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The following is a recap from North Texas Head Coach Tony Benford’s speech at the UNT Coaches Caravan stop held at the Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas, Texas on May 7th, 2013. After an introduction from UNT Athletic Director Rick Villarreal: Benford said that he appreciated “Coach V’s” support but after a long meeting today he told RV, I’m a big guy – of course I need to drop some pounds and I’m working on that (audience laughter) – but no, what I said was coach, I can take care of myself -I’m a big boy and I’ve been doing this a long time and I know what it takes to win and what I have to do to get this program to the level that we aspire to be at. He personally thanked Ernie Kuehne (called him the Godfather of North Texas basketball) and Julie (wife of David) Anderson from Texas Capital Bank who helped to set up the event to the applause of the crowd. He said he appreciated everyone's support and would do his very best to build a program they could be proud of. On the new Ernie Kuehne practice facility: The facility is phenomenal, what Mr. Kuhne and others have done for us is unbelievable from a recruiting standpoint. We have a building that we can sell. The one thing I tell recruits all the time is we are going to invest in them, not only as a person but also on the court in terms of their game. With the new practice facility – there’s no excuses. With the facilities we have and the new Jumbotron and some other things that we’re doing there are no excuses. We have a phenomenal institution – we just have to get the word out and we’re doing that. read more:

University of North Texas men's basketball coach Tony Benford is confident Central Wyoming College sophomore Armani Flannigan won't have any trouble fitting into his Division I program. "The coaching staff has been recruiting me for awhile now," Flannigan said. "I built up a pretty good relationship with the coaching staff. When I went on my visit they just welcomed me with open arms. It just felt like the right fit." Benford said Flannigan's size will come in handy next season. "We have heard a lot of great things about Armani," Benford said. "We have lost two of our best inside players. We need some athleticism and some toughness from someone who can come in and play right away. We just felt like he would be a great fit for us. He has to get a little bigger and stronger, but the way that he plays, with his energy, translates into any level." Flannigan grew up in Rockford, Ill. He attended Boylan High School where he scored 17.8 points per game in his senior season. Flannigan averaged 13 points per game, 6.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in his freshman season. Flannigan finished the season averaging 14.2 points per game, and pulling in 6.6 rebounds. "I personally felt that I had a really good season," Flannigan said. "I really didn't average that much because we had such a good team. If I was double-teamed I was able to hit anybody open for a good shot." North Texas finished the past season with a 12-20 mark in the Sun Belt Conference. North Texas lost to Louisiana-Lafayette 74-55 in the opening round of the conference tournament. It was Benford's first season at the helm at North Texas. "We had a lot of injuries that hurt us," Benford said. North Texas is making the move to Conference USA for the 2013-14 season. UTEP and Tulsa are two top teams in Conference USA. "It's really a competitive league," Benford said. "I think that Armani has a good chance to be a really good player in the league." Read more: http://dailyranger.com/story.php?story_id=6923&headline=CWC's-Flannigan-set-to-play-next-season-at-University-of-North-Texas

I caught up with Armani Flannigan this afternoon (and a big thanks to Central Wyoming coach Shelby Lindley for making that happen). Flannigan named his relationship with UNT’s coaching staff, particularly Tony Benford and David Anwar, as his reason for committing to UNT this week. He has signed his LOI. “They showed me a lot of love,” Flannigan said. “Tony Mitchell being there and having success was part of it. I modeled my game after his. They see me playing a similar role. They will have me play inside and outside.” UNT is going to ride that “Next Tony Mitchell” wagon as far as it will take them, and they should. Every post player UNT is after would love to have a role like Mitchell’s — basically being the guy. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/04/flannigan-talks-unt.html/

North Texas head coach Tony Benford and assistant David Anwar spent a lot of time talking with and visiting Armani Flannigan up in Riverton, Wyo. That dedication paid off when UNT signed the 6-foot-8, 205-pound forward to a national letter of intent this week. Flannigan averaged 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game last season, when he earned second-team All-Region IX honors. I built a great relationship with the coaching staff, Flannigan said Tuesday. They showed me a lot of love. Tony Mitchell being there and having success was part of it. I modeled my game after his. They see me playing a similar role. They will have me play inside and outside. Flannigan was remarkably consistent for Central Wyoming, scoring in double figures in all but five of the 25 games he played last season while shooting 56.4 percent from the floor. Hes very athletic and changes the games in a lot of ways, Central Wyoming coach Shelby Lindley said. Hes a good rebounder and is one one of the most athletic kids in junior college. Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20130423-unt-notebook-flannigan-respects-coaches-dedication.ece

Armani Flannigan, a 6-8 power forward from Central Wyoming College, confirmed late Sunday night that has has orally committed to UNT. Flannigan averaged 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds a game as a sophomore and was named second-team All-Region IX. Flannigan visited UNT over the weekend and left to return to Wyoming on Sunday afternoon. He confirmed in a text message that he had told UNT’s coaches that he would continue his career at the school and said that he would sign a national letter of intent in the next few days. Flannigan will join a recruiting class that also includes three high school players who signed with UNT during the early signing period. Greg Wesley, a forward from Arlington Seguin, Tony Nunn, a center from Oldsmar Christian in Florida, and Josh Friar, a power forward from Kingwood, rounded out UNT’s early signing class. The addition of Flannigan is a vital one for UNT, which is set to return just one player over 6-6 next season in backup center Keith Coleman as it makes the move to Conference USA. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/04/flannigan-commits-to-unt.html/ This post has been promoted to an article

Uncle Flash @ArmaniFlash Extremely blessed and honored to say I will be continuing my basketball career at North Texas… instagram.com/p/Ya-TKwx5EP/ about 2 hours ago http://instagram.com/p/Ya-TKwx5EP/#

Ive been trying for days and finally got a hold of Central Wyoming coach Shelby Lindley late tonight to talk about Armani Flannigan, who committed to UNT today. Thats the way these things work sometimes. Once you get the news, everyone is OK to talk. I should get Flannigan on the phone in the next day or so. What really stood out about what Lindley had to say is that he believes the 6-7 forward is one of the elite athletes in junior college basketball. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/04/central-wyoming-coach-unt-landed-elite-athlete-in-flannigan.html/