty Christian School...its football field has been converted to a scoccer field for the ladies, the gym for womens volleyville, the softball field is being used now for a summer wooden bat league but a new baseball stadium will be built in the 10 acres north of the new AC in the next year. The AC has been constructed and two practice fields being used this structure has locker rooms and will be one end of the new football stadium. I think RV has done a good job considering the handicaps he works under.

regents consider change in hiring practice 11:52 PM CST on Thursday, December 1, 2005 By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle DENTON – The Board of Regents will consider today a policy change that would allow university president Norval Pohl or an employee he designates to sign contracts for head coaches in every sport but football, as long as the base salary for the term of the contract does not exceed $500,000. Policy requires that the board of regents approve the contracts.

Let Rice drop football and see what happens to their enrollment. I realize Midwestern State and UTA are not in Rice's class but their experience was that total enrollment deceased 15 to 24 % when they dropped football. Not only the football team and their girlfriends, but the band and their signficant others and then others who just missed the atmosphere of athletics. Autry field their basketball game gym if I remember correctly is small, non air conditioned. I wonder how many wonderful faculty members will lose their jobs with a 15 to 25 % decrease in English, history, etc. Oh, Midwestern restarted non scholarship football and their enrollment increased at least 10 % the next year.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/...y.14aeb880.html

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...p.130f904b.html A come from behind victory

UNT men fall to Arizona St. 02:04 AM CST on Thursday, December 1, 2005 By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle Bryson Krueger went 5-of-5 from 3-point range and scored a career-high 27 points for the Sun Devils (4-0) in a 83-67 defeat of visiting North Texas. Kendrick Davis scored 23 points to lead UNT (1-2), which led 24-20 early before ASU went on a 13-0 run. Michael Sturns added 12 points, and Calvin Watson had 10. ARIZONA STATE 83, UNT 67 UNT (1-2) – Williams 1-4 0-0 2, Simpson 4-7 0-0 8, Davis 7-16 4-4 23, Hines 1-4 0-0 3, Watson 4-8 0-0 10, Brown 2-4 0-0 5, Sturns 5-9 1-2 12, Young 0-0 0-0 0, Edwards 0-0 0-0 0, Stewart 0-1 1-2 1, Barnett 1-7 1-6 3. Totals 25-60 7-14 67. ASU (4-0) – Austin 4-9 0-0 8, Angounou 3-9 6-8 12, Krueger 8-13 6-6 27, Kruger 3-5 0-1 8, Jackson 3-4 4-4 10, Morill 0-1 0-0 0, Atuahene 4-4 2-4 11, Pendergraph 1-4 2-2 4, Seay 0-0 0-2 0, Claudino 0-0 3-4 3. Totals 26-49 23-31 83. Halftime – ASU 37-29. 3-point goals – UNT 10-22 (Davis 5-11, Hines 1-3, Watson 2-3, Brown 1-2, Sturns 1-3), ASU – 8-11 (Angounou 0-1, Krueger 5-5, Kruger 2-3, Jackson 0-1, Atuanhene 1-1). Fouled out – none. Rebounds – UNT 35 (Williams 7), ASU – 31 (Angounou 6). Assists – UNT 15 (Hines 5), ASU 18 (Atuahene 7). Total fouls – UNT 26, ASU 18. A – 6,594

UNT men, women go on the road for tough matchups ASU, La.-Monroe pose problems for Mean Green 07:52 AM CST on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 By BRETT VITO / Staff Writer North Texas coach Johnny Jones believes the early portion of a college basketball team's schedule can serve as a teaching tool, one that can prepare a team for critical conference games later in the season. The review for lesson No. 1 comes tonight when the Mean Green head out on the road for the second time. UNT played an exhibition and its season opener at the Super Pit before venturing out on the road for its first test away from home against UNC-Wilmington. UNT failed that test in a 70-52 loss. UNT's second opportunity to play on the road will come today when both the Mean Green men and women play away games. Gary Payne / DRC UNT men's coach Johnny Jones watches his players run a drill during practice. The men will travel to Tempe, Ariz., to take on Arizona State while the women will look to continue their hot start in a game at Louisiana-Monroe. "It's important when you are in a tough conference like we are to go on the road and have your team tested," Jones said. "You find out where you are and gain experience. When you get into conference play you experience a lot of tough environments on the road. That is why I like to play as tough a road schedule as possible." UNT's first road game of the year lived up to Jones' parameters for an early season quiz. UNCW jumped out to a 39-20 halftime lead and cruised to the win that helped spark a solid start. The Seahawks have since raced out to a 5-1 record and a No. 19 ranking in CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll. A game against ASU doesn't appear as if it will be any less of a challenge for UNT. The Sun Devils won their first three games and play in the Pac 10, one of the country's premier conferences. ASU guard Kevin Kruger is averaging 17.0 points a game and is just one of three players averaging double figures for the Sun Devils, a team that features a group of guards who can shoot from deep playing around a solid post player in Craig Austin, a 6-10 sophomore center. The Mean Green believe they are more prepared to take on ASU after a tough game against UNCW. UNT features three players averaging double figures in scoring, including senior center Jeffrey Simpson and junior guard Kendrick Davis who are averaging 15.0 and 12.0 points a game, respectively. "We learned that we have to have a business mindset from the start and throw the first punch instead of taking it," Davis said. "Wilmington made all the tough plays early and we didn't take charge. It was an important lesson." The UNT women will also face a tough test on the road against ULM. The Lady Indians hammered Memphis by 20 in their season opener and have also posted wins over Alabama-Birmingham and Denver, one of the Mean Green's rivals in the Sun Belt. "This is a really big test on the road against a good team," UNT women's coach Tina Slinker said. "Outside of Boston College, this will be our biggest test of the season so far because we are on the road." UNT has passed nearly all of the tests it has faced thus far this season while running out to a 3-1 start. The Mean Green knocked off Stephen F. Austin for the first time in the history of the program and also beat Cornell over the weekend for its first win on the road this season. UNT will look to build on that start and break through what has been a fifth-game barrier that has hampered the Mean Green the last few years. UNT has started three out of the last four seasons with a 3-1 record only to lose its fifth game. Slinker said UNT would have to handle the Lady Indians' pressure defense and do a better job of executing offensively to break through against ULM in the last game of a three-game road swing. A win against ULM would give UNT two wins on the trip and momentum heading into perhaps the biggest game of its non-conference schedule, a Dec. 3 home game against rival SMU. The Mean Green haven't beaten SMU since the 2001 season. "I know the players are looking forward to the SMU situation and being at home," Slinker said. "They understand that the best situation we could be in for that game would be if we go on the road and win and go into that game 4-1." BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

RB Cobbs invited to all-star games 12:03 AM CST on Wednesday, November 30, 2005 By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle DENTON – Senior running back Patrick Cobbs has been invited to play in two postseason all-star games – the Hula Bowl and the Las Vegas All-American Classic. The Hula Bowl will be played Jan. 21 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, and the Las Vegas All-American Classic is scheduled for Jan. 14. Cobbs is one of 69 players in NCAA history to complete his career with more than 4,000 rushing yards (4,050). He won the 2003 national rushing title with an average of 152.7 yards a game. Briefly ... DENTON – The women's golf team signed Janna Golden from Sugar Land Clements to a national letter of intent in the early signing period. She is the younger sister of current Mean Green golfer Jaclyn Golden.

NO Reason? Tulsa and LaTech beat us bad....we recruit against them heavily...in the FW area 50 they have 4 prospects, NT has -0- NMSt under new coach recruiting our area heavily. in the FW area 50 they have 3 prospects NT has -0- UTEP winning record under price, exciting game plan, bowl in 1st year..we recruit against them heavily...in the FW area 50 they have considering or committed 8 players out of the 50 NT has -0-

How would you like to be a fly on the wall at this meeting? UNT program direction up for discussion Dickey, Villarreal to meet in coming days to talk about disappointing season, future of team 07:16 AM CST on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle North Texas athletic Rick Villarreal and head coach Darrell Dickey will meet in the coming days to discuss what both described as a disappointing season and the direction of the program, Villarreal said Monday. UNT came into the season off a fourth straight Sun Belt Conference title and was picked to win the league again in the preseason coaches' poll. The Mean Green failed to live up to expectations and finished 2-9 after dropping their last six games. UNT lost five games in conference play by a total of 21 points, including a season-ending 31-24 loss to Arkansas State on Saturday. "There are concerns I have about areas with the program that I want to discuss with Coach Dickey in the next week so that we can keep this football program at a level that allows us to be respected across the country," Villarreal said. "This season was a big disappointment to him, the players and the fans. I want to make sure we are on the same page as to the reasons why that happened and how we can avoid that happening again." Geoff Anderson / For the DRC Darrell Dickey has been head coach at North Texas since 1998. Dickey also expressed disappointment in the outcome of the season and indicated that that he would address concerns he had about the program in the coming weeks. The majority of the Mean Green's coaching staff left Denton on Monday morning to recruit. "Right now I am in the process of evaluating everything," Dickey said. "I think that we need to remember that this coaching staff was the same one that won four conference championships. They didn't become bad coaches overnight because we lost some close games. With that said, we have to evaluate all of our strengths and weaknesses. I have to evaluate myself and recruit players that we can count on." UNT examines QB situation UNT is considering pursuing a junior college quarterback to join a crowded race for the starting job in the 2006 season that could include Joey Byerly. Redshirt freshman Daniel Meager started every game this season for the Mean Green and split time with freshman Matt Phillips, who came off the bench to rally UNT in several games. "We will consider recruiting a junior college quarterback if we can find an older guy that fits our offense and we think can come in here and compete for the starting job," Dickey said. "We are still going to have our top two quarterbacks who will be sophomores next year. Recruiting a junior college quarterback is a possibility, but it isn't something we are obsessed with because we feel good about the progress our two guys made." At this point last season, Byerly appeared as if he was on his way to being the Mean Green's starter in 2005. The former West Orange Stark standout backed up Scott Hall as a redshirt freshman and was expected to compete with Meager for the starting job. Byerly lost that opportunity when he was ruled academically ineligible during the summer. The loss of Byerly forced UNT to enter the season without a quarterback who had taken a snap in a college game. UNT finished last in the Sun Belt in passing offense with an average of129 yards a game. Meager led UNT with 941 yards passing on the season. "We are looking at his situation," Dickey said of Byerly. "He was supposed to be getting his grades in order at another school so that he could get back into school at North Texas in the spring. At that point we would find out what his plan is to get his academics in order so that he can compete next year." UNT to have extra time in recruiting UNT's coaching staff will face a different set of circumstances during the next few weeks than it has in the previous four years when the Mean Green were preparing to play in the New Orleans Bowl. The change will have an effect both on UNT's recruiting efforts and its preparation for next season. Playing in the New Orleans Bowl gave UNT's coaches several extra days of work with its younger players and an added draw in recruiting. "From the practice standpoint it hurts," Dickey said of not playing in a bowl. "We got 12-15 extra practices in. We have taken time to work out some extra guys." The lone benefit will be the extra time UNT's coaches have to focus on the Mean Green's recruiting efforts. "In recruiting it evens out," Dickey said. "All of our coaches are out on the road now, but it's easier to go out and sell that you are going to a bowl game." • • • BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

He didn't qualify academicallly and went to a JC....don't remember which one.

UNT trying to figure out what went wrong in '05 07:43 AM CST on Monday, November 28, 2005 By BRETT VITO / Staff Writer There was no post-game celebration, no bowl game invitation. No national rushing championship. When North Texas' season came to an end on Saturday in a loss to Arkansas State, there was only a much-needed final wakeup call for a program that failed to live up to expectations in a dramatic fashion this season. Just a few months ago, UNT was the trendy pick to win a fifth straight Sun Belt Conference title behind a pair of former national rushing champions in Patrick Cobbs and Jamario Thomas. So what went wrong in a 2-9 season? UNT head coach Darrell Dickey pointed to the little things. Gary Payne / DRC North Texas wide receiver Brandon Jackson (right) is tackled by Louisiana-Lafayette's Johnny Felders during their Nov. 5 game at Fouts Field. "We need to be on time to meetings, be 100 percent in the offseason and take care of business off of the field," Dickey said. "We need to do the little things in practice." At times this season, the Mean Green looked as if they thought they would stroll to the Sun Belt title and a berth in the New Orleans Bowl simply because the name on their helmets read "North Texas", even if it was in a different font this year. That wasn't the way UNT operated in previous seasons when players like Andy Brewster, Cody Spencer and Chris Hurd helped lead the Mean Green to four straight conference titles. When UNT struggled early along the offensive line last year, Brewster got the players together and fixed the problem. Hurd always seemed to know where the ball was headed because he lived in the film room, studying the next week's opponent. When the Mean Green lost a key player, there always seemed to be a new, talented recruit waiting in the wings to take over. That wasn't the case this season when the Mean Green's failure to maintain focus over the last year came back to haunt them in dramatic fashion. UNT finished the season on a six-game losing streak and at the bottom of the Sun Belt standings for the first time since the league formed in 2001. When the Mean Green look back it will be some of the little things they will see that proved costly. UNT had a punt return for a touchdown called back by a needless personal foul penalty against ASU and lost by a touchdown. The Mean Green finished the season ranked seventh among the eight teams in the Sun Belt Conference in penalty yards with an average of 74.3 yards per game. In a season that UNT lost five conference games by a total of 21 points, those yards proved critical. UNT lost potential starters at quarterback and along the defensive line to eligibility issues before the season started and finished last in the Sun Belt in passing offense and rushing defense. UNT brought in one of its most highly regarded recruiting classes in several years in 2004, but didn't plug enough holes in its lineup with its 2005 class. Several of UNT's freshmen could turn out to be impact players later in their careers, but the Mean Green didn't get the immediate help they needed at quarterback or in the interior of its defensive line. Dickey vowed to examine what went wrong in the next few days and find a way to fix what ailed the Mean Green this season. At least one new assistant coach will join the staff in the offseason to replace running backs coach/recruiting coordinator Bruce Bell, who is retiring in February. A whole new class of recruits will commit to the Mean Green this winter. What will be more important than any of those new additions is how UNT responds to a terrible season. UNT will return several of the same players and unless something unforeseen happens, basically the same coaching staff. Whether UNT bounces back or not will depend on if the Mean Green can regain their focus and their edge over the next few months. "We have a lot of evaluation to do, both from a coaching and players perspective," Dickey said. "We have a lot of work to do between now and the beginning of next season." • • • BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

Late Run Sparks North Texas Past Cornell 63-52 Courtesy: University of North Texas Release: 11/27/2005 Courtesy: Rick Yeatts Guard Tricia Lee had four steals in the North Texas win over Cornell DURHAM, N.H. (11/27/05) – A late second half run spurred the North Texas women’s basketball team past Cornell 63-52 in the consolation game of the UNH Wildcat Classic from Lundholm Gymnasium. With 9:51 remaining and the game tied at 44-44, North Texas (3-1) went on a 9-0 run over the next five minutes to take command of the game. “I was really please with our effort today on both sides of the ball,” said North Texas head coach Tina Sinker. “When the game was tied we made the plays when we had to and I thought that Mia and Tricia really stepped up for us”. Junior Mia Ajekwu finished the game with a career-high 14 rebounds and freshman Tricia Lee had four steals, three of which came during the 9-0 run by the Mean Green. North Texas held a four-point lead at halftime at 25-21 and extended it to six points early in the second half. Cornell (1-4) countered as freshman Jeomi Maduka keyed a six point run to even the game at 37-37 with 13 minutes to play. North Texas built there lead back up to five points at 44-39 at the 11 minute mark, but the Big Red responded again and tied the game at 44-44. North Texas closed the game with a run of 19-8 and put the game away for good. “They are a very patient team on offense and we knew that if we were able to pressure them that we could come up with some steals and turnovers” Slinker said. Senior guard Erika Bobo had a team-high 15 points and six steals as North Texas notched a season-high 18 steals in the game. North Texas has now started the season at 3-1 for the fourth time in the last five seasons. North Texas closes out its three-game road swing with a visit to Louisiana-Monroe on Wednesday, November 30.

We have none in the Ft. Worth and Dallas are prospects. We do have one in the statewide top 100 ...in the 80's.

or stay elgible

7 players are considering NMexSt, Tulsa and La Tech none listed considering NT. This could be DD's recruiting technique at work...telling a recruit not to announce they are considering NT. The last time I checked, we have no prospects listed in the Dallas area top 100 which includes many players that are also in their (Rivals) top state wide 100. Lets hope no bowl game leaves NT coaches with more time to recruit.

This is only the second losing season at home in the last 15 years with the other in 1999 when Nt was 1-3 at home. Guess who was coach in 1999. So DD's had the only 2 losing season at home in the last 15 years. NT has now lost 10 straight OCC games dating back to the last win over Troy in 2003. In the 54 years of Fouts field NT has gone winless 3 times...0-1 in 1972, 0-4 in 1982 and now 0-5 in 2005.

That makes it a 2 wins and 9 losses this year. Evidently Meager was hurt and had to leave the game in the 2nd half, then Phillips left the game...but came back in and led NT to a tie.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

If we get a JC recruit that is elgible for spring training they will fit into the system before FB season begins. If a JC is not elgible for Div I when he goes into the JC system...he will have to graduate from the JC before he can actually transfer to a Div I school. Weathers and Ranson are good players but they didn't report until after they graduated in May so it did take half a season to really get into the system.