Tony Benford

untjim1995 · February 20, 2015

I've been thinking a lot about our current coach and the recent run of wins the team has strung together. It makes me think about what our long-term outlook will be with the program and it really is difficult to figure out what direction this will go. So I ask you all on gmg.com: What is the best situation for our program, in regards to him being our coach beyond next year? You can make the argument that he has been a huge disaster, that it took him one full year to destroy all of the progress that Johnny Jones made. You can also make the argument that he is showing improvement on the job, based upon his record in the last two years and expereince as a head coach. It really is a two-sided coin--a really good recruiter, but the recruits don't stick often. He's been a bad x's and o's coach and motivator at times, but he has beaten his share of teams on the schedule, as well.

Let's assume for a moment that he isn't extended after this season. Next year is his 4th season as head coach, with only one year remaining on the contract. Basically, its the make-it-or-break-it season for both him and the university. What kind of record would he need to have to get an extension by the university (not what you think it should be, but what you think the AD will accept)?

I feel like he isn't the guy to really get us over the hump, but I do recognize that he probably is getting better as a head coach, if for nothing else because he was so epically bad in his first year as a head coach. And I do think the AD wants badly to be able to extend him, just for his own resume needing major improvement on hiring revenue coaches. To me, the best thing that can happen next year is to have a really bad team or really good team that makes your decision easy to make. Otherwise, another .500 season or just above that really muddies the water even further on what to do next.

What I fear happens here is that we see an improvement of finishing above .500 next year, but still finish middle of the pack in CUSA, yet he gets extended and we get stuck with a bad coach for more years going forward. But it is also clear he has gotten more comfortable in running the team as a head coach than he was in his first year here, so if he gets extended, would we get a better coach as the seasons progress, like Johnny Jones?

Travis · February 20, 2015

I would expect a 20 win season with some quality wins as a must to keep him and a top 4 finisher in the conference tournament. No extension after year 4 unless he won a NCAA Tournament game. He would have to maintain that in year 5 to be considered for a 2 year extension.

MeanGreenHoops · February 20, 2015

I feel like he isn't the guy to really get us over the hump, but I do recognize that he probably is getting better as a head coach,

This seems about right, except Benford was the one who created the hump.

TIgreen01 · February 20, 2015

No freaking clue. My guess is that RV will feel obligated to keep him if we're anywhere from just under .500 (a game or two) on up. He's out there praising Kermit Davis who has basically fallen back to middle of the pack after a few decent years.

DeepGreen · February 20, 2015

Benford needs to get us in the NCAA or NIT tournament for any consideration of a contract extension. UNT basketball is not an "on the job training" HC position.

10Eagle10 · February 20, 2015

I would expect a 20 win season with some quality wins as a must to keep him and a top 4 finisher in the conference tournament. No extension after year 4 unless he won a NCAA Tournament game. He would have to maintain that in year 5 to be considered for a 2 year extension.

The problem with not firing or extending him after year 4 is that you go into year 5 with a lame duck coach. A lame duck coach has an extremely difficult time recruiting between years 4 and 5 (and during year 5) because every recruit knows that he doesn't even have a contract for the next season.

Only coaches like Mike Petersen (at Wake Forest) don't get fired or extended. His contract just ran out, and that program is now dead last in the ACC three years later because of it

forevereagle · February 20, 2015

Unless he makes a conference tournament run that puts us in the NCAA tournament, I don't see him getting an extension. He can avoid getting fired, and probably is close to saving his job for another year, but I doubt he is extended. Not sure what it would take to get him an extension after next season. I would like to think that it would take 18-20 wins and a deep conference run to see that happen with an appearance in the NIT or NCAA, but it is hard to predict what RV will need to see for an extension.

golfingomez · February 20, 2015

I've been thinking a lot about our current coach and the recent run of wins the team has strung together. It makes me think about what our long-term outlook will be with the program and it really is difficult to figure out what direction this will go. So I ask you all on gmg.com: What is the best situation for our program, in regards to him being our coach beyond next year? You can make the argument that he has been a huge disaster, that it took him ~~one full year~~ TWO GAMES to destroy all of the progress that Johnny Jones made. You can also make the argument that he is showing improvement on the job, based upon his record in the last two years and expereince as a head coach. It really is a two-sided coin--a really good recruiter, but the recruits don't stick often. He's been a bad x's and o's coach and motivator at times, but he has beaten his share of teams on the schedule, as well.

FIFY

drex · February 20, 2015

North Texas offers any new coach on the job training. Darrell Dickey comes to mind. Even the AD job is on the job training.

UNT90 · February 20, 2015

One thing is almost for certain. UNT will make the wrong decision. Jim asked what the best situation for our program is. The best situation was Tony Benford being fired 2 years ago. But either pride or money, or a combination of both, didnt allow that to happen.

Now here we sit wondering if Tony Benford rising to that oh so familiar standard of excellence at UNT: average, is enough for an extension.

Extend him after this season and you have completely lost me as a UNT basketball fan.

I don't think they can extend him and I think that is not a good situation as it will hurt recruiting, but you shouldn't give someone something they clearly do not deserve.

UNTFan23 · February 20, 2015

North Texas offers any new coach on the job training. Darrell Dickey comes to mind. Even the AD job is on the job training.

Um, every job comes with OJT as you never know how to do everything you are asked to do.

UNT90 · February 20, 2015

Unless he makes a conference tournament run that puts us in the NCAA tournament, I don't see him getting an extension. He can avoid getting fired, and probably is close to saving his job for another year, but I doubt he is extended. Not sure what it would take to get him an extension after next season. I would like to think that it would take 18-20 wins and a deep conference run to see that happen with an appearance in the NIT or NCAA, but it is hard to predict what RV will need to see for an extension.

He could have gone 5-24 and would have been kept on for a 4th year. Don't believe me? Keep an eye on women's basketball...

UNT90 · February 20, 2015

Um, every job comes with OJT as you never know how to do everything you are asked to do.

Ya, but knowing how to coach basketball is a pretty important job requirement for a...

Basketball coach

MeanGreenTexan · February 20, 2015

Um, every job comes with OJT as you never know how to do everything you are asked to do.

I would like to test this hypothesis by hiring Nick Saban. Rick & staff cannot answer any questions he may have. He must walk around the Athletic facilities & sidelines blindfolded, relying solely on what he already knows or what he can figure out without any kind of 'training'.

Think we could get a multi-million dollar government grant to pay for his services seeing as this is now a 'study'?

Ben Gooding · February 20, 2015

He's not a very good X's & O's coach. That's blatantly obvious to anyone that has even paid the slightest attention to North Texas basketball. His clock management, situational timeouts, substituting, etc are all pretty bad. As far as his X's & O's, his go to "drawn up play" out of his own timeout is a post feed from top of the key. It's bad. So, I personally think it's time to change directions after this season. Why wait another year for what will almost be another similar year to the pervious.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Ben Gooding

GreenEggs&Ham™ · February 21, 2015

You have to admit, Benford knows how to pass through a full court press and get layups. That is good coaching. And we are also getting hot at the right time.

Cooley · February 21, 2015

The window to fire Tony Benford (before his contract expires) is all but closed. I actually like what I have seen this year. Yeah, a couple of bad losses but a few good wins as well. For the most part, very competitive basketball in all games. A normal year for most programs. I really didn't expect much from this team without a good point guard and center. (Yes, he is responsible for the roster) Both, however, will be addressed next year. If Benford can find 2 more good pieces, I think he will finally turn the corner. If he does or does not, I will not gleefully post after each loss.

UNT90 · February 21, 2015

If he does or does not, I will not gleefully post after each loss.

The posts aren't "gleeful," they are frustration posts from fans who simply can't believe Benford was given 3 years to learn how to coach when he was handed one if the most talented teams in UNT history according to many basketball prognosticators and the AD itself. To avoid cuss words, sometomes you just got to shake your head and laugh.

He will always be trying to repair what he ruined in his tenure here. Some people aren't going to forget that.

Edited February 21, 2015 by UNT90

Andrew · February 21, 2015

The posts aren't "gleeful," they are frustration posts from fans who simply can't believe Benford was given 3 years to learn how to coach when he was handed one if the most talented teams in UNT history according to many basketball prognosticators and the AD itself. To avoid cuss words, sometomes you just got to shake your head and laugh.
He will always be trying to repair what he ruined in his tenure here. Some people aren't going to forget that.

What if he won out and took a couple games in the conference tournament. Would that appease you?

What if we do that and then also sign a solid JUCO post player and manage to have TJ back next season to go along with Reese, Harris, Mo etc... That would have to look very promising. We still need to get some good recruits for next season, but looking at UNT a basketball at this point and time things do not look that bad. We are in th top half of our conference and hopefully working on a winning record. Cooley is right. The team is getting hot at the right time. People complained we could not win back to back games. We have. People said we could not beat a good team. We have. People said we could not keep games close. We have. People said we could not win on the road. We have. People said we could not have a chance at a winning record. We have the opportunity now. Our next goal should be to put teams away by double digits and hold large leads. Anything can happen, but Benford has grown as a coach and the team is getting better each game.

GrandGreen · February 21, 2015

Benford was a bad hire, and I doubt anyone other than the one who did the hiring is going to disagree with that. However, he is not going anywhere after this year and I think that is a good decision. Anyone who has actually saw this team play a few games, should know that the team is better and plays about as hard as any team.

Frankly, it is not likely that NT is going to hire anyone who can do any better than Benford next year. As far as being given on job training at this point, so what. Benford was frightfully bad his first year and definitely sub-par his second year. NT can't get those years back, so the only sensible thing to do is evaluate where the team is right now. They are a middle of the conference team that could be peaking at just the right time. Does that plot seem familiar?

Not saying that Benford is the answer, but he is going to be here next year. So just give him and most importantly the team a chance.

Andrew · February 21, 2015

I agree. What good does it do to harp on the past! We all know the first season was a disaster, but why always bring it up. Living in the past is a terrible way to live ones life. We are in the here and now. Rright now the team has a chance to win 4 games in a row and come home with a .500 record. That's all that matters. Do you think Benford or Jordan Williams sit around thinking about what happened 2 years ago? No... They are going in with a mindset of finishing this season strong and that's what fans should be doing as well!

UNT90 · February 21, 2015

What if he won out and took a couple games in the conference tournament. Would that appease you?
.

The chances of that happening are microscopic. See UTEP on the road.

But to answer your question, No.

If you like being a middle of the pack CUSA team, Benford is definitely your guy.

Andrew · February 21, 2015

The chances of that happening are microscopic. See UTEP on the road.
But to answer your question, No.
If you like being a middle of the pack CUSA team, Benford is definitely your guy.

For this season I'm content being in the middle of the pack. Next season I will be looking to improve on that. Expecting us to be the top team every year is a bit far fetched at this point. We would all love to be in the top four, but this is not the sunbelt. We have more teams and some tough places to play on the road.

Would we have been better off with JJ or any other coach? Impossible to truly answer, but I'm interested to hear the reasoning either way.

CMJ · February 21, 2015

Unless we lose out, with each being a blowout, there will be no serious pressure to let Benford go. Just hope for the best.

Mean Green 93-98 · February 21, 2015

Would we have been better off with JJ or any other coach? Impossible to truly answer, but I'm interested to hear the reasoning either way.

Benford's first year, the answer is an unquestionable yes. JJ had one down year (for him) with 18 wins, having won 20 or more in 5 straight years. And he had one of his better rosters (his best?) ready to go if he came back. I find it impossible to believe he would not have won significantly more than the pathetic 12 wins we got.

That said, I'm in agreement with the above posts that observe that Benford is clearly improving as a head coach, and will almost certainly be back next year. But IMO he'll need to do significantly better next year than he's done so far to come back in 2016-17.