DRC Howerton happy to be in Denton

[OldTimer]

Men's basketball: UNT freshman happy to be in Denton

Former Aggie recruit Howerton set with Mean Green

08:46 AM CST on Tuesday, December 6, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

For a few months last year, North Texas center Justin Howerton thought he would be on the opposite sideline for the Mean Green’s game against Texas A&M tonight in College Station.

Justin Howerton

The 6-10 freshman visited Texas A&M with his family and orally committed to play for the Aggies and head coach Billy Gillispie before his senior year. Those plans changed over the next few months and ended with Howerton deciding to play for UNT.

“I was looking forward to going down there,” Howerton said. “Later on I talked to coach Gillispie and he told me that it would be better if I looked somewhere else where I could get more playing time.

“I wouldn’t have minded going there at all, but North Texas has turned out to be a great fit for me.”

UNT (2-2) was more than happy to land Howerton, a player ran­ked No. 52 among seniors in Texas by TexasHo­ops.com, a Web site that rates the top players in the state each season. Howerton earned that ranking by dominating players among the smaller schools in the state while averaging 17.8 points and 11.7 rebounds as a senior at Howe, which is located just a few miles from UNT.

Howerton also made an impression on UNT coach Johnny Jones while playing on the summer AAU circuit.

“We are very happy Justin ended up here,” Jones said. “He has a great deal of potential and has continued to improve in practice.”

That extra time playing against senior centers Jeffrey Simpson and Justin Barnett has helped Howerton begin to make the transition to the college level.

The change has been a tough one at times for Howerton. So far this season, he has scored just six points while playing in one of the Mean Green’s four games.

“Justin has two seniors in front of him,” Jones said. “He will get some minutes this season, which will be beneficial for him next year.”

Howerton said he struggled with the speed of the college game in the opening weeks of practice, but has begun to adjust. Facing a pair of upperclassmen in practice has helped speed up the process.

UNT might need a lift from Howerton off the bench in a game against Texas A&M, which comes into its game against the Mean Green with a 4-0 record. The Aggies knocked off Penn State 60-55 on Saturday.

Acie Law leads the Aggies with an average of 17.0 points a game. The junior guard is one of four returning starters from an A&M team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT last season.

“A&M is a very good team with a lot of guys back from last season,” Jones said. “They have continued to improve.”

UNT comes into its game against A&M off of perhaps its best half of the season in an 83-76 victory over Chattanooga.

The Mean Green trailed by seven at halftime before outscoring the Mocs 48-34 in the second half.

Junior guard Kendrick Davis scored a game-high 20 points to lead UNT to the win and leads the team with an average of 16.8 points a game.

UNT will look to build on its win over Chattanooga tonight when Howerton makes his first appearance at A&M, where he once thought he would be playing in maroon and white.

“It won’t be strange at all,” Howerton said. “I will talk to the A&M coaches. I don’t have any hard feelings toward them.”

UNT moves game

The UNT men’s basketball team has moved its Dec. 23 game against Houston to Denton and pushed up the game time from 7 p.m. to 1 p.m.

The change was made to accommodate the Houston football team’s 7 p.m. game against Kansas in the Fort Worth Bowl.

The game is the second UNT has added to its home slate this season. The Mean Green also moved their game against Nicholls State on Dec. 10 to Denton due to hurricane damage in New Orleans.

“This gives us a chance to bring a good team here to Denton,” UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said. “They are the type of competitive team we want to bring in.”

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