Moving from emotion to reality: UNT Hoops 2014-15

[Harry]

I would start this out by asking UNT90 and others to allow us a moment to move away from the Benford bashing and discuss this coming year in terms of who we lose, who we have coming back and what we need.

Player graduation losses

Alzee is a big loss obviously. He was a great defensive player as well as going to the basket. He was not a great shooter. He brought some leadership that will be missed and gave a lot in his time with the program.

Brandon Walton had his moments certainly in terms of shooting the three point shot and could be good defensively. He was a nice role player for this program.

Vertrail Vaughns -- it's just hard to give an accurate assessment of him, he was here for such a short time. I understand he was a good leader although I question how a one year guy can truly lead. I expected him to provide a little bit more than he did but Benford's substitution pattern had a lot to do with this.

Returning players

Maurice Aniefiok - He had moments of brilliance and then disappeared at times. Clearly has some great shooting ability and will have two more years to play. Good size for a guard. Good pickup.

Keith Coleman -- Big disappointment. Still is a physical specimen that just struggles to use his natural tools. Inconsistent -- but I don't know if you can give up on a guy with his size when you are struggling so badly to get any type of post production. He he could be a better role player if he works hard in the off season?

Colin Voss -- Voss is a good player that is undersized in the post. I don't think you can expect him to produce every game in the post but he could be a good role player for us next season. I see him as a good addition to the program.

Kelvin Gaines -- his health was a big concern, but even bigger then that is can he really help us? He just didn't play very much and when he did he didn't play very well.

Armani Flannigan - I hate to say it but Flash was a bust. He is athletic but just struggled to find a role on the team. If he can't at least provide rebounds or defensive shot blocking he does very little for this program.

Chris Jones - Chris hasn't been the same since his freshman season. That said, he is still a guy that could help you, but as a backup point guard or 2-guard. Need to work on his shot.

Jordan Williams -- one of the few bright spots on the team. Has improved his defense and rebounding. Will be a major contributor next season.

TJ Taylor -- had injury issues, but showed flashes of great ability. Taylor could help this team win next season if he stays healthy and gets more consistent with his jumper.

New Additions

Forward Greg Wesley (6-7) - Had to sit out for academics (why this wasn't revealed early on stil bothers me) but ranked 9th in the state coming out of high school. Very athletic, with big jumps, but will he be able to help out in the post where UNT was dominated in C-USA? Certainly should provide some instant help as he is a more well rounded athlete than what UNT has down low right now.

Forward Jeremy Combs (6-7) -- Very talented player who will be making the transition from high school select ball to D-I. I don't think there is any doubt he will help UNT right away, but like Wesley can he make a difference as a rebounder and paint scorer/defender as a true freshman?

Guard Carrington Ward (6-4) - Big time shooter that is averaging about 17 a game at San Jac. 30% three point shooter, was a star on a losing juco team.

DeAndre Harris - Juco athletic shooter that sat out a season with medical issues. Will have 3 years to play.

What we did

UNT was middle of the pack in C-USA in scoring (8th out of 16 with 67.4 average). We were next to last in scoring defense (15th 72.4 a game). In rebounding we struggled, showing 11th in offensive rebounding and 12th defensive. We were 14th in the C-USA out of 16 in rebounding margin!!!

Another huge need area is assists. UNT was 2nd to last in the league in assists this past season, with a 10.31 average... we need point guard help desperately. Our assist to turnover ratio was 12th in the league, at .83.

Rebounding - Offensive rebounding was reasonable at 10th in the league (11.3 average) but our defensive rebounding was atrocious at 22.63 which was 14th in thr league.

Lastly, we hoped that our 3-point shooting would improve this season but it did not. We were 14th in C-USA in 3-point shooting at 4.94 average a game.

Here is a link to the season stats in case you would like to review: http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-baskbl/stats/2013-2014/confonly.html

What we need

Clearly we need a point guard and I could possibly see them sign two, one being a juco that could come in right away as well as a young high school that you could work in more slowly. Wesley and Combs are both long and athletic so they will help the rebounding and defense in the paint -- but is that enough? I have no faith in Gaines or Coleman but I am also realistic enough to know that we will not be able to easily land an impact big man. Perhaps bring in a big body guy that is raw but coachable? You lose both of your big guys after this next season to graduation so you need to have something working in the wings. Benford and the program can't endure another mediocre to poor season so you have to make some good personnel decisions here. The lack of a big rebounder, and a great defender is evident to me. I think you have to really work with Flannigan in the offseason to make him become more of a focused rebounder/defender. If Gaines is not healthy then he needs to move on. Coleman either needs to contribute or do the same. Too many guys are taking up valuable scholarships and not providing anything in return. Injuries happen but we have to develop more consistency in rebounding in our bigs or we will be near the bottom again.

I am interested to hear other fan thoughts. I am more of a football guy so I apologize in advance for my caveman analysis. Again, please do not use this as an opportunity to make your case against Benford as a coach. This is meant to be a realistic discussion on where we are and what we need. GMG

[Army of Dad]

I don't see how you can seperate Benford from the equation. The problems in the front court are entirely his doing.

[Green P1]

I don't see how you can seperate Benford from the equation. The problems in the front court are entirely his doing.

X2

Not to mention the absolute lack of progression from Chris.

Edited March 16, 2014 by Green P1

[CMJ]

Saying Alzee is not a great shooter may be true, but he did have the 3rd highest FG% on the whole team (and Voss was only 0.6 percent better). Not sure if you can really count Flannigan as our best shooter, despite his percentage (he didn't shoot enough).

So, if Alzee's not a good shooter, we had none. We'll miss him terribly.

Edited March 17, 2014 by CMJ

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

I don't see how you can seperate Benford from the equation. The problems in the front court are entirely his doing.

I think he's saying he's going to be here next year, so no point discussing him not being here.

[Green P1]

I think he's saying he's going to be here next year, so no point discussing him not being here.

Since he's going to be here next season, how can you not discuss him being here?

[UNT90]

http://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/player-Jordan-Williams-93725

[UNT90]

http://rivals.yahoo.com/northtexas/basketball/recruiting/player-Forrest-Robinson-93769

[UNT90]

http://sports.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/basketball/recruiting/player-Chris-Jones-99388

[wardly]

Harry, based upon your assessment, which if I understand correctly,next season looks pretty bleak. By the by,S.F.A. is a 12 seed.

[BillySee58]

Lol, I pretty much had an identical thread on this today.

Benford just has to start winning recruiting battles. The JUCO posts he signed combined to be at the bottom of the conference in post production, and the high school posts he signed didn't end up playing here and both (Tony Nunn and Josh Friar) combined to play 13 JUCO games and averaged under 2 points and under 2 rebounds per game.

The posts by 90 were very relevant. Look at the offer lists of Jordan Williams and Chris Jones. Those guys are going to be seniors. If our post play/recruiting doesn't significantly improve, then Benford will have to adequately replace guys like CJ and J Will. That's what the offer lists look like on players of that caliber. Can we get players with those type of offer lists? If not, he's going to have to get the absolute most out of his players individually and as a team.

[Harry]

Lol, I pretty much had an identical thread on this today.

Benford just has to start winning recruiting battles. The JUCO posts he signed combined to be at the bottom of the conference in post production, and the high school posts he signed didn't end up playing here and both (Tony Nunn and Josh Friar) combined to play 13 JUCO games and averaged under 2 points and under 2 rebounds per game.

The posts by 90 were very relevant. Look at the offer lists of Jordan Williams and Chris Jones. Those guys are going to be seniors. If our post play/recruiting doesn't significantly improve, then Benford will have to adequately replace guys like CJ and J Will. That's what the offer lists look like on players of that caliber. Can we get players with those type of offer lists? If not, he's going to have to get the absolute most out of his players individually and as a team.

Sorry I missed that! Been away from the board and watching the games today it had been thinking about this situation.

One point you make which is absolutely accurate is Benford has not done well with his post recruits.

[BillySee58]

Sorry I missed that! Been away from the board and watching the games today it had been thinking about this situation.

One point you make which is absolutely accurate is Benford has not done well with his post recruits.

Haha, no you're good. We're both football guys first, so a comparison I like to make, whether accurate or not, is between defensive linemen and posts, as they relate in recruiting.

Good posts and good d-linemen still slip through the cracks, but it's much easier to get guards to slip though the cracks just like it is easier to get skill players in football to slip through the cracks. Look at our decade plus run of success in the backfield in football. What usually separates the power conference teams from the non-power conference teams is the big men. The trenches in football, and the post play in basketball.

This is because of both the emphasis that big programs place on recruiting big men, and the fact that big men standout. Whether you're watching film or at a game live, it won't take you long to notice a 6'10" center in a high school basketball game or a 6'5" 250 lb d-end at a football game. It's hard to miss those kids, especially when the big schools make it a priority.

That being said, the schools that don't make excuses and go out and get those kids receive the payoff. There are some schools in this conference with quality big men. No reason we can't go out and get some ourselves.

[Harry]

Haha, no you're good. We're both football guys first, so a comparison I like to make, whether accurate or not, is between defensive linemen and posts, as they relate in recruiting.

Good posts and good d-linemen still slip through the cracks, but it's much easier to get guards to slip though the cracks just like it is easier to get skill players in football to slip through the cracks. Look at our decade plus run of success in the backfield in football. What usually separates the power conference teams from the non-power conference teams is the big men. The trenches in football, and the post play in basketball.

This is because of both the emphasis that big programs place on recruiting big men, and the fact that big men standout. Whether you're watching film or at a game live, it won't take you long to notice a 6'10" center in a high school basketball game or a 6'5" 250 lb d-end at a football game. It's hard to miss those kids, especially when the big schools make it a priority.

That being said, the schools that don't make excuses and go out and get those kids receive the payoff. There are some schools in this conference with quality big men. No reason we can't go out and get some ourselves.

I think part of my issue is that we keep putting Chris as our point guard when he is really more of a 2... that Tulane game taught us what a good point guard can mean. We need a point guard that can at least allow Chris a breather.

On the big men, I get it that we aren't going to likely land a premier big man out of high school. If you look at the best big men we have landed, Tony Mitchell was a huge deal for Johnny and Keith Wooden (2007?) was actually a transfer that could really play. Benford needs to turn things around this next season so even if he landed a transfer they would likely have to sit out a season. That's why I like the idea of getting a raw high school kid that you can develop for the future. In terms of realistically what we can land for next year I would like to see us at minimum land one point guard and perhaps two. I would also like to get a good rebounder... this team needs that. You need to address turnovers and rebounding and I think that should give you a good shot at winning in C-USA next year.

[GrandGreen]

Tough to evaluate a Benford team, erratic substitution and play muddle the situation. Jordan Williams is the only above average player returning and even he apparently was not thought of that highly of by the coach; with game on the line, he was usually anchored to the bench. I think more of Jones' play than Harry does, he does not score much in Benford's world but he usually plays a solid pg game. Aniefiok should have started and played much more being the only underclassmen on the team. Voss was usable and that made him very valuable on a team with the poorest front court in the league. I would be surprised if Flanagan returns, the other two bigs returning is also questionable; with Benford it is just a matter of can he recruit anyone he thinks is better.

To me, Taylor was the bust of the team; I didn't expect anything out of Flanagan. Taylor showed good flashes but also put up a lot of bad shots.

Benford was not near as visually a bad coach as his first year, but it was IMO another horrible coaching year. His attempted style of play did not fit the personnel at all. With a squad full of capable guards and virtually no front court, why not play a much faster game.

Combs and Wesley both should be very good additions to the team. Harris and Ward look like passable recruits. However, I don't see anything that is going to make NT any better than they were this year. I also don't expect anything other than the Benford norm on new recruits, generally the vagabonds of the college basketball world.

[Harry]

The truth is we are probably a couple of years away talent wise from competing with the better teams in this conference. Benford really needs to step up and hit on some recruits or this thing could be a long way away from being fixed.

[BillySee58]

The truth is we are probably a couple of years away talent wise from competing with the better teams in this conference. Benford really needs to step up and hit on some recruits or this thing could be a long way away from being fixed.

I think we're a couple years away from competing in this conference talent wise, as well. A couple years the other way, unfortunately.

Truthfully, outside of the top 4 or 5 teams in this conference (with WKU replacing Tulsa), there's no team that we shouldn't be able to finish ahead of. After next year, then yes. Benford's recruiting ability will fully show. For better or worse.

Edited March 17, 2014 by BillySee58