Jj Almost Got The Miami, Fla. Job

SUMG · May 30, 2011

According to a friend.....JJ was #2 on their list. The job went to George Mason's coach. (Jim Larranga). The word on this came from Larranga himself.

Cooley · May 30, 2011

Kinda helps explain why we haven't signed a center this spring!

drex · May 30, 2011

So, if JJ is seriously looking, this thing can come unraveled fast. Can't blame him...playing in front of an estimated 2,500 a game just won't cut it. Athletics has shown no ability to fill the stands, other than to schedule a few high profile teams. JJ's gotta be getting frustrated...just like the comments Josh White made about poor attendance.

bstnsportsfan3 · May 30, 2011

So, if JJ is seriously looking, this thing can come unraveled fast. Can't blame him...playing in front of an estimated 2,500 a game just won't cut it. Athletics has shown no ability to fill the stands, other than to schedule a few high profile teams. JJ's gotta be getting frustrated...just like the comments Josh White made about poor attendance.

When did this ever get said? Just because he is mentioned for a job doesn't mean he went looking for it. from my understanding...Miami would have wanted JJ if they didnt get Larranga. But who said this isnt more Miami wanting him then JJ wanting Miami?? who honestly even knows if he would have taken it. Miami is a bottom rung ACC team while were the top dog in the belt and have the best class in history coming in...he rides this out, wins a few NCAA games...and suddenly he is looking at alot better then bottom of ACC type jobs...Just my honest opinion. ( hope he says mean green for many years to come!!)

Edited May 30, 2011 by bstnsportsfan3

drex · May 30, 2011

Not saying that he is actively looking...just saying that if he is the thing could fall apart with our prized recruits dancing off with him. There are many reasons to stay, but many reasons to leave, too.

GrandGreen · May 30, 2011

When did this ever get said? Just because he is mentioned for a job doesn't mean he went looking for it. from my understanding...Miami would have wanted JJ if they didnt get Larranga. But who said this isnt more Miami wanting him then JJ wanting Miami?? who honestly even knows if he would have taken it. Miami is a bottom rung ACC team while were the top dog in the belt and have the best class in history coming in...he rides this out, wins a few NCAA games...and suddenly he is looking at alot better then bottom of ACC type jobs...Just my honest opinion. ( hope he says mean green for many years to come!!)

Even a bottom rung ACC is going to substantially pay more. I am still amazed after the disappointing year NT had, that there was much interest. If the team had the year they should have based on the returning players than JJ would have surely got some better offers. I assume that JJ is in demand or he would have never got the big raise after a new contract the year before.

If the team continues to excel, he will get those premium offers. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Support at NT leaves a lot to be desired but at the same time there is not a lot of pressure compared to higher profile conference teams. With a seven year contract apparently around half a mil, JJ is certainly in the driver's seat. He can afford to wait around for that great offer. I personally would like to keep JJ but I would gladly accept losing him if it means that NT has substantially bettered their basketball program.

GrayEagle · May 31, 2011

Admittedly, we don't draw anywhere near what we should draw but Johnny truly likes it here, it pays decently, and is only about 300 miles from his roots. I'm pretty sure that he would take any SEC job but others would have to be pretty high profile to really get his attention.

As far as our attendance we just need a few more Texas Techs and Oklahoma States to go along with getting to play Western Kentucky at home every once in a while. Bill Blakeley's teams used to draw 5-7,000 with half the student body and I see no reason why those kind of crowds can't return.

We haven't been playing a strong schedule so the five straight 20-win seasons seem a little tainted. If just one of his teams had gone two deep in the dance then he would really be in demand. If he can cultivate the incoming talent into a power similar to Butler, Gonzaga, Utah State or the old WKU then he'll get the offers from the bigs.

UNTMike81 · May 31, 2011

I'd have to disagree with the comment that UNT didn't find a big man or any other recruit for that matter just because JJ was second in line for job offer. I understand job offers and the reasoning behind why someone would believe that about recruiting. On the other hand I don't believe JJ would be that lazy or "asleep at the wheel" to pick up the right recruit. What if JJ and staff just didn't see enough up side in the recruits that were truly interested in UNT. JJ did sign Mr. Franklin, so JJ and our staff must have been engaged enough in the recruiting process to do that.

Go Johnny and UNT basketball!!!

Green Mean · May 31, 2011

Miami actually made the right decision of choosing Larranaga over Jones. He was the better candidate. JJ still has some ways to go to get better offers from a good ACC school. I hope he gets it as that will mean our basketball program is improving and on the right path. And depending on who you talk too, most will believe that being the head coach at Miami is a better gig than being the coach at North Texas AT THE PRESENT TIME.

KRAM1 · May 31, 2011

Just a question. Does JJ do enough "off the court" promoting of the program and team to help his own cause in the area of attendance?

No value judgement intended or implied in that question, just wanting some other opinions based on what we are all seeing from Coach mac these days. I do not recall ever seeing JJ "out and about" on campus or in the community as I have Coach Mac. Is this something basketball coaches don't do as much as their football counterparts?

GO MEAN GREEN!

TIgreen01 · May 31, 2011

Just a question. Does JJ do enough "off the court" promoting of the program and team to help his own cause in the area of attendance?

No value judgement intended or implied in that question, just wanting some other opinions based on what we are all seeing from Coach mac these days. I do not recall ever seeing JJ "out and about" on campus or in the community as I have Coach Mac. Is this something basketball coaches don't do as much as their football counterparts?

GO MEAN GREEN!

Vic Trilli did.....er......nevermind....

emmitt01 · May 31, 2011

Just a question. Does JJ do enough "off the court" promoting of the program and team to help his own cause in the area of attendance?

No value judgement intended or implied in that question, just wanting some other opinions based on what we are all seeing from Coach mac these days. I do not recall ever seeing JJ "out and about" on campus or in the community as I have Coach Mac. Is this something basketball coaches don't do as much as their football counterparts?

GO MEAN GREEN!

He wins. Above and beyond any off camps cheerleading he could do, he does the only truly important thing. He wins. Many, on this very board, say that winning is what draws the masses...and are wrong. And the "we don't play anyone" argument is sorry too. Todge didn't play anyone special...and certainly didn't win...and drew pretty well. The bottom line is that this fanbase doesn't know how to get behind a good thing.

UNTFan23 · May 31, 2011

He wins. Above and beyond any off camps cheerleading he could do, he does the only truly important thing. He wins. Many, on this very board, say that winning is what draws the masses...and are wrong. And the "we don't play anyone" argument is sorry too. Todge didn't play anyone special...and certainly didn't win...and drew pretty well. The bottom line is that this fanbase doesn't know how to get behind a good thing.

You forgot that people in "Texas don't support a winning basketball program because this is a football state" excuse.

UNTcrazy727 · May 31, 2011

He wins. Above and beyond any off camps cheerleading he could do, he does the only truly important thing. He wins. Many, on this very board, say that winning is what draws the masses...and are wrong. And the "we don't play anyone" argument is sorry too. Todge didn't play anyone special...and certainly didn't win...and drew pretty well. The bottom line is that this fanbase doesn't know how to get behind a good thing.

I think its more that people don't care when you beat crappy Sun Belt teams that are ranked in the 200's. If we really want people to start really supporting this program then we are going to have to start beating quality opponents. 20 wins is nice and all, but when the vast majority of those wins come against teams that have no history whatsoever no one cares.

emmitt01 · May 31, 2011

I think its more that people don't care when you beat crappy Sun Belt teams that are ranked in the 200's. If we really want people to start really supporting this program then we are going to have to start beating quality opponents. 20 wins is nice and all, but when the vast majority of those wins come against teams that have no history whatsoever no one cares.

We are in NO position to have such finicky tastes when it comes to opponents. Perhaps if we had an unlimited budget, an established pedigree, etc we could be so picky. As it stands we have precious few things that we, without any outside influence, can control. We can't control who will/won't agree to come to our house (ever stop to think these "quality opponents" don't want to come to the pit because of the job we've done dispatching the few Big XII teams that have come here? No?). We can't control where blue chip players choose to sign...or can we? I wonder, do packed houses attract these kinds of players? :unsure: We can't control our conference affiliation and the "crappy Sun Belt teams"....or can we? I wonder, would other conferences take home attendance into account? Seems to me that I was right on the money...not two posts after I spelled it out explicitly someone comes along to prove my point...we just don't know what to do with a good thing.

Edited May 31, 2011 by emmitt01

Green P1 · May 31, 2011

We are in NO position to have such finicky tastes when it comes to opponents. Perhaps if we had an unlimited budget, an established pedigree, etc we could be so picky. As it stands we have precious few things that we, without any outside influence, can control. We can't control who will/won't agree to come to our house (ever stop to think these "quality opponents" don't want to come to the pit because of the job we've done dispatching the few Big XII teams that have come here? No?). We can't control where blue chip players choose to sign...or can we? I wonder, do packed houses attract these kinds of players? We can't control our conference affiliation and the "crappy Sun Belt teams"....or can we? I wonder, would other conferences take home attendance into account? Seems to me that I was right on the money...not two posts after I spelled it out explicitly someone comes along to prove my point...we just don't know what to do with a good thing.

boom

untjim1995 · June 3, 2011

We are in NO position to have such finicky tastes when it comes to opponents. Perhaps if we had an unlimited budget, an established pedigree, etc we could be so picky. As it stands we have precious few things that we, without any outside influence, can control. We can't control who will/won't agree to come to our house (ever stop to think these "quality opponents" don't want to come to the pit because of the job we've done dispatching the few Big XII teams that have come here? No?). We can't control where blue chip players choose to sign...or can we? I wonder, do packed houses attract these kinds of players? We can't control our conference affiliation and the "crappy Sun Belt teams"....or can we? I wonder, would other conferences take home attendance into account? Seems to me that I was right on the money...not two posts after I spelled it out explicitly someone comes along to prove my point...we just don't know what to do with a good thing.

This is your best post ever. Nice work, emmitt!! I agree with every point 100%. The number one problem that this university has is that the school's fans cares more about other schools than we do about us. We pack our stadiums when we play someone we have heard of, particularly from other Big XII/Texas schools. I don't care for the SBC schools, either, but I go to watch the Mean Green-at hoops games that is with about 2500 of my fellow fans--because they are my team. But, I will say this, our Aggie friends just saw what attendance issues does to good coaches. Turgeon couldn't wait to get out of town because they never got good support, except when Texas, Baylor, or Kansas came to town. And that's at a school that has very strong connections with their fans.

Edited June 3, 2011 by untjim1995

Dr. Seuss · June 7, 2011

If we win a NCAA tournament game i still dont see more students coming to the game to see Ark St, Ull, Fiu.... Winning basketball games isnt going to bring more fans, its all about football in Texas. Once the football program starts winning then youll start seeing basketball games with higher attendance. No matter how many times you can say that weve won 2 SBC championships in the past 4 years, theyll bring it back to football.

untjim1995 · June 13, 2011

If we win a NCAA tournament game i still dont see more students coming to the game to see Ark St, Ull, Fiu.... Winning basketball games isnt going to bring more fans, its all about football in Texas. Once the football program starts winning then youll start seeing basketball games with higher attendance. No matter how many times you can say that weve won 2 SBC championships in the past 4 years, theyll bring it back to football.

This isn't close at all, in my opinion. The early 200s teams we had barely drew 2000 for games in conference, with about 700 showing up for games against Panhandle State if we were lucky. This was at the same time that the university's football team won the SBC four years in a row. Our attendance today is wayyyyyyyyyyy better than it was even 5 years ago. Is it anywhere close to where we want it to be? No, but it is getting better. Yes, a win in the NCAA Tournament would be a huge boost, but we are making our way there slowly but surely.

UNTFan23 · June 14, 2011

This isn't close at all, in my opinion. The early 200s teams we had barely drew 2000 for games in conference, with about 700 showing up for games against Panhandle State if we were lucky. This was at the same time that the university's football team won the SBC four years in a row. Our attendance today is wayyyyyyyyyyy better than it was even 5 years ago. Is it anywhere close to where we want it to be? No, but it is getting better. Yes, a win in the NCAA Tournament would be a huge boost, but we are making our way there slowly but surely.

I think the excitement from this recruiting class, especially if Mitchel makes the grades, will cause a nice pop in our attendance numbers.

UNTMike81 · June 14, 2011

Agreed...I think it's time to put Mr. Mitchell's grades issue to rest. From what I've read on the board Tony has a 3.5 GPA after 15 hrs. If this is the case Mr. Mitchell, should and has been congratulated for making his grades and we should move on. If anything we should congratulate JJ and his staff for going after and working with Mr. Mitchell when the time was right.

It's been a long to since (sp./gr.) I've been this excited about a UNT athletic program. Who would have thought UNT would be in the blessed position we are 10 or 11 yrs. ago when Coach Jones was hired. Here's to other coaches within the UNT family following in JJ's footsteps!!!

I haven't been to the Pit in along time to watch basketball. Even though that situation has been about very limited finances I'll be at the Pit this year. Bank it!!!

KRAM1 · June 14, 2011

Agreed...I think it's time to put Mr. Mitchell's grades issue to rest. From what I've read on the board Tony has a 3.5 GPA after 15 hrs. If this is the case Mr. Mitchell, should and has been congratulated for making his grades and we should move on. If anything we should congratulate JJ and his staff for going after and working with Mr. Mitchell when the time was right.

It's been a long to since (sp./gr.) I've been this excited about a UNT athletic program. Who would have thought UNT would be in the blessed position we are 10 or 11 yrs. ago when Coach Jones was hired. Here's to other coaches within the UNT family following in JJ's footsteps!!!

I haven't been to the Pit in along time to watch basketball. Even though that situation has been about very limited finances I'll be at the Pit this year. Bank it!!!

WELCOME BACK TO THE PIT! Great news...i assume the "financial" situation has improved as well by your post...I say that's a win-win for everyone. See you at the Pit!

GO MEAN GREEN!

untgirl04 · June 14, 2011

Just a question. Does JJ do enough "off the court" promoting of the program and team to help his own cause in the area of attendance?

No value judgement intended or implied in that question, just wanting some other opinions based on what we are all seeing from Coach mac these days. I do not recall ever seeing JJ "out and about" on campus or in the community as I have Coach Mac. Is this something basketball coaches don't do as much as their football counterparts?

GO MEAN GREEN!

When I was in school, Coach Leonard and a few players would come to each residence hall to promote games. JJ would do Q&A sessions formally, but he'd stop and talk to any students. It's been a little while since I've been in school, but I can't imagine that's changed much.