DRC excellant Mens BB article (long)

OldTimer · June 17, 2006

Men's basketball: Transfer of power

UNT following Sun Belt trend by recruiting several transfers

09:29 AM CDT on Saturday, June 17, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Kendrick Davis could see where his career at Arkansas was headed three years ago, and nothing about his future with the Razorbacks seemed appealing.

The former Sugar Land Clements standout had gone from being a part-time starter and double-figure scorer as a freshman to sitting behind a pair of heralded Razorback newcomers.

Like many players who see their court time diminish, Davis decided to transfer and ended up at North Texas, one of several Sun Belt Conference schools with a reputation for building around Division I and junior college transfers.

Davis is one of six transfers who are expected to play for UNT next season.

“I wanted to go somewhere I could play,” Davis said. “UNT was close to home and they had a scholarship when I decided to transfer. It has been a great fit for me. The coaches have welcomed me in and helped make me a better player.”

Davis, a 6-4 shooting guard, earned Newcomer of the Year honors in the Sun Belt for the 2005-06 season, when he averaged 16.8 points a game in his first year with the Mean Green.

UNT is hoping its recruiting class of four transfers who will be eligible next season can have a similar impact.

The Mean Green signed former Arizona State forward Keith Wooden to anchor their 2006 recruiting class and recently pulled off perhaps their biggest recruiting coup in five years under head coach Johnny Jones by landing Roderick Flemings.

The former all-state guard signed with Oklahoma State out of DeSoto, but stayed just one year before transferring to UNT. Flemings will serve as the foundation of the Mean Green’s 2007 recruiting class after sitting out the upcoming season to fulfill NCAA transfer rules. Players who transfer from one Division I school to another are required to sit out a year.

“When you look around our league some of the teams that have had success have had transfers, either from junior colleges or other four-year schools,” Jones said. “You need a good balance of transfers and high school recruits to compete.”

A history of success

A look at UNT’s history and that of the rest of the Sun Belt shows why the Mean Green have come to depend more on transfers.

Davis and center Shawnson Johnson are the only players Jones has recruited who have earned postseason All-Sun Belt Conference honors. Point guard Isaac Hines was a preseason all-conference pick as a senior.

All three started out at another college before transferring to UNT.

High school recruits Chris Davis and Leonard Hopkins also earned All-Sun Belt honors under Jones, but were holdovers from the previous coaching staff.

For a team like UNT, signing transfers can be the best way to improve its talent.

“To get the program jumpstarted when I first came we needed players who were ready right away,” Jones said.

High school players with the ability to make an immediate impact have been tough for UNT to sign. Jones has landed a few, including guard Calvin Watson and forward Harold Stewart, but lost out in recruiting battles for others to schools like Boston College and Texas.

With a few of the top high school players on the Mean Green’s recruiting list out of reach, Jones has turned to players like Hines and Wooden in hopes of reviving a once a moribund program. UNT won just 20 games combined in the four seasons prior to Jones’ arrival for the 2001-02 campaign.

The Mean Green have won at least 13 games in four of Jones’ five seasons, but have yet to finish higher than third in the Sun Belt West Division in his tenure.

UNT went 14-14 the last two seasons and has gone four years without winning a conference tournament game, the longest drought in the league.

A few impact recruits could help UNT end that slump, and Jones is willing to look anywhere to find them, even if those players are transfers from another college.

“We try and recruit the top high school players in the country and don’t take a backseat to anyone,” Jones said. “Sometimes we are not successful on the front end recruiting top 50 or 100 players nationally, but we do a good job in recruiting and can be an option if a player is not happy later and transfers.”

Finding the right players

The impact transfers can have in the Sun Belt was apparent last season.

Of the 15 players named to the All-Sun Belt team, 10 transferred from another Division I school or junior college.

UNT’s latest batch of transfers appears as if it could help the Mean Green keep pace with the rest of the league. Flemings was a consensus top 50 recruit nationally when he signed with OSU in 2005, while Wooden was rated in the top 100 in most scouting services’ rankings during his senior year in 2003 at Free State in Lawrence, Kan.

Mike Kunstadt, the editor of Texashoops.com, a Web site that covers recruiting in the state, watched Flemings play several times during his high school career and said the 6-7 guard’s athleticism will allow him to make an immediate impact for the Mean Green once he is eligible.

“I was not getting along with the coaching staff at Oklahoma State and I didn’t fit in with what they wanted to do offensively,” Flemings said. “This will be a fresh start for me at North Texas. I am looking forward to that.”

Wooden, a potentially dominating player at 6-9, is expected to start in the fall after sitting out last season.

Finding players like Flemings and Wooden is often the way Sun Belt teams turn their fortunes. South Alabama was picked to finish fourth in the West Division by the league’s coaches last season, but ended up winning the conference tournament and earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

USA’s improvement from a 10-18 record in 2004-05 to a 24-7 mark last season was the top turnaround among Division I teams.

The Jaguars’ quick rise could be attributed in part to an influx of transfers. Chey Christie and Demetric Bennett played their first season for USA in 2005-06 after transferring from Clemson and SMU, respectively. Christie ranked third on the team with an average of 9.0 points a game, while Bennett was fourth at 8.8.

Only one of USA’s top five scorers was a high school recruit.

“It would be tough to win in this league without good transfers,” USA coach John Pelphrey said. “The transfers we had last year were good players and good people. We were fortunate in that regard.”

Bennett and Christie continued the trend of transfers succeeding in the Sun Belt.

Two of the last five Sun Belt MVPs were transfers. Denver center Yemi Nicholson (Fort Lewis, Colo., College) took home the honor after the 2004-05 season while New Orleans forward Hector Romero (Independence, Kan., Community College) was the league’s top player in 2001-02. Orien Greene transferred from Florida to Louisiana-Lafayette, where he earned Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year honors as a senior in 2004-05.

Greene now plays for the Boston Celtics.

Sun Belt schools often find their most talented players when they are looking to transfer. No Sun Belt team has signed a player ranked among the top 150 recruits in the national rankings published by Rivals.com, a Web site that covers college recruiting, directly from high school since 2003.

A few of those players have ended up in the Sun Belt as transfers, though.

The site ranked Flemings No. 26 nationally in 2005, while Wooden was No. 90 on the same list two years earlier.

Even Western Kentucky, a traditional college basketball power, has taken on a few transfers over the years to go along with perhaps the most impressive batch of high school recruits in the league.

“Recruiting transfers is an option you can use effectively,” WKU coach Darrin Horn said. “You get guys with more experience, but it has to be the right fit to make it work.”

A high risk proposition

While Flemings and Wooden both have impressive backgrounds, their success at UNT is not guaranteed.

Transfers are high-risk, high-reward propositions.

“You have to really check into a transfer’s background and see if they are going to buy into your system and do what they are supposed to do,” Jones said. “We have had a lot of success with junior college players and transfers who have played, helped us win games and earned a degree.”

UNT has had far more success stories than failures with transfers, but has lost players along the way. Mark Wilson, a second team NJCAA All-American from Highland Community College in Freeport, Ill., looked like a star in the making in practice before the 2003-04 season, but left the team before playing in a game for the Mean Green. Wilson went on to play at High Point University, another Division I college in North Carolina, before leaving the school to pursue a pro career.

Academic issues prevented Moberly (Mo.) Area Community College forward Chris White from making it to campus after he signed with the Mean Green.

UNT is hoping to avoid similar problems with its latest batch of transfers. Wooden was academically ineligible for the winter semester in 2005 at ASU, but could soon join a growing list of players who have transferred to UNT and graduated. Michael Jones and Marquis Mitchell earned their degrees in 2005 after transferring to UNT from community colleges. Hines earned his degree after last season.

Wooden and Davis are on course to earn their degrees before their eligibility runs out at UNT and are expected to be among the most productive transfers to play for Johnny Jones.

While Johnson and Davis set the standard for transfers at UNT, Hines and Michael Jones also contributed. Hines started every game of his career, while Jones ranked fourth on the team in scoring with an average of 6.9 points as a senior in the 2004-05 season

Not all of UNT’s transfers have been as successful. Mitchell started early in his career, but saw his playing time dwindle. As a senior, he averaged 2.0 points a game while playing just more than nine minutes a game off the bench.

Jones and assistant coach Jai Steadman believe their latest recruiting class of transfers is a step above previous groups when evaluated as a whole. Steadman became UNT’s recruiting coordinator in December and helped land Curtis Muse and Jonathan Jackson, a pair of forwards from Mineral Area (Mo.) Community College. Muse, a 6-10, was recruited by UNLV and Wyoming.

“This group can help us get there and compete for a Sun Belt Conference championship,” Steadman said. “With a healthy Keith Wood and Curtis Muse, I am ready to go play some folks.”

The top example

While several transfers have made an impact at UNT, Davis is perhaps the best example of what Jones hopes to accomplish with transfers.

UNT recruited Davis out of high school, but lost out to Arkansas, which sold him on the opportunity to play in the Southeastern Conference. Davis started 11 games as a freshman with the Razorbacks in the 2002-03 season and ranked third on the team with an average of 10.3 points a game.

The next season, Davis started three times, averaged just 5.4 points a game and decided to start anew by transferring. Once Davis made that decision, UNT shot to the top of his list of potential destinations because of the relationship he had built with the Mean Green’s staff a few years before.

Waiting to land Davis proved to be worthwhile for the Mean Green.

Davis burst onto the scene when he scored at least 20 points in four of his first six games at UNT. He ranked fifth in scoring in the Sun Belt for the 2005-06 season and earned second team all-conference honors.

Davis credited his success in large part to the year he sat out at UNT.

“Sitting out had its ups and downs,” Davis said. “I had a chance to learn from Leonard [Hopkins] the year I sat out. He was an all-conference player who played my position. That was great for me and helped me to adapt.”

Jones said Davis helped raise the intensity level of practice and made the Mean Green better during his season on the sideline.

Jones expects Davis to build on his breakout junior campaign this fall.

“Kendrick is a first-team all-conference type player,” Jones said. “He has the ability to make people around him better while excelling on both ends of the floor.”

The impact players like Davis can make is why Jones is dipping into the transfer market more than ever before.

“You have to be careful,” Jones said. “But if you bring in the right guys it can be great for your team.”

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

TRANSFERS UNDER JONES

North Texas coach Johnny Jones has signed several transfers during his tenure, including four for next season. The following is a rundown of some of his greatest successes and busts.

Slam dunks

Shawnson Johnson, 2005

The former LSU center spent just one semester at UNT, but made a major impact while earning third-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors in his final season of college eligibility.

Kendrick Davis, 2005-pres.

The former Arkansas guard was named the Newcomer of the Year in the Sun Belt Conference last season.

Air balls

Mark Wilson, Chris White

Wilson, a former Highland (Ill.) Community College standout, made a quick impression in a preseason scrimmage, but left UNT before he ever played in a game. White never played for UNT due to academic problems at Moberly (Mo.) Area Community College.

Ready to check in

Keith Wooden, Ben Bell

UNT will depend on Wooden, a 6-9 transfer forward from Arizona State, left, and Ben Bell, a 6-3 point guard from San Jacinto, to help turn its

fortunes next season.

UNT ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS

The following are North Texas representatives on the All-Sun Belt Conference team during Johnny Jones’ tenure that began in the 2001-02 season. Players in italics were recruited by Jones.

Season Player (team) High school/college

2001-02 Chris Davis (1st) Dallas Kimball

2002-03 Chris Davis (1st) Dallas Kimball

2003-04 Leonard Hopkins (2nd) Dallas Lincoln

2003-04 Shawnson Johnson (3rd) LSU transfer

2004-05 Leonard Hopkins (2nd) Dallas Lincoln

2005-06 Kendrick Davis (2nd) Arkansas transfer

2005-06 ALL-SUN BELT TEAM

The 2005-06 All-Sun Belt Conference team was packed with transfers. Of the 15 players on the team, 10 transferred from a junior college or a four-year school. Transfers are in italics.

First Team

Player College Prev. school

Bobby Dixon Troy Kankakee (Ill.) C.C.

Courtney Lee Western Kentucky Indianapolis Pike H.S.

Dwayne Mitchell La.-Lafayette Auburn

Yemi Nicholson Denver Fort Lewis (Colo.) Col.

Anthony Winchester Western Kentucky Austin (Ind.) High

Second Team

Ivan Almonte Fla. International Southeastern Iowa C.C.

Kendrick Davis North Texas Arkansas

Mario Jointer South Alabama Chipola (Fla.) J.C.

Michael Southall La.-Lafayette W. Salem (Wis.) H.S.*

Dereke Tipler Arkansas State Three Rivers (Mo.) C.C.

Third Team

Rashad J.-Jennings UALR Chattanooga (Tenn.) CC

Richard Law South Alabama Houston C. Lake H.S.

Jaime McNeilly New Orleans South Ga. T.C.

Zack Wright UALR Killeen Ellison H.S.

Adam Vogelsberg Middle Tenn. Cloud County (Kan.) CC

*Note — Signed with Georgia Tech and also spent time at Kentucky, but never played at either school before signing with Louisiana-Lafayette.

Edited June 17, 2006 by OldTimer

CMJ · June 17, 2006

Great article, thanks for posting.

flyonthewall · June 17, 2006

No mention of Lionel Brown?

June 18, 2006

No mention of Lionel Brown?
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It was repoted that Lionel Brown will not return this fall. As I understand it, an illness in his family requires that he work to help support the family.

UNTFan23 · June 18, 2006

Wasn't Simpson a transfer?

Zeke · June 21, 2006

Wasn't Simpson a transfer?
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Juco

KYGREEN · June 22, 2006

Juco
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LB left the team mainly because of a dumb mistake by coach jones! In his office he had a depth chart and had Lionel listed as 2nd at the pg spot behind our new signee Bell. LB walked into coach jones office last spring and saw the depth chart and got visible upset. I can understand why a returning player who played major minutes last year and was busting his *ss got upset when he walked into the head coaches office and saw a depth chart with a newcomer listed ahead of him. Even if coach jones and the coaches thought that Bell would be the starter ,my opinion is why have it on your board in your office for anyone of your retunring players to see. Unless he was wanting LB gone? I keep reading post about family problems back home and yeah some of that is true from what i hear but the whole truth is not being told.

Coach · June 22, 2006

If he is that selfish, that he would leave a team because of a preseason depth chart, the team might be better off without him. I hope that you are wrong about this, and it was for other reasons, and everything works out for him.

GrandGreen · June 22, 2006

I thought it was interesting that Brown decided to leave just in time to free up a ship for Fleming.

It is hard for me to believe that any player is going to give up a ship because of a pre season lineup projection. Of course it is also difficult to believe that a coach would want to lose a capable pg when there is only one other on the team. It will be interested to see if he ends up at another school.

I hope Davis can play point when Bell is out, because I don't see any other options unless Jones goes to a walk on. Mangrum played some point at the 2a high school level as a shoot first point guard but I would be suprized if that translates to quality minutes as a freshman.

KYGREEN · June 23, 2006

I thought it was interesting that Brown decided to leave just in time to free up a ship for Fleming.
It is hard for me to believe that any player is going to give up a ship because of a pre season lineup projection. Of course it is also difficult to believe that a coach would want to lose a capable pg when there is only one other on the team. It will be interested to see if he ends up at another school.
I hope Davis can play point when Bell is out, because I don't see any other options unless Jones goes to a walk on. Mangrum played some point at the 2a high school level as a shoot first point guard but I would be suprized if that translates to quality minutes as a freshman.
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