Tony Mitchell

[Coach Andy Mac]

 

Link: https://www.facebook.com/tony.mitchell.5074/posts/10214958822444616

[UNTLifer]

[BillySee58]

Tony’s basketball career was his own to make or break in, but it’s a shame we don’t do more to set our student athletes up for success after their playing careers are over.

Of the football and basketball alums I know or follow on SM, some become coaches, but outside of that very few actually go into a job field that requires a degree. Many are encouraged to go towards integrative studies (general studies) or other degrees that help them focus on athletics, which just doesn’t open up many doors for them after graduation.

Long story short, from what I see it just feels like so many of our athletes end up with jobs they probably would’ve had even if they didn’t go to college, and I wish UNT did more there. 

[MeanGreen_MBA]

WTF?!?

[ttunt1970]

Billy this is same thing with most of the college programs look at UT Vince Young blew all the pro money and has to get a job at the school. This is what happens when the schools and “student athletes” are used  as minor leagues!

[GrandGreen]

  On 2/23/2021 at 5:37 PM, BillySee58 said:

Tony’s basketball career was his own to make or break in, but it’s a shame we don’t do more to set our student athletes up for success after their playing careers are over.

Of the football and basketball alums I know or follow on SM, some become coaches, but outside of that very few actually go into a job field that requires a degree. Many are encouraged to go towards integrative studies (general studies) or other degrees that help them focus on athletics, which just doesn’t open up many doors for them after graduation.

Long story short, from what I see it just feels like so many of our athletes end up with jobs they probably would’ve had even if they didn’t go to college, and I wish UNT did more there. 

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What you have is a prime example of an athlete that should have never been in college under any circumstances. 

A premier athlete without question,  Perhaps the greatest basketball player in NT history based on raw talent. 

NT certainly gets no kudos for their handling of Mitchell, but I am not sure what NT could do after his NT career.

[UNTLifer]

Steps up on his soapbox:

Kids with talent are coddled and made to feel special because of their athletic ability and it starts at a young age.  They build a mentality over the years that they are going pro and don't need to worry about grades, classes, etc... and they are pushed through the system.  There are a lot of great high school coaches out there that lived that life and realize it only comes true for very few and they preach the importance of hitting the books and applying themselves in the classroom as well as on the playing field, but many of these kids don't listen.  Then we run into a situation similar to this or with Vince Young and they aren't prepared to handle failure, being told they are no longer good enough to play, etc... and then it is too late. 

I feel for Mitchell, but man that post is rough.  He has to think about what he is projecting.  I would find it tough to hire him after reading that post on Facebook, yet the comments just encourage him.  It's maddening. 

[greenminer]

OT: is there a setting in our device that auto-capitalizes the first letter of every word?

[greenjoe]

I noticed that, too.  

[Wag Tag]

If this is for real, it has nothing to do with his level of education. He could have a PhD and wouldn’t get hired with that type of post. 

[Big Z]

  On 2/23/2021 at 5:37 PM, BillySee58 said:

Tony’s basketball career was his own to make or break in, but it’s a shame we don’t do more to set our student athletes up for success after their playing careers are over.

Of the football and basketball alums I know or follow on SM, some become coaches, but outside of that very few actually go into a job field that requires a degree. Many are encouraged to go towards integrative studies (general studies) or other degrees that help them focus on athletics, which just doesn’t open up many doors for them after graduation.

Long story short, from what I see it just feels like so many of our athletes end up with jobs they probably would’ve had even if they didn’t go to college, and I wish UNT did more there. 

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UNT provided him enough resources and opportunities to get a quality education. What more can you give a student athlete? 

[GrandGreen]

  On 2/23/2021 at 9:37 PM, Wag Tag said:

If this is for real, it has nothing to do with his level of education. He could have a PhD and wouldn’t get hired with that type of post. 

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An where please, would he get that PHD.

You know there is some correlation between knowledge and education.  

[El Paso Eagle]

This is not just an issue with ony, but many athletes. Yes, colleges, in most cases, help them get into the easiest classes and provide more services than most would get, but at some point it becomes a case of taking personal responsibility. Hard to understand in today's social media environment more people do not realize that their messages will be looked at by many potential employers. If they do and just don't care, even worse. 

[BillySee58]

  On 2/23/2021 at 8:08 PM, ttunt1970 said:

Billy this is same thing with most of the college programs look at UT Vince Young blew all the pro money and has to get a job at the school. This is what happens when the schools and “student athletes” are used  as minor leagues!

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Yeah I don’t disagree at all. My point is I think that’s a problem, and I hate that college is touted as some land of opportunity during the recruiting process, then most schools just put these guys in easy classes so they can focus on sports. Then they haven’t gained any real opportunity that college offers for life after sports.

[BillySee58]

  On 2/23/2021 at 8:21 PM, GrandGreen said:

What you have is a prime example of an athlete that should have never been in college under any circumstances. 

A premier athlete without question,  Perhaps the greatest basketball player in NT history based on raw talent. 

NT certainly gets no kudos for their handling of Mitchell, but I am not sure what NT could do after his NT career.

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My problem is not specifically with Mitchell, but bigger picture than that. We act like these scholarships are windows of opportunity for kids to get an education and set themselves up for success after sports. That’s not the way it plays out, and that’s a problem to me. So many coaches don’t care. So many coaches just want these kids to get in classes they can pass so that they can have them on the field and further their own coaching careers.

Then when they graduate the student-athletes are no better off than they would’ve been had they not earned the scholarship. I wish that was not the way it played out, and it doesn’t have to be.

[BillySee58]

  On 2/23/2021 at 9:43 PM, Big Z said:

UNT provided him enough resources and opportunities to get a quality education. What more can you give a student athlete? 

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I don’t think we do, and that’s not exclusive to UNT. I think we encourage kids to take easy classes with the short-term mentality that “these are the best classes for you to be able to focus on your sport” without really giving them the big picture of “oh yeah, there’s really no defined job market to enter with this career plan.”

I think we can and should educate these kids better on what careers they want after sports, and what degree plans make the most sense within that plan. Not what degree plans make the most sense for your last 4 years of playing basketball.

[greenjoe]

And then look at the number of athletes that finish their degree and are able to transfer to another school and work on a masters.  I realize we’re not talking about that in this example, but with the same opportunity, some excel.  

[letsgiveacheer]

This FB posting is very sad.

I used to travel quite a bit as I commuted to my job in NYC from Durham.  I was typically dressed in a suit when traveling and each time I passed the shoeshine stand at the RDU airport, a young man would call out to me to get my shoes shined. Shining my own shoes was something I enjoyed but I felt like I should support this man who obviously needed the business.

Over the course of a year or two, I got to know him rather well and it turned out that he was a two year starter at the University of Alabama.  He told me he was injured towards the end of his senior year so that was the end of his football career.  Now, here he is, trying to make a living shining shoes with little chance of doing something better.

[Wag Tag]

  On 2/23/2021 at 10:01 PM, GrandGreen said:

An where please, would he get that PHD.

You know there is some correlation between knowledge and education.  

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Knowledge and education have nothing to do with the post, it is attitude which he has now made public. 

[MeanGreen_MBA]

  On 2/23/2021 at 10:34 PM, BillySee58 said:

My problem is not specifically with Mitchell, but bigger picture than that. We act like these scholarships are windows of opportunity for kids to get an education and set themselves up for success after sports. That’s not the way it plays out, and that’s a problem to me. So many coaches don’t care. So many coaches just want these kids to get in classes they can pass so that they can have them on the field and further their own coaching careers.

Then when they graduate the student-athletes are no better off than they would’ve been had they not earned the scholarship. I wish that was not the way it played out, and it doesn’t have to be.

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If I am not mistaking, I believe the UNT athletic programs have a pretty impressive graduation rate. It’s not the school, it the specific athlete. Most college athletes do pretty good in school. 

[MeanGreen_MBA]

  On 2/23/2021 at 10:39 PM, BillySee58 said:

I don’t think we do, and that’s not exclusive to UNT. I think we encourage kids to take easy classes with the short-term mentality that “these are the best classes for you to be able to focus on your sport” without really giving them the big picture of “oh yeah, there’s really no defined job market to enter with this career plan.”

I think we can and should educate these kids better on what careers they want after sports, and what degree plans make the most sense within that plan. Not what degree plans make the most sense for your last 4 years of playing basketball.

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What is your basis for this. I have met many athletes that have graduated and moved on to post school

careers

[MeanGreen_MBA]

  On 2/23/2021 at 10:56 PM, letsgiveacheer said:

This FB posting is very sad.

I used to travel quite a bit as I commuted to my job in NYC from Durham.  I was typically dressed in a suit when traveling and each time I passed the shoeshine stand at the RDU airport, a young man would call out to me to get my shoes shined. Shining my own shoes was something I enjoyed but I felt like I should support this man who obviously needed the business.

Over the course of a year or two, I got to know him rather well and it turned out that he was a two year starter at the University of Alabama.  He told me he was injured towards the end of his senior year so that was the end of his football career.  Now, here he is, trying to make a living shining shoes with little chance of doing something better.

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I know fir a fact Alabama honors scholarships to players who had their career cut short by injury. Not buying it. 

[El Paso Eagle]

  On 2/23/2021 at 10:39 PM, BillySee58 said:

I don’t think we do, and that’s not exclusive to UNT. I think we encourage kids to take easy classes with the short-term mentality that “these are the best classes for you to be able to focus on your sport” without really giving them the big picture of “oh yeah, there’s really no defined job market to enter with this career plan.”

I think we can and should educate these kids better on what careers they want after sports, and what degree plans make the most sense within that plan. Not what degree plans make the most sense for your last 4 years of playing basketball.

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Disagree with you here. When they arrive and the first year or two maybe, but at some point there has to be a decision by each person to make a choice. This also goes to show what a joke the academic compliance programs are for the NCAA. On the other side, if you tried to set standards that actually required educating athletes all hell would break loose.

[BillySee58]

  On 2/23/2021 at 11:29 PM, MeanGreen_MBA said:

If I am not mistaking, I believe the UNT athletic programs have a pretty impressive graduation rate. It’s not the school, it the specific athlete. Most college athletes do pretty good in school. 

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  On 2/23/2021 at 11:31 PM, MeanGreen_MBA said:

What is your basis for this. I have met many athletes that have graduated and moved on to post school

careers

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I said it was my personal experience with the ones I knew and still am connected with on social media. Vast majority are coaching or working jobs that they probably would’ve ended up with if they didn’t earn a scholarship. I know some end up with office jobs, but those are usually the guys who have background in that field from their parents and would’ve most likely ended up with that type of job without an athletics scholarship. 

I think we can do more for these guys. Back in the day we used to list their majors on their website bios. I don’t think it’s a coincidence we stopped doing that. Everything else I’ve already said multiple times in this thread.

  On 2/23/2021 at 11:33 PM, MeanGreen_MBA said:

I know fir a fact Alabama honors scholarships to players who had their career cut short by injury. Not buying it. 

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He said the injury occurred during his senior year. He didn’t say Alabama stopped honoring his scholarship. Also didn’t say what year or coaching staff/AD.

Edited February 24, 2021 by BillySee58

[BillySee58]

  On 2/23/2021 at 11:56 PM, El Paso Eagle said:

Disagree with you here. When they arrive and the first year or two maybe, but at some point there has to be a decision by each person to make a choice. This also goes to show what a joke the academic compliance programs are for the NCAA. On the other side, if you tried to set standards that actually required educating athletes all hell would break loose.

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It comes down to what do we really want for our student athletes. Do we really want to set them up for success after college or do we want to encourage them to take general studies courses to make everyone’s lives easier while they are here?

We can all just say “hey, that’s on each player why they didn’t get good jobs after college. Not our fault most of our football and basketball alum are working jobs they could’ve got without a scholarship here.”

Like I said, we should be able to pitch that scholarships at UNT will lead to better careers for these players than they would have had without it. I don’t see the focus on making that the case, and I definitely don’t see the results.