Tony Mitchell In Process Of Enrolling @North Texas!

greenminer · January 26, 2011

He would have this sem + summer to get his grades in order, presuming he gets cleared.

My question is, when will UNT know officially he is good to go/not go for the fall sem? Is there a date we can circle?

Adub4ever · January 26, 2011

"Johnny Jones has a terrific track record of working with players who have had issues in the past, on and off the court. UNT also has an academic support system with a very good track record. If Mitchell comes to UNT, he would have the support he needs to get on track academically."

I can totally see why Tony Mitchell would want to come here....great coach, close to home, good arena, good history....... Call me optimistic but i think Mitchell willl be on the court next fall ....Stepping stone to the NBA? so what? that would be awesome for UNT, it would give us instant credibillity for other recruits... I definitley see this kid starting at PF next year next to Jordan Williams at SF.... we might have the best mid major team next year, if Mitchell plays.... Does anybody know how long it could take for the clearing house to rule Mitchell elegible?

Adub4ever · January 26, 2011

He would have this sem + summer to get his grades in order, presuming he gets cleared.

My question is, when will UNT know officially he is good to go/not go for the fall sem? Is there a date we can circle?

i would think it would be at the begining of the fall semester when most student athletes transfer. depending on how it goes during the spring semester and summer school... atleast we can confirm that he is enrolled right?

EDIT: Yes he is enrolled... and now i realize he wont be transfer so i see no reason pending his grades, why he wouldnt be allowed to start right away for the 2011-2012 season.

Edited January 26, 2011 by Adub4ever

MeanMag · January 27, 2011

I'm smelling the first ever sellout at the Pit. Corretion, the first sellout for a basketball game that I'm aware of. I'm also sensing BB season ticktets in my future.

I'm considering giving you a -1 for not having them already. That Ark St. game was as complete a game as I've seen played this season.

Andrew · January 27, 2011

i would think it would be at the begining of the fall semester when most student athletes transfer. depending on how it goes during the spring semester and summer school... atleast we can confirm that he is enrolled right?

EDIT: Yes he is enrolled... and now i realize he wont be transfer so i see no reason pending his grades, why he wouldnt be allowed to start right away for the 2011-2012 season.

Im considering giving a -1 for not reading other boards and already realizing he will not be ready till December and that is if he qualifies...

I do see him wearing the green but not till late December and it may only last a year

Andrew · January 27, 2011

i would think it would be at the begining of the fall semester when most student athletes transfer. depending on how it goes during the spring semester and summer school... atleast we can confirm that he is enrolled right?

EDIT: Yes he is enrolled... and now i realize he wont be transfer so i see no reason pending his grades, why he wouldnt be allowed to start right away for the 2011-2012 season.

Im considering giving a -1 for not reading other boards and already realizing he will not be ready till December and that is if he qualifies...

I do see him wearing the green but not till late December and it may only last a year

Mean Green Matt · January 27, 2011

Im considering giving a -1 for not reading other boards and already realizing he will not be ready till December and that is if he qualifies...
I do see him wearing the green but not till late December and it may only last a year

About the lasting a year part...I would have said that before, but now that we know he won't play until December, I don't think he is going to be ready for the NBA after one semester of college ball, and a significant layoff from competitive basketball before that. I would imagine his draft stock is going to drop once it is taken into account that he won't be able to play this season.

H-towngreen · January 27, 2011

About the lasting a year part...I would have said that before, but now that we know he won't play until December, I don't think he is going to be ready for the NBA after one semester of college ball, and a significant layoff from competitive basketball before that. I would imagine his draft stock is going to drop once it is taken into account that he won't be able to play this season.

Lets hope that it plays out that way. I'd love a year and a half. Having someone like him only helps recruiting even more.

UNT90 · March 19, 2013

I thought it would be interesting (and needed) to look back at the excitement generated by Tony Mitchell's enrollment at UNT.

EDIT: And interestingly enough, Skiver's posts are changed to Andrew. Hmmmmm...

Edited March 19, 2013 by UNT90

Rudy · March 19, 2013

Seeing how excited we were at the possibilties and where we are now makes me sad. I need some cough syrup. Where's Lil Wayne when you need him?

akriesman · March 19, 2013

UNT basketball seemed on the verge of being something really special here. I didn't think we would necessarily become another Memphis in CUSA.. But, I certainly expected us to have a strong program moving forward and seriously contend in our new conference. How quickly fortunes can change.

I honestly don't know who to blame for what happened. Obviously, Benford's system failed for the players we had on the floor this season.

The real question is what do other potential recruits think of Benford now ? Perhaps our talent level was vastly overrated (plus injuries) and any coach might have struggled. But, even if that is the case, how many potential recruits and going to say "damn, that team failed even with Tony Mitchell on the roster". After all, its all about perception in the recruiting game.

What to do now ? I have never in my life supported removing a coach after just one season. And, Benford may very well turn out to be a heck of a coach. But, too much is probably at stake here to let our program struggle for another season or two. Look how long it has taken our FB team to pull it self out of the cellar after consecutive years of losing.

This is going to be one tough choice that our administration has to make. It may be better for everyone (including coach Benford) if we cleaned house. But, I just don't seem that happening.

Such is the life of North Texas athletics. Just when it seems we are getting our share of the breaks, the bottom falls out.

Edited March 19, 2013 by akriesman

Harry · March 19, 2013

Such is the life of North Texas athletics. Just when it seems we are getting our share of the breaks, the bottom falls out.

Seems that way sometimes doesn't it. Here's my view and of course everyone has the right to their own.

In the euphoria of landing Tony, and the fact that CJ and Jordan were back from academic suspension I think all of us had stars in our eyes. And it wasn't just us, it was Fran Frachilla, and other national media outlets which bought in to the potential of the program.

Remember, we really didn't know that Tony would even be back after last season -- in fact, after Johnny left I thought he would leave. Having Tony play only one semester would have been a much bigger kick to the crotch in my mind.

Keep in mind -- no one asked Johnny to leave. We would have all preferred he stayed but that wasn't the cards and you can't begrudge the guy for taking his dream job. But it did leave our program in a state of flux. And he did convince John Odo to transfer to LSU which required us to go after Coleman.

Our dream ended when Brendan Walton was lost for the season due to injury. He was our best and possible only consistent outside threat. From that point on every team we played begged us to beat them from outside and we rarely were able to. If there was a blame to be placed it might be that Benford should have been more concerned about landing another guy to shoot the ball versus Coleman.

I know everyone wants to punish Benford for this disappointing season but is the the whole to blame? Doesn't some of the blame lie with the injuries and the players themselves?

And how about a dose of financial reality, we're not going to buy out Benford's contract after one year. It isn't realistic. After two years of losing maybe but shouldn't the guy be given time to reconstruct the program?

I can't help but somewhere deep within the angst over Benford there lies a profound disappointment over losing Johnny. It is time to let that go and move forward. If Benford is the main component of the problem it will be dealt with in due time.

Just like Mac needs to win this Fall. Without significant improvement in both major sports, the velvet hammer will fall--- especially with a new System President coming into the picture.

I think the pain of this unfortunate season will fade. I think many of us will be sitting on the edge of our seats during the NBA draft when Tony gets selected. And I think he could have a very nice NBA career.

Tony Mitchell's been a very good thing for North Texas and despite a disappointing season I still can see a happy ending to the story.

Censored by Laurie · March 19, 2013

Our dream ended when Brendan Walton was lost for the season due to injury.

This needs to stop.

KRAM1 · March 19, 2013

This needs to stop.

Yet, you keep it going...well played, Sir!

untjim1995 · March 19, 2013

Seems that way sometimes doesn't it. Here's my view and of course everyone has the right to their own.

In the euphoria of landing Tony, and the fact that CJ and Jordan were back from academic suspension I think all of us had stars in our eyes. And it wasn't just us, it was Fran Frachilla, and other national media outlets which bought in to the potential of the program.

Remember, we really didn't know that Tony would even be back after last season -- in fact, after Johnny left I thought he would leave. Having Tony play only one semester would have been a much bigger kick to the crotch in my mind.

Keep in mind -- no one asked Johnny to leave. We would have all preferred he stayed but that wasn't the cards and you can't begrudge the guy for taking his dream job. But it did leave our program in a state of flux. And he did convince John Odo to transfer to LSU which required us to go after Coleman.
Our dream ended when Brendan Walton was lost for the season due to injury. He was our best and possible only consistent outside threat. From that point on every team we played begged us to beat them from outside and we rarely were able to. If there was a blame to be placed it might be that Benford should have been more concerned about landing another guy to shoot the ball versus Coleman.

I know everyone wants to punish Benford for this disappointing season but is the the whole to blame? Doesn't some of the blame lie with the injuries and the players themselves?

And how about a dose of financial reality, we're not going to buy out Benford's contract after one year. It isn't realistic. After two years of losing maybe but shouldn't the guy be given time to reconstruct the program?

I can't help but somewhere deep within the angst over Benford there lies a profound disappointment over losing Johnny. It is time to let that go and move forward. If Benford is the main component of the problem it will be dealt with in due time.

Just like Mac needs to win this Fall. Without significant improvement in both major sports, the velvet hammer will fall--- especially with a new System President coming into the picture.

I think the pain of this unfortunate season will fade. I think many of us will be sitting on the edge of our seats during the NBA draft when Tony gets selected. And I think he could have a very nice NBA career.

Tony Mitchell's been a very good thing for North Texas and despite a disappointing season I still can see a happy ending to the story.

Good take, but I will say, at least for myself, that I was very happy for JJ that the LSU job came available at a point where he could get hired by them. My disappointment in Benford, again for myself, wasn't from JJ leaving--at all. It was partly due to the fact that we could have gotten a more experienced coach, particularly one in Fraschilla that I believe would have been a great hire. It was also due to the fact that his team looked apathetic on the court, in part, because he implemented the line change on the court that the Dallas Stars would envy. I didn't like his dodging of the media after early season losses, either. Tony Mitchell regressed badly, but it was obvious that he had no respect for Benford's coaching style. Maybe you can put blame on Mitchell for that solely, but he is a young man that still needs solid leadership. When he had that, under JJ, he was a looming lottery pick. Now, he MIGHT go in the first round of the draft. I suspect that he will tell his side of the story very soon about all of this and there will be many folks around here who will get mad that he is airing his dirty laundry, but he's gonna need to do that to improve his draft stock again. Be prepared for this, gmg.com.

Army of Dad · March 19, 2013

This needs to stop.

x10

Green P1 · March 19, 2013

This needs to stop.

It cant. It's a scientific fact that it's impossible to overcome the loss of a bench player during the first game of the season.

I guess you could lay this season at the loss of Walton. I guess you could assume that he would have been one of only 2 players on the team to not regress or all of a sudden start reading their press clippings or become a disciple problem. I guess you could assume that he would have been the savior. I guess?

Forget the fact that most people thought he was worthless last season until CJ and Jordan were gone...

Edited March 19, 2013 by Green P1

UNT90 · March 19, 2013

Seems that way sometimes doesn't it. Here's my view and of course everyone has the right to their own.

In the euphoria of landing Tony, and the fact that CJ and Jordan were back from academic suspension I think all of us had stars in our eyes. And it wasn't just us, it was Fran Frachilla, and other national media outlets which bought in to the potential of the program.

Remember, we really didn't know that Tony would even be back after last season -- in fact, after Johnny left I thought he would leave. Having Tony play only one semester would have been a much bigger kick to the crotch in my mind.

Keep in mind -- no one asked Johnny to leave. We would have all preferred he stayed but that wasn't the cards and you can't begrudge the guy for taking his dream job. But it did leave our program in a state of flux. And he did convince John Odo to transfer to LSU which required us to go after Coleman.
Our dream ended when Brendan Walton was lost for the season due to injury. He was our best and possible only consistent outside threat. From that point on every team we played begged us to beat them from outside and we rarely were able to. If there was a blame to be placed it might be that Benford should have been more concerned about landing another guy to shoot the ball versus Coleman.

I know everyone wants to punish Benford for this disappointing season but is the the whole to blame? Doesn't some of the blame lie with the injuries and the players themselves?

And how about a dose of financial reality, we're not going to buy out Benford's contract after one year. It isn't realistic. After two years of losing maybe but shouldn't the guy be given time to reconstruct the program?

I can't help but somewhere deep within the angst over Benford there lies a profound disappointment over losing Johnny. It is time to let that go and move forward. If Benford is the main component of the problem it will be dealt with in due time.

Just like Mac needs to win this Fall. Without significant improvement in both major sports, the velvet hammer will fall--- especially with a new System President coming into the picture.

I think the pain of this unfortunate season will fade. I think many of us will be sitting on the edge of our seats during the NBA draft when Tony gets selected. And I think he could have a very nice NBA career.

Tony Mitchell's been a very good thing for North Texas and despite a disappointing season I still can see a happy ending to the story.

I know, what is financially realistic for Southern Miss and Houston just can't be done at UNT. Just like playing in the CIT the last 2 years wasn't "financially realistic" for UNT, yet is for UTA.

It's always going to be like this at UNT, because people in key positions just don't care about athletics.

Brandon Walton would not have averaged 14 rebounds per game and would not have kept this team from looking lost on defense for most of the year. Yes, losing him hurt the ability to stretch the defense, but injuries happen in college ball, and you pay your head coach a hefty sum of money to be able (theoretically) to adjust to the injuries that occur during the season, much like Utah St. did this year. All they did was win 19 games.

Odoh would not have helped if he was here this year because he was not eligible.

The culture at UNT, including its fan base, is that losing is acceptable and no big deal. The culture at North Texas allows a 1st year coach with "the most talented team in school history" to fail miserably and have no fear of being held accountable.

So, what do we do at UNT? We cross our fingers, tell everybody to "get behind Coach Benford, because he isn't going anywhere!" and pray that somehow, someway, the seas part and a miracle happens next year and we finish above .500 in conference play.

That is who we are. It just took me a while to figure it out.

EDIT. Harry, do you really think UNT will bite the bullet and fire 2 head coaches with multiple years left on their contract in the same calendar year? What part of our history suggests that we would ever do something like that? If we can't afford to fire Benford now and pay out 4 years of his contract, what makes you think we will be willing to fire both Mac and Benford and pay out 5 years (2 to Mac, 3 to Benford) during the same fiscal year? With Mac's 2 years being an equal payout to Benford's 3 remaining years?

And if this occurs, one would assume that we would be paying out the remainder of the contract for the AD that put us in that position (I said IF this occurs). So where would that money come from?

In the end, it's all just a big excuse. We just don't care whether we win or lose in athletics, plain and simple.

Edited March 19, 2013 by UNT90

chrisfisher · March 19, 2013

I got really excited when I saw Mitchell enrolled at North Texas. I though he re-enrolled and missed the date of the original post (2011). Anyhow, I thank you Tony for taking a chance on UNT. I know it wasn't what anyone hoped for, but I hope that you enjoyed your time at UNT. I wish you the very best in the NBA, and I really, really hope that the Spurs pick you up! Tony is the prototypical player that Pop drafts and goes on to develop into a solid player or superstar.

Edited March 19, 2013 by chrisfisher

Army of Dad · March 19, 2013

I know everyone wants to punish Benford for this disappointing season but is the the whole to blame? Doesn't some of the blame lie with the injuries and the players themselves?

And how about a dose of financial reality, we're not going to buy out Benford's contract after one year. It isn't realistic. After two years of losing maybe but shouldn't the guy be given time to reconstruct the program?

I can't help but somewhere deep within the angst over Benford there lies a profound disappointment over losing Johnny. It is time to let that go and move forward. If Benford is the main component of the problem it will be dealt with in due time.

The buck stops at the head coach. He failed miserably this season. At a certain point the reasons why aren't material.

I get the dose of financial reality, but I have to quibble with the 'give him two years to reconstruct the program' part. It only needs to be reconstructed because it was dismantled in his first season!

We all know Benford is likely to be around for another year (or god help us 2-3). That's not fixing the problem and the golden chance this program had has already been missed. For me, I don't see how Benford can (realistically) earn forgiveness for that, much less how he could do it next season. There will be less talent on the court next season and less fans in the stands too. If you don't think he can make it right next year (and I didn't see anything to make me believe he can) then cut him now.

foutsrouts · March 19, 2013

I got really excited when I saw Mitchell enrolled at North Texas. I though he re-enrolled and missed the date of the original post (2011). Anyhow, I thank you Tony for taking a chance on UNT. I know it wasn't what anyone hoped for, but I hope that you enjoyed your time at UNT. I wish you the very best in the NBA, and I really, really hope that the Spurs pick you up! Tony is the prototypical player that Pop drafts and goes on to develop into a solid player or superstar.

I thought the same thing for a second. We really ought to delete that pinned thread at the top that says "Tony Mitchell announces he is staying at North Texas!". It's over folks.

Greendylan · March 19, 2013

I know that Walton was an important component of our team chemistry. I'm even willing to take a leap and accept that losing our only legitimate, consistent three-point threat completely changed the game plan. However, we finished about 200 spots lower in RPI (246) than we were supposed to based on most preseason projections. I don't think there's any player in the nation who is capable of affecting a team either positively or negatively to that extent. If losing one player crushed our plans that much, then what will our record be after losing Mitchell? Will we be winless?

With all due respect to those more optimistic about next year, I still don't think there are many Division I programs in the nation that would return a coaching staff after such a humiliating catastrophe. Once again, I hope I'm wrong--it's happened before.

Rudy · March 20, 2013

Yea I think that happened because I somehow absorbed skiver's account (including friends and reputation) but he has another account so you can calm down now....

Hey, real quick, can you say, "There are no American troops in Baghdad."?

emmitt01 · March 20, 2013

"After two years of losing maybe but shouldn't the guy be given time to reconstruct the program?"

THIS is the part that upsets us all Harry. Reconstruct? A team that made three straight conference tournament finals? Even if you concede that everyone "overrated" this team, is it really logical to assume that JJ left a Todd Dodge like mess?

If I beat and cheat on my wife Do I then get to say "Shouldn't I be given time to reconstruct this marriage?!"