Nothing but net
I was reminded last week of one of the many reasons I love basketball: tall, attractive young men. As a teen, I always dated basketball players. I never dated guys who played other sports. Weird, isn't it when I'm only 5-foot-nothing?
But, I have always loved the game. I was pretty good at it, too, even for a short gal. But, I should be since my mom was a basketball coach.
But, I digress. AoD and I took the little kids (our term for Hot Rod and Stinkerbelle) to a UNT Mean Green beat down on Jarvis Christian. It was great because the university gave vouchers for free tickets for elementary age kids and it was only $5 a piece for the rest of us. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon. With it being an afternoon game, the place was relatively empty and we were on the front row. Hot Rod was very excited that a player almost landed in his dad's lap. I was too busy snatching Little Bit and shoving her to the side so she wouldn't get hurt that I couldn't enjoy the courtside excitement.
But, then, I saw him. *heart beating faster* The young, cute and very skilled Collin Mangrum. Tall, blond and handsome. He turned 19 earlier this month. *yes, I know I'm a pervert* But, it was really funny. As soon as I saw him, I turned to mush. He was THAT cute. AoD just looked at me and smiled. He said he knew I'd turn to putty as soon as he saw that player step on the court. He knows his wife.
Mangrum is more than a pretty face.
According to UNT's bio of Mangrum, he was part of NT’s early signing class that was ranked 29th in the nation (including Keith Wooden) by HoopScoop, Mangrum was ranked No. 38 out of the state’s top 100 seniors by TexasHoops.com and No. 123 by PrepRoundBall.com in the class of 2006 when he signed with NT ... Named first team all-district, Class 2A All-Region 2 and All-State as a senior ... 2005-06 preseason second team all-state selection among all classifications by Texas Basketball Magazine was a big part of Howe High School’s preseason No. 9 state ranking ... Alongside current North Texas center Justin Howerton, Mangrum helped lead Howe High School to the Texas Class 2A State Semifinals as a junior ... Howe finished the 2004-05 season ranked No. 3 in the final state rankings and Mangrum was named an all-state selection after averaging 15.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game ... He was also named to the Texas State All-Tournament Team, tabbed All-District 13-2A and a first team all-region selection ... Also recruited by TCU, SMU, Baylor, Tulsa and Stephen F. Austin before deciding to sign with North Texas.
My camera batteries died during the game, so I didn't get any really good action shots of him. But, I managed to get the batteries to last for a few post-game shots of the autograph session the players do for the fans. Here is Mangrum with some of his fans. We suspect the gal is his sister and not his girlfriend because they never stood next to each other. :)
There is another one of the players signing for a kid, too.
Here is Mangrum signing for Little Bit (you can see the top of her head at his knee!!!)
And, here is Calvin Watson signing for Hot Rod. UNT does a nice job of putting out these nice team schedules and arming all the players with Sharpies. It doesn't get much better than that. We're going back Thursday for what will likely be another beat down on Belhaven this time.
But, I have always loved the game. I was pretty good at it, too, even for a short gal. But, I should be since my mom was a basketball coach.
But, I digress. AoD and I took the little kids (our term for Hot Rod and Stinkerbelle) to a UNT Mean Green beat down on Jarvis Christian. It was great because the university gave vouchers for free tickets for elementary age kids and it was only $5 a piece for the rest of us. Not a bad way to spend the afternoon. With it being an afternoon game, the place was relatively empty and we were on the front row. Hot Rod was very excited that a player almost landed in his dad's lap. I was too busy snatching Little Bit and shoving her to the side so she wouldn't get hurt that I couldn't enjoy the courtside excitement.
But, then, I saw him. *heart beating faster* The young, cute and very skilled Collin Mangrum. Tall, blond and handsome. He turned 19 earlier this month. *yes, I know I'm a pervert* But, it was really funny. As soon as I saw him, I turned to mush. He was THAT cute. AoD just looked at me and smiled. He said he knew I'd turn to putty as soon as he saw that player step on the court. He knows his wife.
Mangrum is more than a pretty face.
According to UNT's bio of Mangrum, he was part of NT’s early signing class that was ranked 29th in the nation (including Keith Wooden) by HoopScoop, Mangrum was ranked No. 38 out of the state’s top 100 seniors by TexasHoops.com and No. 123 by PrepRoundBall.com in the class of 2006 when he signed with NT ... Named first team all-district, Class 2A All-Region 2 and All-State as a senior ... 2005-06 preseason second team all-state selection among all classifications by Texas Basketball Magazine was a big part of Howe High School’s preseason No. 9 state ranking ... Alongside current North Texas center Justin Howerton, Mangrum helped lead Howe High School to the Texas Class 2A State Semifinals as a junior ... Howe finished the 2004-05 season ranked No. 3 in the final state rankings and Mangrum was named an all-state selection after averaging 15.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game ... He was also named to the Texas State All-Tournament Team, tabbed All-District 13-2A and a first team all-region selection ... Also recruited by TCU, SMU, Baylor, Tulsa and Stephen F. Austin before deciding to sign with North Texas.
My camera batteries died during the game, so I didn't get any really good action shots of him. But, I managed to get the batteries to last for a few post-game shots of the autograph session the players do for the fans. Here is Mangrum with some of his fans. We suspect the gal is his sister and not his girlfriend because they never stood next to each other. :)
There is another one of the players signing for a kid, too.
Here is Mangrum signing for Little Bit (you can see the top of her head at his knee!!!)
And, here is Calvin Watson signing for Hot Rod. UNT does a nice job of putting out these nice team schedules and arming all the players with Sharpies. It doesn't get much better than that. We're going back Thursday for what will likely be another beat down on Belhaven this time.
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