Ole Miss’ Aniefiok transfers to UNT

[Harry]

July 9, 2013

DENTON, Texas -

North Texas head basketball coach Tony Benford has announced the signing of former ‘Ole Miss guard Maurice Aniefiok to a scholarship. The versatile guard will be eligible immediately, and will have three years to play for the Mean Green.

“We couldn’t be more excited to have Maurice on board here at North Texas,” Benford said. “He is a really good all-round player who will bring experience to our team this year. Position-wise, we envision him playing anywhere from the point to power forward because of his ability to score the basketball, rebound and pass. Maurice is a quality addition to our Mean Green program.”

Aniefiok saw 30 games of action for Ole Miss as a freshman and scored 43 total points (1.4 per game) on 25.8 percent shooting. He tallied a season-best 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from 3-point, against Marquette. He also Racked up seven points in 14 minutes against SEC Tournament champion Vanderbilt, and eight points in 16 minutes against SMU.

The Lagos, Nigeria, native showed his range by hitting seven 3-pointers on the year for the Rebels.

As a prep standout, Aniefiok averaged 13.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range at Huntington (W. Va.) Prep. He led Huntington to a 24-3 record and a national ranking as high as No. 14 by MaxPreps and 18th in the final Rivals.com rankings. He was rated a three-star prospect by Rivals, Scout and ESPN.com.

North Texas Basketball 2013-14 Recruiting Class
Maurice Aniefiok - 6-5, 205, So., G/F, Lagos, Nigeria (‘Ole Miss)
Kelvin Gaines - 6-10, 227, Jr., C, Ocala, Fla. (Cincinnati)
Vertrail Vaughns - 6-2, 184, Sr., G, Mesquite, Texas (George Mason)
Colin Voss - 6-7, 240, Jr., F, Grand Rapids, Mich. (Northern Oklahoma)
Armani Flannigan - 6-8, 200, Jr., F, Rockford, Ill. (Central Wyoming State)
Josh Friar - 6-8, F, Houston, Texas (Kingwood HS)
Greg Wesley - 6-7, F, Arlington, Texas (Seguin HS)

Read more: http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/070913aam.html

[Harry]

wow this kid has three years to play - I figured it was only two... that's a big deal. Good job Coach Benford!

[UNTLifer]

I really think this class will surprise us. Time to produce Coach.

[MeanGreenTexan]

We've certainly addressed the shooting problem with this addition (as well as Vaughns & Taylor), and the return of Walton.

[Andrew]

We've certainly addressed the shooting problem with this addition (as well as Vaughns & Taylor), and the return of Walton.

Hoping we can address some post defense and rebounding

[Harry]

Hoping we can address some post defense and rebounding

I have to think that Voss, Gaines, Coleman, Wesley and Armani will help that.. If you look at the entire roster even the guard/wings are pretty good on the boards, guys like TJ Taylor, Aniefiok etc... Voss to me seems to be the key. If he can stay healthy and give us a physical presence in the middle it could be a fun year. I like everyone here will miss Tony and Roger but I LIKE this roster on paper. Chemistry will be the key. I don't think we could possibly have the level of injuries we had last season... teams will not be able to back off and dare us to shoot like they did ALL last season.