Cbs Sportsline Mean Green Report

MeanGreen61 · October 24, 2007

NOTES AND QUOTES

STRENGTHS

With Ben Bell returning at point guard and Keith Wooden and Quincy Williams inside, the Mean Green should be solid in some fundamental areas. South Florida transfer Collin Dennis looks like a good bet to take on some of the scoring load.

WEAKNESSES

Other than Dennis, there are no proven or obvious candidates to replace all the lost perimeter scoring that Kendrick Davis, Calvin Watson and Michael Sturns supplied. Losing Sturns to a transfer may be a good thing in the long term because of his instability but in the short term it subtracts one more proven scorer from the equation. The Mean Green also loses some backcourt depth with the decision to redshirt Collin Mangrum for medical reasons.

LAST YEAR

23-11 overall, 10-8 in the Sun Belt; lost in NCAA first round.

HEAD COACH

Johnny Jones (career 101-105); seventh season at North Texas (86-89).

QUOTE TO NOTE

"It has been difficult for us to get the quality of kids that we have gotten this year. There are several reasons why we were able to do it. We put in a lot of hard work, have stability and got a lot of exposure from going to the NCAA Tournament." -- North Texas coach Johnny Jones on his newcomers.

GETTING INSIDE

With a trio of senior starters carrying a roster filled with uncertainty there's no way the North Texas Mean Green come close to matching last season's success without big seasons from all three.

"We have to set the tempo for the season," senior point guard Ben Bell said. "We have to prepare hard and get the job done before the season even begins. We plan on doing what we did last year and more."

The Mean Green did something that had only been done once before in the history of the program: reach the NCAA Tournament. North Texas finished 23-11 overall, 10-8 in the Sun Belt and third in the West but got hot at the right time and won the Sun Belt Tournament.

The Mean Green must now replace the three top scorers from that team; which means Bell, center Keith Wooden and power forward Quincy Williams must all take on bigger roles this season.

Those returning seniors will need a lot of help, starting with more support from bench players such as power forward Harold Stewart and center Justin Howerton. Then they'll need help from two Division transfer, shooting guard Collin Dennis from South Florida and combo guard Dez Willingham from SMU.

In addition to Dennis and Willingham, the Mean Green will be counting on immediate help from a recruiting class that has been ranked coach Johnny Jones' best class at UNT by recruiting analysts. Freshman small forward Tristan Thompson and Juco swingman Adam McCoy expected to compete for starting jobs this fall; freshman guard Josh White could play at either backcourt spot and freshman forward Kedrick Hogans could see some playing time on the wing.

"I am very impressed with our new players," Williams told the Denton Record-Chronicle. "Coach Jones has brought in a lot of talent with great guard play and a couple of good big guys. Practice is going to be competitive and that was what the coaches are looking for."

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

SCOUTING THE NEWCOMERS

Recruiting analysts are calling this Johnny Jones' best recruiting class. Two of the newcomers, freshman small forward Tristan Thompson and Juco swingman Adam McCoy, are expected to compete for starting jobs this fall, although McCoy might be better off as a sixth man because of his versatility. Guard Josh White could play at either backcourt spot. Freshman Kedrick Hogans, a 6-7, 195-pound forward, may need some time to grow. The player who could be the best of the bunch is 6-8, 240-pound George Odufuwa, but he'll sit out this season after transferring from Arizona State. The most experienced addition is senior Dez Willingham, an SMU transfer who could play either guard spot. With the loss of Juco transfer Ryan McCoy to NCAA eligibility issues in August, either Willingham or White will have to step up as the backup to starting point guard Ben Bell.

KEY EARLY-SEASON GAMES: North Texas plays at New Mexico State (Dec. 1) and Texas (Dec. 5) but the Mean Green's best opportunity for a notable early-season win will come when Oklahoma State plays in The Super Pit at UNT on Nov. 14.

PROGRAM DIRECTION

At this point last year Jones faced real concerns about his job status after too many sub-par seasons and too many near misses. When the Mean Green finally put something together last season it led to a Sun Belt Tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. That led to a contract extension for Jones and his best recruiting class.

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUP

PG Ben Bell, SG Collin Dennis, SG-SF Adam McCoy, F Keith Wooden, F Quincy Williams.

ROSTER REPORT

Willingham started his career at Kansas State and then transferred to SMU after one season. He sat out one season and played two seasons at SMU and then left over the summer so he could transfer to North Texas. Because Willingham has earned his degree and is enrolled in an UNT graduate program that is not offered at SMU, the NCAA granted him a waiver to play this season without sitting out. "Dez will be an excellent addition to our basketball program," Jones said. "I think the leadership qualities he brings will be extremely helpful for us in our quest to compete for another championship."

There's more playing time to be won by the newcomers after Jones decided to redshirt Collin Mangrum this season. Mangrum will sit out the upcoming season as after undergoing a series of offseason surgeries, including surgery to the patella tendon on his left knee, one on his right shoulder and another on his nose to open up breathing passages. Mangrum will then have three years of eligibility remaining when he returns for the 2008-09 season. "Over the last couple of seasons Collin has been battling injuries," Jones said. "He has been very helpful, practiced hard, played hard and had a great deal of success, but he hasn't been 100 percent."

More playing time opened up when sixth man Michael Sturns transferred after the season and ended up at Division II Holy Family University in Philadelphia. Sturns was dismissed from the team in the middle of his a sophomore in 2005-06. He earned his way back on to the team and finished as the team's third-leading scorer last season with 12.1 points per game. Jones said Sturns wanted more playing time overall, especially at the point, and Jones could not guarantee that.

The Mean Green also lost two other reserves in the offseason when forwards Jonathan Jackson and forward Harold Edwards decided to transfer to pursue more playing time at other programs. Jackson played in only nine games in his one season at UNT and Edwards played in only 15 games last season.

The departure of Jackson and Edwards opened up a valuable spot for George Odufuwa, who becomes the second Arizona State player to transfer to North Texas. Current UNT forward Keith Wooden transferred from Arizona State two years and played his first season for the Mean Green last season. Odufuwa played his high school ball at Dallas Kimball and played in 13 games for ASU last season, averaging 4.8 minutes per game. Coming out of high school he was ranked as the fourth-best power forward in the state by TexasHoops.com. Odufuwa will sit out the 2007-08 season due to NCAA transfer rules. "George is a tremendous talent. With his size and ability he can dominate in the lane, and has the finesse to make plays on the perimeter, including knocking down the outside shot with consistency," Jones said.

Jones reached back into his past to hire his former boss, George "Tic" Price as a UNT assistant. Price was the head coach at Memphis from 1997-99 and led the Tigers to the second round of the NIT and a 17-12 mark in his first year. After two seasons he was forced to resign a week before the 1999-2000 season because of an affair with a student. Jones, an assistant under Price at Memphis, took over as the interim coach at Memphis for that season. Price returned to coaching as an assistant at McNeese State for the 2000-01 season and became head coach the next season when Ron Everhart left for Northeastern. After leading McNeese 21-8 record and a trip to the NCAA Tournament his first season the program began a downhill slide that led to Price's dismissal in July.

Price replaced Chuck Taylor, who left UNT to become an assistant at South Alabama. Taylor worked for new USA coach Ronnie Arrow at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi from 2002-05 and spent only one season at UNT.