Justin Barnett

GangGreen · December 17, 2004

Is he hurt? How long will he be out?

untbowler · December 17, 2004

I think he broke his hand last week and DMN said out 6-8 weeks.

Eagle-96 · December 17, 2004

Is he hurt? How long will he be out?

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/...r.15c24183.html

Men's basketball: Mean Green center could miss 8 weeks

09:39 AM CST on Thursday, December 16, 2004

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Another round of disappointment followed the best game of Justin Barnett’s career this week.

The North Texas junior center broke multiple bones in his right hand during practice and will miss the Mean Green’s 8 p.m. game tonight against Southern. The injury occurred just days after Barnett scored a career-high 13 points in a win over Texas-Pan American on Saturday.

The injury is the latest in a series of setbacks for Barnett, who was forced to take a redshirt season as a freshman because of a foot injury.

"He has had some tough luck," UNT coach Johnny Jones. "It’s very unfortunate."

Barnett’s latest injury is expected to keep him out of the Mean Green’s lineup for the next six to eight weeks. The timetable would allow Barnett to return in time for the stretch run of the season, including the Sun Belt Conference tournament on March 4-8 at The Super Pit.

Barnett started the Mean Green’s first seven games of the season and averaged 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds a game.

Freshman Quincy Williams and junior Jeffrey Simpson are expected to fill the void left by Barnett. Williams has quickly established himself as one of the Mean Green’s top reserves by averaging 5.1 points and 4.7 rebounds a game.

Simpson is averaging 2.0 points and 1.7 rebounds a game.

Both Simpson and Williams are 6-8 and will be the Mean Green’s tallest players available without Barnett, who is 6-10.

"This will be an opportunity for other guys to step up and capture those minutes," Jones said. "I am quite sure our guys will respond. They have been waiting on an opportunity. They didn’t want to get it this way, with someone getting hurt, but they will take advantage."

Williams and Simpson will have their first opportunity to shine when UNT takes on a Southern team that beat the Mean Green 75-58 last season. The Jaguars (3-3) return four of their five starters from their 2003-04 squad.

Jones named Southern’s ability to rebound and score inside as the key reasons the Jaguars have gotten off to a solid start.

Those attributes will make the performance of UNT’s interior players all the more important. The challenge is one Simpson believes the Mean Green (4-3) is ready to face.

"It’s going to be really important for the rest of us to play well down low," Simpson said. "We are going to have to play hard, aggressive defense and block shots. Our defense will be the key to the game."

A solid performance by UNT inside would compliment the Mean Green’s guards, who have paced the Mean Green offensively. Senior Leonard Hopkins is averaging 17.3 points a game to lead three Mean Green players who are averaging double figures in scoring.

Calvin Watson is averaging 13.9 points a game after posting a career-high 28 points in UNT’s win over Pan American. The sophomore guard hit a career high six 3-point shots against the Broncs.

Michael Jones is adding 10.7 points per outing for the Mean Green.

UNT is hoping those three players can help the Mean Green make up for losing Barnett from its starting lineup and build on a win over Pan American. UNT lost at Texas before beating the Broncs.

"I was disappointed in our loss at Texas, but we bounced back and played well at Pan American," Jones said. "They are a senior dominated club and we had to play them in a tough atmosphere."