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UNT post player Kelvin Gaines is leaving UNT to pursue a professional career. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2014/04/kelvin-gaines-leaving-unt-for-pro-career.html/

DENTON — The University of North Texas basketball team will open conference play on Thursday with a four-game winning streak. On their team are two college graduates with playing eligibility left. “I got my Bachelor of Science in criminal justice,” said UNT center Kelvin Gaines. “It’s kind of a long name: it's Interactive virtual Digital Communications,” North Texas guard Vertrail Vaughns said of his degree. Gaines is from Florida and played at Cincinnati before transferring to Denton. Vaughns went to Mesquite High School and played at George Mason. Because Gaines and Vaughn are college graduates, they were able to transfer to North Texas and start playing basketball right away. They did not have to sit out a year. So now, they're going to school here and working on their Masters. “My academic advisors at Mason told me about it,” Vaughns said. “If you’re a grad student, then you can go and play right away." Read more: http://www.wfaa.com/sports/College-grads-with-eligibility-left-help-UNT-basketball-239177831.html

I just finished sending in my story for tomorrow’s paper on UNT’s basketball tip-off event. We’ll get to that in a minute, but here is the news of the day — Cincinnati transfer forward Kelvin Gaines is out four to six weeks with a stress fracture in his foot. I mentioned in the running blog that he was not playing tonight. Tony Benford said after the event that UNT considered its options and decided that it would be best for Gaines to have the injury operated on now rather than put it off and end up losing him late in the season. He should be back in late November or early December. UNT will have to get by without a player who is expected to be a big presence under the basket until then. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/10/breaking-news-and-tip-off-event-wrap-gaines-out-four-to-six-weeks.html/

Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin talked about Kelvin Gaines decision to transfer to UNT today with Bill Koch of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Cronin echoed what UNT head coach Tony Benford expressed yesterday. Cronin said that Gaines is a good guy and a great student who needed to move on to find more playing time. Transferring is a good move for him, Cronin said. He did a great job academically. Im extremely proud of him. Hes a wonderful young man. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/06/cincinnati-coach-has-high-praise-for-gaines.html/

I got this from a Cincy fan on the message board:

Coach Cronin: 'I'm extremely proud of him" University of Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said Wednesday that he supports Kelvin Gaines decision to transfer. Transferring is a good move for him, Cronin said. He did a great job academically. Im extremely proud of him. Hes a wonderful young man. North Texas coach Tony Benford announced Tuesday that Gaines was leaving UC to play for the Mean Green. The 6-foot-10 center is expected to graduate from UC at the end of this month. Hell be eligible to play at North Texas next season and will have two years of eligibility remaining. Gaines spent three years at UC. He redshirted his freshman year and played sparingly the last two. Cronin signed him knowing that he would need time to develop before he could make an impact on the program. We knew he hadnt played a lot of basketball, Cronin said. It was just going to be a matter of how quick he could adjust. Theres no animosity. I had a meeting with him last spring about what you need to do to play more and the improvements you need to make like I do with all of our players. He gave a really good effort. He was much better than he was as a younger player. His practice habits were a lot better. The problem is hes gotten better but youve got to be better than the other guys in the locker room. . Read more on Bill Kochs Blog: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20130605/SPT0101/306050177/Cronin-supports-Gaines-decision-transfer

DENTON, Texas – North Texas head basketball coach Tony Benford has announced the signing of former Cincinnati center Kelvin Gaines to a scholarship. The Ocala, Fla., native played in 39 games for the Bearcats over the last two years after taking a redshirt in 2010-11. Gaines will graduate from Cincinnati this summer, and is expected to be immediately eligible to play his final two seasons at North Texas. "We are tremendously excited to have Kelvin Gaines joining the Mean Green family," Benford said. "He brings a great deal of character, athleticism and toughness to our program. Kelvin comes from a great program in Cincinnati, which has put him through three years of Big East competition. He's been to the NCAA Tournament, he understands how to work, and he can protect the rim for us. We have great shooters and great balance in our program right now, and Kelvin will really help us shore up the paint." Standing 6 feet 10 inches tall, Gaines has been a potent defensive asset for the Bearcats. He tallied 39 blocks in just 276 career minutes for UC. As a redshirt freshman in 2011-12, Gaines ranked third on the team with 23 blocks, and he tallied 17 more last season. With the offseason additions of Gaines and George Mason transfer Vertrail Vaughns, the Mean Green will have two graduates in its locker room for 2013-14. "In my 20-plus years of coaching, I've never seen a kid that got his degree in three years and still has two years to play. That shows me that Kelvin has a great head on his shoulders and will be a tremendous mentor for our younger players." Gaines' resume also includes international experience, as he toured Belgium, Germany and London as part of the Global Sports Academy team in 2011. He played a total of five games against international competition – two contests in Brussells, Belgium; and one each in Cologne, Germany; Dusseldorf, Germany; and Antwerp, Belgium – and averaged seven points and nine rebounds during the trip. As a senior in 2009-10, Gaines transferred to Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville, Fla., where he led the Apaches to the FHSAA Class 2A finals and a record of 21-6. He ultimately chose Cincinnati over offers from UCONN, Georgia, Memphis, Oklahoma, and Miami (Fla.). As a junior, Gaines averaged 10.1 points, 9.9 rebounds and 6.2 blocks per game in 2008-09 playing for Heat Academy in Martinsville, Va. The Heat finished the season with a record of 50-8 and was ranked as high as No. 12 in the national prep school polls. North Texas Basketball 2013-14 Recruiting Class Kelvin Gaines – 6-10, 227, Jr., C, Ocala, Fla. (Cincinnati) Vertrail Vaughns – 6-2, 184, Sr., G, Mesquite, Texas (George Mason) Colin Voss – 6-7, 240, Jr., F, Grand Rapids, Mich. (Northern Oklahoma) Armani Flannigan – 6-8, 200, Jr., F, Rockford, Ill. (Central Wyoming State) Tony Nunn – 6-9, F/C, Salisbury, N.C. (Oldsmar Christian) Josh Friar – 6-8, F, Houston, Texas (Kingwood HS) Greg Wesley – 6-7, F, Arlington, Texas (Seguin HS) Read more: http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1800&ATCLID=208113563 This post has been promoted to an article

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MABxTmV33DI

Cincinnati center Kelvin Gaines, who we have talked about a bit over the last few days, has arrived in Denton and is taking the tour of campus/town as we speak. As of this afternoon, it sounds like this has a pretty good chance of working out for UNT. There are always loose ends to tie up, but this just makes too much sense for everyone involved. To review: Gaines has spent three seasons at Cincinnati and is coming off pretty major shoulder surgery. Jermaine Lawrence, one of the top power forwards in the country, was a late add for Cincinnati, which is now one player over the scholarship limit. Gaines has barely played for the Bearcats and is highly expendable. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/06/kelvin-gaines-in-town-heres-the-situation.html/

Got this from Cincy fan subflea on their message board site: read more: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=341&f=2405&t=11614871

Kelvin Gaines, a 6-10 center who has spent the last three years at Cincinnati, will likely visit UNT this weekend, multiple sources close to the situation said late this week. Gaines redshirted his first season at Cincinnati and then playing sparingly the last two years. He is set to graduate in just three years and could be looking for another school where he can continue his career. A Cincinnati spokesman declined comment when asked about Gaines’ status with the program. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/05/cincinnati-center-likely-visiting-unt-this-weekend.html/

Junior center Kelvin Gaines apparently is exploring the possibility of leaving the UC basketball program and transferring to North Texas. With the signing of Jermaine Lawrence this spring, UC is one over the NCAA scholarship limit of 13. Read more: http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2013/05/31/ucs-gaines-to-visit-north-texas/