Fall from top to bottom caps rocky season

[MeanGreen61]

Fall from top to bottom caps NT men’s rocky season

Hot start, early home stretch left team scrambling

By Michael Neglia

Staff Writer

March 08, 2006

The NT men’s basketball team had a lot of promise coming into the season, finishing with a 14-14 record the previous year, returning three starters, and bringing in a new core of bench players.

Despite losing its leading scorer, guard Leonard Hopkins, it was expected that newcomers such as junior guard Kendrick Davis, junior guard Lionel Brown and others would be able to pick up the slack and compliment returning starters senior guard Isaac Hines, junior guard Calvin Watson, and senior center Jeffrey Simpson.

For the first 18 games of the season, it worked well. Davis was scoring, Brown was scoring, Simpson was scoring, and even Hines – known more as a ball-handler – was scoring. The bench would occasionally start runs, and, at the very least, sustain a lead.

The Mean Green was sitting in first place in the Sun Belt Conference after starting 5-2 in league play and 12-6 overall. The only concern at that point was that only six of its games at this point were on the road, setting up a season-ending stretch that included six of its final seven conference games on the road.

NT had a chance to take a half-game lead over South Alabama at home in its eighth conference game of the season. Instead, the Jaguars trounced the Mean Green 89-67, sending NT on its road trip scrambling.

The Mean Green was never able to recover, losing its next five conference games in a row, including three heartbreakers to New Orleans, Middle Tennessee, and Denver. This skid causes one to wonder if the team actually fell apart, or if it played too many home games in the beginning of the season, overachieved and was unprepared for the long road stretch.

By the end of the regular season, NT was 14-13 and 6-9 in the Sun Belt, just like last year, and finished the season with another first-round loss in the conference tournament.

It was a disappointing year, as an improvement could have been the next step towards possibly establishing itself as one of the conference’s best teams. The team returns Davis, Watson, Brown, emerging freshmen forwards Harold Stewart and Harold Edwards and others. But until next season, all the Mean Green can do is think about what if.

http://www.ntdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART...8/440e824951816

Edited March 8, 2006 by MeanGreen61

[Eagle1855]

seems our basketball team has the oposite problem as some of our previous football seasons. hot start, cold finish.

rough season for all sports. at this point I just want something, anything to be excited about.

[NorthTexasFan]

Exactly what I feel, but looking at the articles I read, there isn't anything to cheer about.

[gksmith]

In 1966, Spika was the coach. North Texas won the first 6-8 games (I forget exactly how many). They never won another game all season. Spika lost control of the team that year.

I have nothing against Jones. I think he is a good coach. But I am wondering if he has lost control of this team. Will it be any better next season?