SooToo

Yup, we're "Ofer" v UNO ... with an "N" of 2.

Certainly not a black-and-white picture for Jones or his team, and I agree the losses to Omaha, including the two-point loss this year, were particularly aggravating. I'm not sure if its quality coaching, early entry into the Summit, the discontinuation of football or their location in a metro area, but UNO seems to be on the right track with basketball. IIRC, they just finished their 4th year of transition. They've had a losing record in the last three years but have posted wins against Marquette, Denver, Northern Illinois, Seattle, SDSU and USD, among others.

What should the standard be in the D1 era? An important question, I think, that's obviously be the subject of some of the discussion here. Interesting to note that only one of the Dakota schools posted greater than a .500 record in its first three years out of transition -- and the AC did that largely on the strength of a transitional recruiting class -- pulled together by a guy now coaching in the Big Ten -- that had no other D1 offers. The records at the South Dakota schools were a few percentage points on either side of UND's 41-54 record. Yet to my knowledge there was no great outcry about diminishing expectations or calls for the dismissal of Dave Boots or Scott Nagy. Is it reasonable to routinely expect 20-win seasons like the D2 days when, presumably, much of the OOC schedule may be on the road "playing up" against stronger teams/leagues? Was it fair, over the past three years, to expect UND to be consistently winning against teams from the AC or SDSU, who have had the benefit of an additional five years of D1 recruiting and development? Again, no dog in this fight as I think the course at UND is pretty evident; either Jones' teams show significant improvement over the next year or two or he won't continue in his current position. But sometimes the comments here make me wonder if the clamoring for Jones' head isn't less about reasonable, rational post-transition expectations and more to do with how he "pouts" on the sidelines or how he fixes his hair.

4 seats in Sec 114 (northeast corner) for sale for Saturday, 3/14/15. $30 per seat. Text 701 866-3872 if interested.

Understandable, as they certainly don't have the national profile of, say, IUPUI or IPFW ...

Agree with your post, and your view of the negativity. No matter how you feel about Jones, it seems pretty clear by now that he'll be the HC again next year, and how this team does or does not progress in 2015-16 will determine his future. "Good job" to everyone who has conveyed their opinions to Faison via e-mail, but there's not been much new information or useful insight in many of the posts here; mostly a rehash of the same snarky, negative comments from the same posters, leaving this and most threads in the basketball forum practically unreadable.

Couldn't agree more -- about the Sky, I mean. Too many people here stuck on interpreting the world through Fargo media's green and yellow glasses, where it's all AC all the time. Most Bison fans were ready to give up part of their anatomy to get into the Big Sky before they were twice refused. Now, of course, it's nothing but criticism in Fargo for what's been the premier FCS conference in the west. The Big Sky and Summit historically have been pretty interchangeable in terms of RPI, with its emphsis on the strength of your opponent, not on game results. In recent years, the Summit seems to have made it a priority to schedule to enhance RPI; the Big Sky, not so much. Despite all the chest-puffing by Bison fans and media, it's interesting to remember -- and admittedly cherry-picking some facts here -- that Montana beat the AC in men's BB earlier this season, and lowly UND fell by just 2 on the road at SDSU, the Summit co-champion. Sure, the basketball tourney would be closer if UND was in the Summit. Sure, their tourney attendance looked good on TV. And that's great -- if you like a tournament arrangement that essentially gives home-court advantage to the same two teams every year. UND has always struggled to get more than token attention from the F-M media. I remember when Sioux hockey games versus the gophs or badgers warranted only a 3-paragraph story on page C6 in Ed Kolpack's eyes. Back in the NCC, football and basketball got a little more attention -- if they were playing NDSU. The Sioux were always considered as the underdog by Fargo media, even in the midst of their 10-year domination of the AC. UND will grudgingly get more attention from FM media when it does one thing: Win. In the mean time, I think there's a lot more that the university and coaches could be doing to promote the Big Sky, either through advertising or simply "talking up" the league at every opportunity. Rant over.

I think you need only to check who is eagerly posting the info to have your answer.

No dog in this fight but honestly, sometimes it's better to just quit when you're behind. Yesterday, it was junior high-level name-calling regarding a coach you admittedly don't know personally. This AM, it appeared you might hurt yourself in silly verbal contortions rationalizing your out-burst. (For the life of me I haven't been able to identify the "objective contents" that support calling someone a "prick and an idiot.") This afternoon, it's personal attacks on posters who called you out on your comments. As the old cliche goes, the first thing to do when you're in a hole ...

Tickets are sold.

Four tickets, in two groups of two, for sale in Section 114 for Saturday. Rows H and K. $40 per ticket. Text 701 866-3872 if interested.

Four seats (2 groups of two, three rows apart) available in 114 (lower bowl; northeast corner) for Friday v DU. $35 per ticket. Text 701 866-4075 if interested.

No inside connection with the football program, but this sounds curious. Momoh was offered pre-season last summer. It seems unusual to me that a team would be offering partials to its earliests, and presumably most wanted, recruits. "Surprisingly," the first I saw of this news was via a couple of giddy, his-and-hers posts on a non-rival's fan board. Go figure.

I have four seats -- 2 groups of two seats, three rows apart -- in section 114 (NE corner) for sale for Friday, 1/23/15 v CC, for sale $35 per seat. Text 701 866-3872 if interested

Probably a perception shared by a number of posters here, but I don't think it squares with reality. In 2012, UND brought in 3 qbs, including Braden Hanson, probably one of the best to ever play at UND, but unfortunately for only one year. Mollberg had FBS looks and multiple offers, including the AC. Bartels passed up an offer from Indiana State and was listed on one recruiting site -- EdgyTim, IIRC -- as one of top 5 "steals" of the 2012 recruiting season in Illinois. Both QBs from 2013 left the program, including Sam Riddle, ranked as the #2 QB prospect from Oregon, who left after a week or two for family reasons. I believe Kurt Pallendeck left during the turmoil of a coaching change. As previously noted here, he's now at UNLV. Hard case to make, I think, that UND has settled for "anything that will sign on the line." As for last year, I think any program is in trouble when forced to go with its third-string QB. The AC? They appear to have an excellent quarterback in Wentz who had family ties to FU and chose an offer from them over a variety of others, including UND and SIU. Their previous QB, Jensen, was named MVP of the FCS championship game hugely aided by a strong OL and a dominating rushing game. But the AC was his only D1 offer coming out of high school. He started four years , IIRC, because they had NO OTHER serviceable options, and for his first two years at least he was more of a liability than an asset on the field. Sorry for the long post.

I have four seats (2 groups of two) in section 114 available for 1/16/15 v Niagara. $25 per seat.Text 701 866-4075.

Tickets are sold.

I have four tickets -- two groups of two in rows H & K -- in Sec 114 for Saturday v UMD available for sale. $30 per seat. If interested, text 701 866-4075..

Agree completely. Over the last three years we've seen a number of games where Jones' team performed poorly or seemed poorly motivated or prepared. Conceivably, that could have reflected the character of that particular group of players. Fast forward to this year, and the roster has turned over significantly; yet we continue to witness the same problems. Ultimately, that's on the coach. How many casual or potential fans were lost yesterday watching that pathetic debacle on TV? I'd guess the number would be substantial, and it will take a lot of wins to lure them back. Earlier this week, I watched USD -- North Dakota's contemporary in the transition process -- battle Creighton for two overtimes before losing. What an entertaining game that was, and what a stark contrast to what I witnessed last night.

I have four tickets (two groups of two) available for 11/29/14 in section 114. Text 701 866-3872 if interested.

Four tickets (two groups of two tickets) for sale for Friday. If interested, text 701 866-3872.

Section 114, two seats row H; 2 in row K. $30 each. Text 701 866 3872.

Tickets are gone.

I have three tickets in section 204 I can't use tomorrow. Free to anyone who can use them. Text to 701 866 3872 if interested.