Drc Blog: Zero For Arkansas; Men Quit Playing As A Team

NT80 · January 7, 2007

Posted by Brett Vito at 01:00 AM

Zero for Arkansas

After the end of yet another North Texas loss on Saturday, I got to thinking -- Has there ever been a worse road trip for the Mean Green?

I would hard-pressed to name one when it comes to the regular season after the UNT men and women combined to go 0-for-Arkansas this week. Both teams were swept in games at Arkansas-Little Rock and Arkansas State.

The UNT men came into the trip with an 11-3 record overall and a chance to make a run at the top of the conference standings after winning two of their first three league games. After two straight losses, UNT is now 2-3 and has some ground to make up.

UNT head coach Johnny Jones said the Mean Green quit playing as a team during the road trip and had become selfish. That has to be one of the more disappointing aspects to the trip for UNT.

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The UNT women didn't fare any better, although they did play well at times in a loss to an ASU team that might be a close second to Middle Tennessee on the list of the top teams in the Sun Belt. UNT hung with the Lady Indians until late and might have been able to pull off the upset if it played a little better offensively.

That seemed of little consolation after head coach Tina Slinker announced after the game that she had suspended shooting guard Sanetra Jackson indefinitely. Jackson is UNT's leading scorer and has the potential to be a 20-point-a-game scorer in the Sun Belt. She didn’t play against ASU.

UNT will need Jackson to straighten out her off-the-court issues and get back into the fold soon if the Mean Green is to get back on track.

All-in-all, it was a tough trip for the Mean Green, but it still is early in conference play. Both teams could turn their seasons around.

There is little doubt it will be tougher to reach that goal after a disastrous trip to Arkansas.

It will be easy to judge by attendance at UNT’s next home game, but I am curious to hear how many fans still believe this could be a special year for the Mean Green.

Travis · January 8, 2007

Posted by Brett Vito at 01:00 AM
Zero for Arkansas
After the end of yet another North Texas loss on Saturday, I got to thinking -- Has there ever been a worse road trip for the Mean Green?
I would hard-pressed to name one when it comes to the regular season after the UNT men and women combined to go 0-for-Arkansas this week. Both teams were swept in games at Arkansas-Little Rock and Arkansas State.
The UNT men came into the trip with an 11-3 record overall and a chance to make a run at the top of the conference standings after winning two of their first three league games. After two straight losses, UNT is now 2-3 and has some ground to make up.
UNT head coach Johnny Jones said the Mean Green quit playing as a team during the road trip and had become selfish. That has to be one of the more disappointing aspects to the trip for UNT.

It hasn't ever seemed like they play real "team" ball. It seems more like street ball.