Head coach Grant McCasland speaks to Mean Green fans after CBI win
When the University of North Texas hired Grant McCasland to replace head coach Tony Benford at the end of last season, they believed they were taking a step towards rebuilding a once proud basketball program. While they thought they found the man to put them back on course, they probably never saw the strides that McCasland made in his first go-round coming.
In just one season at the helm, McCasland turned a young and misguided 8-22 roster into respectable 20-18 College Basketball Invitation Champions. Although the CBI is hardly comparable to March Madness, two of the past three winners of this fairly new tournament have already found NCAA Tournament success.
The 2015 champions Loyola Chicago advanced to the Final Four of this year’s tournament and the 2016 winners Nevada may have gone just as far if they hadn’t faced the Ramblers in the Sweet Sixteen.
It’s a stretch to say the Mean Green are ready to dominate March Madness as soon as next year, but give another season to build up steam and they just might be the next cinderella team at the big dance.
Tune in as Mean Green head coach Grant McCasland gives the Super Pit and inspired postgame speech.
