The irony here is compelling...

CMJ · January 26, 2017

Like I said, it's like LSU never recovered from the blown lead in the 2015 Tournament. His first three years were building upward, with a fantastic get on the recruiting trail and then after the NC State loss it just went to crap.

I love Coach Jones and want him to succeed. But, it so rarely works when a coach goes back to an old job, I'd rather he rebuild his reputation somewhere else.

MeanGreenTexan · January 26, 2017

Was JJ here long enough to qualify for his TRS? If so, then I doubt we see him come back.
If no, he may want to come back so he can get that paycheck.

MeanGreen_MBA · January 26, 2017

2 hours ago, TheTastyGreek said:

I don't think that actually happened.

We would have had to go on an upset conference tournament run and probably knocked off a favored and better rested team in the finals to make the NCAAs, and we never got any upset wins.

Sorry. Must be your mind playing tricks on you. On me, too, since I thought I had fond memories of it.

2007 NCAA Tournament 1st round. Great game played by UNT. Memphis just had more horses.....but it was fun...

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2007-03-16-memphis.html

UNT90 · January 26, 2017

18 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Was JJ here long enough to qualify for his TRS? If so, then I doubt we see him come back.
If no, he may want to come back so he can get that paycheck.

Great reason to hire a coach...

shootermcgavin44 · January 26, 2017

8 minutes ago, MeanGreen_MBA said:

2007 NCAA Tournament 1st round. Great game played by UNT. Memphis just had more horses.....but it was fun...

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2007-03-16-memphis.html

That was a fun team to watch.

Can't beleive that was 10 years ago already....

MeanGreenTexan · January 26, 2017

1 minute ago, UNT90 said:

Great reason to hire a coach...

I never said that was THE reason to hire him. Just an incentive for him to come back to Texas... even if he's coaching elsewhere.

JJ was a fantastic coach here, and left at his pinnacle. We could do (and did do) much, much worse than bringing him back.

Do I think it's going to happen? No.
I doubt Wren wants to retread, no matter how qualified JJ would be for the job.

untbowler · January 26, 2017

3 minutes ago, UNT90 said:

Great reason to hire a coach...

Well for UNT it worked out so well with DMac and Peterson. Two Stellar options that came in to retire and sucked the life out of WBB & FB for a few years.

Would not be shocked to see this happen again since UNT loves Insanity

KRAM1 · January 26, 2017

12 hours ago, UNT90 said:

No

For the first time in a very long time...I agree with you 100% on this JJ thing. ???

GreenMachine · January 26, 2017

1 hour ago, untjim1995 said:

A few things:

1. People here really liked him and he really liked it here.

2. He's affordable

3. He is tied in very well with TX and LA high school coaches who like him and respect him.

4. Coming off failure at his alma mater, he will be hungry to rebuild his reputation, similar to what Tubby Smith did when he got fired at Minnesota and immediately went to Texas Tech and turned things around to the point that Memphis hired him away. I think JJ, under Wren's leadership (assuming he knows what he's doing), could be walking into a great situation.

Im not advocating for him to get the job, but he will be interested and I believe we will be interested in him.

I just believe that Wren would not remotely make JJ his first hire. This situation is like the guy that breaks up with his 6 rated girlfriend to go out with the 9 rated cheerleader. After he gets dumped he crawls back to the ex. She would be nuts to take him back. And we would be nuts to take JJ back.

CMJ · January 26, 2017

44 minutes ago, MeanGreen_MBA said:

2007 NCAA Tournament 1st round. Great game played by UNT. Memphis just had more horses.....but it was fun...

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2007-03-16-memphis.html

He was being sarcastic.

Censored by Laurie · January 26, 2017

42 minutes ago, MeanGreen_MBA said:

2007 NCAA Tournament 1st round. Great game played by UNT. Memphis just had more horses.....but it was fun...

http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/2007-03-16-memphis.html

1-6 with 5 turnovers in 15 minutes was the only extra horse Memphis needed.

Greendylan · January 26, 2017

For the record, I doubt JJ will end up back here. But, if for some reason he wanted to return, we would be wise to give the idea some serious thought. He is a known commodity in terms of being a good fit for our university and has shown that he can successfully navigate the mid-major conference tournament route. Any search for a new coach is a total crap shoot, which could produce absolutely anything. We would love to all reassure ourselves that Wren Baker is the right man for the job and will be better at hiring than his predecessor, but we simply don't know for sure until we see some evidence. That's not to say I don't have faith in him. I do. However, "faith" is all it is until we see results. At one time we would have been considered a pretty damn good job (at least among non-power conference teams) for an up and coming coach. But, the reality now is that prospective new coaches will merely view us as another bad team with an RPI in the 300s. Unless we are able to demonstrate a serious commitment to basketball from our AD and/or offer a massive salary, we won't have any more draw than any other job openings at schools finishing up their own disastrous seasons.

Army of Dad · January 26, 2017

18 minutes ago, Greendylan said:

the reality now is that prospective new coaches will merely view us as another bad team with an RPI in the 300s.

Also we are in a league that will likely remain a one bid league.

19 minutes ago, Greendylan said:

Unless we are able to demonstrate a serious commitment to basketball

Here? You're joking, right? Did you mean to post that in a place where there is a serious commitment?

KingDL1 · January 26, 2017

4 hours ago, UNT90 said:

JJ will be 56 years old and coming off a huge contract at LSU (compared to what UNT will pay). I don't want someone looking for a soft place to land. Give me someone who is hungry, not someone pushing himself back from the dinner table.

This ^^^^^^^ right here! JJ could be a hell of a crap shoot right now, and I doubt he is the same guy that left us. Failure at his alma mater very well could have destroyed his soul. Tough to recover from either way and he is not a spring chicken.

TIgreen01 · January 26, 2017

6 hours ago, Graddean said:

I know JJgave us some good times, but before we put up a cry to bring him back, we should look at some things. First, his conference record in the Sun Belt was .506, overall .569. Apparently, a umber of OOCwins were against less than SB opposition. His last year, we were 4th in the SB West. This was with TM for the spring semester when most conference games were played. He did take us to the dance twice which doubled the number of times we had previously gone. The second visit was the only year we came in first in the SB West. I know compared to what we have seen , his times may have look like Kentucky, but I think we can do better?

This is a much different job than it was when he left. SMU and TCU still sucked A LOT and UTA was only just starting to build. We were the best team in DFW, and now we are the worst. With the 2 privates spending big it's going to be that much tougher recruiting. JJ pulled 2 National top 100 players from the area back then. Can that be done now, no matter who we hire (assuming we're not going to suddenly spend P5 money)??

Nobody really knows what JJ's mindset will be coming out of LSU. He could be beaten down, pissed off, or just ready to retire. I'm glad he got his shot at his alma mater, but I wish he had never left.

Edited January 26, 2017 by TIgreen01