DRC NT men hope to make impact in conf action

[OldTimer]

North Texas hopes to make impact in conference action

01:27 AM CST on Saturday, January 3, 2004

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas men's basketball coach Johnny Jones has seen signs of potential from the Mean Green in the last few weeks.

A series of solid games by senior forward Shawnson Johnson and a win over Baylor have convinced Jones that his team has the potential to make an impact in the Sun Belt Conference.

The question UNT faces entering its league opener against New Mexico State on Jan. 10 is whether it can turn those bright spots into a consistently high level of play. The Mean Green has posted several disappointing performances to go along with its solid games, leaving the team with a 4-6 non-conference record. The Mean Green is in last place in the Sun Belt's West Division.

"I am very confident in this team," Jones said. "We lost a lot of guys from last year's team, but we have a chance to do better once we start to click."

Johnson's abilities are one of the reasons Jones believes his team can finish toward the top of the Sun Belt standings. The senior transferred to UNT from LSU and became eligible at the semester break.

Johnson has quickly become one of the top players in the Sun Belt.

The 6-9 center is averaging 16.0 points and 9.2 rebounds in the five games he has played for the Mean Green.

Johnson is the only player on UNT's roster averaging double figures in scoring.

UNT will likely need Johnson to continue to shine if the Mean Green is to compete for the Sun Belt's West Division title. All six teams in the division have at least four wins.

Denver, New Orleans and New Mexico State have all won six games. Louisiana-Lafayette was picked to win the division, but is 4-4 after dropping a pair of contests to teams ranked among the top 25 in the country.

"There is a lot of parity in the league," Jones said. "The race is as open as it has been in a while."

Western Kentucky was expected to dominate the league after winning the last three conference tournament titles. The Hilltop-pers (4-6) have gotten off to a slow start under new head coach Darrin Horn and are in fourth place in the Sun Belt's East Division.

Arkansas State, which was picked to finish fourth in the East Division, is in first place with a 9-2 record.

UNT is hoping it can follow the Indians' path and exceed early expectations in a league that appears as if it will be highly competitive.

"I like being picked toward the bottom of the league," UNT senior guard Jerome Rogers said. "It gives us motivation."

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.