North Texas head coach Johnny Jones has reinvigorated the Mean Green basketball program. Just a year removed from the Sun Belt Conference title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, Jones has led North Texas to back-to-back 20-win seasons and rewrote the record books in the process. With a stable of returning talent, an experienced staff and an up-tempo intensity, Jones has the Mean Green poised to stay atop the Sun Belt.
Heading into his eighth season at NT, Jones ranks third all-time in Mean Green coaching victories, and has set a scorching standard on both ends of the floor. The Mean Green ranked 34th in the nation in scoring last season and 12th in 3-point percentage, while at the same time ranking 14th in rebounding margin.
The rest of the Sun Belt agreed that the future of the Mean Green looks bright. The league named North Texas guards Josh White and Collin Dennis the SBC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year, respectively. The duo was also selected to the second-team all-conference after averaging 13.9 and 13.6 points per game, and scorching opponents from beyond the arc. White broke the school record for season 3-point percentage with a 45.8 percent clip, and Dennis ranks 10th with a 42.1 percent mark.
North Texas is just as deadly on the defensive end, falling just five blocks shy of posting at 100 blocks for the seventh straight year (every year of the Jones era). For a second straight year, the Mean Green led the Sun Belt in nearly every rebounding category, and averaged 5.5 steals per game. Position by position, The Mean Green is as prepared as ever to handle the Sun Belt’s best. North Texas returns a pair of starters and eight lettermen and welcomes the nation’s No. 82 ranked recruiting class (of 326 programs ranked).
Backcourt
The traditional strength of the Mean Green will once again be its biggest asset heading into the 2008-09 season. Led by last year’s freshman phenomenon, Josh White, the NT guards are once again in good hands. White was the Sun Belt’s highest scoring freshman at 13.9 points per game, and was just the sixth freshman in school history to reach the 400-point plateau. The two-time Sun Belt Player of the Week was also named to the second-team all-conference. Collin Dennis proved to be a go-to player as a junior last year, and also earned Second-Team All-SBC honors. Dennis posted a pair of 30-point games, including the most by an NT player since 2001 with a 34-point outing versus Troy. Adam McCoy and Tristan Thompson provided a spark off the bench for the Mean Green last year. McCoy posted the first perfect shooting night by an NT player since 1995 when he went 8-for-8 versus Arkansas State, and Thompson was among the team leaders with a 35.5 mark from beyond the arc. R.J. Horne will provide depth for North Texas, while newcomer Dominique Johnson is expected to ease the loss of point guard Ben Bell to graduation. Pesky defender, Collin Mangrum, returns to the Mean Green after taking last season off to recover from surgery.
Frontcourt
The Mean Green will have to cope with the loss of one of the all-time North Texas greats in 2008-09. Quincy Williams was one of only four players in school history to be apart of four-straight seasons of .500 or better, and graduated second in career blocks, ninth in rebounding and 25th in scoring. North Texas hopes a pair of returners and a pair of newcomers can help fill the void. The ever-explosive Harold Stewart enters his senior campaign ranked seventh in school history in career blocks. Stewart ranked third on the team with 17 blocks as a junior and has a total of 56 for his career. One of the squad’s most accurate shooters, Stewart has a 47.2 career field goal percentage. Kedrick Hogans posted a solid freshman campaign on both ends of the floor. He racked up 19 blocks, which ranked second on the team, and shot a stellar 52.4 percent from the floor, which ranked third. George Odufuwa sat out the 2007-08 season after transferring from Arizona State, and will look to throw his weight around in the low block. Odufuwa shot 50 percent from the floor in 13 appearances for the Sun Devils, and was a consensus top 20 player in Texas out of Dallas Kimball High School. The Mean Green will certainly miss the shooting touch of center Keith Wooden, who finished his career ranked seventh in NT history in field goal percentage. But three-year letterman Justin Howerton has shown he is ready to take the reigns. Howerton has increased his playing time by a minute in each of the last two years, and it paid off in 2007-08 with a 55.3 percent mark from the floor, the highest among all returners. Howerton just missed his first career double-double with a career-best 13-rebound, eight-point outing. Newcomer Ben Knox will also join the mix at the center position.
Newcomers
The 2008-09 North Texas recruiting class is ranked as the second best in the Sun Belt and No. 82 nationally by HoopScoopOnline.com. The class, which is the seventh best among the 20 Division I schools in Texas, is highlighted by a pair of powerful paint players and a shifty point guard. The gem of the class is forward Eric Tramiel, a first-team NJCAA All-American from Paris Junior College. Tramiel was selected the Region XIV regular season and tournament MVPs after leading Paris to the National Tournament. He was also was named to the NJCAA National Championship Tournament First Team as well. Tramiel racked up a team-best 15.9 points per game on 58.6 percent shooting in 2007-08. He also led the Dragons with 6.8 rebounds per game. On top of knocking down 70.8 percent of his free throw attempts, Tramiel also showed his passing prowess with 1.1 assists per game. Point guard Dominique Johnson was named to the second-team All-Bi-State Conference after tallying 9.4 points and 5.1 assists per game for Arkansas-Fort Smith last season. An accurate shooter from deep, Johnson knocked down 39.4 percent of his 3-point attempts and 45.5 percent overall in helping the Lions to a 28-4 record last season. He was a 73.9 percent free throw shooter and added 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game for the Lions. Center Ben Knox was a TAPPS Second-Team All-State selection as a senior this year, and guided Grace Prep Academy in Arlington to the state title game in each of the last two seasons. He is ranked as the No. 62 recruit in the state by TexasHoops.com and No. 354 among the top 1,000 seniors in the country by HoopScoopOnline.com after averaging 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks per game in 2007-08.
|
|
 |
