Drc Article On Mens Bb....rebounding

[OldTimer]

Men's basketball: Mean Green takes pride in cleaning the glass

12:28 AM CST on Thursday, January 17, 2008

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas head coach Johnny Jones has had a lot of good things to talk about in practice this season, including wins over Oklahoma State and New Mexico State.

Neither comes up nearly as often as a loss to Troy for one reason -- it was the only game this season in which the Mean Green was out-rebounded.

"Coach brings it up almost every day," UNT senior forward Quincy Williams said. "It was a game we could have won, but they had 26 offensive rebounds. That should never happen with the big, strong guys that we have."

A look back at UNT's history shows just how rare being out-rebounded is for the Mean Green (12-4, 3-2). UNT heads into a Sun Belt Conference doubleheader with New Orleans (12-5, 2-3) at the Super Pit today leading the league both in total rebounds (40.9 per game) and rebounding margin (+8.2).

UNT led the league in both categories last season, has paced the league in average rebounds per game for the last four seasons and ranks 14 th nationally this year in rebounding margin.

”Winning the rebounding battle has had a great deal to do with our success," Jones said. "If you can win the rebounding war, you will hold your opponent to a lower shooting percentage and get extra opportunities for yourself. If you win the rebounding war and have fewer turnovers, you give yourself a really good chance of having success."

UNT followed that formula last season when it got on a roll late in the year. The Mean Green finished with an edge in rebounds in three of its four Sun Belt tournament games and averaged 6.8 more rebounds a game than its opponents.

Only Arkansas State out-rebounded UNT during the tournament. The Indians had a 35-34 edge in the championship game, which UNT won 83-75 to earn an NCAA Tournament bid.

Few teams have beaten the Mean Green on the boards since, a run UNT players attribute to Jones recruiting what might be the Sun Belt's biggest and most athletic team, and the emphasis he puts on crashing the boards in practice.

UNT runs through a drill in practice where Jones throws up off-target shots and the only objective is to grab the rebound at any cost. There are no fouls in the drill.

"We are a little more intense in drills than it is in games and sometimes guys get injured," Jones said. "We don't want guys to get injured, but it gets them ready for games."

UNT has seven players who are averaging at least three rebounds a game. Williams leads the Mean Green with an average of 7.6 rebounds a game, while senior center Keith Wooden is pulling down 6.2.

"We work hard at rebounding in practice and our guys take a great deal of pride in it," Jones said. "Quincy is a prime example. It means something to him."

Taking pride in dominating inside is something Williams and Wooden are trying to pass along to the next generation of UNT post players, including freshman forward Kedrick Hogans.

"Keith, Quincy and I have a competition to see who can get the most rebounds each game," Hogans said. "We have fun with it. If I beat Quincy, it pushes him to do better the next game."

Having more than one or two players who are good at getting to the glass makes the Mean Green even tougher to defend. Wooden missed UNT's game against Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday with a pair of sprained ankles, allowing the Ragin' Cajuns to concentrate on keeping Williams off the glass.

Williams still finished with seven rebounds. Hogans and guards Josh White and Tristan Thompson each grabbed five rebounds to help make up for Wooden's absence. UNT finished with a 35-27 edge on the glass.

"Teams are going to shoot longer shots that are going to have longer rebounds," Williams said. "We have big guards who are able to get those rebounds."

The Mean Green's ability to dominate the glass could be key tonight against a UNO team that has won four straight games against UNT. The Privateers rank eighth in the Sun Belt with an average deficit of 0.6 rebounds a game.

UNO starts just one player over 6-3. Kendall Dykes, a 6-3 forward, is averaging 5.9 rebounds a game to pace a guard-oriented UNO team that features Bo McCalebb.

The senior guard leads the Sun Belt with an average of 21.9 points a game and is just 11 points away from breaking the league's all-time scoring record of 2,319 points set by Charlie Bradley, who played for South Florida from 1981-85.

UNT enters tonight's game having won three straight and would like nothing better than to dominate inside once again and spoil what could be a historic night for McCalebb.

"We need to continue this roll," Williams said. "We are only 3-2 in conference play. We need to protect our home floor."

UNT women aim to build on win

The UNT women played their best game in weeks when they hammered Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday, a performance the Mean Green will look to build on today against UNO.

The Mean Green (7-10, 2-3) had lost three straight before bouncing back with a 77-58 win over the Ragin' Cajuns. UNT had six players finish in double figures in the win.

Building on that win could be a challenge against the Privateers (9-7, 3-2).

"They are solid and are a junior-senior ball club," UNT head coach Tina Slinker said. "They have a preseason all-conference player in Le'Della English and are always extremely athletic. They are playing with a lot of confidence."

Sophomore guard Brittany Helm is averaging 10.5 points a game to lead three UNO players averaging double figures. Junior forward Amber Jackson is posting 13.5 points a game to pace UNT.

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

UNT on the boards

North Texas is dominating the Sun Belt Conference in rebounding once again this season. UNT has led the league in total rebounds per game the last four seasons and led the league in rebounding margin last year. The following is a look back:

Total rebounds

Season Reb. Rank

07-08 40.9 1

06-07 39.9 1

05-06 38.8 1

04-05 38.9 1

03-04 40.5 1

Rebounding margin

Season Margin Rank

07-08 +8.2 1

06-07 +5.6 1