University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: Veteran Can Make A Difference In Rankings
2/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
By Steven Bartolotta, February 18, 2010, 9:45 a.m.
When it comes to rankings, especially in college golf, the top 25 is almost a non factor. There is no USA Today Coaches poll or AP Top 25 coming out every Monday. College golf is ranked by a couple of different entities, but mainly its Golfweek that pairs with the Sagarin ratings to rank D-I teams. Well heading into the first tournament of the year, North Texas was 118.
Consider this, of the field of 15 teams at the UTSA tourney, the Mean Green was ranked ahead of only UTSA and Air Force going in. And let me say this, I don't want the future pilots of the F-16's and Joint Strike fighter worried about their golf game, so here's one guy who's glad they are bad at golf.
That being said, the Mean Green came out of the tournament having beaten Wichita State, Illinois State, OU, Sam Houston, Iowa State, Texas State, ULL, and SFA.
Good start for Brad Stracke's bunch of freshman and old gray veteran. That old veteran, Dustin Thompson, turned in a show in the final round with a 67, a career best. You know who he is, the dude who graces the side of the men's golf page on the website. Yeah, that guy with the great looking pose.
DT as he is known as hasn't been the same since his freshman year. He was an all-conference performer that year with his stellar performance on the last day of the SBC Championship in 2007.
I watched him that round and thought, "wow, just wait till he's a senior, we are talking potential All-American."
Well it hasn't worked out that way. He slipped into the sophomore slump that saw him place 109th in his final tournament that year. That's rock bottom, 109 is where walk-on's and future caddies finish in tournament. Not all-conference performers.
The start of his junior year, he battled injuries along the way and was a non-factor until late.
Not until last spring did we start to see the old DT return to form. Four straight top 20 finishes to close the year out. And the way he started the spring off this year makes you feel very good about his prospects for the spring.
DT is going to be a huge factor in those rankings I'm referenced earlier. By the time this team is good, and I mean good enough to be ranked in the top 50 or better, DT will be long gone.
He's a senior and this is it for him. However he has a chance to groom the four young freshmen that he played with in San Antonio and pave the way for them to take this program to the next level in a few years
DT will never be ranked in the top 25 as an individual, but he has a chance to be the start of something special as a teammate, a mentor, and a teacher, which you can't put a ranking on.
