University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: Murczek Joins Long List
11/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
By Steven Bartolotta, November 18, 2010, 11:35 a.m.
Add Ken Murczek to the list of coaches at North Texas who really love recruiting. And for that matter winning. His latest batch of recruits that come on the heels of an SBC West Division Co-Championship in which he took a lifeless program that hadn't won more than 12 games just once in the previous six years and has them one win away from a 20-win season.
Murczek's recruiting prowess has the Mean Green volleyball program rising from the ashes. Very similar to what Brad Stracke and Jeff Mitchell have done with both golf programs.
Those two inherited programs that badly needed a jump start and in their time they have delivered. The men are a top 25 team and the girls a top 50 team in the nation.
Which brings us to Sujay Lama. When he arrived on campus, I believe the North Texas tennis program was set to be featured on the History Channel's Modern Marvel's "Engineering Disasters." It was so bad that a starving mountain lion wouldn't have touched this carcass.
Since then, he has created a Modern Marvel with recruiting and winning. Lama has the tennis program inching into the top 50 in the nation.
And last but not least the Big Kahuna is Johnny Jones. What he's done has set the tone for the rest of the department. His success has translated into real success, real results, and now really good recruiting classes.
His latest is ranked No. 31 by some accounts. It should be higher, but the ridiculous "Notre Dame" effect brought the class down. That is when a say, 2-star recruit isn't on the radar but suddenly word gets out that Notre Dame, Texas, or Ohio State is going after them, suddenly he's a 5-star recruit.
It works in reverse too. When guys are 4 and 5-star recruits, and a school that's not Texas, Kansas, or Notre Dame doesn't sign them, then obviously they had too many stars to begin with.
Stupid.
Regardless Coach Murczek is the latest in a number of coaches experiencing success in the recruiting field, and that success is showing on the floor.
