Brett Vito Interviews Josh Friar

[Harry]

I spoke with Josh Friar for a few minutes this week for a story that will be in tomorrow’s paper.

Friar is one of those high-risk, high reward prospects. His high school coach told me that he has a Big 12 frame 6-8 at and a Big 12 ceiling. He just doesn’t have Big 12-level skills yet.

Friar played on the JV team at Kingwood as a freshman and sophomore, but didn’t play as a junior due some off-the-court issues that are now resolved.

When it comes down to it, he just doesn’t have a lot of game experience and needs to develop his skills.

Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2012/09/some-additional-info-on-josh-friar.html/

[chrisfisher]

In the wake of the quality, developed players coming to the program on a regular basis, I can't help but wonder if this was a wise move. But I will trust in Benford until given reason otherwise.

[MeanMag]

In the wake of the quality, developed players coming to the program on a regular basis, I can't help but wonder if this was a wise move. But I will trust in Benford until given reason otherwise.

I'll have to agree with this one. There are some guys with size coming in, but I hope it's not at the expense of skill.

[Mo Green]

I guess since I saw Josh scrimage with our guys (w/o coaches) I will try to give my 2 cents on the "skill part" of the above thoughts. He looked tenative under the basket, ran better than Tony, BIG BONED player ( could put on /lose weight if needed), didn't have skills under the basket that only playing & seeing others play will impart to him,needed mentoring on moves (ie. Franklin was talking to him lots),didn't seem to have bad traits developed though.

Now, I guess, with the coaches being new, some don't know that our coaches do know about painting on an empty canvas. If so,talk to coach Evans & Tony to see what they have done to keep Mitchell here- you would be blown away if you did see their plan for Tony's growth this year (ie. they have a binder full of things that Tony needs to work on). Remember -they had to convince Tony's mother that it was in his interest to stay at NT.

Just like Josh's mother needed convincing, she saw a real plan from the coaches that could appriciate a good basketball player or one with potential to be a good player. Otherwise you are saying they do not know what's best for their players. He'll need teaching and my take is that we NOW have the teachers in the coaches offices after talking to them & seeing their plans. I pray they stay a long time because they will be successful in the future some place.

Edited September 13, 2012 by Mo Green

[MeanGreenTexan]

I guess since I saw Josh scrimage with our guys (w/o coaches) I will try to give my 2 cents on the "skill part" of the above thoughts. He looked tenative under the basket, ran better than Tony, BIG BONED player ( could put on /lose weight if needed), didn't have skills under the basket that only playing & seeing others play will impart to him,needed mentoring on moves (ie. Franklin was talking to him lots),didn't seem to have bad traits developed though.

Now, I guess, with the coaches being new, some don't know that our coaches do know about painting on an empty canvas. If so,talk to coach Evans & Tony to see what they have done to keep Mitchell here- you would be blown away if you did see their plan for Tony's growth this year (ie. they have a binder full of things that Tony needs to work on). Remember -they had to convince Tony's mother that it was in his interest to stay at NT.

Just like Josh's mother needed convincing, she saw a real plan from the coaches that could appriciate a good basketball player or one with potential to be a good player. Otherwise you are saying they do not know what's best for their players. He'll need teaching and my take is that we NOW have the teachers in the coaches offices after talking to them & seeing their plans. I pray they stay a long time because they will be successful in the future some place.

Oh no! Last time a coach had a binder with plans, it was a catastrophe.

[GrandGreen]

I spoke with Josh Friar for a few minutes this week for a story that will be in tomorrow's paper.

Friar is one of those high-risk, high reward prospects. His high school coach told me that he has a Big 12 frame 6-8 at and a Big 12 ceiling. He just doesn't have Big 12-level skills yet.

Friar played on the JV team at Kingwood as a freshman and sophomore, but didn't play as a junior due some off-the-court issues that are now resolved.

When it comes down to it, he just doesn't have a lot of game experience and needs to develop his skills.

Read more: http://meangreenblog...osh-friar.html/

Seems to me, most of Benford's recruits fit the high risk and possible high reward category. Although everything is relative, prior to the MItchell, Williams, Jones class, NT had signed one 3 star player out of hs. Coleman, Hardwick, Nunn, Norris and Friar have all been rated 3 stars by rival.

I wouldn't put Hardwick or Nunn in the high risk category at all. They are good solid hs recruits. The others, however, all IMO have a risk factor although I wouldn't call all of them high. Coleman was highly recruited out of HS but had a lackluster juco year. Norris apparently was one of the most sought after hs players in the nation after his junior year but has kind of fallen off the map since. After a bad senior hs year, teams backed off him and he was not a starter in his first juco year.

Friar as outlined by Vito, has not played any varsity hs ball. Casmira is largely an unknown Brazilian player who is apparently a banger with limited offensive skills.

Based on the Trey Norris saga, I would not be surprised if Benford runs through a lot of players. A year to make an impression or your out of here. This is a model a lot of coaches use and risks are not as high with that approach.

You have got to be impressed with Benford's recruiting thus far, it doesn't come close to JJ's Mitchell class but is better by far than any other class JJ put together.

[chrisfisher]

Coleman, Hardwick, Nunn, Norris and Friar have all been rated 3 stars by rival.

Friar is rated 3 stars. Are you certain?

[H-towngreen]

With big men it seems you typically have to take more chances.

[Mean Green 93-98]

Friar is rated 3 stars. Are you certain?

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/recruiting/player-Joshua-Friar-131500

[TheTastyGreek]

Based on the Trey Norris saga, I would not be surprised if Benford runs through a lot of players. A year to make an impression or your out of here. This is a model a lot of coaches use and risks are not as high with that approach.

I didn't want to be the one to bring this up, because I don't want to turn into the bitter crank that constantly waves what happened to Trey Norris around like a bloody shirt... But this is exactly how to look at the class so far. I'd go a little farther, and point out that Marquette had a disturbing habit of signing guys and then not actually providing scholarships for them (before they'd ever even had a chance to show up on campus and try to fight their way on to the court).

I was concerned about the Brazilian guy and whether he was scholarship worthy... But that was before the Trey situation. Now, based on that... I'd guess that our incoming recruiting will likely mirror Marquette the same way our handling of existing players has. If all of the commits actually end up here (even if they ink in November)... I'll be quite surprised.

[cdizzle86]

I didn't want to be the one to bring this up, because I don't want to turn into the bitter crank that constantly waves what happened to Trey Norris around like a bloody shirt... But this is exactly how to look at the class so far. I'd go a little farther, and point out that Marquette had a disturbing habit of signing guys and then not actually providing scholarships for them (before they'd ever even had a chance to show up on campus and try to fight their way on to the court).

I was concerned about the Brazilian guy and whether he was scholarship worthy... But that was before the Trey situation. Now, based on that... I'd guess that our incoming recruiting will likely mirror Marquette the same way our handling of existing players has. If all of the commits actually end up here (even if they ink in November)... I'll be quite surprised.

I was thinking this exact same thing.

[GreenBat]

I didn't want to be the one to bring this up, because I don't want to turn into the bitter crank that constantly waves what happened to Trey Norris around like a bloody shirt... But this is exactly how to look at the class so far. I'd go a little farther, and point out that Marquette had a disturbing habit of signing guys and then not actually providing scholarships for them (before they'd ever even had a chance to show up on campus and try to fight their way on to the court).

I was concerned about the Brazilian guy and whether he was scholarship worthy... But that was before the Trey situation. Now, based on that... I'd guess that our incoming recruiting will likely mirror Marquette the same way our handling of existing players has. If all of the commits actually end up here (even if they ink in November)... I'll be quite surprised.

Ditto!

[BigDanTeague]

So we're calling the Trey Norris thing a "saga" and/or "situation" now?

[TheTastyGreek]

So we're calling the Trey Norris thing a "saga" and/or "situation" now?

It bothers me. Seems to bother GrandGreen.

Reasonable people can disagree. At the end of the day, we're all alums, and we all put our socks on one at a time. But, to me, it's pretty disgraceful. Talent level went up, though. So... Your mileage may vary.

[Gibbz]

It bothers me. Seems to bother GrandGreen.

Reasonable people can disagree. At the end of the day, we're all alums, and we all put our socks on one at a time. But, to me, it's pretty disgraceful. Talent level went up, though. So... Your mileage may vary.

What exactly is disgraceful? You seem to know a lot about how things went down with Norris for someone outside of the program.

Edited September 14, 2012 by Gibbz

[outoftown]

It bothers me. Seems to bother GrandGreen.

Reasonable people can disagree. At the end of the day, we're all alums, and we all put our socks on one at a time. But, to me, it's pretty disgraceful. Talent level went up, though. So... Your mileage may vary.

It bothers me too

What exactly is disgraceful? You seem to know a lot about how things went down with Norris for someone outside of the program.

Well, I do not think it very graceful to make promises you know you will not all keep. You may say that scholarships are only for a year and renewable and those are the rules, but i think it is details, many recruits are not really that aware of it or blind it out. You may call that part of the game, but I do think it is different if an 18 year old recruit is not capable to keep his promisses / commitments, than if a 40+ year old head coach who represents not just a BB team but a university does it

Edited September 14, 2012 by outoftown

[meangreenfan65]

It bothers me too

Well, I do not think it very graceful to make promises you know you will not all keep. You may say that scholarships are only for a year and renewable and those are the rules, but i think it is details, many recruits are not really that aware of it or blind it out. You may call that part of the game, but I do think it is different if an 18 year old recruit is not capable to keep his promisses / commitments, than if a 40+ year old head coach who represents not just a BB team but a university does it

I respect your opinion, but, like you said before, "reasonable people can disagree". Put me in the disagree, column. Also, IMO, I do not think, you are given these recruits, enough credit. They are more aware, than you, may think.

Edited September 14, 2012 by meangreenfan65

[BillySee58]

People who think Benford is a terrible guy for what happened with Trey, can we all remember that JJ "promised" Trey the full ride, not Benford? It also seems very probable that coach Benford did everything he could to make sure Trey got a scholarship somewhere else.

I was born in Tennessee so I have followed the UT Vols my whole life, and their current head coach Derek Dooley has made an interesting point. If a kid comes to school on an academic scholarship and can't maintain his/her GPA nobody has a problem with the University taking that away, but people view a coach as the worst person in the world if they take an athletic scholarship away when an athlete fails to perform at the level they were supposed to when they accepted the scholarship. It is unfortunate, but people need to realize that Trey did not produce the way he was supposed to last season, and presumably when coach Benford arrived.

I think this will work out best for everyone since Trey was behind two stud point guards, not to mention two stud combo guards in Alzee and TJ on the depth chart. He has a chance to be a three year starter and still will never have to pay for college.

[GrandGreen]

People who think Benford is a terrible guy for what happened with Trey, can we all remember that JJ "promised" Trey the full ride, not Benford? It also seems very probable that coach Benford did everything he could to make sure Trey got a scholarship somewhere else.

I was born in Tennessee so I have followed the UT Vols my whole life, and their current head coach Derek Dooley has made an interesting point. If a kid comes to school on an academic scholarship and can't maintain his/her GPA nobody has a problem with the University taking that away, but people view a coach as the worst person in the world if they take an athletic scholarship away when an athlete fails to perform at the level they were supposed to when they accepted the scholarship. It is unfortunate, but people need to realize that Trey did not produce the way he was supposed to last season, and presumably when coach Benford arrived.

I think this will work out best for everyone since Trey was behind two stud point guards, not to mention two stud combo guards in Alzee and TJ on the depth chart. He has a chance to be a three year starter and still will never have to pay for college.

The big hole in your analogy is that Norris' ship was renewed. Even if you buy your theory, that you have to earn your ship and you are subject to non-renewal if you don't perform as an academic scholarship, this is not what happened. Also with a number of less than stellar scholars on the team, the academic comparison really should not be used.

His ship was renewed and he was anticipating playing till a more talented player was found after the scholarship renewal date and NT without a ship to grant.

Quoting that he should be better off at a place he could play and the coach helped him find another ship are just justifications for what occurred. Also NT granted Norris the ship and it should not matter which coach recruited him. I think it is apparent what happened, and if you and others want to spin this, please do so if it makes you feel better. By the way hasn't anyone noticed how low key this whole thing has been handled by NT. I haven't seen any announcement of the signing of Taylor which is very unusual with a recruit of this quality.

I have not seem anyone say Benford is a horrible guy, he did what the vast majority of coaches would do in this situation. He had a chance to substantially upgrade the squad and he did so by eliminating the least likely player to contribute. Nothing to be proud of but unfortunately not uncommon.

[MeanGreenTexan]

People who think Benford is a terrible guy for what happened with Trey, can we all remember that JJ "promised" Trey the full ride, not Benford? It also seems very probable that coach Benford did everything he could to make sure Trey got a scholarship somewhere else.

I was born in Tennessee so I have followed the UT Vols my whole life, and their current head coach Derek Dooley has made an interesting point. If a kid comes to school on an academic scholarship and can't maintain his/her GPA nobody has a problem with the University taking that away, but people view a coach as the worst person in the world if they take an athletic scholarship away when an athlete fails to perform at the level they were supposed to when they accepted the scholarship. It is unfortunate, but people need to realize that Trey did not produce the way he was supposed to last season, and presumably when coach Benford arrived.

I think this will work out best for everyone since Trey was behind two stud point guards, not to mention two stud combo guards in Alzee and TJ on the depth chart. He has a chance to be a three year starter and still will never have to pay for college.

Huh? Trey was a true freshman. What were the expectations? ...that he had to match Chris Jones' production? If so, that is insane because everyone can agree that Jones is a freak, and if Mitchell wasn't here, he would be the guy we would be talking about as our best player with NBA aspirations. Otherwise, I would say he met the expectations of a true freshman. And moving forward, who knows if Norris would be better or worse than Hardwick? Assuming he improved his game, like most sophomores do after their freshman year, he may have been primed for a breakout year as Jones' backup.

The problem is that Trey was ready to go in mid-August, and then by the end of August he was gone. That timeframe just happens to coincide with TJ Taylor becoming available and transferring here. It's just shady. I think everyone can agree, and that is the issue.

I would certainly HOPE coach Benford did everything in his power (and I bet he did) to make sure T-No landed on his feet somewhere. Even if he told him, "hey kid, you're at the end of my bench, so it's either leave and play somewhere else or be relegated to 0 minutes this year", and Norris decided to leave, if Benford closed the door on that conversation and that was it... that would be horrible.

I'm just glad UND had the scholarship open for him so late in the year. That is really a rarity. Of course, maybe the UND coach had the same "end of the bench" conversation with one of his guys in order to bring Norris in?

...Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing what Friar can do this year at Kingwood. Hopefully, he steps on the floor and just dominates. When is the early signing period, November? Will he be going up against Jonathan Motley or Derrick Griffin? I'd love to see how he matches up against those guys.

[TheTastyGreek]

People who think Benford is a terrible guy for what happened with Trey, can we all remember that JJ "promised" Trey the full ride, not Benford? It also seems very probable that coach Benford did everything he could to make sure Trey got a scholarship somewhere else.

I was born in Tennessee so I have followed the UT Vols my whole life, and their current head coach Derek Dooley has made an interesting point. If a kid comes to school on an academic scholarship and can't maintain his/her GPA nobody has a problem with the University taking that away, but people view a coach as the worst person in the world if they take an athletic scholarship away when an athlete fails to perform at the level they were supposed to when they accepted the scholarship. It is unfortunate, but people need to realize that Trey did not produce the way he was supposed to last season, and presumably when coach Benford arrived.

I think this will work out best for everyone since Trey was behind two stud point guards, not to mention two stud combo guards in Alzee and TJ on the depth chart. He has a chance to be a three year starter and still will never have to pay for college.

I don't think Benford is a terrible guy, I think he's a guy who is willing to do some more ethically uncomfortable things (in my opinion- ethics, like opinions, tend to vary) to succeed in his job than what I'd ideally like to see from our school.

Looking at that sentence, it seems a lot more hostile than what I'm actually trying to communicate. The guy has a job to do, and what happened doesn't violate any rules and it improved our overall talent level.

Discussing this without it turning into the standard course of disagreement will take a little more time than I have at the moment. In brief:

- I'm bothered by it.

- I don't want to turn into a bitter grump who bitches about it for the rest of eternity or craps all over the coach/program forever because of what happened. That's part of why I didn't post much for a month and why I'm not chiming in on recruiting and basketball news while it's still on my mind.

- I recognize that people with a different perspective on the program wouldn't be as uncomfortable with what happened.

If anyone gives a crap about my opinion on the matter beyond that, I'll be happy to share it (public or private) when I'm able to do so in a way that isn't rushed and half-assed.

[Censored by Laurie]

- I don't want to turn into a bitter grump who bitches about it for the rest of eternity or craps all over the coach/program forever because of what happened. That's part of why I didn't post much for a month and why I'm not chiming in on recruiting and basketball news while it's still on my mind.

If this does happen, though...I'll gladly start a new UNT discussion board with you and agree with everything you and others only of a like mind say.

[meangreenacct]

If this does happen, though...I'll gladly start a new UNT discussion board with you and agree with everything you and others only of a like mind say.

I see what you did there...count me in!

[meangreenfan65]

If this does happen, though...I'll gladly start a new UNT discussion board with you and agree with everything you and others only of a like mind say.

I respect your opinion, and agree with parts of it, however, you lost me on this statement: "to succeed in his job than what I'd ideally like to see from our school." ?

[NT03]

If this does happen, though...I'll gladly start a new UNT discussion board with you and agree with everything you and others only of a like mind say.

We still have the other , other board < ninja> ... I think

Edited September 14, 2012 by NT03