MGB video: Wren Baker talks about UNT's search for a men's hoops coach

Brett Vito · March 6, 2017

MGB: Plus some tidbits on where UNT stands heading into the search

http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2017/03/mgb-video-wren-baker-talks-about-unts-search-for-a-new-mens-basketball-coach.html/

Harry · March 7, 2017

Sounds good to me!

VideoEagle · March 7, 2017

5 minutes ago, Harry said:

Sounds good to me!

That all sounds great!

Army of Dad · March 7, 2017

57 minutes ago, Harry said:

Sounds good to me!

Were I not in a different mood towards this program as a result of a distinct lack of commitment to trying to win I'd find some nuggets of hope in the video.

Just for internet/GMG funnies, we have a dramatic look AD, a sleeping giant reference, and a Diet freaking Coke in the foreground. Potential comedy gold mine on Bonnie Brea folks...

KingDL1 · March 7, 2017

Why was UNT90's handle on the whiteboard with a line through it?

Army of Dad · March 7, 2017

9 minutes ago, KingDL1 said:

Why was UNT90's handle on the whiteboard with a line through it?

AD (department) is crossing his name off the hit list ala Billy Madison?

question, no info

Edited March 7, 2017 by Army of Dad

UNT90 · March 7, 2017

18 minutes ago, KingDL1 said:

Why was UNT90's handle on the whiteboard with a line through it?

That was for the assistant AD position that cat from Abilene Christian got.

So close but yet so far.

KingDL1 · March 7, 2017

43 minutes ago, UNT90 said:

That was for the assistant AD position that cat from Abilene Christian got.

So close but yet so far.

I did see Patrick Cobbs on the white board

Zeleny' Orel · March 7, 2017

Printing on whiteboard was hard to read....was that MVC (Missouri Valley Conference) as a LT(long-term) goal?

MeanGreenTexan · March 7, 2017

9 hours ago, KingDL1 said:

I did see Patrick Cobbs on the white board

I wonder what their plans are for Pat?

EDIT: Also, WB's reaction to Vito asking if he thinks there'll be interest in the job is encouraging.

Edited March 7, 2017 by MeanGreenTexan

Army of Dad · March 7, 2017

26 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

I wonder what their plans are for Pat?

EDIT: Also, WB's reaction to Vito asking if he thinks there'll be interest in the job is encouraging.

What I didn't like was WB saying he's not a patient guy. Uh, dude, you just let Tony Benford continue his program crushing descent for the entire season. That's pretty damn patient, IMO. Too patient.

KingDL1 · March 7, 2017

22 minutes ago, Army of Dad said:

What I didn't like was WB saying he's not a patient guy. Uh, dude, you just let Tony Benford continue his program crushing descent for the entire season. That's pretty damn patient, IMO. Too patient.

Yes this ^^^^^^^^ times 10.

GreenMachine · March 7, 2017

29 minutes ago, Army of Dad said:

What I didn't like was WB saying he's not a patient guy. Uh, dude, you just let Tony Benford continue his program crushing descent for the entire season. That's pretty damn patient, IMO. Too patient.

Maybe he had other things on his plate? Like making sure our student athletes had the basic items they needed. When he came on board, there were some people sharing lockers, that is absolutely pathetic. I think you are so laser focused on his handling of TB, you lose track of just how in shambles our AD was in.

Army of Dad · March 7, 2017

21 minutes ago, GreenMachine said:

Maybe he had other things on his plate? Like making sure our student athletes had the basic items they needed. When he came on board, there were some people sharing lockers, that is absolutely pathetic. I think you are so laser focused on his handling of TB, you lose track of just how in shambles our AD was in.

You mean he can't find time to fix all the little stuff that's broken and deal with the giant albatross of a MBB coach?

I don't think it's an 'either/or' proposition.

GreenMachine · March 7, 2017

20 minutes ago, Army of Dad said:

You mean he can't find time to fix all the little stuff that's broken and deal with the giant albatross of a MBB coach?

I don't think it's an 'either/or' proposition.

But he did deal with the MBB coach, just not to your satisfactory timeline. Now he is working with a search committee to find a new coach. Will it take 1 week or 3 months? I don't know, I am a finance guy so will leave that up to him.

You believe that an athlete not having their own equipment or locker is little stuff? I guess you and I just differ in our priorities of the AD.

KingDL1 · March 7, 2017

13 minutes ago, GreenMachine said:

But he did deal with the MBB coach, just not to your satisfactory timeline. Now he is working with a search committee to find a new coach. Will it take 1 week or 3 months? I don't know, I am a finance guy so will leave that up to him.

You believe that an athlete not having their own equipment or locker is little stuff? I guess you and I just differ in our priorities of the AD.

Only at North Texas.

Yes the locker and equipment problems are little in the grand scheme of things. A good AD with all his new helpers could deal with both easily at the same time, if this was truly a problem for Wren we have the wrong AD.

Army of Dad · March 7, 2017

14 minutes ago, GreenMachine said:

But he did deal with the MBB coach, just not to your satisfactory timeline. Now he is working with a search committee to find a new coach. Will it take 1 week or 3 months? I don't know, I am a finance guy so will leave that up to him.

You believe that an athlete not having their own equipment or locker is little stuff? I guess you and I just differ in our priorities of the AD.

Perhaps we do, but in terms of the grand scheme those are little things in comparison to the ruining of a "money sport". While I think we can agree it's important I still think that doesn't have to be an either/or proposition.

Since you seem to be up to date on the locker and equipment issue, which sports were affected and have they announced the issue has been corrected?

GreenN'walinsVet · March 7, 2017

13 minutes ago, Army of Dad said:

Perhaps we do, but in terms of the grand scheme those are little things in comparison to the ruining of a "money sport". While I think we can agree it's important I still think that doesn't have to be an either/or proposition.

Since you seem to be up to date on the locker and equipment issue, which sports were affected and have they announced the issue has been corrected?

In all fairness, said "money sport" has been ruined for the past 4.8 years.

GrandGreen · March 7, 2017

NT is in the exact same place that they would be if they fired Benford during the season. That statement of terminating Benford during the season that many advocated would have accomplished next to nothing. It would have made a few disgruntled fans happier, but the potential loss of a few fans is not going to make much a difference in the long run. What is important is that Baker gets this hire right.

What I took from the Baker interview that is very important, is NT's willingness to spend more money on the program. You can try to coordinate all kinds of factors to finding the right combination to be a successful program. The primary coordination is always going to be compensation compared to peer programs. That is going to trump tradition, locations, and facilities.

Baker said all the right things in this interview. Talk has been cheap around here for a long time, so no one is likely to get too excited. However, Baker was about as positive as possible about the potential of NT MBB.

MeanGreenTexan · March 7, 2017

1 minute ago, GrandGreen said:

NT is in the exact same place that they would be if they fired Benford during the season. That statement of terminating Benford during the season that many advocated would have accomplished next to nothing. It would have made a few disgruntled fans happier, but the potential loss of a few fans is not going to make much a difference in the long run. What is important is that Baker gets this hire right.

What I took from the Baker interview that is very important, is NT's willingness to spend more money on the program. You can try to coordinate all kinds of factors to finding the right combination to be a successful program. The primary coordination is always going to be compensation compared to peer programs. That is going to trump tradition, locations, and facilities.

Baker said all the right things in this interview. Talk has been cheap around here for a long time, so no one is likely to get too excited. However, Baker was about as positive as possible about the potential of NT MBB.

That is an unknown.
An interim coach may have inspired the guys to play at a level that would at least get them into the 12-team conference tournament.

KingDL1 · March 7, 2017

6 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

That is an unknown.
An interim coach may have inspired the guys to play at a level that would at least get them into the 12-team conference tournament.

The fact is they could not have done any worse so it would been a good move.

Army of Dad · March 7, 2017

22 minutes ago, GreenN'walinsVet said:

In all fairness, said "money sport" has been ruined for the past 4.8 years.

I'd also accept 3+ years. As much as I wanted Benford gone sooner rather than later by allowing it to drag out 5 full seasons UNT showed it's fine with the destruction of the program.

I think the program is in a markedly different place if Benford has been replaced even as late as his second season...

BTG_Fan1 · March 7, 2017

I could be missing something completely, but getting to the C-USA Tourney and being out after a game or 2 proves what if we had an intern coach? Would that want you to keep that Intern coach, over us going out and getting someone?

Heck we will never know what would have happened if they did fire Benford.. What if they did then the intern loses out the rest of the way instead of the few Ws that we did get with TB? If we are talking about firing TB once we were eliminated what was it, like 3 games left in the season (I Believe?) with 1 home game and then 2 on the road.. wouldn't that have been on Sr Day?

KingDL1 · March 7, 2017

5 minutes ago, BTG_Fan1 said:

I could be missing something completely, but getting to the C-USA Tourney and being out after a game or 2 proves what if we had an intern coach? Would that want you to keep that Intern coach, over us going out and getting someone?

Heck we will never know what would have happened if they did fire Benford.. What if they did then the intern loses out the rest of the way instead of the few Ws that we did get with TB? If we are talking about firing TB once we were eliminated what was it, like 3 games left in the season (I Believe?) with 1 home game and then 2 on the road.. wouldn't that have been on Sr Day?

We came in dead last.

UNTFan23 · March 7, 2017

Just now, KingDL1 said:

We came in dead last.

And we still could have come in dead last under an interim coach. There is possible room for improvement but that's not likely as this team has had poor basketball fundamentals under Benford.