UNT Signee Muhammed Ahmed is well traveled

[Harry]

During his year with Gillette College, Ahmeds New York-sized heart and intensity were on full display. On several occasions when opponents went on scoring runs, the Bronx bruiser would be the one to respond, whether it be with a long-range bomb or a rim-rattling slam. Division I coaches were paying attention. Denton, Texas, population 113,383 Among those watching were the coaches at North Texas. But they turned their attention to him well before Ahmed became a fixture in Region IX. They were recruiting me the whole year, Ahmed said. They showed that they were really interested and wanted me. I was their No. 1 overall recruit and the first one they brought onto campus.

The Mean Green coaches, in part, can thank their association with Gillette College assistant coach Tony Schamber. He and North Texas assistant coach David Anwar both coached at Nebraska when Iowa State assistant Doc Sadler was the Huskers head man. North Texas coach Tony Benford and Anwar also gave Ahmed the impression that they needed the many skills he possessed, friendship between the two staffs or not. (It was) not just that they wanted me. They needed me also, he said. They said that they were missing a player like me to help them get to the tournament.

The tournament that Ahmed refers to is the NCAA Tournament, which started Final Four play on Saturday. His longtime goal has been to play in it and he is willing to do what it takes for the Mean Green to go from 16-16 to Conference USA champs, which would give them an automatic berth into the field. The goal is to make the tournament, he said before correcting himself, to help them make the tournament. In his travels from New York City to Gillette, Ahmed has met plenty of players who have already taken part in that tournament. He knows Daytons Scoochie Smith another player with a New York pedigree who helped propel his team to a first-round upset of Ohio State and a Sweet 16 appearance less than a month ago. Hes also crossed paths with players from UConns Final Four team. Many of those hes met he has stayed in contact with, as hell do with his Pronghorn teammates. But Ahmed just wants the chance to follow their lead and fulfill the dream all major college basketball players have, to go dancing figuratively as a part of March Madness. North Texas gives him that chance, but his travels across the country havent hurt, either. I feel like everywhere that Ive went, Ive improved, he said, looking every bit the 6-foot-7 Division I-player hell soon be while sitting in a small coaches office in northeast Wyoming. All my coaches, everywhere, helped my game. His game made its mark on Gillette College hoops too. No question.

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