See Ya Tomorrow
5:42
That’s all for today, folks. The refs have left the building and the Mean Green are wrapping up with free throws. Be sure to come back tomorrow, when the Blog is going to dive into the legend that is the Snake Pit one of the loudest places to ever watch a game.
As always, feel free to submit questions for coach Jones and the blog!
White Team Making A Run
5:28
The white squad went into the halftime break down 50-35, but is making a serious charge in the second. The team is led by Dominique Johnson, Collin Dennis and Tristan Thompson, and is starting to make a game of this. Dennis just drilled a 3-pointer and Johnson’s strong drive to the bucket cut the lead even more.
And One!
5:14
In case you have been living under a rock, Collin Dennis can take it to the hole. In this afternoon’s full-court scrimmage, the reigning Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year drove to the rack on what seemed like all five of the opponent’s players. Dennis not only made the layup, but got hammered to the floor and drew the foul. He stroked the free throw to extend the Green team lead to 33-18.
Holding Court ... Again
5:01
Courtland is setting a great example for all the other Blog readers out there. An obviously proud Mean Green fan, Courtland has now submitted two questions for coach Jones to answer. All North Texas fans should be this dialed in!
Q: Courtland (Los Angeles) Obviously your point guard will always be your general on the floor, but other than Josh, who are the guys looking to in practice? As best as you can determine, who is providing the example for the others to follow?
A: Coach Jones “That isn’t really something that you designate, but something that emerges after you start playing. I hope it will come from one of our experienced upperclassmen.”
Quincy Williams emerged last year as the leader of the 2007-08 North Texas squad. The Blog definitely thinks Collin Dennis and the other Mean Green seniors will provide a perfect example of leadership for this year’s team.
If you have a question for coach Jones or the Blog, feel free to submit one here.
The Big Man Strikes Again
4:52
Justin Howerton is bidding to win the Dunk of the Day Award for a second straight practice. The senior from Howe had a step on George Odufuwa and took a dump pass at the low block. Justin took flight and jammed it home with a hard right handed dunk.
It’s still a little early to crown this one as the Dunk of the Day. I mean, we have an hour left in practice and we just started a full-court scrimmage.
The Zebras Arrive
4:40
The rumor was true! Three referees have arrived to bring a little order to the North Texas practice. The officials brought the team in and informed them of the NCAA rule updates for the season, and how to better communicate with officials.
The players seemed to really appreciate the refs taking a little time to show where officials are coming from. The NCAA is going to really enforce sportsmanship issues this year, and this session will definitely help the team heading into the Nov. 14 season opener.
I Bet There Really Is A Pigbottom, Arkansas!
4:26
The Mean Green makes a few trips to Arkansas this year, so the Blog won’t be too rude about the Natural State. Here’s a submission from Blue Bayou, who claims to be from Pigbottom, Ark. North Texas administrative assistant Cindy Ford is from Bug Tussle what a small World!
Q: Blue Bayou (Pigbottom, Ark.) I heard Johnny's favorite band is called "Fingerprints"... is that true and, if so, where can we find them performing?
A: Coach Jones “I really don’t have a favorite group. I listen to a variety, everything from 50 Cent to Willy Nelson.”
Willy Nelson will be playing at the Houston House of Blues on Friday and Saturday.
Can’t Press These Mean Green
4:14
The Mean Green is sure to see a few presses this year, and it’s never too early to work on your full-court press break. Last year, NT had a ready-made press breaker in Josh White, who went on to become the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. Now, NT has two point guards that are nearly unstoppable on the dribble in White and Dominique Johnson.
Look for both of North Texas’ point guards to give opponents fits on the press break all season!
MeanGreenSports.com Blog North Texas All-Time Starting Five
3:52
Coach Jones and the Mean Green have seen some pretty talented players roll through in the last few seasons, but how do they stack up with the all-time North Texas greats? Having poured myself into North Texas basketball history for the last three years, and being apart of it for the better part of a decade, the Blog feels like it’s capable of submitting a respectable All-Time North Texas Starting Five.
If the Blog had to field a starting five for an All-Time North Texas Team, here’s who we would play.
PG: Walter Johnson (1976-77, 6-0, 160, Houston, Texas) Nicknamed the “Weasel”, Walter Johnson rewrote the record books in his short time in Denton. He posted seasons of 142 and 208 assists, with a gaudy average of 7.7 per game as a senior. No one in school history even comes close to those kinds of numbers.
G: Chris Davis (1999-03, 6-6, 225, Dallas, Texas) Perhaps the most dynamic player in school history. Davis carried a 20.3 career ppg average and was named to three all-conference squads. Most of you are familiar with Chris Davis, and know that he was just inducted to the North Texas Hall of Fame last weekend.
G/F: Jim Mudd (1958-60, 6-7, 195, Freeburg, Ill.) After an All-American career at Moberly Junior College, Jim Mudd came to Denton and became the best pure scorer in school history. He averaged 23.3 point per game for his career, which still stands as the school record. He scored more points than any other transfer player in North Texas history 1,119 in just 48 games.
PF: Kenneth Lyons (1979-83, 6-7, 210, Fort Worth, Texas) Simply put, Kenneth Lyons is the highest scoring player in school history. He racked up 2,291 points with an astounding 51.1 percent mark from the floor over a four-year span. He was a two-time AP Honorable Mention All-American, and made NT a force under head coach Bill Blakeley.
C: Ken Williams (1975-78, 6-7, 205, Dallas, Texas) I don’t care if he was just 6-foot 7-inches, Ken Williams owned the boards. In 1977-78 he became the first and only player in NT history to lead the nation in a statistical category when he topped the NCAA with a 14.7 rebound per game average. He hauled in a school record 411 boards that year, and also holds the school records for single game and career rebounds.
You might disagree with the Blog’s lineup, actually we hope you disagree, because we want to see your starting five. Let us hear from you!
Men’s Mailbag Fun
3:35 p.m.
As trainer Brad Anderson leads the men through their daily stretching routine, we’re going to open the mailbag to answer a pressing question from the Mean Green nation.
Q: John (Houston) How does Colin Mangrum look after sitting out last year, and how much does he look to contribute this year?
A: Coach Jones “We are getting more participation out of him every day, and we hope to know more about his status at the beginning of the season.”
Coming up in the next 20 minutes ... The MeanGreenSports.com All-Time North Texas Starting Five!
They Remind Me Of....
3:13 p.m.
While it’s going to take some time for Coach Stephens to implement everything she wants to do as a coach, her teams style of play in practice got to thinking who will they resemble. The first one that sprang to our mind was the old UNLV teams under Jerry Tarkanian and the Arkansas teams from the mid 90’s under Nolan Richardson. We know those are both men’s teams but the common denominator about those teams were they were fun to watch and this one will be to.
Brittney vs. Brittney
3:05 p.m.
A nice little offense vs. defense matchup took place between James and Hudson in five-on-five drills. James, working on offense, put the ball on the floor against Hudson who refused to surrender any ground. James put on a flurry of moves to try and escape the defense, but Hudson never relented and forced James to pass the ball off.
All-Time Five
2:56 p.m.
With the return of assistant coach Jalie Johnson (Mitchell) it got us to thinking about the all-time greats at North Texas and who would be a starting 5 of greats.
There are obvious ones, such as Jalie Mitchell, Rosalyn Reades, and Clara Campbell. After that it gets pretty interesting. Do you include a great shooter like Ashley Norris, where does Isalena Jones fit into the mix, and others like Nicole Thomas, Erika Bobo, and maybe even Amber Jackson after this year.
Just food for thought. Also the blog tries to stay away from the predictions but if some things work out right we think there is a chance to Brittney James to erase the number 1,764 from the record books. That would make her the all-time leading scorer in history. Loooooong way to go on that, but in this offense its more likely each day.
5-Minute Break
2:33 p.m.
Shooting free throws is what the blog would consider a break during a Coach Stephens practice. Most of the time teams will wait until the end of practice to work on free throws, but this exercise is done right in the meat of practice to get the maximum amount of focus on the little things that can win or lose you ball games.
Best free throw shooter you ask, Yari Escalera. She doesn’t miss.
Less Than Two Weeks
2:18 p.m.
Were not talking about election day either, its 13 days away from the first North Texas women’s exhibition game. The Mean Green open the exhibition year with a game against cross-town rival TWU on November 11 at the Super Pit.
The rotation and starting lineup is still a way’s off from being set, but we’ve got a pretty good idea of who’s going to get a lot of playing time early on. I suspect your going to see a starting lineup that features Amber Jackson, Brittney James, Jo Hall, Yari Escalera, and possibly Brittani Bailey. There are a couple of players that you could work in to the mix as well but that speaks to the depth of the lineup for the Mean Green.
A Late Start
1:47 p.m.
No not the women's fault this time, the blog was running a little behind today. However we are caught up now and ready with the live updates for women's practice. The girls are coming off a day of rest so we are eager to see how much energy today's practice has. We know that Coach Stephens is expecting quite a bit.
