Marty

The Bulldogs next will play in the Whataburger Tournament at Haltom High School. They will open against Lipan at 2:45 p.m. on Dec. 28.

Watched Justin Howerton in person last night against Gunter. He finished with 18 points, a ton of rebounds, and several blocks. Gunter didn't have anyone that could match up with him, their tallest player is 6'2". Howerton ran the floor real well and has a nice little jumper.

Also had 8 rebounds and 8 blocks!

Allen JV 59, Howe 43 Howe 8 21 13 9 — 43 Allen JV 21 20 13 5 — 59 Howe – Beaver 1, Mangrum 12, Brooks 10, Stanley 2, Howerton 18. Allen JV – Eason 2, Brawn 2, Walker 5, Alexander 3, Pickup 3, White 10, Er. Braithwaite 2, Leever 24, Shrum 8.

Howe plays in Pilot Point for those of you that live near Denton.

Peaster 45, Howe 43 HOWE -- Peaster broke a tie with three seconds left to pull out a victory over Howe. Howe (4-3) couldn't get off a shot and lost to the No. 9-ranked 2A team in the state. The Bulldogs had a 27-22 halftime lead but made only two shots in the third quarter and trailed by six going into the fourth. Howe tied the game at 43-43 with just over two minutes left before Peaster (4-0) stalled and held for the last shot. The initial attempt was missed but Peaster got the offensive rebound and scored on a putback. Collin Mangrum scored a game-high 18 points for Howe, while Justin Howerton added 11. Tyler Hull had 13 points for Peaster. Howe takes on the Allen junior varsity at the Ray Roberts Classic at Pilot Point Thursday at 3:30 p.m.

Frisco Centennial 52, Howe 40 HOWE -- Frisco Centennial pulled away with strong free throw shooting in the fourth quarter and came away with a victory in the season opener for both teams. The game was tied at 20 at halftime before Centennial took a four-point lead into the fourth. The visitors preceded to make nine-of-11 free throws in the final quarter while Howe made only seven-of-18 from the line for the game. Justin Howerton scored a game-high 25 points for Howe, which plays Nocona in the Saint Jo Tournament Thursday at 12:15.

DATE OPPONENT SITE TIME TEAM Nov. 11 Princeton Scrimmage There 5:00/6:00 JV-V Nov. 16 Frisco Centennial Here 5:00/6:30 JV-V Nov. 18-20 St. Jo Tourney There TBA JV-V Nov. 23 Prosper There 5:00/6:30 JV-V Nov. 30 Peaster Here 4:30/6:00 JV-V Dec. 2-4 Ray Roberts Classic Pilot Point TBA V Dec. 4 Howe Tourney Here TBA JV Dec. 7 Lone Oak Here 5:00/6:30 JV-V Dec. 10 S&S Consolidated Here 5:30/7:00 JV-V Dec. 11 Prosper Tourney There TBA JV Dec. 13 Trenton Here 5:00/6:30 JV-V Dec. 17 *Gunter There 5:00/8:00 JV-V Dec. 28-30 Whataburger Tourney Ft. Worth TBA V Jan. 4 *Blue Ridge Here 5:00/8:00 JV-V Jan. 7 *Anna Here 5:00/8:00 JV-V Jan. 11 *Whitewright There 5:00/8:00 JV-V Jan. 14 *Leonard Here 5:00/8:00 JV-V Jan. 14-15 District Tourney TBA TBA JV Jan. 18 *Tom Bean Here 5:00/8:00 JV-V Jan. 21 *Bells There 5:00/8:00 JV-V Jan. 25 *Gunter Here 5:00/8:00 JV-V Jan. 28 *Blue Ridge There 5:00/8:00 JV-V Feb. 1 *Anna There 5:00/8:00 JV-V Feb. 4 *Whitewright Here 5:00/8:00 JV-V Feb. 8 *Leonard There 5:00/8:00 JV-V Feb. 11 *Tom Bean There 5:00/8:00 JV-V Feb. 15 *Bells Here 5:00/8:00 JV- This is Howe's schedule from their website

UNT and Texas have three common opponents: Baylor, Texas A&M and SMU. The Mean Green went 1-2 in those games with a win over Baylor. Texas posted an 0-3-1 record against the same teams.

Going green -- Howerton to sign with UNT BY BILL SPINKS HERALD DEMOCRAT HOWE -- For his college basketball career, Justin Howerton has decided to forgo midnight yells and the Dixie Chicken in favor of live music and Fry Street. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound senior center at Howe High School has dropped his verbal commitment to play for Texas A&M and has instead committed to North Texas. Howerton will sign with the Mean Green on Wednesday, the first day of the NCAA's early signing period. "It's close to home, and his parents and family can watch him play," said Howe head coach Tim Rose, who had suggested to Howerton that he visit UNT after his visit to A&M. "It's a decent program that's up and coming. I think he'll like the coaches there, too." Howerton averaged 16 points, 11.5 rebounds and four blocks as a junior, and helped lead the Bulldogs to the Class 2A Region II tournament and to a 29-7 record, tying a school mark for wins. Howerton, who had also considered TCU, Texas State and Stephen F. Austin, originally had committed to new coach Billy Gillispie's Aggies in August. But Howerton, after learning that the Aggies weren't planning to use him right away, had a change of heart. Howerton competed this past summer in AAU basketball with the Dallas Mustangs, traveling all across the U.S. for major tournaments. The Mustangs were one of the top five AAU 17-year-old teams in the nation this past summer, with eight Division I players in all. Others on the team included Dallas Lincoln's Byron Eaton, who is headed to Oklahoma State; and Lincoln's Gary Flowers, whose list includes Cincinnati, Georgia Tech and Kansas State as well as OSU. "It was the best thing in the world for me," Howerton said. "They were playing my style of play; as long as I could keep my feet in place, I could play. The competition was great." For his size, Howerton is an exceptional athlete. He competed in long jump during track season, and briefly tried football this year, starting two games as a tight end and defensive end before leaving Howe's football team to concentrate on his hoops career. Howerton joins Kevin Brooks and Collin Mangrum as the only three returning starters for Howe, but Rose has a capable crop of replacements from a junior varsity that won 23 games last season. "We had a good run last year, and we're trying to build upon that," Rose said. "Our expectations are high, and we've set our goals high. Our kids expect to have a good year, and that's a good thing." Howe's pre-district basketball schedule reflects those expectations. The Bulldogs, who open against Class 4A Frisco Centennial next Tuesday, will host preseason Class 2A No. 5 Peaster on Nov. 30. The Bulldogs will compete against mostly 3A schools in a tournament in Pilot Point and are also entered in the Whataburger Tournament in Fort Worth, which features 14 state-ranked teams. "It's a good opportunity for our kids to go and play against the level of competition you have to play at in order to move farther than we did last year," Rose said. "If we're fortunate enough to play some of those teams in the playoffs, maybe we'll have more success

Is that his son, Da'Ron Calhoun, playing for Gainesville this year?

I've seen him play the last 2 years in high school ball. Unless he really developed over the summer, I just can't see him playing D-1 basketball. He always seemed a little soft around the basket. He dominated at Howe because there's not too many other 2A schools that could match up with him. I would like to see him make it but it seems to me to be a longshot.

Jeryl Sasser 1971-72? Any relation to the Jason and Jeryl Sasser of Tech and SMU?

19 out of 20!

O.K. Rick, give us a report on the concert. How was it? It's Hip To Be a Mean Green Fan!

would love to go. Saw Huey back in '86 when they were really hot. It was a great show!

Assistant helps Longhorns bring talent back to Austin Aston's hard work pays off as UT returns to Final Four 04/05/2003 By CHIP BROWN / The Dallas Morning News AUSTIN – Just like John Travolta needed Pulp Fiction to make his comeback, Jody Conradt may have needed Karen Aston. The Texas women's basketball team is back in the Final Four, where it seemed to live in the mid-1980s, when Conradt led UT to two Final Fours and the first undefeated women's national championship in 1986. But for Conradt, the 1990s were almost a decade to forget by Texas standards. None of those teams made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Enter Aston in 1998, when Conradt hired her away from an assistant job at North Texas because Conradt was tired of seeing and hearing about Aston everywhere on the recruiting trail – working for someone else. Aston took over recruiting for Conradt and in two years became Conradt's first associate head coach because of the stream of talent pouring into Austin. Under Aston's direction, UT's roster is now loaded with Parade All-Americans Stacy Stephens and Heather Schreiber, McDonald's All-American Nina Norman as well as Oklahoma's high school player of the year in 2000-01, Kala Bowers. Aston has known about almost all of them since they were in eighth grade. Texas also has signed two top national recruits for next year: Tiffany Jackson, a 6-4 forward from Duncanville, and Kalee Carey, a 6-5 center from Canyon, Texas. UT loses senior guard Tai Dillard from its starting lineup after this season. Aston, 38, gives the credit to Conradt, to the university, to fellow assistants Fred Applin and Kathy Harston and to the willingness of UT players to help recruit new players. But no one works harder on recruiting than Aston. "There are a lot of younger coaches out there following Karen's model," said Conradt, who, of course, gets credit for closing any recruiting deal with her 817 career wins. "And it's 24-7. Karen is part of a new wave of recruiters who are totally focused on that – every day. "All of us who have been in this business, from Pat Summit to Sue Gunter to Geno [Auriemma] – that wasn't what you had to do in recruiting when we got started. And now, whether I like the model or not, this is what you have to do." This is writing letters, e-mailing, instant messaging and calling recruits whenever possible. It's having an unlimited minutes cell phone plan. It's flying to high school basketball or volleyball games in the evening after a UT game that afternoon; getting to the game early and sitting on the front row so the recruit sees you right away. It's knowing what movies, music or video games recruits like; whether a family member is sick or up for a promotion; or if a recruit is stressed about a biology test. It's a delicate art because recruiters can overdo it and turn kids off. But Aston has a soft-touch and an unbelievable ability to connect with athletes. "She has a way of making everyone feel special," said Jerry Simmons, a Dallas-based AAU coach who had Stacy Stephens and the Longhorns' Alisha Sare of Lewisville as players while they were being recruited by Aston. "Players on other teams will say, 'Say hi to Karen,' because they got close to her during recruiting," said Schreiber, UT's high-scoring sophomore who was recruited by Texas since she was in eighth grade. Said Stephens, the team's leading scorer and rebounder, "Karen cares more about the person than she does about selling the university, and that's key. You don't feel like a basketball player in her eyes. You feel like a friend." Ask those close to Texas women's basketball why Conradt's program is back on top, and they will give you two reasons: Conradt re-committed to the program in April 2001, when, after nine years, she gave up her dual role as athletics director of UT women's sports. They will also tell you the recruiting has brought in the kind of talent Conradt was accustomed to coaching during the 1980s, when she had the likes of Clarissa Davis, Andrea Lloyd and Kamie Ethridge. Aston will stop at nothing to let a player know the eyes of Texas are upon her. When South Grand Prairie sensation Ashley Robinson was high-jumping at the Texas Relays three years ago, Aston urged Conradt and the entire Longhorn team to go out and cheer her on. Robinson ultimately went to Tennessee. But Aston has helped convince Ashley's younger sister, Katrina, to attend Texas next year. Aston was adamant with Conradt that Texas could compete for Bowers, who would have seemed a natural to sign with the Oklahoma Sooners after growing up in Woodward, Okla. Once Conradt believed it wasn't a waste of time, she flew through tornadoes in the area to see Bowers play in Oklahoma. Texas signed the 6-2 forward, who averages nine points and five rebounds per game. Aston, a 5-5 former guard at Ouachita Baptist University and Arkansas-Little Rock, says she would like to be a head coach one day. A native of Benton, Ark., who also served as an assistant at Baylor from 1994-96, Aston downplays her accomplishments except to say, "I'm not afraid to go up against anyone for any player. That's the kind of player I was." E-mail chipbrown@dallasnews.com KAREN ASTON FILE Age: 38 Hometown: Benton, Ark. Position: Associate head coach at Texas Responsibilities: Coordinate recruiting and coach defense College: Played two years at Ouachita Baptist University (in Arkadelphia, Ark.) before transferring to Arkansas-Little Rock Experience: Assistant coach at North Texas (two seasons; 1996-98); assistant coach at Baylor (two seasons; 1994-96) Notable: Aston has helped recruit at least one impact player per season in her five seasons under Jody Conradt. ... Aston is also in charge of coaching Conradt's frenetic, man-to-man defense, which is limiting opponents to 55.4 points per game, second-best in UT women's basketball history. ... Friends say Aston's most coveted possessions are her cell phone and coffee. Quotable: "I want to be a head coach, and I think I am ready," Aston said. "But I'm still learning from Jody, and there's great players out there right now who are telling me we are high on their list. So more great things are coming. So I'm not in any hurry. The opportunity that I have today will be there in a couple more years. I'm going to enjoy this."

Although very similar, Logan's and Texas Roadhouse are seperate restaurants. I'm not sure if there are any Logans left in the DFW metroplex, I know the one in Grapevine went out of business and is now a Hooters.

If you're on Loop 288, turn south on Colorado (across from Target) and go about 1/2 mile and you can come in from the back side of Texas Roadhouse.

yeah, it's the same picture as the one that hangs at Fouts.

My wife and I stopped at the new Texas Roadhouse just south of Denton on I-35 to eat last Saturday. Very UNT friendly! Mean Green helmet and jersey (#34) and Lady Eagle basketball jersey on your left as you enter and a huge collage on the north wall of Brad Kassell and various others(cheerleaders, etc). The hostess and waitress were both UNT students as I'm sure were most of them. The foods not bad either.

I'll be back to defend my title!

You're right, they are amazing musicians. They can pick with the best of them. What I like about the Chicks is that they really look like they have fun with what they do. Their looks are just an added bonus.

Located the article, it says that Martie met guitarist Matt Benjamin at a music class "in" North Texas. My mistake, I thought it said "at" North Texas. I would rank them: 1. Martie 2. Emily 3. Natalie (sometimes she looks really cute, sometimes not. Don't know what it is about her!)

In a recent article I read about the Dixie Chicks there was a mention of Emily meeting a guitar player in a music class at North Texas. I had never heard of any of the girls attending UNT but it would seem logical since Emily and Martie are from Dallas. Anyone else know if they actually attended classes here? If so, more greatness from UNT!