Spoke with Coach Leonard

Censored by Laurie · September 12, 2011

I had the chance to catch up briefly with Coach Leonard on Saturday...he was already set up and tailgating when I made it to the Hill around 1:30...thought that was pretty awesome.

I congratulated him on such a great recruiting class and if he knew anything about Patton and Franklin's eligibility...he said Patton will be good to go and they're hopeful on Franklin. He then excitedly brought up Mitchell, telling me what we knew that he'd be eligible in December. Never seen a coach beaming so much over a player.

Harry · September 12, 2011

That's great to hear. Love Charlie...what a great person and coach he is! I will say this, if they deny Franklin I am going to be incredibly pissed. The kids Dad is sick for goodness sake! And we aren't even in their conference.

Green Lantern · September 12, 2011

That's great to hear. Love Charlie...what a great person and coach he is! I will say this, if they deny Franklin I am going to be incredibly pissed. The kids Dad is sick for goodness sake! And we aren't even in their conference.

Totally agree, but you know all too well about UNT's luck with waivers and the NCAA. Hopeful, but prepared to be let down.

kalebschumann · September 12, 2011

Coach Leonard is great! He's usually always tailgating, and I always said hello in the past few years.

I looked and couldn't find him this weekend. I guess I'll have to look harder next year.

UNTMike81 · September 12, 2011

Since you spoke with one of our coach's do you have the same negative thoughts about UNT dancing? I'm sure from your perspective they're just concerns.

Green P1 · September 12, 2011

Since you spoke with one of our coach's do you have the same negative thoughts about UNT dancing? I'm sure from your perspective they're just concerns.

Dude

greenminer · September 13, 2011

As an aside, I love seeing our Mean Green coaches enjoying being Mean Green and supporting the other programs.

Censored by Laurie · September 13, 2011

Dude

Right?

Quoner · September 13, 2011

Since you spoke with one of our coach's do you have the same negative thoughts about UNT dancing? I'm sure from your perspective they're just concerns.

Shouldn't you be focusing this nonsensical, angry energy on emailing newspaper people who don't make editorial decisions?

UNTMike81 · September 13, 2011

I went back and reviewed earlier thread "Possible Transfer" and Censored by Laurie called me on the carpet for enthusiastically believing or guaranteeing our team makes the Dance. K. Hogans continues to say and believe we'll be dancing and I'm sure coach Leonard would say the same. Certainly sounds like it base on his conversation with Censored by Laurie. So, my questions stands as asked. Did Censored by Laurie's conversation change his mind or hart about UNT's chances to go "Dancing"?

MeanGreenTexan · September 13, 2011

I went back and reviewed earlier thread "Possible Transfer" and Censored by Laurie called me on the carpet for enthusiastically believing or guaranteeing our team makes the Dance. K. Hogans continues to say and believe we'll be dancing and I'm sure coach Leonard would say the same. Certainly sounds like it base on his conversation with Censored by Laurie. So, my questions stands as asked. Did Censored by Laurie's conversation change his mind or hart about UNT's chances to go "Dancing"?

I think all of our hearts believe we'll go to the NCAA tournament, just like all of our hearts believe we'll be bowling this year in football. However, our minds are capable of interpreting facts... like for instance, our 4 best players from last years team graduated and we'll be relying on transfers and freshmen (who have never played together, save rec/pickup games) to gel in 1 season. Tony Mitchell or not, that is much more easily said than done.

If you "GUARANTEE" a spot in the NCAA tourney, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. If you "think" or "hope" we get a spot, then you're with the rest of us! There are some reasons to believe we will. Unfortunately, there are some reasons to belive we won't.

Censored by Laurie · September 13, 2011

Yup...if there's one thing I'm known for around here it's my pessimism towards North Texas basketball.

Guess maybe I should have a change of hart. Or even heart.

Green P1 · September 13, 2011

Yup...if there's one thing I'm known for around here it's my pessimism towards North Texas basketball.

Guess maybe I should have a change of hart. Or even heart.

I think you two just need to sit down and have on of these:

Green Lantern · September 13, 2011

I think all of our hearts believe we'll go to the NCAA tournament, just like all of our hearts believe we'll be bowling this year in football. However, our minds are capable of interpreting facts... like for instance, our 4 best players from last years team graduated and we'll be relying on transfers and freshmen (who have never played together, save rec/pickup games) to gel in 1 season. Tony Mitchell or not, that is much more easily said than done.

If you "GUARANTEE" a spot in the NCAA tourney, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. If you "think" or "hope" we get a spot, then you're with the rest of us! There are some reasons to believe we will. Unfortunately, there are some reasons to belive we won't.

+1

Solid logic is welcomed on the basketball board!

Censored by Laurie · September 13, 2011

If you "GUARANTEE" a spot in the NCAA tourney, you're setting yourself up for disappointment. If you "think" or "hope" we get a spot, then you're with the rest of us! There are some reasons to believe we will. Unfortunately, there are some reasons to belive we won't.

And to add on to this thought...we've a group of fans who seem to relish in a North Texas basketball loss. They only come over to the basketball board following a loss and start popping off phrases like "this team is playing street ball" or "why don't we play zone?" or "does this team not practice free throws?" or "why didn't we pick up full court in the waning moments of last year's conference championship game against Arkansas-Little Rock when Soloman Bozeman hit a clutch 3 pointer with our best defender on him, but only picking up at half court?"

Just some generic examples.

They're a whip.

And they're considerably more frequent when people confuse expectations with hopes, coupled with logic.

There are 340 some odd teams dreaming of an NCAA birth...150 or so aren't kidding themselves. To be making guarantees 3 months before tip and with more unknowns than knowns is foolish.

TheTastyGreek · September 13, 2011

We still needs to git sum pitchin.

UNT90 · September 13, 2011

Variables:

Tony Mitchel has yet to qualify to play on the team

Injuries - just look at last year.

Inexperience - 4 of the starting 5 could be playing against a whole new level of competition

Chemistry- pretty big component in basketball, in my opinion. These guys have never played a collegiate game together before.

No true post player - a concern

Injuries - just look at last year

Other conference opponents variables (too numerous to list) - We aren'r playing against ourselves here

I would expect the guys on the team to feel that way and would be disappointed if they didn't believe in themselves. Logic says it will be a much more difficult task. I would expect a .500 conference record, with the team coming together late. Will that be enough in the conference tournament? Maybe, maybe not.

Edited September 13, 2011 by UNT90

UNTMike81 · September 13, 2011

Ok...that's fine. I've been called a fool before, so maybe I'll be proven to be one in this situation. Fact is this coaching staff has proven itself worthy of a fan believing or even guaranteeing a spot in the dance this year. Note 5 or 6 years of 20 win seasons. No matter how young this team is and with our recent additions we're not that young. Yes I'm expecting Franklin (sp) to receive a waiver and be eligible this year. Yes, I know UNT success with the NCAA has been dismal regarding waivers. In my mind the team JJ will bring to the court this year; however, young will be one of the most talented he's put on the floor in years.

Then enter 5 Star Mr. Tony Mitchell and yes I expect him to be eligible to play around Dec. 17th. If anyone watched the USA U19 squad knows Mr. Mitchell is a very special BB player. I consider Mr. Mitchell to be a game changer. UNT doesn't start conference play until Christmas or the new year. There's isn't a player in the SBC that comes close to Tony's talent. Put Tony in the mix with our other players that have been playing together for a month or two, and we're dancing!!! Again, time will tell.

As for comparing UNT Men's BB to UNT FB is laughable. I'm very realistic about how many games or what type of competition our FB team can and will be competitive against. JJ and team deserves much more UNT nation fan support and their corresponding "faith" to believe that our team will win!!! Therefor the UNT nation can set high expectations for our BB team and let them fulfill our expectation. If I didn't have this view I wouldn't be supportive of RV continual contract extension and raises for JJ and his staff. UNT's Men's BB team are winners and I expect them to be. When we go dancing this year I'll be looking a the NCAA selection committee to see if they give our team the appropriate seed in March. I won't satisfied with a 16 or even 15 seed. Sure is nice to be able to have appropriate expectations of my team!!! Everyone has a choice: is the glass half full or half empty.

I'll bet our team works their A%$^& off to prove me right. I'm sure they have the same expectation that I do, so they'll work at hard as they can to become the best they can be.

I'll give you another example of glass half full, or empty. When Tony Mitchell arrived at UNT there was a question of Mr. Mitchell making his grades, and some in the UNT nation questioned his ability to get it done. I was shocked. I figured if Tony Mitchell was gifted enough to play basketball at the NBA level, how in the world would he allow himself to not make his grades and put his NBA future at risk? Low and behold Mr. Mitchell made his grades and didn't sacrifice his future career. Surprisingly Mr. Mitchell's current GPA is somewhere between 3.25 to 3.50. In fact JJ must have a long history of recruiting players that can't spell their own name!!!

Edited September 13, 2011 by UNTMike81

Green Lantern · September 13, 2011

Ok...that's fine. I've been called a fool before, so maybe I'll be proven to be one in this situation. Fact is this coaching staff has proven itself worthy of a fan believing or even guaranteeing a spot in the dance this year. Note 5 or 6 years of 20 win seasons. No matter how young this team is and with our recent additions we're not that young. Yes I'm expecting Franklin (sp) to receive a waiver and be eligible this year. Yes, I know UNT success with the NCAA has been dismal regarding waivers. In my mind the team JJ will bring to the court this year; however, young will be one of the most talented he's put on the floor in years.

Then enter 5 Star Mr. Tony Mitchell and yes I expect him to be eligible to play around Dec. 17th. If anyone watched the USA U19 squad knows Mr. Mitchell is a very special BB player. I consider Mr. Mitchell to be a game changer. UNT doesn't start conference play until Christmas or the new year. There's isn't a player in the SBC that comes close to Tony's talent. Put Tony in the mix with our other players that have been playing together for a month or two, and we're dancing!!! Again, time will tell.

As for comparing UNT Men's BB to UNT FB is laughable. I'm very realistic about how many games or what type of competition our FB team can and will be competitive against. JJ and team deserves much more UNT nation fan support and their corresponding "faith" to believe that our team will win!!! Therefor the UNT nation can set high expectations for our BB team and let them fulfill our expectation. If I didn't have this view I wouldn't be supportive of RV continual contract extension and raises for JJ and his staff. UNT's Men's BB team are winners and I expect them to be. When we go dancing this year I'll be looking a the NCAA selection committee to see if they give our team the appropriate seed in March. I won't satisfied with a 16 or even 15 seed. Sure is nice to be able to have appropriate expectations of my team!!! Everyone has a choice: is the glass half full or half empty.

I'll bet our team works their A%$^& off to prove me right. I'm sure they have the same expectation that I do, so they'll work at hard as they can to become the best they can be.

I'll give you another example of glass half full, or empty. When Tony Mitchell arrived at UNT there was a question of Mr. Mitchell making his grades, and some in the UNT nation questioned his ability to get it done. I was shocked. I figured if Tony Mitchell was gifted enough to play basketball at the NBA level, how in the world would he allow himself to not make his grades and put his NBA future at risk? Low and behold Mr. Mitchell made his grades and didn't sacrifice his future career. Surprisingly Mr. Mitchell's current GPA is somewhere between 3.25 to 3.50. If fact JJ must have a long history of recruiting players that can't spell their own name!!!

Look, man...no one is saying that we're not excited and optimistic about the upcoming basketball season and the group of new players. On paper, this looks to be one of the most talented groups to ever suit up for the Mean Green. It's just a matter of a number of fans here feeling like a NCAA Tournament berth guarantee is a bit of a reach at this point. We haven't even see them play one game together yet. 20+ wins may be a lofty goal for this group being that there are so many new faces.

MeanGreenTexan · September 13, 2011

I think this stupid argument can be summed up in 4 words:

Can we?

Will we?

*Edit: Oh, and if JJ doesn't win at least 20 games and get us to AT LEAST the sweet 16, he should be drawn & quartered.

Edited September 13, 2011 by MeanGreenTexan

TheTastyGreek · September 13, 2011

Look on the bright side... It's nice to be called something besides apologists and Pollyannas, for a change.

I JUST WISH THERE WERE A CURE FOR INTERNET VOICE IMMODULATION SYNDROME.

GrandGreen · September 14, 2011

I am amazed at the low expectations of some BB fans. Last year, it was just fine that what should have been a loaded team finished even in the Belt despite being the overwhelming favorite. Now with the constant qualifier on paper, this team should be very good if not great. This is BB not FB, it doesn't take five years to rebuild or some magic to gel a team into an effective unit. Assuming Mitchell and Franklin play there should be little doubt this is the most talented team in the Belt. Most seem to think Jones is a special coach, but set the bar so low.

The great teams reload about every year as players go pro, they just recruit and win. No I am not saying NT is a Duke or the like but by the same token NT doesn't play in the SEC, BE or ACC. There is no guarantee of anything but for example, NT's team with the best record ever was achieved with arguably the best recruiting class before this one and almost exclusively newcomers and finished 22-4. This was achieved by a very young team who by the way never was as good despite returning most of the team.

I for one will be very disappointed if this year's team is not something special. I highly doubt the thought of a rebuilding year ever crossed the minds of the coaches and team. It does not make any sense, that NT would go after Patton for one year and maybe losing Mitchell next year would not go for it all this year. What is important is that we are all fans of the team, I just think that many seem to undervalue talent and overvalue experience in basketball.

UNTMike81 · September 14, 2011

Freaking Amen!!! GrandGreen!! If this was the FB board folks would be drinking the Kool-aid like crazy without the talent or "we've been successful before recently" to back it up. UNT FB fans hoping upon hope something happens like we open our new stadium with a win against Houston. For that to happen God himself would have had to open the heaven right above the stadium and I'm not even going to venture what he'd do next. Move to UNT basketball and even under performing everyone's expectations last year due to of all things injuries, and you'd think our 2011/12 team was being recruited and coached by coach Trilli. I'm amazed at how our FB team's under performance has rubbed off on UNT BB fans that can't see what JJ has built to this point!!! At least to the point where most of us don't have any doubt's about our teams talent and ability to roll to an SBC championship game win. You'd think UNT is playing in the Big East or ACC. No wonder folks worry if we'll ever be able to "pack the Pit".

Go Mean Green!!!

TheTastyGreek · September 14, 2011

We have 4 returning players. All of them have injury flags. 1 missed the entire season, 1 missed the end of the season, 1 seems to have a chronic knee problem that may limit his effectiveness, 1 has a history of injuries and played through nagging problems all of last season.

9 guys are new, 4 of them are freshmen, and our consensus best player has played roughly a week and a half of organized basketball in the past year and a half and won't be able to join practice until the week before Christmas.

We play in a one-bid league that requires a 3 or 4 game winning streak to guarantee an NCAA appearance, and those games have to be won in what's essentially a home arena for 2 of the other strongest contenders in our league. Also, as everyone that's ever watched a Sun Belt game is painfully aware... Those games are likely going to be officiated by a group of dipwads who've never met a game they couldn't derail.

I love this team, I have great hopes, and I think the sky could be the limit this year. But "guaranteeing" an NCAA appearance before the season starts? And then, backing it up by being abrasive to a group of the most green-eyed cheerleaders this program has? It's pointless to say I'll leave that job to someone else, because it's already been filled.

If the potential of cobbled together raw talent were enough to guarantee anything, Florida International would have gone undefeated after Christmas and put up a hell of a fight in the NCAA tournament.

Great potential "guarantees" nothing. Great potential plus a proven coach plus a relatively weak league still guarantees nothing. There's a place for people to spend the offseason stroking each other on a messageboard over how great their basketball team is going to be... And that place is Hilltopper Haven.

I'm all for enthusiasm, but I'm going to have to wait and see where we're at in the first week of December before I'm ready to jump to conclusions about where we'll be in the first week of January, to say nothing of March.

MeanGreenTexan · September 14, 2011

Freaking Amen!!! GrandGreen!! If this was the FB board folks would be drinking the Kool-aid like crazy without the talent or "we've been successful before recently" to back it up. UNT FB fans hoping upon hope something happens like we open our new stadium with a win against Houston. For that to happen God himself would have had to open the heaven right above the stadium and I'm not even going to venture what he'd do next. Move to UNT basketball and even under performing everyone's expectations last year due to of all things injuries, and you'd think our 2011/12 team was being recruited and coached by coach Trilli. I'm amazed at how our FB team's under performance has rubbed off on UNT BB fans that can't see what JJ has built to this point!!! At least to the point where most of us don't have any doubt's about our teams talent and ability to roll to an SBC championship game win. You'd think UNT is playing in the Big East or ACC. No wonder folks worry if we'll ever be able to "pack the Pit".

Go Mean Green!!!

You know... I would probably be on board with you if even just one of last year's big 3 were coming back this season.

They're gone now.

"And as for "rolling to an SBC championship game win.": Do you recall last season (again, a team loaded with TALENT & EXPERIENCE), we rolled into the SBC championship game? I mean, we ROLLED into that game. The guys were on a mission. The day of that game, I was getting money in order and looking at scheduling time off because I was absolutely positive we would be playing as a 15 seed in Tulsa. I was even smack-talking a UT co-worker of mine on who has the REAL Tristan Thompson because it was probably going to be against them. No way UALR beats us, conference POY or not... Well, needless to say, I was disappointed. Temper your expectations sir. This years team certainly has the makings of being great. I don't think anyone is arguing with you about that. I just don't want to see you on a ledge if the team underperforms to your expectations.