Drc/vito: No Midland Big Man; Jj's New Contract

[NT80]

UNT not on Calasan's list

It's no secret that North Texas men's basketball coach Johnny Jones is after a big man to round out his latest recruiting class that includes a pair of guards and a small forward.

Midland College coach Grant McCasland said Monday that big man won't be Utah transfer Nemanja Calasan.

Calasan played for Midland before transferring to Utah and seemed like he might be a good fit for UNT after he decided to transfer again. UNT has already signed Midland College point guard Ryan McCoy.

McCasland said Monday that Calasan is talking to a number of SEC and Big 10 schools and has no interest in UNT.

Jones contract details

The North Texas board of regents is set to consider a five-year contract extension for men's basketball coach Johnny Jones on Thursday.

Here are a few details of the proposal the board will receive.

Jones' base salary would be $170,000 with an annual 5 percent raise. He would also receive a $6,000 car allowance and other incentives. The parameters are somewhat of a surprise considering Jones was set to make $168,852 in base salary before incentives next season.

With his automatic incentives for a radio show and maintaining membership in the Sun Belt Conference, Jones is making $205,811 this year. He is set to make $213,852 in the last year of his current deal, beginning Sept. 1.

The extra money in the proposed contract appears to be in the non-guaranteed incentives, which were not available.

Without the details of what incentives are in the proposal, it's tough to tell how good the deal is for Jones and UNT. Jones' agent said earlier this week both sides were happy with the contract.

When the details come out, expect Jones to have much higher non-guaranteed incentives. Jones only received a $25,000 for taking UNT to the NCAA Tournament. That might sound like a lot of money, but it really was a bargain considering how much national and local publicity UNT received for getting to the tournament.

For more on Jones' contract proposal and a comparison with the deal former South Alabama coach John Pelphrey had last season after taking the Jaguars to the 2006 NCAA Tournament, see tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

And feel free to post your thoughts on Jones' contract on the blog.

DRC Article on JJ's new contract:

Basketball: Jones' extention awaits board approval

Mean Green head coach would see slight raise over previous contract

11:00 PM CDT on Monday, May 7, 2007

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

The North Texas board of regents will consider approving a five-year contract extension for men's basketball coach Johnny Jones that includes a slight raise over his scheduled salary for next season on Thursday.

The proposal includes a base salary of $170,000 without incentives. Jones is making a base salary of $160,811 in the current year of his deal that is set to end Aug. 31.

Jones is scheduled to receive a 5 percent increase on Sept. 1 that would take his base salary to $168,852.

"Both sides are happy with the deal," John Hamilton, Jones' agent, said earlier this week. "It's a fare contract. Johnny wanted to stay at North Texas."

Jones, who just completed his sixth season at UNT, signed his last contract extension on Sept. 1, 2003. His current deal includes a $25,000 bonus for maintaining membership in the Sun Belt Conference and an additional $20,000 for appearing on his radio show. Those incentives pushed Jones' salary to $205,811 for the current year.

The incentives in Jones' proposed deal that would take effect on June 1 were not available, but the contract does include a 5 percent annual raise and a $6,000 car allowance.

Jones is scheduled to enter the final year of his contract on Sept. 1, but the former LSU standout was promised an extension by UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal in March during one of the best seasons in the history of the program.

UNT finished third in the Sun Belt Conference West Division standings before going on a tear in the league tournament. The Mean Green beat Louisiana-Lafayette in a first-round game at the Super Pit and then won three straight games in Lafayette to capture the tournament title and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Mean Green had not been to the NCAA Tournament since 1988.

UNT lost to Memphis in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, but still set the school record for wins in a season while finishing 23-11.

Jones improved his record to 86-89 at UNT and moved into third place on the Mean Green's career wins list following the best season of his tenure.

Jones received a $10,000 bonus for winning the Sun Belt tournament and an additional $15,000 for taking the Mean Green to the NCAA Tournament.

Jones also has incentives in his current contract for season ticket sales and academic achievement by his players. Those incentives are likely to become more lucrative under the proposed deal.

Former South Alabama coach John Pelphrey made a base salary of $205,000 last season after taking the Jaguars to the 2006 NCAA Tournament, according to the Mobile Press-Register. A study by USA Today showed that while Pelphrey's base salary was $205,000, his guaranteed income was $320,104.

The proposal UNT's board will consider credits Jones for a solid academic record during his tenure. UNT posted a score of 946 in the NCAA's latest Academic Progress Rate report that measures a team's success in retaining its athletes and keeping them academically eligible.

Teams that score 925 or higher avoid scholarship penalties from the NCAA. Jones' teams have posted a score of at least 945 in each year the NCAA has used the report to measure team's academic success.

Board to consider naming rights deal

The UNT board of regents will consider a proposal Thursday to name its Football Video Viewing Center in honor of Marshall Evans Payne, a deceased UNT fan.

UNT has received a $25,000 gift in honor of Marshall Evans Payne from the estate his widow, Mary Jobe Payne, who died last year.

Marshall Evans Payne was a longtime Denton resident and UNT fan.

Edited May 8, 2007 by NT80

[Green to the Bone]

The way I'm reading the story, the contract seems to be heavy on the achievement incentives instead of fat new guarantees. If so, that appears to be a future-focused approach that would reward success, which seems like a good thing.

[emmitt01]

The way I'm reading the story, the contract seems to be heavy on the achievement incentives instead of fat new guarantees. If so, that appears to be a future-focused approach that would reward success, which seems like a good thing.

Shhhh. Saying that JJ's contract extension isn't the work of the devil will only incite the wildlife.

[untbowler]

Shhhh. Saying that JJ's contract extension isn't the work of the devil will only incite the wildlife.

psssh, I think it is good to see that RV and BoR are making Jones earn his paycheck, so that 2006-07 was not just a flash in the pan.

[AnotherEagleFan]

Fair Deal for both. With the base being the same the "buy out" (which I hope that we never see) stays low. However JJ gets a nice bump in pay should he continue to grow the program. Good for JJ. As fans we must remember that UNT will have a huge target on our back next year so it will be difficult to repeat. If JJ keeps us in the running for winning the belt and gets us into post season play (even if it is the NIT) I will be happy. But we need to go back to the NCAA tournament again in the next 2 years.

[CMJ]

As long as we don't have a 20 loss season & get back to the postseason(even the NIT) in the next 2-3 years I'll prolly be more than happy.

[UNTFan23]

Still not comfortable with 5 years.

[SCREAMING EAGLE-66]

-- MC Calasan has not ever transfered or played at Utah... He agreed last fall to go there but I suppose that agreement was not binding. Calasan is a citizen of Serbia. Interestingly I spoke to the MC coach, McCasland, yesterday and he was wearing a Utah T-shirt.

--- In this week's campus newspaper it was announced that his assistant, Alvin Brooks II, is leaving and going to be an assistant coach for Bradley University. Perhaps he is considering there.