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Basketball: Shoot-out a showcase for top talent 07/10/2003 By Mike McClendon / Staff Writer The next LeBron James might be in Denton this weekend. The 15th annual Denton Great American Shoot-Out tips off Friday and some of the country’s best high school basketball players will be competing. And college scouts will be watching. "If people want to see the top high school players in the country, this is the place to be," said Great American Shoot-Out director Mike Kunstadt. "These are the guys you’re going to be reading about in the sports pages. These guys are going to be the ones who will make headlines for years to come in college and the pros." A record 256 teams from across the country entered this year’s tournament, said Kunstadt. The four-day event will boast 628 games spread over 25 courts in the Denton area. Each team will play three pool games before advancing to a single-elimination bracket. Teams in the Shoot-Out will compete in three divisions — the NBA, NCAA and NIT. "The NBA is for the top college prospects," said Denton Bronx coach Harry Eaddy. "The NCAA usually has teams with players from the bigger high schools and the NIT is for the younger guys or teams with players from smaller high schools." The Austin Dawgs Red, Houston Select and the Louisiana Sports Academy Cubs are among the favorites to take home the NBA Division title. The Dawgs Red and Select have combined to win the last three Shoot-Outs. "The Austin Dawgs Red won our last Shoot-Out [in San Antonio]," said Kunstadt. "But the Cubs have won some tournaments around the country. Houston Select will be among the top teams, too." The Dawgs are led by 5-11 guard A.J. Adams, who scored 22 points in the championship game of the San Antonio Shoot-Out. The Cubs boast a pair of 6-8 towers, Glen Davis and David Gomez. Chamberlain Oguchi, a 6-3 guard, headlines Houston Select. Kunstadt also mentioned 6-1 Ryan guard Austin Jackson as one of the top players in the tournament. Jackson will be competing for the Dallas Mustangs Blue in the NBA division. Among the players who went on to star in college or the pros after playing in the Shoot-Out are Indiana’s Bracey Wright, Illinois’ Deron Williams, Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag and Chris Bosh, who was recently the No. 4 overall pick in the NBA draft. That kind of star power attracts Division I-A college coaches to the Shoot-Out. "Some big-time college coaches will be in attendance," said Denton High School coach Henry Thomas. "Bobby Knight [Texas Tech], Dave Bliss [baylor] and Rick Barnes [Texas] were here last year." Several local teams will be playing in the Shoot-Out, including the Bronx, which features players from Denton and Ryan. The Bronx will be competing in the NCAA division. "College scouts are everywhere and you get to compete against players from all over the country," said Bronx guard Ryan Mabry. "You really get the feeling that you’re part of something big." "This is a special tournament," added Eaddy. "You never know who you could be playing. You might just walk on the court against the next LeBron James." MIKE McCLENDON can be reached at 940-566-6873. Top prospects at Great American Shoot-Out Marcus Monk 6-7 post Arkansas Hawks 17 A.J. Abrams 5-11 guard Austin Dawgs Red Bryan White 6-6 post Coast to Coast Basketball Club Casey Wohlleb 6-6 post Coast to Coast Basketball Club Calvin Miles 6-6 6-6 post D-Nice Basketball Club Austin Jackson 6-1 guard Dallas Mustangs Blue Byron Eaton 5-11 guard Ft. Worth MLK Nash Jeremis Smith 6-6 post Ft. Worth MLK Nash Emanuel Willis 6-7 post Gulf Coast Stars Connor Atchley 6-10 post Houston Gold Chamberlain Oguchi 6-3 guard Houston Select Marshall Brown 6-7 post Houston Superstars Dion Dowell 6-7 post Houston Westside Kurt Vangle 6-8 post K.C. Pump and Run 17s, Darius Hill 6-7 post K.C. Pump and Run 17s, Glen Davis 6-8 post Louisiana Sports Academy Cubs David Gomez 6-8 post Louisiana Sports Academy Cubs Tassmin Mitchell 6-7 post Louisiana Sports Academy Cubs Garrett Temple 6-6 post Louisiana Sports Academy Cubs Nolan Richardson 6-2 guard Tulsa Junior Hurricanes Clayton Wrice 6-8 post Tulsa Junior Hurricanes Eric Payne 6-3 guard Tulsa Junior Hurricanes Great American Shoot-Out Pool play: Friday (2 p.m.), Saturday (9 a.m.) Bracket play: Sunday (9 a.m.), Monday (9 a.m.) Sites: University of North Texas Super Pit, Physical Education Building and Old Men’s Gym, Texas Woman’s University Pioneer Hall, Ryan High School, McMath Middle School, Argyle High School, Crownover Middle School, Strickland Middle School, Calhoun Middle School and Krum High School.

Denton has never been very progressive when it comes to advertising and using city assets to generate revenue. Many of the "old nesters" that remain would just as soon prefer that everyone on the interstate bypass the town and move on to the next city.

Last I read, Little Rock's newish city arena is too huge (18K?) for UALR's crowd and they wanted their own smaller campus facility. The city is not happy about UALR pulling out of their lease agreement as now all they have as tenents are like an Arena II football team.

I enjoy seeing a college town support it's local university. Unlike Denton, whenever I stay in another so-called college town, like Hattiesburg or Stillwater, I'm always impressed by how they partner advertising with the school to promote the city. Denton has never taken advantage of that opportunity, they just don't get it. I too would spend no money in Denton if it wasn't for attending a UNT sporting event. How much other revenue are they losing because they won't help attract fans to games?

We were embarrassed at home a few years ago vs. Oklahoma State. I brought a friend to his first UNT/Trilli basketball game....needless to say he thought we had a long ways to go to get to OSU's level.

Then we'll wait till he's gone!

We've needed some good post-size players for several years.

"If money is so tight at UNT, why lay out $40,000 for a one-year use at Denia? Upgrade the fields at Liberty Christian — you already own that space. After the recent Golf Course War, this seems like another invasion." If this lady had a clue about UNT's plans she would know that UNT does not take over the LC property and fields until next summer (2004). The UNT softball team needs a field for the upcoming fall and spring seasons.

2004 UNT Softball Schedule

Did Sparks leave because Felton left and he didn't like the coaching change? He is a great 3-point shooter.

Sosa Ejected for Illegal Bat CHICAGO (Reuters) - Sammy Sosa (news) of the Chicago Cubs (news) was ejected from Tuesday's interleague game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (news) when umpires found illegal cork in his shattered bat. Sosa broke his bat in the first inning on a grounder to second base with Chicago runners at second and third. But crew chief Tim McClelland examined the bat along with the three other umpires immediately after the out was called and the run scored. The umpires showed the bat to Chicago manager Dusty Baker before ejecting Sosa, who was standing in the dugout. Sosa was still declared out and Mark Grudzielanek (news) was sent back to third base and the run disallowed.

SportsCenter said the Rangers were also the lowest winning percentage team (.400) to ever sweep the Yanks in a series in the 80-year history of Yankee Stadium.

Great news, I'm ready to see some softball. Will WCWS-bound UL-Lafayette be visiting Denton next year?

"New York kept stumbling. John Thomson (news) pitched a three-hitter as the Texas Rangers (news) completed their first three-game sweep at Yankee Stadium in the franchise's 43-year history, 5-1." The Senators/Rangers have always been an American League team and have played at New York every season since 1960. It amazes me that this is the first time ever that they have swept the Yanks in a three-game series.

It must be very windy today up there as all teams except Ok.St. have (+) scores.

First round results from the SBC board: NCAA golf results

UNT notebook Wilson signs to play basketball for Mean Green 05/15/2003 By Tim MacMahon / Staff Writer Highland (Ill.) Community College guard Mark Wilson signed a national letter of intent Wednesday to play basketball at North Texas. The 6-3, 215-pound Wilson averaged 22.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for a 27-6 team last season. He was a second-team NJCAA All-American selection and was named MVP of the Region IV and the Arrowhead Conference. Wilson said he chose UNT over offers from Arkansas State, Milwaukee-Wisconsin and Maryland-Eastern Shore. He said he was also recruited by Auburn and Fresno State. "I can do just about everything on the floor," Wilson said when asked to describe his game. "I just want to come in and do a nice job and help them get a lot of wins." Mean Green coach Johnny Jones said Wilson is very similar to UNT guard Leonard Hopkins, who was the team’s second-leading scorer as a sophomore last season before breaking his foot near the end of non-conference play. "Both of them [Hopkins and Wilson] will have the opportunity to play a lot of minutes," Jones said. "But at the same time, if Leonard’s progress is slowed in any way, Mark has the ability to accept that role. He can really score in a lot of different ways — shooting it or putting it on the floor and taking it to the basket — and I think he has the ability to be a stopper on defense." Jones said signing Wilson is not an indication that Hopkins’ recovery has been slowed. According to Jones, Hopkins is participating in full-speed pickup games. UNT does not have any scholarships left to give for next season unless one of its previous signees does not qualify academically.

Golf: Mean Green rolls into NCAA golf regional UNT needs top-10 finish to advance to nationals 05/15/2003 By Tim MacMahon / Staff Writer The North Texas men’s golf team is feeling pretty good about itself entering the NCAA Central Regional. UNT enters the regional, which will be played Thursday through Saturday at the Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan, Kan., having won two of its last three tournaments. The Mean Green earned its bid by winning the Sun Belt team title. "We’re walking in here as confident as anybody," said senior Zach Atkinson, who has a team-best average of 72.1 strokes per round. "That’s a huge factor. We’re bringing in a lot of momentum." The Mean Green’s goal is to earn a bid to the NCAA Championships, which will be held in Stillwater, Okla. May 27-30. To do so, 19th-seeded UNT must finish among the top 10 teams this weekend. "We feel like this is the toughest region of the three," said coach Jim Bob Jackson, who is in his second season at UNT. "It’s going to take a lot of patience out there. We’re going to have to drive the ball well and make a lot of pars. There aren’t a lot of birdies on this course." UNT feels that it proved it could perform in clutch situations with its victory at the Sun Belt Championships last month. The Mean Green, which knew it needed to win the tournament to advance to regionals, blew away the field to win by 10 strokes. UNT had four of the top 15 finishers at the Sun Belt Championships. Senior Brad Besler was the individual medalist, Atkinson placed third, senior Freddy Espericueta 10th and junior Brad Gibson 15th. "That says a lot about our team," Gibson said. "We can perform under pressure. I think a big part of our success is that we feed off of each other. It’s really exciting to see each other do well, and we get excited when that happens." UNT is no stranger to postseason success in golf. The school was dubbed the "Notre Dame of men’s golf" by one golf magazine after winning seven national championships — four NCAA and three NAIA — from 1949-55. The Sun Belt title is the 27th conference championship in the program’s proud history. Jackson said the school’s golf tradition was one of the main factors in his decision to leave Sam Houston State after 13 successful seasons as the coach at his alma mater. He added that the topic of tradition is broached on a frequent basis with the team, which has heard tales of glory from former North Texas and PGA great Don January. "We all know about the tradition," Atkinson said. "All of us have it in our heart to add to it."

He sounds like a good find. I still think we need more height. A couple 6-11 guys that can do those same things would be very nice!

I've been watching results of SBC softball teams on the SBC message board. It seems ULL won the SBC title and FIU was runner up, both were selected for the NCAA tourney. It mentioned the SBC did not have an automatic bid yet, will that change for next year? Also, I saw where ULL's record was like 43-8, will they be the team to beat next season too?

Bryan Lucas is tearing them up, but Chris Davis is, well, new to the league and his shooting percentages seem to be suffering...... Kansas Cagerz stats thru May 8

UNT currently does have a very good club baseball team, and we regularly beat many former SWC schools.

I believe we charged more for the big games at Texas Stadium, and maybe even for big games at Fouts in the past. I'd gladly pay more to see better opponents at Fouts!

"earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Championship." The team will play I believe in the Central Region, not sure where.

"averaging 13 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.6 steals per game." That doesn't seem like such great stats for a high school forward, or is it?