What Cinderella should we watch this year? (North Texas)

Harry · July 31, 2012

North Texas-Amongst all these familiar faces, we have a fresh one, as the Mean Green of North Texas make the list because of the return of star Tony Mitchell. Mitchell, a former standout high school player originally committed to Missouri but enrolled at North Texas after eligibility concerns made him ineligible for the 2010-11 season. Last season Mitchell(pictured right) became eligible after the 1st semester, averaging 14.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3 blocks in 23 games played.

This season the 6’8” forward is eligible from day 1, making the Mean Green the favorite in the Sun Belt Conference and a possible Tournament Cinderella. Mitchell, who could have been a 1st round pick had he declared for the draft, is an elite frontcourt talent and will be far and away the best player in the Sun Belt this season.

While Mitchell is the key cog for this team and a player capable of singlehandedly carrying the Mean Green, he is not alone as North Texas returns everyone from a team that came up 4 points short of reaching the NCAA Tournament. In fact, North Texas returns 6 players in all who averaged over 8 points per game, led by the backcourt trio of Chris Jones (14.1ppg, 4.7rpg, 4.3apg), Jordan Williams (10.9ppg) and Alzee Williams. The Mean Green were a very young team last season with their top 4 players all being freshmen or sophomores, but this season with a year of experience and a star like Tony Mitchell, expect even more out of North Texas.

North Texas does have one major loss to deal with, as they lost head coach Johnny Jones to LSU and have replaced him with Marquette assistant Tony Benford. Playing for a new head coach is always an adjustment but with a talented group led by a bona fide star and future pro in Tony Mitchell, get familiar with North Texas basketball.

Look for North Texas to have a big year as they are big favorites in the Sun Belt due to their returning starters, headlined by Mitchell. If North Texas has a flaw it is perimeter shooting as the Mean Green struggled from downtown last season, shooting an anemic 32% from 3-point range. Despite this flaw, the Mean Green are a team to be reckoned with, as their strength rebounding the basketball(17th) and scoring balance will make them a pesky mid-major to deal with.

Read more: http://tshq.co/2012/07/last-year-it-was-lehigh-and-norfolk-state-which-cinderellas-should-we-watch-in-2012-13/