Drc Mens Bb Nt To Face Tough Task Against W. Ky

[OldTimer]

Men's basketball: UNT to face tough task in guarding Western Kentucky's Lee

Mean Green hoping to even Sun Belt record at 1-1

11:31 PM CST on Monday, December 18, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas head coach Johnny Jones will be in position late tonight to answer what could be a great debate at the end of the season when the Sun Belt Conference names its Player of the Year:

Just who is better, New Orleans guard Bo McCalebb or Western Kentucky guard Courtney Lee?

UNT lost to the Privateers in double overtime on Saturday when McCalebb scored a career-high 39 points. The Mean Green will get a chance to see the Sun Belt's other elite shooting guard today when they face the Hilltoppers at E.A. Diddle Arena.

AP

Western Kentucky guard Courtney Lee shoots over Eastern Kentucky's Mike Rose during a game on Dec. 2 at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Ky.

Lee has led a WKU team that was picked to win the Sun Belt's East Division title in the league's preseason coaches' poll to an 8-3 start heading into its conference opener against the Mean Green (7-3, 0-1). WKU has won all seven games its series with UNT.

"It's a great opportunity to measure ourselves," Jones said. "We played a great team on Saturday in New Orleans. Western is very similar in that it has a bunch of shooters and a star player in Courtney Lee."

Lee has long been one of the top players in the Sun Belt. He was a first-team all-conference selection last season and appears to be well on his way to earning a spot on the team again this season.

Lee is averaging 18.9 points a game and is shooting 45.8 percent from 3-point range.

If UNT is to pick up its first Sun Belt win of the season, it will have to contain Lee.

"It should help us against Lee to have faced McCalebb right before, but they are different types of players," UNT senior guard Rich Young said.

Lee is one of the best shooters in the Sun Belt and at 6-5 can post up smaller players inside. McCalebb, 6-0, does most of his scoring going to the basket.

McCalebb sent the Mean Green's game against UNO into overtime with a jumper from the baseline in the final seconds off a drive to the lane.

"Bo scores a lot at the basket and is tough to contain," Jones said. "Everyone has a tough time with him. … Lee is a very good player in his own right. He's a better perimeter shooter and can also go inside as well. If you talk to scouts, they project Lee to be a first-round pick in the NBA Draft."

Lee showed why he is among the top players in the Sun Belt earlier this month when he was named the league's player of the week for his performance against Montana and Southern Illinois. Lee scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds against Montana and came back to score 23 points in a loss to Southern Illinois.

Young said the key to controlling Lee would be to keep him out of the paint and force him to take contested jump shots.

Lee gave UNT fits last season when he scored 25 points in a 97-71 pounding of the Mean Green at Diddle -- one of the toughest venues in the Sun Belt Conference for opposing teams to play in.

WKU has gone 17-3 at home the last two seasons.

Young said being pounded by WKU last season would provide the Mean Green a little extra motivation this year.

If UNT is to avoid another lopsided loss, it will also have to improve its performance at the free throw line. UNT hit just 12-of-28 free throws against UNO and made just 5-of-13 attempts in two overtime periods.

"We would have won that game if we would have made our free throws," junior guard Ben Bell said. "I had a coach that told me once that if you make your first four free throws as a team, you will have a good night at the line. We missed our first few and it kept going that way."

The Mean Green's struggles at the line spoiled a solid night from junior guard Michael Sturns, who came off the bench to score a career high 28 points. Sturns leads UNT with an average of 15.6 points a game, while senior guard Calvin Watson is averaging 15.5 points a game.

UNT will need both Watson and Sturns to have solid nights if it is to keep pace with the Hilltoppers and avoid a 0-2 start in league play. WKU leads the Sun Belt with an average of 79.0 points a game.

"What we have to do is hold serve at home and pick up some wins on the road," Jones said. "It's very early in conference play. The only thing that was established against New Orleans is that we are not going to go undefeated in league play."

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

[untwillrise]

I want Sturns to start and to gaurd Lee. I think his energy will give him fits early. Then I would send double teams at him. Make the other players beat us. I don't want to see 39 or more points by one player again!