Thanks coach for the visit pic.twitter.com/DN2dmudsV5
— rickey.brice (@RickeyBrice23) October 19, 2014
UNT coach Tony Benford has told his players repeatedly throughout the preseason that they would have to rebound by committee this year due to a lack of a conventionally sized college big man.
He reiterated that point again on Saturday, when Rickey Brice, a player who could change that, spent the day touring campus on an official visit.
The Arlington Pantego Christian Academy standout checks in at an even 7 feet and is one of the more highly recruited players in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
UNT has made Brice a recruiting priority and caught his attention. Brice has been to UNT three times already in the last few months.
Benford and his staff officially offered Brice a scholarship on Wednesday before hosting him for the weekend.
“I am big on family,” Brice said Saturday. “I like brotherhood and want to go somewhere I will have a good bond with my teammates.”
Brice feels like he might have found what he is looking for at UNT. Members of the Mean Green’s staff have checked in on Brice regularly over the last few weeks.
Brice’s parents accompanied him on his official visit and were at UNT’s practice on Saturday morning.
“I am leaning toward signing with North Texas,” Brice said.
Texas State is among the teams that jumped into the race to land Brice early on.
Brice said he has also received offers from USC, UCLA, Texas, Oklahoma State, Temple, St. Louis and Texas Tech.
While UNT is leading for Brice’s services at this point, he said he could wait until next year to finalize his decision.
Brice would be a key addition to UNT’s 2015 recruiting class. TexasHoops.com rates Brice at No. 23 on its list of the top players in the state in the Class of 2015.
Brice averaged 15.3 points and 7.4 rebounds a game as a junior last season for Pantego Christian.
UNT has already picked up a commitment from Ja’Michael Brown, a guard who will play the upcoming season at Pro-Vision Academy.
Brown is ranked as the 37th-best player in the state by TexasHoops.com.