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Getting To Know: Todd Shelton Coach Shelton Enters His First Men's Basketball Season With The Mean Green Todd Shelton enters his first men's basketball season with the Mean Green. July 29, 2015 Head Coaches are at the front and center of every college athletic team. They assistant coaches are tirelessly working behind the scenes, juggling multiple things at once. What are their stories? Every Wednesday during the summer, MeanGreenSports.com will be featuring an assistant coach from a North Texas team. This is the final installment. One of the new faces who will be on the bench at the Super Pit this season is Todd Shelton, the director of operations for men's basketball. Shelton arrived in here in Denton just last month having already worked Mean Green basketball camps. Prior to coming to North Texas, Shelton spent three seasons as the head men's basketball coach at Haltom High School. Shelton has worked in numerous roles, including a stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005-06. How did you get involved in coaching? "I've actually been involved in coaching at a young age. I watched my uncle, who is now the wide receiver's coach for the Minnesota Vikings growing up. So when I was a high school senior I coached a group of kids at our local playground, which was my first introduction to coaching. My dad also coached my brothers and I when we were growing up, so I've been around coaching my entire life." What was your journey to North Texas? "My Journey to North Texas actually started with me working a basketball camp at North Texas under former coach Johnny Jones. I played basketball at Texas Wesleyan University, from there I was a Graduate Assistant at St. John's University under head coach Mike Jarvis and one of my mentors long time Director of Basketball Operations Alex Evans. From St. Johns, I worked in Crowley ISD under Tommy Brakel and Robert Hale, then a year in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers under General Manager Danny Ferry. From Cleveland to Fort Worth ISD for three years, then to Gatesville High (TX) as the head coach for two years, then to Haltom High School as the head coach for three years. Then finally to North Texas." With your brother who played football here, what are some of your memories of North Texas athletics? "With my brother playing football here, I just remember the great times of North Texas winning the New Orleans Bowl and the success of the football program under Coach Dickey." What will be your role with the team during the season? "My role with the team will be: coordinating travel, scheduling practices, helping with recruiting and being a liaison between men's basketball and the business and academic offices." Having a well-rounded background in basketball, what has prepared you the most for this role? "I think one of the things that most prepared me for this role is my time working with The Five Star Basketball Camp which is run by Leigh Kline. It is one of the biggest basketball camps in America. I worked in operations and coaching duties for this camp for about eight years." What interested you the most about going from coaching high school/AAU to college basketball? "The most interesting things from high school/AAU to college is in college you get to work with the best players every day. Where on a high school or AAU team you may only have a few Division I players." How did working for the Cleveland Cavaliers in scouting prepare you for these coaching opportunities? "Working with the Cavaliers prepared me for college athletics because my role with the Cavs was to make Danny Ferry, Lance Blanks, Chris Grant, and Mike Winger's jobs easier by preparing the necessary documents. Whether that be a scouting report on a college player or an excel sheet with different information." What are your ties to the coaching staff at North Texas and how did you meet them? "In Basketball everyone is connected. I met Coach Benford awhile back when he was speaking at a Clinic for Five Star Basketball and we have always stayed in touch. One of my good friends Reggie Brown was also on staff with Rob Evans at TCU." What hobbies do you have outside of basketball or things you like to do in your spare time? "I love watching sports especially football. The Cowboys and the Saints are my NFL Teams. I also love Volleyball, so you will probably see me at several Mean Green Volleyball games. I also have three nephews and a niece so I love spending time with them." What makes coaching student-athletes worth it for you? "The things that makes coaching students athletes worth it is the impact you can have in their life. I stay in contact with several of my former players and students. Watching them grow from a child into a mature adult and them letting you know the difference you made in their life is priceless."

UNT men’s basketball coach Tony Benford recently rounded out his coaching staff with the addition of director of operations Todd Shelton. We touched on Shelton joining the staff briefly earlier today. Here’s a link to the story that will be in tomorrow’s paper, where I had some time/space to delve a little more into Shelton’s background. The interesting aspect of the story is Shelton has some ties to UNT, mostly from Johnny Jones’ tenure with the Mean Green. Shelton drove up to Denton to ask in person if he could work one of Jones’ camps after he finished his playing career at Texas Wesleyan. Shelton also nearly took a grad assistant job at UNT before St. John’s came calling and offered to pay his tuition. Shelton’s brother Terry Shelton played at UNT during the Mean Green’s four-year run run as Sun Belt Conference champions from 2001-04. He didn’t play a lot, but he is in some of the old media guides in my files. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2015/06/benford-sees-shelton-as-a-home-run-hire-hoops-tidbits.html/