Great Stuff Off Dmn

CMJ · March 16, 2007

Thursday
At 10:45 a.m., the last player on the bus is Mr. Young, who draws teammate chants of "Superstar!" after a morning appearance on ESPN's Cold Pizza.
As the bus pulls into the loading dock at New Orleans Arena, where the team will be available for media interviews before a 45-minute workout, Mr. Jones cautions the players.
"Make sure you don't allow the media to lead you into anything that will give them [the Tigers]bulletin board material. They will try to bait you."
Mr. Jones, it turns out, has no reason for concern. When the bright lights come on, Mean Green players turn on the charm, especially Mr. Watson and Mr. Davis. The players are all too aware that No. 15 seeds are carrying an all-time record of 4-88 into this tournament.
"We're trying to win, but for us to go out there and play well on a national stage, it'll help everything," Mr. Davis says. "It'll help the program, recruiting – all kinds of doors will open up."
The Mean Green's stay in New Orleans may not last long, but they've already turned heads. Of course, the blaring siren of their sheriff-car escort back to the hotel Thursday had something to do with it.
In the lobby, Dr. Bataille, UNT's president, greeted Mr. Jones with a hug and a question.
"So, how do they look?"
His response: "They're so locked in, it's unbelievable."

JayDub · March 16, 2007

Damn it...now I'm almost so excited I can't sleep.

CMJ · March 16, 2007

Latest Entry...great stuff!

NEW ORLEANS – The chatter volume rises as the bus turns onto Poydras Street and drones past the hulking silhouette of the Superdome.
It is nearly 11 p.m. The University of North Texas men's basketball team, finally, has arrived.
"I love downtown New Orleans," senior guard Kendrick Davis announces as the bus slows in front of the team hotel on Canal Street. "It's the place to be. But we're on a business trip now, baby."
The Mean Green are in the 65-team NCAA basketball tournament for the second time in school history and the first time since 1988.
They are 18-point underdogs for today's 11:30 a.m. matchup against the 30-3 Memphis Tigers, seeded No. 2 in the South Region. But this is a landmark moment for a school that has long yearned for an identity and a team that earned its NCAA berth by winning a game witnessed by 409 fans.
That was Tuesday in Lafayette, La. The 23-10 Mean Green returned to a conquering-heroes reception on their Denton campus.
Now the bandwagon is overflowing. The team that averaged 2,067 fans at home this season has stoked fervor among its loyal supporters and roused alumni, some 90,000 of whom live in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Denton area.
"When I came, I said we've got to have a national and international presence," says Gretchen Bataille, who in August became UNT's 14th president, though her formal inauguration isn't until next month.
"We're national now. There really are a lot of folks out there watching us. It's publicity; it's awareness; it's bringing our alums back to say, 'I really am proud of my school.' "
With nearly 33,000 students, North Texas is the state's fourth-largest university, yet it is often overshadowed by two nearby private universities, Southern Methodist in Dallas and Texas Christian in Fort Worth.
Founded in 1890 as the Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute, North Texas has undergone six name changes, the last in 1988. Its regional profile has rarely been lifted by its athletic teams, which for years were confusingly known both as the Mean Green and the Eagles.
But times are changing under sixth-year athletic director Rick Villarreal, starting with football bowl appearances from 2001 to 2004 – the school's first since 1959.
The women's soccer team earned its first NCAA tournament berths in 2004 and 2005. And three months ago, UNT made headlines with the hiring of Todd Dodge, one of the most successful and innovative high school football coaches in the nation.
"I think athletics serves a lot of purposes on campus, creating spirit, creating an attachment," says Mr. Villarreal, 47. "I think what our basketball team has done is really important in building the university, getting our name out there."

PlummMeanGreen · March 16, 2007

Yeah, but not as "over-shadowed" as when SMU and TCU were in the Southwest Conference.

Build a 40,000 seat football stadium at a Texas public university and in a state where its still KING FOOTBALL and at a campus 35 miles north of SMU and TCU and then lets see just how over-shadowed we are.

BUT BACK TO BASKETBALL......................BEAT MEMPHIS RAW!

Edited March 16, 2007 by PlummMeanGreen

Green Mean · March 16, 2007

Friday, March 16, 2007

By BRAD TOWNSEND / The Dallas Morning News

btownsend@dallasnews.com

NEW ORLEANS – The chatter volume rises as the bus turns onto Poydras Street and drones past the hulking silhouette of the Superdome.

It is nearly 11 p.m. The University of North Texas men's basketball team, finally, has arrived.

"I love downtown New Orleans," senior guard Kendrick Davis announces as the bus slows in front of the team hotel on Canal Street. "It's the place to be. But we're on a business trip now, baby."

The Mean Green are in the 65-team NCAA basketball tournament for the second time in school history and the first time since 1988.

They are 18-point underdogs for today's 11:30 a.m. matchup against the 30-3 Memphis Tigers, seeded No. 2 in the South Region. But this is a landmark moment for a school that has long yearned for an identity and a team that earned its NCAA berth by winning a game witnessed by 409 fans.

That was Tuesday in Lafayette, La. The 23-10 Mean Green returned to a conquering-heroes reception on their Denton campus.

Now the bandwagon is overflowing. The team that averaged 2,067 fans at home this season has stoked fervor among its loyal supporters and roused alumni, some 90,000 of whom live in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Denton area.

"When I came, I said we've got to have a national and international presence," says Gretchen Bataille, who in August became UNT's 14th president, though her formal inauguration isn't until next month.

"We're national now. There really are a lot of folks out there watching us. It's publicity; it's awareness; it's bringing our alums back to say, 'I really am proud of my school.' "

With nearly 33,000 students, North Texas is the state's fourth-largest university, yet it is often overshadowed by two nearby private universities, Southern Methodist in Dallas and Texas Christian in Fort Worth.

Founded in 1890 as the Texas Normal College and Teacher Training Institute, North Texas has undergone six name changes, the last in 1988. Its regional profile has rarely been lifted by its athletic teams, which for years were confusingly known both as the Mean Green and the Eagles.

But times are changing under sixth-year athletic director Rick Villarreal, starting with football bowl appearances from 2001 to 2004 – the school's first since 1959.

The women's soccer team earned its first NCAA tournament berths in 2004 and 2005. And three months ago, UNT made headlines with the hiring of Todd Dodge, one of the most successful and innovative high school football coaches in the nation.

"I think athletics serves a lot of purposes on campus, creating spirit, creating an attachment," says Mr. Villarreal, 47. "I think what our basketball team has done is really important in building the university, getting our name out there."

Sunday

At 4:51 p.m., the players file into a meeting room in the two-year-old, $8 million North Texas Athletic Center. They are engulfed by an ovation from an estimated 350 green-clad supporters.

Senior guard Calvin Watson carries in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship trophy, hoisting it over his head like a boxing title belt.

"It's pretty good being Mean Green today, isn't it?" Mr. Villarreal asks the throng.

North Texas already knows it is in the NCAAs by virtue of its Sun Belt tournament title-game win over Arkansas State. All that remains is finding out who the Mean Green are playing, when and where.

Nearly an hour into CBS' Selection Sunday show, Mean Green players and fans finally get their answers. Everyone in the room erupts when the words "North Texas" flash on the screen, but for one man, the opponent and site are particularly meaningful.

Sixth-year Mean Green coach Johnny Jones, whom Mr. Villarreal introduces to the crowd as "the main reason we are here today," was born and raised in Louisiana.

He played at Louisiana State, helping the Tigers reach the Final Four in 1981, then worked 13 seasons as an assistant under LSU coach Dale Brown. And upon leaving LSU, he spent three seasons at Memphis, including the 1999-2000 season as interim head coach.

Mr. Villarreal became UNT's athletic director April 4, 2001. Twelve days later, he introduced Mr. Jones as the Mean Green's new basketball coach.

For getting UNT to the tournament, Mr. Jones will receive a $10,000 bonus atop the $205,811 he'll make in base salary and other incentives. By comparison, Texas coach Rick Barnes will get $125,000 added to his $1.8 million deal for taking UT to the NCAAs for the ninth straight year.

"It was always a dream of mine to take over a program that had promise," says Mr. Jones, 45. "I'm excited to be here and tell you that Mean Green basketball is alive and well here in Denton."

Monday

At 2:45 p.m., Mr. Jones gathers the Mean Green in the locker room before practice.

The spoils of success already are pouring in. Nike sent a shipment of new shoes, although Mr. Jones warns the players not to use them unless they feel 100 percent comfortable.

Mr. Jones then informs the team that it will travel to New Orleans on a charter plane, accompanied by about 110 UNT staff members, longtime fans, cheerleaders and band members.

"I told you that things will start changing a little bit," Mr. Jones tells the players. "We've just got to make sure that we don't change. There will be a circus around you. You've got to make sure you don't engage in it."

Waiting outside in the team's arena, The Super Pit, are several Dallas-Fort Worth TV and newspaper reporters, as well as a reporter and a cameraman from the CBS Evening News With Katie Couric.

The CBS crew is getting practice footage to complete a profile of 26-year-old Mean Green guard Rich Young, whose four years of Marine service included spending much of 2003 defending a road leading into Baghdad that soldiers called "Ambush Alley."

After practice, the team crowds into the players' lounge to watch the CBS news. Mr. Young sits quietly near the back of the room, dribbling a basketball between his legs.

Near the end of the broadcast, Mr. Young and UNT get more than three minutes of virtually priceless exposure, beamed to about 7 million viewers. Of course, Ms. Couric also describes North Texas and Memphis as "a real David-and-Goliath matchup."

David?

"We're the Mean Green, we'll leave it at that," shrugs Mr. Watson, who made six of seven 3-point shot attempts in the Sun Belt title game. "This is the NCAA Tournament. You know how many upsets they have each year?"

Tuesday

The media frenzy has quieted. But the campus buzz is growing. Mr. Watson and fellow senior guard Kendrick Davis say they have received standing ovations in class.

"I just hope they get over to New Orleans because we're going to need 'em," says Mr. Davis, who transferred to UNT from Arkansas in 2004.

Mr. Davis is one of numerous players who give the UNT roster a patchwork-quilt look. Another transfer, junior Keith Wooden, came from Arizona State. Mr. Young is one of three junior college transfers.

Six Mean Green players played at high schools outside of Texas, including 6-foot-8 junior Quincy Williams, an Oklahoma native and the younger brother of former Duke All-American Shelden Williams.

Sports Illustrated, citing figures obtained from the U.S. Department of Education, recently reported that UNT had the second-smallest basketball revenue ($180,000) among all Division I schools for the year ending June 30.

The magazine also reported that the Mean Green program had a net loss of $85,000 that year, while perennial powers Louisville and North Carolina led the nation by netting $14.9 million and $12.5 million, respectively.

"People can kind of throw numbers, but we stay in the same hotels everybody else does," Mr. Villarreal says. "We fly the same way everybody else does, have the same kind of facilities. We're competitive in coaches salaries across the board.

"What we said five years ago is we've got to invest in the kinds of things so that when our kids go to practice and games, they feel like everyone else does."

Wednesday

Before leaving for Love Field, the team has a short practice at The Pit, followed by a team dinner at Outback Steakhouse. About 100 fans gather outside The Pit to give the players an enthusiastic sendoff.

"It feels good, man, like I'm a rock star," Mr. Watson says.

The team packs for a five-day trip, giving every indication it intends to be in New Orleans for a second-round game Sunday.

The traveling party includes university regent C. Dan Smith, a running back and linebacker on UNT's 1959 Sun Bowl football team.

One week of March Madness, he reckons, has brought the school more attention than all of its football bowl appearances put together.

"And I think if you look at the last six to eight months at the University of North Texas, it's just been unbelievable how much good publicity has happened to us."

Thursday

At 10:45 a.m., the last player on the bus is Mr. Young, who draws teammate chants of "Superstar!" after a morning appearance on ESPN's Cold Pizza.

As the bus pulls into the loading dock at New Orleans Arena, where the team will be available for media interviews before a 45-minute workout, Mr. Jones cautions the players.

"Make sure you don't allow the media to lead you into anything that will give them [the Tigers] bulletin board material. They will try to bait you."

Mr. Jones, it turns out, has no reason for concern. When the bright lights come on, Mean Green players turn on the charm, especially Mr. Watson and Mr. Davis. The players are all too aware that No. 15 seeds are carrying an all-time record of 4-88 into this tournament.

"We're trying to win, but for us to go out there and play well on a national stage, it'll help everything," Mr. Davis says. "It'll help the program, recruiting – all kinds of doors will open up."

The Mean Green's stay in New Orleans may not last long, but they've already turned heads. Of course, the blaring siren of their sheriff-car escort back to the hotel Thursday had something to do with it.

In the lobby, Dr. Bataille, UNT's president, greeted Mr. Jones with a hug and a question.

"So, how do they look?"

His response: "They're so locked in, it's unbelievable."

CMJ · March 16, 2007

Yeah, but not as "over-shadowed" as when SMU and TCU were in the Southwest Conference.
Build a 40,000 seat football stadium at a Texas public university and in a state where its still KING FOOTBALL and at a campus 35 miles north of SMU and TCU and then lets see just how over-shadowed we are.

I'm sorry Plumm....if we win today we'll get more press than any football win has ever gotten for NT.