Cooley

Scheduling Creates Hassle for Blakeley By Neil Horn (Daily Reporter) “Unbelievable.” That was head basketball Coach Bill Blakeley’s description of the problems he has faced in trying to schedule opponents for next year, following the most successful basketball season in NT history. “I’m not implying that teams are afraid to play us,” Blakeley said Tuesday. “But something’s wrong.” Blakeley has found that verbal agreements made with teams earlier have not been honored when the time to draw up written contracts rolls around. Among the teams that Blakeley had tentatively scheduled for next year, but which backed out, are Alabama, Oklahoma, Long Beach State and Pan American. Blakeley said he is not “popping off” to embarrass teams that refuse to play North Texas. “I just want to play,” he explained. “I went to Philadelphia (site of the NCAA basketball finals) just to try and schedule games,” Blakeley said. “I must have corned 45 people in the hotel lobby begging for games. I even got down on my knees for one coach begging for a game.” He said the only results from his search for games with topnotch competition have been a few tentative verbal agreements. “YOU’VE GOT to experience what I’ve experienced to know what’s happening,” he said. Among the teams that North Texas is scheduled to play next year are SMU, Baylor, TCU, Kansas State, Oral Roberts, Centenary, Tulsa, West Texas State, San Diego State, UT-Arlington, Northwestern Louisiana, Fresno State, Lamar, Arkansas State, Samford, Houston Baptist, Stetson and Texas Wesleyan College.

Grand Green, I yield to you on anything before 1975, but I have to respectfully ask you to put that bottle down. Now, Deon Hunter is my homeboy (SOC) but did you mean to put him ahead of Weasel Johnson? He does not make my list! John Horrocks ahead of Kenneth Williams? Lurch Davis? GG, you have your UNT Hall of Famers on the third team! Excellent job! I appreciate your input! Hell, I thought I was the only one on this board that watch NT basketball before the year 2000. Anyway, I'm glad they finally took those orange seats out. Ya think that may have contributed to vision problems with your rankings? (Just kidding) A closer look at my case: UNT's Hall of Fame JESSE RATLIFF -- It didn't take long for Jesse Ratliff to find the path to stardom at North Texas, where he lettered in basketball from 1990-91 to 1993-94. Seven games into his freshman season, Ratliff was inserted into the starting lineup - a role he never relinquished. Four years and 114 games later, Ratliff left as the school's No. 2 all-time scorer with 2,130 points. After earning Freshman of the year honors in the Southland Conference, Ratliff was a three-time All-Southland Conference performer in his final three seasons. Perhaps the greatest stretch in Ratliff's career came during his sophomore season where he combined to score 63 points and grab 31 rebounds in league games against McNeese State and Nicholls Stats, for chi he was named Player of the Week by Sports Illustrated. Although Ratliff was an explosive scorer, he was also a powerful rebounder who totaled 913 career rebounds, good enough to rank him No. 3 in school history. BILL BLAKELEY -- The Mean Green’s head basketball coach from 1975-76 to 1982-83, Blakeley owns the second-most coaching victories in school history (134) and his career .612 winning percentage (134-85) is fourth-best in school history. He coached the Mean Green to three consecutive 20-win seasons, from 1975-76 to 1977-78. With victories over Arizona State, Kansas State, TCU, Baylor, SMU and Texas during his eight seasons at North Texas, Blakeley also led the Mean Green briefly into the Top 20 national rankings for the only time in school history. TONY WORRELL -- A four-year letterman from 1985-88, the 6-7 forward is North Texas' No. 5 all-time leading scorer with 1,516 points. He was twice named first team All-Southland Conference and, with a conference-leading 20.2 scoring average as a senior in 1987-88, Worrell led the Eagles to Southland Conference regular-season and tournament titles and a berth in the 1988 NCAA championship tournament. KEN WILLIAMS – A four-year letterman in basketball from 1975-78, Williams is the Eagles’ most dominating rebounder in history. He led the entire nation with 14.7 rebounds per game in 1977-78 and led the Eagles in rebounding in three of his four years. He is the school’s all-time leader in career rebounds and also holds the top two single-season totals for rebounds in North Texas history. 1st team All-State @ Dallas SOC. Lead team to state finals back to back. KENNETH LYONS – He led North Texas in scoring and rebounding all four years with the Eagles. Establishing himself as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,291 points, Lyons also holds the school mark for single-game scoring and points scored in a season. Walter "Weasel" Johnson - All-Conference Juco (MCC) The most exciting and quickest player @ UNT. Jon Manning - NAIA All-American (Oklahoma City) Could play for any school in the country. Very much a team player. Would score 40 if needed or play the point position when needed (Sr year) Outstanding shooter! Melvin "Lurch" Davis - 1st Team All-State (Greenville High) The total package Donnell Hayden - All-State (Leading scorer @ Baylor) Unstoppable! Kid had a run of over 30 pts at only 6-0. Only played his Sr season at UNT. Good enough to make my list! Carl Jones - 1St Team All-State (Tx HS All Star Game) Along with Manning, best pure shooters I have ever seen (anywhere) Terry Bailey -JUCO All-American (TVCC/ formerly Henderson County JC) Ronnie Morgan -1st Team All-State (All Conference 1st team) Average 16 pts and 12 rebounds. Runner up to Player of the Year. Played overseas Delonte Taylor - High School AA. Average 16 pts @ UNT. Drafted by San Antonio in the 1988 NBA draft. Son (Delonte Taylor, Jr) is currently the #11 ranked recruit in the Washington DC/MD area (MM Washington HS) # 4 is 6-7 Patrick Ewing, Jr. Waymond Lister - 1st Team All-State (MVP-Texas HS All-Star Game) Charles McMillian -All-State, Juco All-American (Tyler JC) Along with Lister, the best leapers ever at NT. Thomas Gipson -1st Team All-State (McDonald's All-American) UT Signee

I started this list from the 1975-76 season. (My junior year) Joe Hamilton would have been on my first team. I remember watching him on the local broadcast of UNT games. Bobby Iverson would have also been 1st team. The best I could do for Chris Davis was list him as HM. Guys, we recruited and signed the very best players in the state. Most were recruited nationally as well. Our only sell out was standing room only in 1976 against SMU. (10,500) We also had several crowds in the 7-8 range.

Re-post! Cleaning out the garage. Ran across this post from a year or two ago. Position - Player - Height - Season(s) - Hometown/School First Team PG - Walter "Weasel" Johnson - 6 0 - 76-77 - Houston Waltrip/McClennon JC BG - Jon Manning - 6 3 - 78-79 - Pontiac, Mich./Ok City transfer SF - Kenneth Lyons - 6 7 - 80-83 - Ft Worth Trimble Tech PF - Melvin "Lurch" Davis - 6 8 - 75-78 - Greenville, TX C - Kenneth Williams - 6 7 - 75-78 - Dallas South Oak Cliff Second Team - - - - PG - Donnell Hayden - 6 1 - 1991 - N. Mesquite/Baylor Univ. Transfer BG - Carl Jones - 6 2 - 74-76 - Wichita Falls SF - Fred Mitchell - 6 7 - 75-78 - Amarillo Palo Duro PF - Terry Bailey - 6 8 - 76-76 - Crandall, TX/Trinity Valley CC C - Ronnie Morgan - 6 8 - 88-90 - Dallas South Oak Cliff Third Team PG - Furmia Nealy - 6 1 - 80-83 - Ft Worth Dunbar BG - Delonte Taylor - 6 3 - 81-82 - Washington DC/TCU Transfer SF - Jesse Ratliff - 6 6 - 91-94 - Biloxi, MS PF - Adam Smith - 6 8 - 94-95 - Transfer C - Sean Riley - 7 0 - 96-97 - Houston, TX Honorable Mention PG - Deon Alexander - 5 10 - 86-87 - Waxahachie, TX SF - Waymond Lister - 6 3 - 76-79 - Dallas South Oak Cliff SF - Tony Worrell - 6 7 - 85-88 - Goldsboro, NC PF - David Miller - 6 5 - 95-97 - Lancaster, TX BG - Chris Davis - 6 5 - 00-03 - Dallas Kimball SF - Deginald Erskin - 6 5 - 99-00 - Gonzales, TX Others Receiving Votes PG - Pat Hicks - 6 1 - 80-83 - Houston, TX PG - Ricky Roberson - 6 2 - 87-89 - Dallas Roosevelt BG - Charles McMillian - 6 3 - 77-78 - Dallas South Oak Cliff/Tyler JC BG - Chad Elstun - 6 3 - 96-97 - C - John Horrocks - 7 0 - 82-84 - C - Greg Grisson - 6 11 - 82 - C - Graeme Anstey - 6 11 - 99 - Australia C - Thomas Gipson - 6 9 - 91-92 - Sequin, TX/UT Transfer Best Team: 22-4 (1975-1976) Head Coach: Bill Blakely Asst Coaches: Jimmy Gales Billy Tubbs

along w/Mav's Donnie Nelson this week! 6-10 (16 year old) kids walking the streets in Africa. I've always wondered why our coaches don't spend more time in Africa looking for untapped talent. The D/FW area has enough African residents to make their cultural transition a smooth one. Since we can't recruit the 7-0 foot All-Americans here in the states, Africa would be good thing. Nellie Jr., Africa explorer 09:29 PM CDT on Sunday, August 31, 2003 The range of Donnie Nelson's African experiences have roughly matched the size of the continent. In three trips, he has been awed, amazed, afraid and amused. And that was during one cab ride in Nigeria. "We got caught in a monsoon," said Nelson, the Mavericks president of basketball operations, "and the water started rising really fast. The taxi couldn't move, but the driver acted like nothing was going on. 'Happens all the time,' he said." Nellie2 was trying to decide whether the proper response was panic or prayer, but when the water neared the bottom of the taxi window, it began receding and he could focus on the task at hand. "You know," he said, "I did see a lot of 6-10 guys walking around the streets." Ever the scout, Nelson will get an eyeful this week when he joins a group of NBA representatives to conduct clinics for African players between 16 and 20 years old. The "Africa 100 Camp" will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, beginning Tuesday and lasting until Sunday. Nelson will be part of a group that includes Amadou Fall, the Mavericks' director of scouting, and several NBA players including Nets center Dikembe Mutombo of the Congo. One hundred players from 19 countries will take part in the seminar, which will include classes on HIV awareness, healthy living, leadership and drug abuse. Africa is undoubtedly the next great source of talent for the NBA. The continent has 13 percent of the world's population, but it has provided the NBA with few players. And that is despite the impact of Nigeria's Hakeem Olajuwon, who was Houston's No. 1 draft pick in 1984. Olajuwon, however, did not open the African floodgates. There have been other players who have had an impact – Mutombo, Manute Bol of the Sudan and Michael Olowokandi of Nigeria – but not as many as might be expected. The reasons are obvious – poverty and a lack of facilities and coaching. But there is no doubt that the Africans are outstanding athletes. After the 1992 Dream Team played Angola, the Americans raved about the Africans' athletic skills. They were limited only by a lack of basketball skills. "Basketball is like a lot of other things," Nelson said. "If you don't get exposed to the fundamentals early, you become too old to learn them – at least at a level to play in the NBA. That is our ultimate purpose on this trip. To lay the foundation for them for the future." Nelson has been impressed by several traits he has seen during clinics – the competitiveness and commitment. "I once gave a two-hour clinic in Nigeria," he said, "and there were three kids who did not have shoes. They couldn't afford them. It was kind of heartbreaking, but it was also eye-opening. We were on an asphalt court and they participated in every drill, including the defensive drills where you slide your feet. I kept asking them if they needed a break or wanted to sit out, but they said no. They just wanted to play."

Posted on Sat, Aug. 30, 2003 Bliss seeking a role? Ex-coach unlikely to be accepted for volunteer position By Jeff Caplan Star-Telegram Staff Writer WACO - Former Baylor basketball coach Dave Bliss twice this week toured the McLennan County State Juvenile Correctional Facility and expressed interest in becoming a volunteer in the intramural athletic program, facility superintendent John Hopkins said. The facility in Mart, about 20 miles east of Waco, houses incarcerated youth and attempts to steer them toward a better quality of life upon release. In his four years as Baylor coach, Bliss never visited the facility, Hopkins said. Bliss left with a volunteer application in hand, but Hopkins said Bliss has not filed the application with the facility's volunteer coordinator. "He said he felt pretty much all his life had been done for him and now he wanted to do for someone else," Hopkins said. "He has come out here twice, he has looked around, he has talked about areas that he might plug into. I doubt that anything will come out of it." If not, it probably will be because of the ongoing investigation at Baylor involving NCAA violations and the former coach's attempted scheme to portray slain player Patrick Dennehy as a drug dealer. A secret tape made by a former assistant coach on Bliss' staff revealed that Bliss tried to incorporate three players into his scheme. Bliss instructed the players to embellish stories in an attempt to lead investigators to believe that Dennehy was paying for his Baylor tuition by selling drugs. A possibility remains that criminal charges could be levied against Bliss. "And, for that reason, I think that probably he won't be coming out here in the very near future," Hopkins said. "That's one of the things we'll have to evaluate if, in fact, he does turn in an application." Bliss resigned Aug. 8 after a Baylor inquiry found major violations of NCAA rules. Allegations of wrongdoing within the basketball program surfaced during the police investigation into the death of Dennehy. The player's onetime teammate and friend, Carlton Dotson, was indicted on a murder charge by a McLennan County grand jury Wednesday. Dotson remains jailed in Maryland, his home state. Hopkins said Bliss "seemed fine to me," but he characterized Bliss' demeanor as being "a little humbled." The McLennan County State Juvenile Correction Facility offers intramural athletics, including basketball, softball, soccer and football. It does not offer high school-type athletic programs such as those at the Giddings State School and Gainesville State School, which both field athletic teams that participate in the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools league. If Bliss does turn in the application, Hopkins said it would be assessed just as any other volunteer application, subject to background checks, reference checks and a review by the volunteer coordinator. Hopkins said a checkered past would not necessarily disqualify an applicant. For example, the facility often brings in reformed drug addicts to speak to youths in the facility's chemical dependency unit. The problem with Bliss at this time, Hopkins said, is that "his checkered past is the present." However, Hopkins said that if Bliss remains in the area once the investigation is completed, he would consider bringing Bliss on as a volunteer if the former coach is still willing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jeff Caplan, (817) 390-7760 jcaplan@star-telegram.com

I didn't know we had another board. What's the link? Go Mean Green

I hear the guy was very effective assembling a very competitive intramural team back in college. This must have been a major factor with this hire.

Shut out U of H 28-0, and defeated UT on the field!

Deep, I didn't think Larry Bird was going to be a good pro!

I've seen him play twice. Didn't think he was a D1 prospect. I was shocked when he signed with Memphis. This was the classic package deal. Just an opinion

He can't play!

UNT Lifer, I couldn't agree more. Tell that to the kids though! My statement was in reference to the perception that most highly regarded kids have of UNT and our Sun Belt Conference affiliation. (“I can do better”) Practically everyone of this board have chimed in with some form of opinion and/or desire for an improved conference. They all realize the potential impact this will have on kid’s perceptions. (i.e. Conference USA, WAC or improved SBC). Some posters have voiced their reservation about UNT being a serious contender to replace Baylor in the Big 12. (See poll on the football side). I will always have an admiration for our all time top recruit Milton Collins (football) back in 1977. I personally got to know Milton well having been hailed as the next Earl Campbell coming out of Blooming Grove, TX. Milton went against the grain and sign with tiny NT over the top programs in the country. He frankly felt at home here. Our neighbors in Dallas feel that including us with them will lower their standards. Imagine what they tell kids we both recruit? Just how many blue chippers historically list UNT on their top 3-5 list? Despite our recent success, we are still hard pressed to receive interest from top local kids. (James Battle TCU, Aldridge kid Houston and others) I have long advocated that these kids stay home and seriously consider UNT. I'd rather be a big fish in a smaller pond. Look at how Chris Davis has benefitted compared to other equally talented kids that ventured off to bigger named schools. How about Jaquay Wilburn and most recently Kevin Galbraith. These guys are in our record books and eventually, UNT Hall of Fame. I feel you though! This is the place to be. Just don’t shoot the messenger! It is what it is!

It's hot as hell outside! Darrell Dickey has his boys going through summer workouts, so its that time again UNT Basketball. Hey, I haven't seen any projected lineups. I haven't seen or heard of most of the newcomers, therefore, I am yielding my opinion to those in the know. Buford, Old-timer, downtown, JJ, RV, Dickey V, Billy Packer or Harry, Let's talk some basketball!!! Hell, the basketball side feels like a diamond among all the football trash!

First of all, I realize J. Jones is locked up at UNT for heaven knows how long. Assuming we were looking for a head guy now, would we consider Bliss? I realize the guy brings some taint with him, however, someone will get perhaps the cleanest coach in America going forward. (assuming he elects to stay in coaching) The guy can recruit (albeit with some good ole Baptist money) and is a very good coach. What are your thoughts? Hell, it's dead on this side!

Ellis Kidd has gone on record as saying that he is staying. I liked him at Dallas Madison. Played his first year at Okla. State. Was a member of the team that whose plane crashed. High shcool teammate of Jerome Rogers. (Dad, is the coach) Tommy Swanson is a tall skinny kid from N. Crowley. Played with Keith Langford of Kansas. Very good shot blocker. Lawrence Roberts is too good to come here. Possible pro prospect.

Never too early to brag on my boys from Dallas SOC! 2003-2004 front line of 6-9 post Darrell Arthur (#1 Soph in the state- National Recruit) 6-8 PF Kevin Rogers (top 10 Jr statewide) and 6-5 SF Jarrell Hastings (#22 Jr). "Hello Johnny Jones" If we can just some better guard play! District 10AAAA again will be the toughest district in the state. Dallas Seagoville and SOC will be ranked one, two or three. (Ft Worth Dunbar will again be in the mix) Dallas Roosevelt will very competitive along with Dallas Lincoln & Dallas Kimball. 5A will be much improved with Dallas Skyline leading the pack. Watch out for Dallas Carter and Dallas Bryan Adams. http://www.texasroundball.com/ Insomnia kicking butt this AM!

What do I need to do to get this information in english? Thanks!

http://espn.go.com/ncb/news/2003/0727/1586164.html

Don't know if anyone noticed that the assistant coach was former North Texas player Rodney Belcher. Belcher played with Beaumont Ozen's High School coach Andre Boutte. (under Tommy Newman)

That's one way to get back at your ex-boyfriend. Sleep with Kobe Bryant. The young lady doesn't appear to be as credible as everyone said that she is! Didn't Kobe go there to have or rehab from surgery. Obviously, he couldn't have been that aggressive. When I have always requested room service, I always get some stinking looking dude. Can't remember the last time a 19 year old singer/cheerleader came up to fix my tv. This unfortunate situation may not make it to trial!

Thanks IronMan4. Too bad! Maybe he can refer Shawn Bradley & R. LaFrenz to his podiatrist!

What happened to him? I know he sat out for the 2nd year with a bad foot. This guy was projected as the #1 center in the country prior to the 02-03 season. He went undrafted and I have not seen his name surface on any summer league teams. He would have been the Maverick's savior at center (7-1 with skills) Anyone know anything?

Bill Blakeley was fired. New coach Tommy Newman felt that Spud didn't fit his slow down style.

I've never heard of a guard, at any level, at any time, averaging 57% from the floor. I hope like hell this is accurate. Where's "Downtown" when we need him? Buford and/or Oldtimer, what's your assessment of the roster? (2-deep) Thanks!