Evansville (11/5/24)

[3_n_out]

4 minutes ago, Big Z said:

#0 for Evansville can ball and he only a freshman 

He’d be a nice target to lure for next season

[Matt]

I noticed this last year as well, but why does it seem like nobody on our team ever wants to be the one to inbound the ball? They all just look at each other like they're playing "not it" 😂

[CMJ]

 

NT 80 ------- UE 63

 

Final

[Marty]

Light the tower!

[Censored by Laurie]

48 minutes ago, Venson said:

Everyone hates on Stone. I am not related to Stone, but I feel the need to defend him. Stone has never said a bad word about North Texas. He didn't walk on, we recruited him. He has given us 100% and done what he can. I am hoping he proves all the haters wrong. He is a good person and didn't transfer to a lower level to get playing time. He has played the role we have asked and not complained. Can we please stop hating on him?

for eff's sake...no one "hates on" Matt Stone. of course he's never said a bad word...we're the only mid-major D1 program to offer him a scholarship

the pure truth of the matter is that he was at best a low D1 recruit and has never really developed much beyond that. I guess that's not his fault, but the simple fact is that he has contributed very little outside of hustle to this team in his four years here. 

Stone is a career 27% 3pt shooter, and a career 36% FG shooter. he's not a plus defender. if he's the 10th/11th guy in rotation...an experienced break-glass-in-emergency type, I dig him...but if neither Mason nor Cotton can take Stone's minutes this season that's an indictment on them/our recruiting. 

take that as "hate" all you want. the fact is Stone is a tier below what UNT should be expecting from a roster spot, let alone. a rotation player

[Venson]

5 minutes ago, Censored by Laurie said:

for eff's sake...no one "hates on" Matt Stone. of course he's never said a bad word...we're the only mid-major D1 program to offer him a scholarship

the pure truth of the matter is that he was at best a low D1 recruit and has never really developed much beyond that. I guess that's not his fault, but the simple fact is that he has contributed very little outside of hustle to this team in his four years here. 

Stone is a career 27% 3pt shooter, and a career 36% FG shooter. he's not a plus defender. if he's the 10th/11th guy in rotation...an experienced break-glass-in-emergency type, I dig him...but if neither Mason nor Cotton can take Stone's minutes this season that's an indictment on them/our recruiting. 

take that as "hate" all you want. the fact is Stone is a tier below what UNT should be expecting from a roster spot, let alone. a rotation player

Just so you know, I am not the one who downvoted you, but everything you just typed is hate on Stone. If you want to indict someone, then indict McCasland because he recruited Stone. To talk about how bad he has played when he gives everything he has is hate. Then you say no one is hating on him when the comment I quoted is hate on him. Get mad if you want. I don't care. Stone is going to be a UNT grad and I am cool with that. I will not respond to this again no matter what you say. Others can feel free to comment, but I won't. I am cool with Stone giving us as you say his "hustle" minutes.  

[Censored by Laurie]

things I liked:

1. Wright and Floyd. this is gonna develop into one hell of a dynamic backcourt
2, Jossell and Massie off the bench. Massie is tough...has some TBell to him...Jossell's shooting was off tonight, but I think he's gonna have some 20+ nights throughout the year.
3. increased pace...this team wants to run more, but we still have a lot of defensive minded dudes out there

things I didn't like:
1. Lorient as a straight swap for Sissoko. Sissoko played 25min, Lorient 15...all as the 5. I don't think Lorient brings enough size (nor do I think Sissoko brings enough offense) for that to be a straight 40 min rotation
2. no underclassmen playing. Wayland might be a better chance for deeper rotation, but if #1 above is our best bet at the 5 and if those 12 minutes of Stone is more than what Mason/Cotton have, I'm worried about our depth
3. increased pace...we did this last season to...tried to play early with more tempo...I'm not convinced

[Censored by Laurie]

Just now, Venson said:

Just so you know, I am not the one who downvoted you, but everything you just typed is hate on Stone. If you want to indict someone, then indict McCasland because he recruited Stone. To talk about how bad he has played when he gives everything he has is hate. Then you say no one is hating on him when the comment I quoted is hate on him. Get mad if you want. I don't care. Stone is going to be a UNT grad and I am cool with that. I will not respond to this again no matter what you say. Others can feel free to comment, but I won't. I am cool with Stone giving us as you say his "hustle" minutes.  

there's a collection of asshats who will downvote anytime I make a post. they think I care, I guess?

to the bold statement...I do. 

to the rest...whatever. he's a 4 year scholarship player who has a less than 2ppg average for his career. it's not really his fault...he should be at ACU or some D2 program. everyone on the team "hustles"

I'll say again, if Mason and/or Cotton don't have Stone's 10ish minutes by conference play, then I have real questions about our recruitment. 

[Cooley]

The thing that stood out to me is the lack of a good point guard. When pressured, all these guys were shaky. Where was the freshman center Baron Smith?  

[TIgreen01]

I liked that we have more than one guy willing and able to drive, score and draw fouls.  That bodes well for the future on nights when the threes aren’t falling.  When Evansville tried to get back in the game we drove and got to the line.  Lots of experienced guys on this team.

I didn’t know what to expect with so much turnover, but that looked like a recent North Texas team to me.  Awesome to see that our style of play and tenacity carried over to this new bunch.

[Censored by Laurie]

11 minutes ago, Cooley said:

The thing that stood out to me is the lack of a good point guard. When pressured, all these guys were shaky. Where was the freshman center Baron Smith?  

Floyd looked steadier on the ball than anyone we’ve had in years. 5/2 assist/turnover tonight…2/1 for his career. I think the 1 is in good hands 

[Cooley]

19 minutes ago, Censored by Laurie said:

Floyd looked steadier on the ball than anyone we’ve had in years. 5/2 assist/turnover tonight…2/1 for his career. I think the 1 is in good hands 

Didn't say they committed a bunch of turnovers but they looked very shaky to me with the ball. Just the first game so we'll see against better opponents. 

[Marty]

FWIW:

https://247sports.com/player/matthew-stone-46058670/

Edited November 6 by Marty

[BleedingGreen]

I am excited about this team ,  Guard play and hustle is great.  My only concern is us not having a number 1 option to create their own shot as a guard or in the post .  We will see if that person comes forward in next few weeks .  I am hoping it’s Massie if he can create .

[NT80]

1 hour ago, Censored by Laurie said:

things I didn't like:
1. Lorient as a straight swap for Sissoko. Sissoko played 25min, Lorient 15...all as the 5. I don't think Lorient brings enough size (nor do I think Sissoko brings enough offense) for that to be a straight 40 min rotation
2. no underclassmen playing. Wayland might be a better chance for deeper rotation, but if #1 above is our best bet at the 5 and if those 12 minutes of Stone is more than what Mason/Cotton have, I'm worried about our depth
3. increased pace...we did this last season to...tried to play early with more tempo...I'm not convinced

First half was great and dominating.  3's were falling easy, but we had difficulty working it down low.  Second half was lazy and ragged.  Almost like Ross told them to give Evansville some confidence before they go home.  Lots to work on overall.

Sissoko is a big body but still has not improved his shooting touch or ball handling much.  No apparent backup yet.  We are in trouble down low in bigger games.   

Stone tries and hustles, but I'd like to see other options for his minutes on the floor.

[Big Z]

 

[Dannymacfan]

This team look dangerously good!

[NT80]

Aces battle to the finish in season opener

https://gopurpleaces.com/news/2024/11/5/mens-basketball-aces-battle-to-the-finish-in-season-opener.aspx

Edited November 6 by NT80

[GMoney]

Never apologize for a win, but 13 pts total from our front court is worrisome.

[Matt from A700]

Thinking about Evansville's comeback attempt, we gave up 46 points in the second half which is a lot but that Italian freshman is good. They got really aggressive on defense but we turned the ball over a lot less than we would have last year, and it even resulted in a few really nice saves by our guys. Additionally, the Aces made a run, but we avoided having one of our patented 5+ minute scoring droughts. If anything, we may have had a drought around 3 minutes at the longest.

Other things I straight up liked:

• Massie: Loved his work on the offensive glass and getting himself in good position for putbacks multiple times
• Sissoko: Was a lot quicker with his hands on offense and defense. Doesn't fill up the boxscore with double doubles but his work this offseason was seen last night. Also had two clutch FT's.
• Free throws overall: A lot better
• Finishing at the rim - we really struggled in this department last year

Also, I'm interested to know what the team thinks about the goals at the Pit. Buggs made a comment to me on Twitter this summer and it made me think yesterday. The goal closer to the student section seems to be a more shooter-friendly goal and it proved so again last night. A colleague in the Mean Green group chat pulled up our stats from last year: 40.9% on 3's in the first half at home, only 34% in the second half.

[NT80]

12 minutes ago, Matt from A700 said:

Also, I'm interested to know what the team thinks about the goals at the Pit. Buggs made a comment to me on Twitter this summer and it made me think yesterday. The goal closer to the student section seems to be a more shooter-friendly goal and it proved so again last night. A colleague in the Mean Green group chat pulled up our stats from last year: 40.9% on 3's in the first half at home, only 34% in the second half.

Interesting topic.  But I wonder if fatigue in the second half plays a part in the poorer shooting then?  Ross and a player mentioned the team being winded in the second half last night (1/7 from 3).

[emmitt01]

16 hours ago, Venson said:

Just so you know, I am not the one who downvoted you, but everything you just typed is hate on Stone. If you want to indict someone, then indict McCasland because he recruited Stone. To talk about how bad he has played when he gives everything he has is hate. Then you say no one is hating on him when the comment I quoted is hate on him. Get mad if you want. I don't care. Stone is going to be a UNT grad and I am cool with that. I will not respond to this again no matter what you say. Others can feel free to comment, but I won't. I am cool with Stone giving us as you say his "hustle" minutes.  

I just want you to know, I hated your comment.  

[UNTLifer]

22 hours ago, Cooley said:

The thing that stood out to me is the lack of a good point guard. When pressured, all these guys were shaky. Where was the freshman center Baron Smith?  

I think Floyd is going to be solid at the point. Our backcourt is deep with good shooters. Massey has me really intrigued as he hit the glass and appears to have some hops to him. I think I expected more out of Wright, thinking he was our prized pick up out of the portal. Lorient, even if Hodge says he is the most athletic player he has had during his time here, doesn’t really have a shot and doesn’t go up strong at the rim. I thought Sissoko looked tons better than last year. Better hands, couple of steals and solid play in the paint. He’s not going to be a double double player for us and that’s alright with the scorers around him. 
Stone still runs to hot. I think in his effort to be our energy/hustle player on defense, it hurts his offensive game. He rushes to shoot or pass and the same dribbling to the basket. How many breaks has he had where he didn’t finish?  There is no rhythm to his offensive game and that kills him. He either has to contribute more on offense, or we need to give Cotton and Mason a shot. 
I don’t know much about the freshman Smith, but he needs to put in some weight and probably get up to the speed of the D1 game. Hope to see some of the youngsters tomorrow night. 

[NT80]

A nice Mean Green basketball shoutout from Mavs announcer Mark Followill tonight in the 4th period.  He was commenting on the Mavs being up nearly 30 on the Bulls.   He said he saw the Mean Green up 29 on Evansville last night.  Almost a half minute of UNT basketball media.  Good advertising for us!

[Son Of A Flying Worm]

On 11/5/2024 at 5:20 PM, Censored by Laurie said:

Massie is basically listed at the same build as both AScott and TBell…our starting PFs for the last four seasons. That’s at least part of the reason I see Massie as a fit at our 4…so much of our defense is built around switching, denying entry and team rebounding…so we’ve never needed 6’8” 250 at the 4. 
 

I agree Vice is such a big wildcard. If it’s literally just him and Sissoko sharing minutes at the 5 and giving say 12/12 collectively, this squad could be a monster and legit ten-deep. 
 

this level of pre-season speculation is pretty darn fun. We are not have like three dudes on the roster we’re pretty well confident in knowing what they’ll give us…Walker, Sissoko and Stone…everyone else is kinda up in the air. 
 

personally…I think Wright is knocking on the door of 20ppg…with Floyd, Josell, Massie all around double-figures…balanced by Walker, Newell and some center combo giving 7-8/game. 

Nice takes. Regarding Massie at the 4 --- I don't think he quite has the height or length of Bell/Scott. I've warmed up more to him at the 4 after watching him play in person against Evansville. Need to see him play against better athletes. Next week against Minnesota will be interesting.