University of North Texas Athletics
Thursday's Hoops Blog Under Way From The Super Pit
10/30/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Good Night From The Super Pit
5:41 p.m.
The Mean Green is wrapping up with their daily free-throw barrage, so we’ll be back tomorrow for the final installment of the MeanGreenSports.com Basketball Blog.
White Side Puts The Hammer Down
5:34 p.m.
The Blog expected at least a small comeback attempt from the Green squad. I mean, you have Josh White, Collin Dennis and Eric Tramiel. But the White side has securely placed its collective foot on its opponent’s throat, and they are doing it with defense.
The White team blocked a couple of shots and forced a handful of steals to run its lead to 18-7, which is how it ended after the second session.
Tristan Thompson Impresses Early In Scrimmage
5:28 p.m.
The White squad led by Kedrick Hogans, Dominique Johnson and Tristan Thompson jumped out to an early 8-0 lead on the Green side in what is now becoming a daily full-court scrimmage.
Tristan made an impressive over-under move that morphed into a jump step and tricky runner in the lane. Kedrick ran down court after a block and hit a nice jumper from the elbow.
The White team led 10-2 after four minutes of play.
Hogans Hulks His Way To Dunk Of The Day
5:17 p.m.
Kedrick Hogans emphatically took back the Dunk of the Day from the two-time defending champion, Justin Howerton.
The Blog has a feeling that you could have put a UPS truck in between Kedrick and the goal and he probably would have still dunked on it, that’s how strong he looked on a drive from the left block. Fortunately, there were no photographers in attendance or Collin Dennis would have been immortalized underneath Kedrick’s right handed flush!
Snake Pit Preview
5:02 p.m.
Tomorrow, MeanGreenSports.com will have a feature story the Snake Pit, the former home of
Some arenas were just meant to hand out punishment to any visitor that walked through the doors. They were the kind of places opponents cowered at just the thought of their cold steel beams and concrete walls. The Snake Pit, now the
The home of Mean Green basketball from 1950-73, It lacked all forms of niceties, and the thousands that packed it to the rafters were practically in the laps of the players that ran the floor just feet away.
“Welcome to the Pit, welcome to the Pit, Welcome to the Pit,” the crowd would chant to “add delirium to defeat,” as Fred Graham so eloquently put it in his North Texan article that ran in the March 1971 issue. The following quotes also appeared in that story. They will give you a brief insight into what a few of the coaches that came to know the Snake Pit thought of the frenzy inside it.
“This is not only the worst place to play; these are the world’s worst fans.” Maury John, former Drake coach.
“I’ve never been in the eye of a hurricane, but it must be like this.” Dan Spika, former
“That’s about what I expected really. I told our sophomores over and over how it would be, but you can’t believe it until you’ve been through it. We’ve got great fans too, but I wish our students had this much enthusiasm.” John Dromo, former
Walking Through The Offense
4:48 p.m.
The Mean Green worked from both ends of the floor just now, adding a few wrinkles to its base offensive packages. The team split into two and worked at both goals to make sure everyone got in on plenty of plays. It’s important that everyone knows each of his teammates’ responsibilities on each play, or things could go haywire during the game.
Time To Open The Mailbag
4:42 p.m.
Q: Steven (
A: You simply won’t meet another player that is more grounded than Josh White. He brings intensity and enthusiasm to every play, and is still a “yes sir/no sir” type of respectful person away from the court. His teammates already look to him as a leader, and he handles the job with poise.
Just now, coach Jones whistled for a water break and Josh stayed out to work on his 3-point jumper. The Blog couldn’t be more of a fan of the little man from
Our Second Objector
4:23 p.m.
For those of you that don't know Hank Dickenson (Happy Belated Birthday!), he doesn’t apologize for being a homer. The long-time voice of the Mean Green and Deputy Athletic Director has seen a lot of
When it came to 3-point shooting, no one in school history shot it better than Calvin. He also was a leader both on and off the court, and took the program back to the NCAA Tournament in 2007. Isaac was the best all-around point guard of the last 20 years for the Mean Green, and set the table for the NT resurgence.
What do you think about Hank’s additions, Mean Green nation? Let the Blog know who you think should be in the All-Time North Texas Starting Five.
E.T. Dials Up A Runner
4:11 p.m.
Eric Tramiel just made a drive to the bucket on Kedrick Hogans look easy, and I assure you it’s not. He got the ball at the left elbow, and pushed right and tossed a floater off the glass and in the hoop.
Eric has looked strong all camp, showing good agility and a knack for the boards. On this play, I think he shocked everyone with his crafty offensive display.
Our First Objector
3:51 p.m.
The out-of-towners are putting the local folks to shame in responses to the MeanGreenSports.com Blog. Peter from
Q: Peter Fleury (
A: Peter, the Blog really likes your addition of Joe Hamilton to the All-Time North Texas Starting Five. The
Willie Davis would be a tougher sell for me. He had one of the most spectacular freshman campaigns in school history (Then-school record 331 rebounds, 420 points, First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference), but saw his role diminish more and more in the following seasons. As a senior in 1967-68,
Good Afternoon From The Pit
3:35 p.m.
The Mean Green men are taking the floor for today’s practice, so the Blog will is going to give you a preview of today’s talk.
- The Blog got a couple of objections to yesterday’s All-Time North Texas Starting Five.
- We’ll open the mailbag for some feedback from the readers.
- A preview of tomorrow’s Snake Pit story. What did opposing coaches have to say about the
As always, the Blog wants to hear from you. We only have one more day of this, so get your questions in quick.
