I really enjoyed the stories I was able to make because the kids were great. I went over to the section of 1st-3rd graders and they were rowdy as ever. One of them named Bryant came right up to me and said "hello!" into the microphone.
Here are the two reports as they aired on KNTU on Tuesday, July 2.
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| Former North Texas player Roger Franklin |
Also, ex-Mean Green forward Roger Franklin was one of the camp leaders and he was great to talk to -- as usual.
Roger graduated two years, but still comes out to all these summer basketball camps. His large smile and big voice were at both women's hoops camps I made highlight videos for last season.
- LINK TO NORTH TEXAS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CAMP HIGHLIGHT VIDEOS ONE, TWO, AND A NEWS PACKAGE.
Roger recently finished up his professional season in Luxembourg and told me he expects to sign a new contract later in July.
The other important thing that happened when I stopped by the camp was head coach Tony Benford confirmed the Mean Green will play at Northern Iowa and Creighton in the upcoming season.
Northern Iowa is coming off a very successful season -- finishing 31-4 with a loss to Louisville in the Round of 32. The Panthers also were undefeated at home last season -- a perfect 15-0.
Also, over the past ten years UNI has gone to the NCAA tournament five times and in that span has won 83% of its home games.
The Mean Green upset Creighton 62-58 this past season -- probably the year's marquee win.
In the past 10 years, North Texas has gone 46-80 on the road (37%).
And when you break down the recent North Texas road games against non-conference mid-major opponents they shape out as this:
- 2014 - @ Stephen F. Austin - L 59-48
- 2013 - @ BYU - L 97-67
- 2012 - @ #16 Creighton - L 71-51
- 2012 - @ St. Louis - L 67-63
- 2011 - @ Loyola Marymount - W 76-63
- 2009 - @ Boise State - L 79-73
- 2008 - @ Indiana State - W 80-69
- 2007 - @ New Mexico State - W 75-72
- 2006 - @ Stephen F. Austin - W 76-70
So, out of that list -- not too much success in this decade. That doesn't mean the games against Northern Iowa and Creighton have no hopes of a Mean Green victory, but just showing the past.
