Grant McCasland is New UNT Basketball Coach

outoftown · March 14, 2017

2 minutes ago, Harry said:

The difference between this hire and Coach Pete is age. We were a retirement nest egg for Pete. Mac stung us as well. Coaching has become a younger man's profession. Ark state to their credit has a simple model in hiring young up and coming coaches. It appears we are following suit.

Honestly that hire going south quite as bad as it did surprised me then a bit. On the surface the Peterson hire had made a lot more sense than Benford. But that said, he had been at a very particular place before (Wake Forrest), and while his overall records were nice Petersons in conference records were never above .500. I guess we all thought that was due to Wake forrest being the little redheaded child in the ACC, but conference IS a sign of how you do against your 'peers'.

Aquila_Viridis · March 14, 2017

9 minutes ago, Harry said:

The difference between this hire and Coach Pete is age. We were a retirement nest egg for Pete. Mac stung us as well. Coaching has become a younger man's profession. Ark state to their credit has a simple model in hiring young up and coming coaches. It appears we are following suit.

Oh wow it all happened so fast I forgot he came from Wake. I guess Karen came from Charlotte. Well she WAS a good hire, but too good of one!

Harry · March 14, 2017

1 minute ago, Aquila_Viridis said:

Oh wow it all happened so fast I forgot he came from Wake. I guess Karen came from Charlotte. Well she WAS a good hire, but too good of one!

What are the odds the Texas job comes open for her? Yes the timing on that was tough.

UNT Mean Green · March 14, 2017

1 hour ago, BTG_Fan1 said:

I'd say I do agree, that the AD did have a huge blunder when it came to talking down about another school..

I'm also assuming its allowed if it has been made public, but is the AD able to comment about his dad's stroke since its a medical condition?

I'd hope that we wouldn't react the same way, I mean we didn't when we lost Davis, Ek, or LeBanc but that could be because they weren't HCs and they made a noticeable job in terms of competition between UNT and their new school. But to mean, we have to remember and can't be upset if the coach leaves (even if its after 1 year) if they improved the product from when they got it.

Is this the same plane that went to visit the IPF?

Yes. Donors plane.

GrandGreen · March 14, 2017

2 hours ago, Harry said:

Guys @Arkstfan is a very close and long time friend of this site. He needs to be treated with respect. Please stand down on your comments. GMG

Yes, he is a long time poster whose comments are usually intelligent and on point. However, understandably he is emotional on this topic, and has made some comments that are not going to be well received by a lot in the NT community.

Not sure why he should be offered anymore respect than any other poster.

Zeleny' Orel · March 14, 2017

11 hours ago, greenjoe said:

Does anyone know where he played high school basketball ?

Irving I now see in the Vito update. OK. Now quickly, which high school in Irving ?

Irving High School

VideoEagle · March 14, 2017

9 hours ago, FirefightnRick said:

We wished JJ and Aston both well after they got hired away.

Rick

Very true. But they went to LSU and Texas. It's a lot easier to wish them well when they move up the job ladder. What do you think our reaction would be to losing a coach to UTSA or Texas State? To A State, that's what happened to them!

southsideguy · March 14, 2017

Sorry after Benford, I am taking a wait and see on the coach. Call it a Benford hangover. I will probably buy season tickets to BB this year.

Wag Tag · March 14, 2017

3 hours ago, VideoEagle said:

Very true. But they went to LSU and Texas. It's a lot easier to wish them well when they move up the job ladder. What do you think our reaction would be to losing a coach to UTSA or Texas State? To A State, that's what happened to them!

Wrong! This is not a latterial move! The $200 to $250,000 raise proves it! I am also sure the Assistant coaches will see a bump and who knows what was mentioned as far as facility improvements !

TreeFiddy · March 14, 2017

13 hours ago, TheTastyGreek said:

Five years ago, we hired two basketball coaches almost simultaneously.

One was a young guy with a 5 year tenure as an asssitant at a program guilty of major NCAA recruiting violations and a track record of all-around shady behavior. The other was a D1 head coach fresh off a 20 win season, who got a ridiculous overpay in salary AND carried a buyout that didn't seem to make much sense for us.

Thank goodness for new leadership.

Welcome, Coach McCasland! I sure hope you win, and win fast. Particularly in the CUSA tournament, since there's a 90% or higher chance that's our only shot at an NCAA berth.

Ouch...I guess we will mark you down as a 'maybe'

NorthTexan95 · March 14, 2017

I'm sure some of what the Astate AD said was spin for the Astate backers. Other than team record last year I don't know how someone could say Astate is a better job than UNT.

UNTLifer · March 14, 2017

5 minutes ago, NorthTexan95 said:

I'm sure some of what the Astate AD said was spin for the Astate backers. Other than team record last year I don't know how someone could say Astate is a better job than UNT.

Sure it was, but it was unprofessional at best. It is okay to be disappointed, but there are some things that are better said "off the record."

VideoEagle · March 14, 2017

1 hour ago, NorthTexan95 said:

I'm sure some of what the Astate AD said was spin for the Astate backers. Other than team record last year I don't know how someone could say Astate is a better job than UNT.

Of course he's speaking to Astate fans. That is his intended audience, anyone else is simply coincidental. He has to whip them up to pay for a new coach right after a season where the fans thought the team was moving in the right direction.

1 hour ago, Wag Tag said:

Wrong! This is not a latterial move! The $200 to $250,000 raise proves it! I am also sure the Assistant coaches will see a bump and who knows what was mentioned as far as facility improvements !

It's not lateral in salary terms, but Astate fans whom he was talking to look at NT and see a roughly peer school. We certainly aren't a P5. At the start of the last round of realignment we were in the same conference and THAT's what the fans remember. The Astate fans are who he was speaking!

Wag Tag · March 14, 2017

14 minutes ago, VideoEagle said:

Of course he's speaking to Astate fans. That is his intended audience, anyone else is simply coincidental. He has to whip them up to pay for a new coach right after a season where the fans thought the team was moving in the right direction.

It's not lateral in salary terms, but Astate fans whom he was talking to look at NT and see a roughly peer school. We certainly aren't a P5. At the start of the last round of realignment we were in the same conference and THAT's what the fans remember. The Astate fans are who he was speaking!

Pay is a measuring point it shows commitment! Have we ever lost a successful coach to the SB when we were in the SB. Fact is there is no comparison! Most of Our coaches have gone to P5s!

TreeFiddy · March 14, 2017

I was really hoping that Baker would have addressed Mohajir with a subtle dig. Something along the lines of:

"We are establishing UNT as tier 1 athletic program. In our business, one of the ways that you measure your progress is in the quality of coaches that you are able attract to lead your programs. Based on our recent hires, we believe it is becoming clear that coaches around the country are beginning to recognize UNT as a step up in their careers.

You would not believe the number of current D1 head coaches that expressed interest in the North Texas coaching job. It is a testament to the ground work that has been laid by President Smatresk, the BOR, and the financial support of several key boosters in setting UNT athletics on the right track. My staff and I are committed to continuing that work and making sure that University of North Texas alumni have an athletic program that they can brag about to their friends.

With that said, we are extremely proud to announce Grant McCasland as our next men's basketball coach."

You don't have respond directly in order to get your point across. A statement like this would have had people buzzing. A missed opportunity imo.

UNTFan23 · March 14, 2017

4 minutes ago, TreeFiddy said:

I was really hoping that Baker would have addressed Mohajir with a subtle dig. Something along the lines of:

"We are establishing UNT as tier 1 athletic program. In our business, one of the ways that you measure your progress is in the quality of coaches that you are able attract to lead your programs. Based on our recent hires, we believe it is becoming clear that coaches around the country are beginning to recognize UNT as a step up in their careers.

You would not believe the number of current D1 head coaches that expressed interest in the North Texas coaching job. It is a testament to the ground work that has been laid by President Smatresk, the BOR, and the financial support of several key boosters in setting UNT athletics on the right track. My staff and I are committed to continuing that work and making sure that University of North Texas alumni have an athletic program that they can brag about to their friends.

With that said, we are extremely proud to announce Grant McCasland as our next men's basketball coach."

You don't have respond directly in order to get your point across. A statement like this would have had people buzzing. A missed opportunity imo.

It's called taking the high road. We did the right thing by doing nothing in regards to Ark. State.

TreeFiddy · March 14, 2017

Just now, UNTFan23 said:

It's called taking the high road. We did the right thing by doing nothing in regards to Ark. State.

I guess. Not sure why you can't make a statement that speaks positively of your own program and take the high road at the same time.

UNTFan23 · March 14, 2017

Just now, TreeFiddy said:

I guess. Not sure why you can't make a statement that speaks positively of your own program and take the high road at the same time.

I thought we pretty much have done that by saying we just hired, for the first time in program history, a sitting Division I head coach from another program.

VideoEagle · March 14, 2017

5 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

Pay is a measuring point it shows commitment! Have we ever lost a successful coach to the SB when we were in the SB. Fact is there is no comparison! Most of Our coaches have gone to P5s!

Exactly, our lost coaches are going to P5 schools. Previous coaching losses from Astate had been to P5s as well. They had never lost a coach to a school that they'd shared a conference with just a few years before. That's why their fans are so shocked, that what had been a peer school could steal their coach. If UTSA suddenly got one of our coaches by spending 33% more salary and the largest buy out they'd ever made we would be shocked as well. Until yesterday we were spending less money for worse results than Astate. Suddenly we are in a different category as they are understandably shocked. Their AD needed to say something about the situation to make his fans feel better. That's what he did. It does not mean he meant or believes it anymore than a coach believes his own "coach speak." Polical necessity means saying thinks to you own base sometimes that don't make sense to others.

Wag Tag · March 14, 2017

45 minutes ago, VideoEagle said:

Exactly, our lost coaches are going to P5 schools. Previous coaching losses from Astate had been to P5s as well. They had never lost a coach to a school that they'd shared a conference with just a few years before. That's why their fans are so shocked, that what had been a peer school could steal their coach. If UTSA suddenly got one of our coaches by spending 33% more salary and the largest buy out they'd ever made we would be shocked as well. Until yesterday we were spending less money for worse results than Astate. Suddenly we are in a different category as they are understandably shocked. Their AD needed to say something about the situation to make his fans feel better. That's what he did. It does not mean he meant or believes it anymore than a coach believes his own "coach speak." Polical necessity means saying thinks to you own base sometimes that don't make sense to others.

I get it. I see this as us losing a coach to a school like Tulane or Tulsa, a step up, but not by much! GMG

VideoEagle · March 14, 2017

1 minute ago, Wag Tag said:

I get it. I see this as us loosing a coach to Tulsa, a step up but maybe not that much!! GMG

Yes!

HoustonEagle · March 14, 2017

15 hours ago, Ryan Munthe said:

A-State is lower than UNT in every metric, academically, financially, etc. UNT would never lose coaches like State does, because we have the academic prestige and money backing that State could never have. This is a natural step up from a low-tier G5.

A more accurate analogy would be from UNT to Houston.

Academic Prestige? Not something I hear said about UNT pretty much ever.