DRC Monday notes -- Johnny Jones back as a head coach

[Brett Vito]

DRC:

https://www.dentonrc.com/sports/unt-monday-news-and-notes/article_d1d41260-9a7f-5c48-9d2d-f6a83bf6761d.html

[MeanGreenTexan]

Good for Johnny.

And good for NT that Littrell was ranked as the 6th-best coach in C-USA.   If that view is shared among other Athletic Departments as well, it will keep the P5 vultures away for a bit.    ...and it also serves as bulletin board material for Littrell.

[MGNation92]

35 minutes ago, MeanGreenTexan said:

Good for Johnny.

And good for NT that Littrell was ranked as the 6th-best coach in C-USA.   If that view is shared among other Athletic Departments as well, it will keep the P5 vultures away for a bit.    ...and it also serves as bulletin board material for Littrell.

Yeah good for us. I think it's nuts but I can see the reasoning. 

[Rock]

Been monitoring North Texas chat rooms for a long long time.  I dont post much anymore yet this deserves one.   Always respected Johnny Jones.  Anyhow, a few months back just before the end of the BBall season I was at a restaurant in Santa Clara.  Johnny and the Nevada came through the door.  As I walked by him I stopped to say hello.   He stopped and spoke to me for at least 10 minutes .. asking me my name, when I was at North Texas, etc.   Went out of his way to say hello and talk.   Great guy and I wish him all the best.   

We all have jobs.  But sometimes you  meet somebody who respects the job and the relationships ... something we don't see enough.   Johnny is always calm, collected and respectful ... and he put NT on the map for a while :)

[EagleMBA]

I always thought JJ was a great coach and a great man.  Every contact I ever had with him was sorta like Rock described above.  In fact, the first time I ever met him was at a football game and he introduced himself to me.

TSU has a gem there and I hope they give him the necessary support and resources to build their program.

[jdennis82]

Glad for JJ.

With the squad Nevada has heading into next season, I was enjoying the prospect of him being there with them for a deep tournament run but can certainly appreciate the appeal of trying to avoid getting himself locked in with a reputation as being best suited as a quality assistant (rather than HC) had he stayed in that role too long.

He seems like a perfect fit at Texas Southern where they've made the NCAA tournament in 4 of the last 5 years.  They needed an experienced coach with success on his resume.  This seems like the perfect hire for them as I have little doubt he will be able to sustain the success they've had recently.

Will be rooting for him

[GrandGreen]

JJ is a quality person and coach and will do well at TSU.

[Mad Hatter]

Good for him.  Always liked JJ and what he did for our program.

[untjim1995]

Great hire by Texas Southern. JJ will be a perfect fit down there and will rebuild his coaching reputation again. I can see him being a coach in the SBC or CUSA again in the future if things go well for him.

[CMJ]

Texas Southern is a good spot for him too.  Other than the fact they usually play murderous OOC schedules anyway.

 

I think he'll do well down there.

[GrandGreen]

53 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Texas Southern is a good spot for him too.  Other than the fact they usually play murderous OOC schedules anyway.

 

I think he'll do well down there.

Murderous is a good description.  They obviously finance their program with OC games, but I hope they ease it up a little to give Johnny a chance.  Last year TSU went 16-20 without a win or a home game in their out of conference games.   They went 0-13 in oc games which included loses to TCU, Clemson, Kansas, Syracuse, Washington State, Gonzaga and Ohio State.  

[kingwoodgreen]

I think all us in the Houston area should pick a game next season (tsu), meet up for dinner/drinks and then head to a game to show support for Johnny. He is class act and would appreciate it. 

[GrayEagle]

Johnny was/is one of my favorite people in the sport and a class act.  I wish him nothing but success.  Go Johnny Go!

[Harry]

14 hours ago, GrayEagle said:

Johnny was/is one of my favorite people in the sport and a class act.  I wish him nothing but success.  Go Johnny Go!

Johnny was a good guy, but I still wonder what he could have done had he stayed here.  I realize it was his alma mater and he made a lot of money, but he is not old and now he has to build his resume back up again.  You know, we sort of took a risk when we hired him and gave him plenty of time to get the program off the ground.   I just miss the days where coaches showed more loyalty I guess.  Ahh the musings of a G5 fan lol.

[TIgreen01]

22 minutes ago, Harry said:

Johnny was a good guy, but I still wonder what he could have done had he stayed here.  I realize it was his alma mater and he made a lot of money, but he is not old and now he has to build his resume back up again.  You know, we sort of took a risk when we hired him and gave him plenty of time to get the program off the ground.   I just miss the days where coaches showed more loyalty I guess.  Ahh the musings of a G5 fan lol.

I wonder if the Pit Crew would still be around....Benford'd.  I try not to think back to what could've been.  Just makes me sick to my stomach.

I work with some tied in LSU alums and they think he's about the dumbest/worst coach on the planet.  No amount of arguing from me can convince them otherwise.  The spoils of the SEC can be great, but the scorn is unmatched if you fail.

Some of my friend's kids went to school with JJ's kids when they were here in Denton.  They echo the stories here....JJ and his family are great people.  I'm always pulling for him to do well.

[southsideguy]

I think what Jerry Moore said about staying in the same place for a long time. Yes there is no loyalty to the programs that give the coaches their first break.  Soon as a new suitor shows up they are off and running.  I know they are heading up the food chain and there is more money but they should at least stay for their contract. Heck we let Benford stay until his contract was over.  Mac they had no choice after we got waxed by PS.  I would have loved the story behind why we got our asses kicked so bad. It was like we had no game plan or didnt practice for the game.

Edited July 8, 2018 by southsideguy

[TIgreen01]

15 hours ago, southsideguy said:

I think what Jerry Moore said about staying in the same place for a long time. Yes there is no loyalty to the programs that give the coaches their first break.  Soon as a new suitor shows up they are off and running.  I know they are heading up the food chain and there is more money but they should at least stay for their contract. Heck we let Benford stay until is contract was over.  Mac they had no choice after we got waxed by PS.  I would have loved the story behind why we got our asses kicked so bad. It was like we had no game plan or didnt practice for the game.

I thought the story was that they fired him before the game and word spread to the locker room.  So all coaches and players found out the day of the game...

[Mean Green 93-98]

53 minutes ago, TIgreen01 said:

I thought the story was that they fired him before the game and word spread to the locker room.  So all coaches and players found out the day of the game...

If so, that's the first I've heard of it.  I've never heard differently than that they fired him right after that debacle of a "game."

[CMJ]

JJ did show us some loyalty....LSU wasn't the first suitor that came after him.  It was just the first one that he was interested in back.  I'm not naive enough tithing that LSU was the only gig he was gonna leave us for, but I don't think it was a massive list either.

 

He didn't work out at LSU, but a lot of people haven't.  They've kinda been underperforming as a program since their Final Four run over ten years ago.

[southsideguy]

On 6/25/2018 at 1:58 PM, MeanGreenTexan said:

Good for Johnny.

And good for NT that Littrell was ranked as the 6th-best coach in C-USA.   If that view is shared among other Athletic Departments as well, it will keep the P5 vultures away for a bit.    ...and it also serves as bulletin board material for Littrell.

who the heck did the rankings?  

[Green Lantern]

On 7/7/2018 at 10:04 AM, Mean Green 93-98 said:

If so, that's the first I've heard of it.  I've never heard differently than that they fired him right after that debacle of a "game."

It had absolutely spread many hours before kickoff. It was the talk of the tailgate scene that day. There’s no way the coaches and players didn’t know. Many of the folks in the tailgate scene were parents of players and former players and they all knew. 

The horrid lay down performance against PS was a direct result. Horrible day in North Texas athletics history. At least in retrospect, it was the spark of significant changes from status quo.

[UNTLifer]

34 minutes ago, Green Lantern said:

It had absolutely spread many hours before kickoff. It was the talk of the tailgate scene that day. There’s no way the coaches and players didn’t know. Many of the folks in the tailgate scene were parents of players and former players and they all knew. 

The horrid lay down performance against PS was a direct result. Horrible day in North Texas athletics history. At least in retrospect, it was the spark of significant changes from status quo.

Yep, we should send them a thank you note.

[Cooley]