Mean Green

The UNT board of regents will consider a two-year extension for Johnny Jones this week.

I don't have the exact details, but when it gets to the regents stage, it's pretty safe to say that the deal has been hammered out.

The contract would extend Jones' deal through the 2014-15 season. He is currently in the third year of a five-year deal he signed after taking UNT to the NCAA Tournament after the 2007 season.

This is a good move anyway you look at it for UNT,

Jones took over a total disaster of a program at UNT before the 2001-02 season and has gradually built it into the pride of the athletic department when it comes to the Big Three of football and men's and women's hoops.

UNT has had a grand total of five coaches in those sports who have posted winning career records since 1942 -- Johnny Jones and Bill Blakeley in men's hoops, Odus Mitchell and Hayden Fry in football and Cherri Rapp in women's hoops.

That's not bad company to be for Jones, who is sitting at 141-120 at the moment.

The bottom line is Jones wins and his players graduate.

That's the name of the game. Very few have played it as well as Jones has at UNT.

It looks like he will be around a while as long as he doesn't make it back to the NCAA Tournament and make an extended run, which would make him a prime target for another school.

UNT has landed a player to help fill the void that will be left in its frontcourt next season with the departure of Eric Tramiel.

Alonzo Edwards, a 6-8 forward out of Lon Morris College, said today that he has committed to UNT and will sign in the upcoming period. I talked to him for a story that will be in tomorrow's paper.

Edwards was also considering Wright State and visited UNT's Sun Belt rival South Alabama before picking UNT. UNT recruited Edwards out of high school before he committed to Nebraska.

He eventually transfered to Lon Morris, where he is averaging 8.0 points and 6.3 rebounds a game as of the latest Region XIV weekly release

Edwards named his relationship with UNT head coach Johnny Jones and how he fit into UNT's offense as his reasons for picking UNT.

Edwards makes a lot of sense for UNT, when you think about it. UNT will still have George Odufuwa next season, Kedrick Hogans will return from a redshirt year and Jacob Holmen has been a find as a freshman.

Ben Knox is still developing.

UNT's big window of opportunity will still be open next year with Josh White, Tristan Thompson and Odufuwa back and Dominique Johnson coming back off a redshirt season due to a broken ankle.

The one hole UNT was looking at was in its frontcourt where it needs a scorer to pair with Odufuwa and Hogans, who is more of a defensive-minded player who scores his points around the rim. Holmen could be that guy, but will only be a sophomore. The addition of Edwards, who is shooting 35 percent from 3-point range will give UNT another option and the depth that has made the Mean Green so tough to match up with in the past.

UNT has lacked that depth this season, which might catch up with the Mean Green at some point.

It should be interesting to see what UNT does with its remaining scholarships from here on out. With its main need covered, UNT will have the freedom to target a Division I transfer who would sit out next year or the best high school players on the board to develop while the core of this team tries to get UNT back to the NCAA Tournament this season and next year, the final season of their careers.