Roundtable: Basketball season review

Skipper · March 21, 2016

Editor’s Note: The North Texas Daily sports staff analyzes both the Mean Green men’s and women’s basketball teams and how both did this season. The men’s team finished 10th in Conference USA with a (12-20, 7-11) record and first round exit in the conference tournament to Western Kentucky. The women’s team finished 13th with a (11-19, 5-13) record, falling to Old Dominion in the C-USA tournament after defeating FIU in a play-in game.

Our staff: Scott Sidway (SS), Reece Waddell (RW), Torie Mosley (TM), Alex Lessard (AL), Brady Keane (BK) and Clay Massey (CM).

1. If you could sum up the men’s season in one word, what would it be?

RW: Rollercoaster. This team had a lot of ups and downs this season. It endured a seven and five game losing streak and managed just one win away from the Super Pit all year. There were elevated expectations heading into the season with the arrival of some highly touted recruits, but things never totally came together.

TM: If. If North Texas had capitalized on its five straight home games to start the season. If the team didn’t have part ways with DeAndre Harris early in the season. If the Mean Green didn’t lose seven games in a row after starting the season 2-0. If North Texas didn’t go 1-12 on the road, despite being 11-7 at home. If, if, if.

AL: Frustrating. Tony Benford’s squad was enormously talented but never found the consistency needed to make an impact in Conference USA, largely because of its incompetence on the road. It’s painful to imagine what could have been if North Texas hadn’t lost all three games of the Mean Green challenge in November.

2. If you could sum up the women’s season in one word, what would it be?

BK: Foundation. After more than doubling their win total from the previous season and getting a win in the conference tournament for the first time as a member of Conference USA, Jalie Mitchell and the Mean Green laid the foundation for the future. The team returns a solid core of players in Kelsey Criner, Candice Adams and Terra Ellison, and will have more depth next season as well.

CM: Satisfiable. This team was awful in Mike Peterson’s last season in charge, and first year head coach Jalie Mitchell did her best to get the team moving in the right direction. It appears she has done so, as the team beat then No. 17 Oklahoma and won a conference tournament game. The team was gritty to say the least. Nothing special, but not bad at all.

SS: Unpredictable. Last season was nearly unwatchable for the women’s team, especially with its free throw struggles. But this season, no matter who North Texas played, I felt compelled to tune in for at least the start of every game knowing the team would scrap their way to a competitive game. It didn’t always turn out that way, especially when the team struggled with inbound passes out of timeouts, but the grit that showed during the Oklahoma upset early in the season created intrigue each week.

3. What was the biggest surprise for you this men’s season?

RW: The biggest surprise for me was how bad North Texas was on the road, 1-12. Take that in for a second. Go ahead, read it again. That’s one win in 13 attempts on the road, and that’s not counting the game it lost in the Conference USA tournament, which also was not held in Denton.

TM: The team’s (1-12) record on the road. I understand playing on the road is tough, especially with a young team trying to build a chemistry with each other. But I don’t understand how any Division 1 collegiate team in any sport can go an entire season with only one road victory. This year North Texas had one road win combined between football and men’s basketball.

AL: Deckie Johnson. Getting big improvement from Jeremy Combs and steady play of floor general J-Mychal Reese was expected, but having an Angelina College transfer turn into a lethal scorer from the wing was huge. The junior snatched a spot in the starting lineup early in the season and never let go, improving from a solid bench piece to someone capable of single-handedly taking over a game.

4. What was the biggest surprise for you this women’s season?

BK: I think the inconsistency the team played with was the biggest disappointment for me. Overall, they obviously took a step forward, but there were so many opportunities to string together a couple more wins throughout the season. They went from the high of knocking off then No. 17 Oklahoma to falling to Weber State at home. It was just a roller coaster of a year, but consistency should come with time.

CM: The biggest surprise this season was the culture Mitchell brought to the program. She made sure these girls knew what it meant to be a North Texas basketball player, and part of that comes from the pride she has from playing in Denton. The team definitely bought into that culture, and Mitchell laid some strong groundwork for the future to come.

SS: Achiel Tac. She’s battled injuries for much of her collegiate career, and a level of timidness was apparent in her play last season. It was a completely opposite story this season, with Tac routinely making her presence felt under the basket. It’s no fluke she was near the top of the conference with 10 double-doubles this season.

5. What was your favorite moment this men’s season?

RW: My favorite moment of the year was when Deckie Johnson scored a career high 32 points to lead a ferocious North Texas rally against FIU. Johnson hit five threes in the second half, including one in the final 20 seconds to give the Mean Green a much-needed win. There was also a decent crowd on hand that night, which made it even more enjoyable.

TM: Seeing Eric Katenda end his career at North Texas with back-to-back career scoring games to end the regular season and at the C-USA tournament was great. A graduate forward transfer from Notre Dame overcoming a career full of injuries to go out with the playing time he deserved is what sports is all about. I won’t be surprised to see Katenda in an international uniform if the NBA doesn’t make a call.

AL: The defensive stand in the waning seconds of the senior night victory. It was the team’s only regular season game without Jeremy Combs all season, and it finally came together to finish a game with a total team effort. What followed in the C-USA tournament may have been disappointing, but four consecutive stops in the final three minutes produced an electric atmosphere at the Super Pit to cap off the regular season.

6. What was your favorite moment this women’s season?

BK: The comeback win over IUPUI was pretty much the season in a nutshell. Mitchell brought a “never say die” attitude to the program, and despite trailing by 20 points late in the game, the Mean Green fought back to pick up a win at home early in the season.

CM: When walk-on freshman Orianna Shillow made her first start against the Rice Owls on January 30th, the script wrote itself and Shillow played her part. In an Oscar-worthy performance, Shillow was deadly from three, scoring 16 points and nailing five from deep, which would be the season high for any player. It’s always fun to see a walk-on show they belong.

SS: The November 16 win over Oklahoma. With so many sour tastes still in Mean Green fans’ mouths following last season, the way North Texas and Kelsey Criner closed out the OU game to pick up first win over a ranked opponent in program history set the tone for the season. I am willing to bet nobody outside of the Mean Green locker room gave North Texas a snowball’s chance in hell to pull it off. Besides, how can Steven “Poppy” Bartolotta’s call of that game not be somebody’s favorite moment?

7. What’s your outlook heading into next season for the men?

RW: The general outlook for next year has to be pretty positive. North Texas has former McDonald’s All-American Keith Frazier coming in, even though he was arrested a few weeks ago. The Mean Green is also losing only one starter in forward Eric Katenda, and will return every member of its “Mean Three.” Couple that with A.J. Lawson from Bryan High School and I would like to think there is reason for optimism with this team come next season.

TM: With next year being Tony Benford’s contract year, I expect him to pull out all the tricks up his sleeve. There’s no more time for improvement – it’s time to see some winning. The Mean Green faithful don’t want to hear anything else about the team being too young or lacking chemistry. A more experienced lineup next season with a couple key recruiting additions should be a sight to see come Fall.

AL: Things are looking great for what may be a make-or-break year for head coach Tony Benford. The big three of Jeremy Combs, J-Mychal Reese and Deckie Johnson will be back, and Rickey Brice Jr. should fill in seamlessly for Eric Katenda as a starter down low. Expect the stars to shine even brighter next season. And who knows? Maybe the Mean Green can become the third straight C-USA team to pull off a massive upset in the NCAA tournament.

8. What’s your outlook heading into next season for the women?

BK: I think the depth will be the biggest difference. It will be interesting to see how Criner grows in her second season at the point guard position, and the chemistry that she has built with Adams in the backcourt will be important again as well. The Mean Green will have several transfers from this season that will be available, and I expect the team to continue to improve.

CM: Despite the lackluster final stretch of the season, Mitchell laid some solid foundation for her program moving forward. She only lost three seniors and added some talented freshman in the signing class. She also gets to use her three transfers next season. It almost looks like there’s nowhere to go but up.

SS: It’s hard to imagine anything but improvement for the 2016-2017 women’s basketball season, considering the only major loss the team is suffering is the graduation of Achiel Tac. Jalie Mitchell has established a culture that paid dividends in the standings, but arguably more importantly, recruits will notice a North Texas team on the rise. Sprinkle in the growth of Kelsey Criner and Candice Adams with a full off-season of Mitchell recruiting, and the Super Pit could be home to some quality basketball next season.

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MEANGREENCOACH2 · March 21, 2016

i had fully planned on this link opening up to the dumpster fire picture LOL

untjim1995 · March 21, 2016

14 hours ago, Skipper said:

Editor’s Note: The North Texas Daily sports staff analyzes both the Mean Green men’s and women’s basketball teams and how both did this season. The men’s team finished 10th in Conference USA with a (12-20, 7-11) record and first round exit in the conference tournament to Western Kentucky. The women’s team finished 13th with a (11-19, 5-13) record, falling to Old Dominion in the C-USA tournament after defeating FIU in a play-in game.

Our staff: Scott Sidway (SS), Reece Waddell (RW), Torie Mosley (TM), Alex Lessard (AL), Brady Keane (BK) and Clay Massey (CM).

1. If you could sum up the men’s season in one word, what would it be?

RW: Rollercoaster. This team had a lot of ups and downs this season. It endured a seven and five game losing streak and managed just one win away from the Super Pit all year. There were elevated expectations heading into the season with the arrival of some highly touted recruits, but things never totally came together.

TM: If. If North Texas had capitalized on its five straight home games to start the season. If the team didn’t have part ways with DeAndre Harris early in the season. If the Mean Green didn’t lose seven games in a row after starting the season 2-0. If North Texas didn’t go 1-12 on the road, despite being 11-7 at home. If, if, if.

AL: Frustrating. Tony Benford’s squad was enormously talented but never found the consistency needed to make an impact in Conference USA, largely because of its incompetence on the road. It’s painful to imagine what could have been if North Texas hadn’t lost all three games of the Mean Green challenge in November.

2. If you could sum up the women’s season in one word, what would it be?

BK: Foundation. After more than doubling their win total from the previous season and getting a win in the conference tournament for the first time as a member of Conference USA, Jalie Mitchell and the Mean Green laid the foundation for the future. The team returns a solid core of players in Kelsey Criner, Candice Adams and Terra Ellison, and will have more depth next season as well.

CM: Satisfiable. This team was awful in Mike Peterson’s last season in charge, and first year head coach Jalie Mitchell did her best to get the team moving in the right direction. It appears she has done so, as the team beat then No. 17 Oklahoma and won a conference tournament game. The team was gritty to say the least. Nothing special, but not bad at all.

SS: Unpredictable. Last season was nearly unwatchable for the women’s team, especially with its free throw struggles. But this season, no matter who North Texas played, I felt compelled to tune in for at least the start of every game knowing the team would scrap their way to a competitive game. It didn’t always turn out that way, especially when the team struggled with inbound passes out of timeouts, but the grit that showed during the Oklahoma upset early in the season created intrigue each week.

3. What was the biggest surprise for you this men’s season?

RW: The biggest surprise for me was how bad North Texas was on the road, 1-12. Take that in for a second. Go ahead, read it again. That’s one win in 13 attempts on the road, and that’s not counting the game it lost in the Conference USA tournament, which also was not held in Denton.

TM: The team’s (1-12) record on the road. I understand playing on the road is tough, especially with a young team trying to build a chemistry with each other. But I don’t understand how any Division 1 collegiate team in any sport can go an entire season with only one road victory. This year North Texas had one road win combined between football and men’s basketball.

AL: Deckie Johnson. Getting big improvement from Jeremy Combs and steady play of floor general J-Mychal Reese was expected, but having an Angelina College transfer turn into a lethal scorer from the wing was huge. The junior snatched a spot in the starting lineup early in the season and never let go, improving from a solid bench piece to someone capable of single-handedly taking over a game.

4. What was the biggest surprise for you this women’s season?

BK: I think the inconsistency the team played with was the biggest disappointment for me. Overall, they obviously took a step forward, but there were so many opportunities to string together a couple more wins throughout the season. They went from the high of knocking off then No. 17 Oklahoma to falling to Weber State at home. It was just a roller coaster of a year, but consistency should come with time.

CM: The biggest surprise this season was the culture Mitchell brought to the program. She made sure these girls knew what it meant to be a North Texas basketball player, and part of that comes from the pride she has from playing in Denton. The team definitely bought into that culture, and Mitchell laid some strong groundwork for the future to come.

SS: Achiel Tac. She’s battled injuries for much of her collegiate career, and a level of timidness was apparent in her play last season. It was a completely opposite story this season, with Tac routinely making her presence felt under the basket. It’s no fluke she was near the top of the conference with 10 double-doubles this season.

5. What was your favorite moment this men’s season?

RW: My favorite moment of the year was when Deckie Johnson scored a career high 32 points to lead a ferocious North Texas rally against FIU. Johnson hit five threes in the second half, including one in the final 20 seconds to give the Mean Green a much-needed win. There was also a decent crowd on hand that night, which made it even more enjoyable.

TM: Seeing Eric Katenda end his career at North Texas with back-to-back career scoring games to end the regular season and at the C-USA tournament was great. A graduate forward transfer from Notre Dame overcoming a career full of injuries to go out with the playing time he deserved is what sports is all about. I won’t be surprised to see Katenda in an international uniform if the NBA doesn’t make a call.

AL: The defensive stand in the waning seconds of the senior night victory. It was the team’s only regular season game without Jeremy Combs all season, and it finally came together to finish a game with a total team effort. What followed in the C-USA tournament may have been disappointing, but four consecutive stops in the final three minutes produced an electric atmosphere at the Super Pit to cap off the regular season.

6. What was your favorite moment this women’s season?

BK: The comeback win over IUPUI was pretty much the season in a nutshell. Mitchell brought a “never say die” attitude to the program, and despite trailing by 20 points late in the game, the Mean Green fought back to pick up a win at home early in the season.

CM: When walk-on freshman Orianna Shillow made her first start against the Rice Owls on January 30th, the script wrote itself and Shillow played her part. In an Oscar-worthy performance, Shillow was deadly from three, scoring 16 points and nailing five from deep, which would be the season high for any player. It’s always fun to see a walk-on show they belong.

SS: The November 16 win over Oklahoma. With so many sour tastes still in Mean Green fans’ mouths following last season, the way North Texas and Kelsey Criner closed out the OU game to pick up first win over a ranked opponent in program history set the tone for the season. I am willing to bet nobody outside of the Mean Green locker room gave North Texas a snowball’s chance in hell to pull it off. Besides, how can Steven “Poppy” Bartolotta’s call of that game not be somebody’s favorite moment?

7. What’s your outlook heading into next season for the men?

RW: The general outlook for next year has to be pretty positive. North Texas has former McDonald’s All-American Keith Frazier coming in, even though he was arrested a few weeks ago. The Mean Green is also losing only one starter in forward Eric Katenda, and will return every member of its “Mean Three.” Couple that with A.J. Lawson from Bryan High School and I would like to think there is reason for optimism with this team come next season.

TM: With next year being Tony Benford’s contract year, I expect him to pull out all the tricks up his sleeve. There’s no more time for improvement – it’s time to see some winning. The Mean Green faithful don’t want to hear anything else about the team being too young or lacking chemistry. A more experienced lineup next season with a couple key recruiting additions should be a sight to see come Fall.

AL: Things are looking great for what may be a make-or-break year for head coach Tony Benford. The big three of Jeremy Combs, J-Mychal Reese and Deckie Johnson will be back, and Rickey Brice Jr. should fill in seamlessly for Eric Katenda as a starter down low. Expect the stars to shine even brighter next season. And who knows? Maybe the Mean Green can become the third straight C-USA team to pull off a massive upset in the NCAA tournament.

8. What’s your outlook heading into next season for the women?

BK: I think the depth will be the biggest difference. It will be interesting to see how Criner grows in her second season at the point guard position, and the chemistry that she has built with Adams in the backcourt will be important again as well. The Mean Green will have several transfers from this season that will be available, and I expect the team to continue to improve.

CM: Despite the lackluster final stretch of the season, Mitchell laid some solid foundation for her program moving forward. She only lost three seniors and added some talented freshman in the signing class. She also gets to use her three transfers next season. It almost looks like there’s nowhere to go but up.

SS: It’s hard to imagine anything but improvement for the 2016-2017 women’s basketball season, considering the only major loss the team is suffering is the graduation of Achiel Tac. Jalie Mitchell has established a culture that paid dividends in the standings, but arguably more importantly, recruits will notice a North Texas team on the rise. Sprinkle in the growth of Kelsey Criner and Candice Adams with a full off-season of Mitchell recruiting, and the Super Pit could be home to some quality basketball next season.

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It would appear that their are many sports writers at the NT Daily who don't know much about basketball if they think next year will be any better. This single decision to keep Bumford for his contract season just set the program back a couple of extra years, just from a recruiting standpoint alone. If you agree this upcoming year to come to North Texas to play for Tony Benford as a high school or JUCO player for anything from 2017 and beyond., you may be amongst the dumbest people alive.

UNT90 · March 21, 2016

So they knew Benfird had been retained, yet not one negative word about it?

Has Sidway been bought off? Still no transcript of that interview like he promised.

Green P1 · March 21, 2016

outside of the painfully broken English... That round table discussion had all the feeling of the prepared testimony of the poor college bro detained in North Korea

Green Lantern · March 21, 2016

Serious question: Where is the rhetoric of "we're such an enormously talented team" coming from?

Combs is a really nice player. Brice seems to have upside. That said, they don't resemble a quality team that plays together and certainly failed the eyeball test as far as I'm concerned.

Dont get it.

UNT90 · March 21, 2016

1 minute ago, Green Lantern said:

Serious question: Where is the rhetoric of "we're such an enormously talented team" coming from?

Combs is a really nice player. Brice seems to have upside. That said, they don't resemble a quality team that plays together and certainly failed the eyeball test as far as I'm concerned.

Dont get it.

Yep. I don't get this, either. Especially from a team that plays zero defense. They seem to ignore that there are 2 ends to a basketball court.

Green P1 · March 22, 2016

1 hour ago, Green Lantern said:

Serious question: Where is the rhetoric of "we're such an enormously talented team" coming from?

Combs is a really nice player. Brice seems to have upside. That said, they don't resemble a quality team that plays together and certainly failed the eyeball test as far as I'm concerned.

Dont get it.

Dude... If you can't see how keeping a kid who averaged 11.9 for SMU on our team for like a half semester doesn't entirely alter the course Benny has set this team on... I can't even

Censored by Laurie · March 22, 2016

1 hour ago, Green Lantern said:

Serious question: Where is the rhetoric of "we're such an enormously talented team" coming from?

Combs is a really nice player. Brice seems to have upside. That said, they don't resemble a quality team that plays together and certainly failed the eyeball test as far as I'm concerned.

Dont get it.

I see what you did there.

GMG24 · March 22, 2016

8 minutes ago, Green P1 said:

Dude... If you can't see how keeping a kid who averaged 11.9 for SMU on our team for like a half semester doesn't entirely alter the course Benny has set this team on... I can't even

He actually gets 1 1/2 seasons... Just a half year with Reese as his PG.. BUT he also gets Ryan Woolridge the second half, who I am a very big fan of. I do like the top 7 on this team ALOT. Their coach on the other hand I am no fan of. I think this team and the pieces coming in could have enticed Travis Ford greatly. Looks like OSU just stole Underwood from SFA. $$$ talks

BillySee58 · March 22, 2016

24 minutes ago, GMG24 said:

He actually gets 1 1/2 seasons... Just a half year with Reese as his PG.. BUT he also gets Ryan Woolridge the second half, who I am a very big fan of. I do like the top 7 on this team ALOT. Their coach on the other hand I am no fan of. I think this team and the pieces coming in could have enticed Travis Ford greatly. Looks like OSU just stole Underwood from SFA. $$$ talks

Are you hearing that we get a year and a half of Frazier? Because I know in the past with medical redshirts a player has to play in less than 30% of his team's games (and obviously be out the rest of the way because of injury) in order to get a medical redshirt.

Frazier played in 10 out of SMU's 30 games (33%), plus he wasn't injured so the way I see it his junior year of eligibility is done. But I'm not 100% sure.

As for Underwood, money talks but his new job is also a noticeable step up from a conference, resources, and program standpoint so pay raise is far from the standalone reason for taking that job.

GMG24 · March 22, 2016

1 minute ago, BillySee58 said:

Are you hearing that we get a year and a half of Frazier? Because I know in the past with medical redshirts a player has to play in less than 30% of his team's games (and obviously be out the rest of the way because of injury) in order to get a medical redshirt.

Frazier played in 10 out of SMU's 30 games (33%), plus he wasn't injured so the way I see it his junior year of eligibility is done. But I'm not 100% sure.

As for Underwood, money talks but his new job is also a noticeable step up from a conference, resources, and program standpoint so pay raise is far from the standalone reason for taking that job.

I did hear from a coaching friend they were under the impression he had 1 1/2 seasons left. Otherwise he could have just gone pro this year. It was my understanding he never used a redshirt, so this spring semester and fall next year he is using his "redshirt" thus having the '17 spring semester (next year) and the following year since he redshirted through the transfer process.

BillySee58 · March 22, 2016

1 minute ago, GMG24 said:

I did hear from a coaching friend they were under the impression he had 1 1/2 seasons left. Otherwise he could have just gone pro this year. It was my understanding he never used a redshirt, so this spring semester and fall next year he is using his "redshirt" thus having the '17 spring semester (next year) and the following year since he redshirted through the transfer process.

I'm almost positive a redshirt cannot be divided amongst two separate academic school years. And he played for more than 30% of the games for SMU.

"A special case involves the eligibility of a player who loses the majority of a season to injury. Popularly known as a medical redshirt, a hardship waiver may be granted to athletes who appear in fewer than 30% of team competitions (none after the midpoint of the season) then suffers a season-ending injury. Players granted such a waiver are treated for the purposes of eligibility as though they did not compete in that season."

I don't think he has a leg to stand on for a hardship waiver even if he had competed in less than 30% of his team's games. Unless you can divide the redshirt, but pretty much all redshirt rules specify that it's to be done in one season.

GMG24 · March 22, 2016

Just now, BillySee58 said:

I'm almost positive a redshirt cannot be divided amongst two separate academic school years. And he played for more than 30% of the games for SMU.

"A special case involves the eligibility of a player who loses the majority of a season to injury. Popularly known as a medical redshirt, a hardship waiver may be granted to athletes who appear in fewer than 30% of team competitions (none after the midpoint of the season) then suffers a season-ending injury. Players granted such a waiver are treated for the purposes of eligibility as though they did not compete in that season."

I don't think he has a leg to stand on for a hardship waiver even if he had competed in less than 30% of his team's games. Unless you can divide the redshirt, but pretty much all redshirt rules specify that it's to be done in one season.

If you're right and I'm sure you are. Then I'm much less optimistic

GrandGreen · March 22, 2016

I think NT has developed some very nice players and I have hopes next year can be a breakout year. The big three are all returning and should be a great nucleus to build on. Johnson, Reese, and Combs are all good players on both ends of the court. A completely well Brown could be another good piece to the puzzle. Excellent outside shooter and a lot of times, the quickest player on the court.

Combs is a special player, if he continues to improve; he could be one of NT's all time best. If he improves his offense with a better mid-range shot, he could step it up another level. Johnson has shown the great ability to completely take over a game. Reese was a solid point that should have a better senior season.

IMO, NT must find an effective big man to compete the team. I hope off season conditioning can put Brice and Fuller in that conversation. Brice could be unstoppable with more stamina, he has all the other tools. His offense is actually good, but he needs to substantially improve on defense. Fuller, I though would be a goner after his poor performance through most of the year. He did, however, show great improvement in the last few games.

With Benford, you never know who may not return and there are several players that may not make his cut. Among the backup guards, Holston, Ward and White-Pittman had borderline seasons. Holston actually started early in the season, but never really jelled. He is an in-betwinner lacking the outside shot to be effective on the outside, and didn't appear comfortable playing low. Both Ward and White-Pittman finished much better than they started. Ward had a few good offensive games and played a lot as a backup. White-Pittman apparently because a defensive specialist, a big departure from his high scoring high school days.

NT has signed three players: high school Lawson and two transfer guards Frazier and Woolridge. The Frazier signing is worth the risk, despite apparently only going to be eligible for the second semester. I would not count on him, but if he plays; he definitely could be a difference-maker in conference play. Lawson was a big time scorer in high school and it will be interested to see what he can do at NT.

As far as the NT daily article, I thought it was pretty good. With NT's general lack of coverage, the student newspaper is one of the few sources of commentary.

Army of Dad · March 22, 2016

12 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

I think NT has developed some very nice players and I have hopes next year can be a breakout year. The big three are all returning and should be a great nucleus to build on. Johnson, Reese, and Combs are all good players on both ends of the court. A completely well Brown could be another good piece to the puzzle. Excellent outside shooter and a lot of times, the quickest player on the court.

Combs is a special player, if he continues to improve; he could be one of NT's all time best. If he improves his offense with a better mid-range shot, he could step it up another level. Johnson has shown the great ability to completely take over a game. Reese was a solid point that should have a better senior season.

IMO, NT must find an effective big man to compete the team. I hope off season conditioning can put Brice and Fuller in that conversation. Brice could be unstoppable with more stamina, he has all the other tools. His offense is actually good, but he needs to substantially improve on defense. Fuller, I though would be a goner after his poor performance through most of the year. He did, however, show great improvement in the last few games.

With Benford, you never know who may not return and there are several players that may not make his cut. Among the backup guards, Holston, Ward and White-Pittman had borderline seasons. Holston actually started early in the season, but never really jelled. He is an in-betwinner lacking the outside shot to be effective on the outside, and didn't appear comfortable playing low. Both Ward and White-Pittman finished much better than they started. Ward had a few good offensive games and played a lot as a backup. White-Pittman apparently because a defensive specialist, a big departure from his high scoring high school days.

NT has signed three players: high school Lawson and two transfer guards Frazier and Woolridge. The Frazier signing is worth the risk, despite apparently only going to be eligible for the second semester. I would not count on him, but if he plays; he definitely could be a difference-maker in conference play. Lawson was a big time scorer in high school and it will be interested to see what he can do at NT.

As far as the NT daily article, I thought it was pretty good. With NT's general lack of coverage, the student newspaper is one of the few sources of commentary.

Ricky's biggest issues are positioning and footwork. I don't think those stem from lack of work on his part. The defense is a mess as whole and no doubt contributes to his problems. His stamina could stand to be improved, but that's not at the top of the list, IMO.

I like Brown a lot, seems to be a hard worker and has some real talent. I hope he can heal properly.

Holston strikes me more and a defensive player than someone we can count on for offense. He is long and athletic and only a freshman. I think he has potential to develop nicely.

Fuller needs some serious work and must become more effective from the charity stripe. He's a real liability there and that should contribute to reduced playing time if he can't fix it.

The Daily has done a pitiful job covering basketball. This write up/round table is just the latest example. It's disappointing, because I think at least some of the writers there have some talent.

Edited March 22, 2016 by Army of Dad