University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: Thinking About The Inductees
7/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
By Steven Bartolotta, July 29, 2009 8:11 p.m.
The unveiling of the 2009 North Texas Hall of Fame class is always one of the best topics because it brings back a lot of great memories about the inductees and their accomplishments.
This year it’s Billy Dinkle, Corina Marginas, Jimmy Gales, and Ja’Quay Wilburn getting the honor. It wasn’t an easy selection, but all deserving. Corina Marginas is a once in a generation volleyball player that doesn’t come around often. Her accomplishments were stunning and her enshrinement was easy. It’s also special because she is the first volleyball player to get inducted in to the Hall of Fame.
Ja’Quay Wilburn was one of my favorites from the last 90’s because I was a student then and got to watch him on some bad North Texas teams. He was one of the toughest running backs because in those times the Mean Green did only one thing good, well two, punt and run the ball.
Always a gentleman off the field, when Wilburn found out that he was going into the Hall of Fame this year one of the first things he thought of was his offensive lineman. He spoke of finding a way, any way, to get his lineman to the ceremony in October because he knew without them, this honor wouldn’t have been possible.
Billy Dinkle was a fascinating story. A running back on the North Texas teams that played in the Optimist Bowl, he stepped in for an injured Zeke Martin and ran for a TD, passed for another one, and kicked both extra points. He was one of the first All-American’s at North Texas and in an era where stats were hard to come by, his have stood the test of time.
The lighting rod of this class is Jimmy Gales. This was one of the best and robust debates of the selection committee in years. For my part, at the beginning I just couldn’t get over the losing record as a head coach. It stuck in my craw because it was hard for me to justify putting a coach with a losing record.
However, what makes these debates so great is you get a chance to look past the numbers, the raw data that doesn’t often times tell the story. The stats for Coach Gales aren’t Hall of Fame worthy. But that’s what makes his accomplishments even better. Coach Gales was here under Bill Blakely. He helped build this program when it was left for dead.
He went into the inner cities and fought to get players like Kenneth Lyons, Deon Hunter, and Tory Worrell. He was the behind the scenes architect of some of the best teams in school history. When he got his chance at the helm, he took it a step further taking North Texas to the NCAA Tournament for the first-time ever. In today’s day an age, that doesn’t seem like much. But back then, that meant the world to North Texas. There might not to this day be a greater accomplishment by a team in the athletic department. The first-time is always the best. And it was.
His induction to the Hall of Fame is about more than wins and losses. The three best coaches in school history are hard to debate. Bill Blakely, Johnny Jones, and Jimmy Gales have all separated themselves from the pack.
Coach Jones has made North Texas basketball matter again. Coach Blakely made North Texas basketball matter. Coach Gales made North Texas basketball……period.
