NT WBB up 2 at half

GrandGreen · December 22, 2012

NT 30 Tulane 28 at half in New Orleans

Freshmen led NT, Goodwin with 12 pts, 4 rbs, Hyder 9 pts, 5 rbs

GrandGreen · December 22, 2012

NT loses to good Tulane team 72-62. Too many turnovers and got clobbered on the boards, still a good effort. Tulane good three shooting in last 5 sealed the game.

Led very unofficially by Hyder with 15 pts and 10 rbs, Goodwin with 17 points.

KRAM1 · December 23, 2012

While the record to date may not reflect it, I do think that good things are in store for the ladies! Coach Petersen does seem like the real deal.

Let's see...who was the AD that hired this guy?

GreenMachine · December 23, 2012

While the record to date may not reflect it, I do think that good things are in store for the ladies! Coach Petersen does seem like the real deal.
Let's see...who was the AD that hired this guy?

Unfortunately, its all about the W's. Nothing else matters.

Army of Dad · December 23, 2012

While the record to date may not reflect it, I do think that good things are in store for the ladies! Coach Petersen does seem like the real deal.
Let's see...who was the AD that hired this guy?

The same one who hired the last two WBB coaches. Odd that in one sport his recent hires have followed the previous head coach experience "rule" and results are improved.

Green Mean · December 23, 2012

While the record to date may not reflect it, I do think that good things are in store for the ladies! Coach Petersen does seem like the real deal.
Let's see...who was the AD that hired this guy?

KRAM1 · December 23, 2012

Ok, I get it...fair game to criticize the hires some see as bad ones, but it is not OK to give credit where the credit is due for the

good ones. It is all becoming so much clearer now.

UNTLifer · December 24, 2012

Stephens was a terrible hire, Aston was a very good hire, just as Peterson appears to be.

KRAM1 · December 24, 2012

Stephens was a terrible hire, Aston was a very good hire, just as Peterson appears to be.

So...what some of us just might be saying is that the hiring of coaches is not an exact science. Some will be hits, some not so much. Some will have had success elsewhere but not at the new location and vice versa. Too bad this stuff, like pretty much everything when it comes to human beings, doesn't come with some sort of guarantee.

And, as some may have wondered or surmised, I pretty much feel one should live with the contracts signed...unless, of course, there is some unlawful or terrible occurrence. So, you sign a 4 year...you get a min. Of four years, 5 years...same thing. And, for the record I think it should be the same for both parties. You signed it, it was good enough then, it should be good enough for its term! Just me....

GrandGreen · December 24, 2012

So...what some of us just might be saying is that the hiring of coaches is not an exact science. Some will be hits, some not so much. Some will have had success elsewhere but not at the new location and vice versa. Too bad this stuff, like pretty much everything when it comes to human beings, doesn't come with some sort of guarantee.
And, as some may have wondered or surmised, I pretty much feel one should live with the contracts signed...unless, of course, there is some unlawful or terrible occurrence. So, you sign a 4 year...you get a min. Of four years, 5 years...same thing. And, for the record I think it should be the same for both parties. You signed it, it was good enough then, it should be good enough for its term! Just me....

I do believe contracts should work both way, but they don't in the college coaching world. Giving someone their full contract that hasn't performed is crazy, suppose Benford never wins another game. You would wait till after his contract expired before changing coaches although he has lost a hundred and something straight games because it is the right thing to do. An absurd example but the point is programs even at the bottom of the pecking order cannot afford to employ coaches that are not winning or at least building the program.

Another truth is it does not matter how many great track, volleyball or women basketball coaches you hire, ultimately football is king with MBB a distant second.

Looking at RV's record, he hired a NT historically great mbb basketball coach in Jones. He took a great risk in hiring Dodge that was a failure of epic proportions. His second hires of Benford and McCarney are still early in their tenure. McCarney is definitely an upgrade IMO over Simon, Dickey and Dodge but is it enough to turn the program around. I think next year will tell the tale. Benford at this point looks like an awful hire because he didn't take over a struggling program although you couldn't tell it for the results so far. He appears to have lost the team, but he gets a new chance with every game; so there is hope.

NT is not and never has been at the bottom of the barrel in resources when compared to other conference teams. Forget oc for coaching decisions, there is no reason that NT should not be more than competitive against any Belt, MAC, or now CUSA team. If you want to drag decades of mostly below average results at NT athletes and use that for an excuse going forward; this program will continue to the sleeping giant that never becomes fully awake.

Yes, universities with far more resources than NT make bad coaching decisions; but few stay with a loser very long.

CurveItAround · December 25, 2012

Am I remembering incorrectly that Johnny Jones had only been and assistant, plus a sub .500 record as an interim HC stint at Memphis, followed by another assistant job? He did not exactly set the world on fire when he first started at UNT, but there was not much place to go but up. He finally got his sea legs and turned out to be really good for us. I really wish Benford could have hit the ground running this season, but it looks like the players Johnny left were not quite as complete and fundamentally sound as we thought they were and Benford still has a bit to learn to handle players.

I still think JJ's open style contributed to the inconsistency we would see from his teams and inexplicable losses at times (but when they were on, man it was nice). You can kind of compare it to the spread offenses versus a little more grind it out style of McCarney. The spread offenses (JJ) show they can beat almost anyone when everything goes right, but lesser teams can sneak up and beat too many times when you are not clicking on offense. Also, the slow, grind it out (if that truly is Benford's style) style can look ugly when it doesn't work, but as long as you can recruit the athletes, it is a less risky strategy and is built on fundamentals.

Personally, I see some similarities with early Johnny Jones and Benford. I really get the feeling Benford is in tune with the AAU scene and knows how to recruit (similar to JJ). I think recruiting is potentially more important than X's and O's in the long run for the head coach (as long as he isn't a complete knucklehead). I think he can get help with schemes and in-game management from his assistants, but if he can keep a steady stream of talent coming through here, he will figure it out and even overcome a perceived lack of strategery. At least I hope so.

While someone like Fraschilla MAY HAVE HAD better short term success, my fear would have been that he was only here for the short term and would not have made the commitment to recruiting to ensure long term success (especially with his ESPN safety net). Going in that direction could have also been detrimental to our program (maybe more so in the long run), we just might not have realized it right away. Hard to say for sure, but that is what my gut tells me.

Edited December 25, 2012 by CurveItAround

NT03 · December 25, 2012

While someone like Fraschilla MAY HAVE HAD better short term success, my fear would have been that he was only here for the short term and would not have made the commitment to recruiting to ensure long term success (especially with his ESPN safety net). Going in that direction could have also been detrimental to our program (maybe more so in the long run), we just might not have realized it right away. Hard to say for sure, but that is what my gut tells me.

Fran didn't exactly leave his last few stints on good terms. Not saying he would have done the same here , maybe he's matured , but its also something people often overlook