I picked up a few items of interest on the basketball front today. Seeing as it is a long way to the beginning of two-a-days in the fall, we will spread this out a bit over the next couple of days.

First off, I’m sticking by my assertion that the eagle (big recruit) has landed in women’s basketball. The sticks in the nest are being arranged just so to make the landing a little more comfortable.

UNT has a good team coming back despite the departure of a few key players, including Loryn Goodwin, who transferred, and Sara Stanley, who graduated. By the way, Loryn, if you are reading this, your trophy for being named to the All-Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and third team all-conference is available for pickup over at the Super Pit.

Just a gut feeling here, but Petersen could be on to something next year with the team he is putting together.

On the men’s basketball front, former Texas Tech recruit Wannah Bail is still out there and has not signed. UNT could get a visit, but the competition to land him will be tough.

UNT still has a spot to give after Zach Peters decided to sign with Arizona.

There are still a ton of players out there who are looking for a spot where they can use the NCAA loophole that allows seniors who have graduated to transfer and use their final year of eligibility.

I will have some additional thoughts on some of the guys UNT has coming in for next season on the blog over the next few days.

Stay tuned.

And be sure to pick up a copy of tomorrow’s paper that will include a feature on UNT’s women’s 400 relay team.

North Texas running back Brandin Byrd carries the ball in a win over Texas Southern last season at Apoee Stadium. Byrd was named one of the top 15 running backs in Texas college football recently. (Denton Record-Chronicle/David Minton)

The guys over at the Morning News put out a slide show/list of the top running backs in Texas college football today.

A UNT player made the list that brings up an interesting debate.

The Morning News has Brandin Byrd listed as the 15th-best back in the state.

I won’t go through the whole list. Go ahead and click through it.

What is up for debate is this — Just who is UNT’s best back?

Byrd is a power guy who picked up 860 yards at 4.2 yards a pop and scored four touchdowns last season. He looked a lot quicker in the spring.

One just has to wonder if UNT’s top back this season won’t be Antoinne Jimmerson. He picked up 544 yards on 5.0 yards a carry and scored five touchdowns in just 10 games. He also caught 12 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns, including a 78-yarder that gave UNT one of its four wins last season.

One of UNT’s strengths last season is that it had three good players to rotate. That will likely be the case again this year with Reggie Pegram joining Jimmerson and Byrd.

Any one of those three guys could end up being UNT’s top rusher or best back, including Byrd. He was a solid pick to be among the top 15 backs in the state. But he certainly wasn’t the only option.

The UNT board of regents approved the school’s athletic department moving forward with an agreement with Trophy Club to build a new short-game facility and establish the venue as the home for the school’s golf program.

I mentioned on the blog after the Don January tournament that UNT was in the process of planning a $1.8 million facility that will include putting surfaces and an area where players can work on their short game.

UNT has already raised nearly $400,000.

The board approved UNT moving forward with the 25-year agreement once the remainder of the money is raised today.

UNT would be able to use the club’s locker rooms and will have playing privileges at the club as part of the agreement.

UNT would be able to add to the facility in the coming years.

The UNT golf program won four national titles in the late 1940s and early 1950s and has shown signs of returning to national prominence under head coach Brad Stracke, who has led the Mean Green to the NCAA regionals in each of the last three years. Rodolfo Cazaubon is headed to the final rounds of nationals after finishing as the top individual not on one of the five teams that advanced at the Pullman Regional last week.

For more on the story, including comments from Stracke and Cazaubon, see tomorrow’s paper.

A few items of note, I thought were mentioning before I head out the door to the gym this morning …

UNT has offered Dallas Skyline linebacker MarQuaveon Jones. UNT is the first program to offer as far as I can tell.

Congrats 2 MarQuaveon Jones, received his 1st offer, North Texas!!! Keep grinding

— Skyline Football (@SKYLINErecruit) May 20, 2013

The fact Skyline has its own Twitter account to update people on where all their top players are thinking about going ought to tell you something about the talent there.

It is also worth noting that Conference USA added a tie-in with the Military Bowl

A C-USA team will face a team from the ACC in Washington D.C.on Dec.27

Tony Mitchell commented at the NBA Scouting Combine this week about how he coasted at times last season.

It has been open season on Mitchell since with people commenting on what that says about Mitchell as a person.

I thought it said a lot too — about how Mitchell has taken the high road throughout the last year.

Mitchell could have said any number of things to explain away last year. Considering his stature as a former Dallas area star and likely first-round NBA draft pick and how last season went, what he had to say carried a lot of weight. And he put the blame on himself instead of anyone else. He talked about how he needed to be more consistent. He talked about the injuries UNT suffered last year.

I can’t remember a single time Mitchell has uttered a word that would hurt UNT’s program after one of the most disappointing seasons in school history.

And he certainly had the opportunity to do just that after UNT struggled following a coaching change, whether that was the problem or not.

What Mitchell did for UNT helped the Mean Green going forward — a lot.

Yeah, it’s disappointing for UNT fans to hear that Mitchell coasted at times.

I got an e-mail a while back from a fan who talked about how he wanted UNT’s star players to play hard all the time and look like they really care.

Here’s the problem.

UNT was gifted one of the top 20 talents in his class in all of basketball. It’s a point one can’t argue. Mitchell was the 12th-ranked player in his high school class. After the NBA combine, it looks like he will be a top 30 pick in the NBA draft.

Having a player like that at UNT is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It looks like Mitchell is about to become the first first-round NBA draft pick in UNT history. UNT has done a ton to upgrade its program over the years, but the fact of the matter is that a player of Mitchell’s caliber lands at UNT — or any other program not named Duke or Syracuse — for a reason. There is usually some kind of issue.

Mitchell’s was an academic one. And it’s one he handled at UNT.

Yeah, he didn’t hustle at times and sometimes it didn’t look like he cared.

I made this point to guy who e-mailed me to complain about how upset he was that Mitchell didn’t hustle all the time.

If UNT is going to wait for another guy like Mitchell to come along with a perfect personal life and no academic issues, who is also always highly motivated, always hustles and is a top 20 talent and just happens to want to come to UNT, it is going to be waiting a long time. UNT would be lucky to find a guy with all those traits who is half the player Mitchell is, period.

Few college athletes are perfect.

UNT was just very, very lucky to have a player like Mitchell who spent a season and a half at the school, even if he did coast at times.

The way he has handled the questions following his sophomore season at UNT only further illustrates the point.

Rodolfo Cazaubon, a senior who has put together a solid career at UNT, will cap his time with the Mean Green in the final rounds of the national tournament.

Cazaubon shot a 68 in the final round the Pullman Regional and finished in a tie for sixth place at 7-under par 209.

Cazaubon had no room for error after UNT plummeted down the team standings in the 14-team event. Only five teams advance. UNT finished 12th.

That left one spot for the top individual not on one of the teams that finished in the top five.

Cazaubon grabbed that lone slot.

It’s a terrific accomplishment for Cazaubon and a milestone for the program.

UNT thought it had a chance to make it out of the regional as a team and didn’t make it.

Sending Cazaubon, a four-time All-Sun Belt pick who has helped elevate the program, isn’t a bad consolation prize.

UNT looked like it might make a run at the NCAA golf regionals out in Pullman after closing its first round well.

The Mean Green fell back today, shooting an even 300 after shooting 277 in the first round. Only Saint Francis-Pennsylvania shot worse at 314. UNT is in 12th place in the 14-team field at 577. The top five teams in the field advance. San Diego State and Pacific are tied for fifth at 563, 14 shots ahead of the Mean Green, which will have to jump seven teams to avoid getting bounced in the regional round for the third straight year.

Translation — UNT is toast. Crispy toast.

It’s a tough break for a senior-laden team.

Rodolfo Cazaubon, Carlos Ortiz, Curtis Donahoe and Marco Scarola are all playing for UNT this week and are all seniors. Cazaubon and Ortiz were four-time All-Sun Belt selections.

UNT will look to that duo to lead a remarkable comeback.

The odds just seem really long.

Tony Mitchell continued to help his cause at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago today.

Mitchell caused a stir on the first day with a windmill dunk and caught the attention of teams and media members covering the event with a 38 inch max vertical jump (he put up a 33.5-inch standing vertical). That is a better mark than Clippers star Blake Griffin put up in 2009, when he jumped 37 inches.

Here is the highlight from the ESPN:

Mitchell talked a little about his game and his future after he was through with drills for the day. Comcastsports.net has the highlights here:

The knock on Mitchell has always been his motor. He didn’t always play as hard as he could have. Mitchell was asked about what teams are trying to find out about him heading into the draft.

Mitchell said his effort level was the biggest question.

“Am I going to give it my all on every possession?” Mitchell said. “This season I was going up and down and cruising. These guys are looking at my effort [level] and how I work.”

Mitchell will continue to mature, especially now that his livelihood is on the line. Or at least one would hope so. Once he gets into the NBA, he will have some pretty strong influences in terms of fellow players and coaches. He won’t be able to cruise in the NBA.

He certainly didn’t look like he was cruising today.

The Blazers seemed to notice. He’s talking with team officials today, according to Chris Haynes, who covers the team for Comcast SportsNet Northwest:

North Texas PF Tony Mitchell interviewing w/ #Blazers today. Projected early 20s. Says most teams questioning him re: effort in college.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 17, 2013

I didn’t sit and watch the broadcast, but it sounded like former UNT standout Tony Mitchell had a big day at the NBA Scouting Combine.

His windmill dunk was the talk of the camp.

And this should surprise, uhh, no one.

Mitchell has that kind of talent and is likely moving back into the first round, if not close to the lottery. UNT head coach Tony Benford called it before Mitchell left for Chicago.

You have to feel good for Mitchell after what was a brutal senior season for UNT as a team. He’s a good guy.

The combine continues through the weekend.

It didn’t turn out to be a bad day for the UNT golf team either, not after a tough start in the NCAA regional out in Pullman, Wash.

There is no way to tell how a course sets up, just looking at it online, but it seems pretty obvious that UNT started out on the tougher nine holes today. The Mean Green dropped to near the bottom of the 14-team standings right off the bat, but came back to move into a tie for eighth place with Virginia Tech at 277, three shots out of fifth place.

The top five teams advance.

UNT will have to jump three teams and Tech to get into the top five, but that is within the realm of possibility.

Marco Scarola led the charge late with three birdies, an eagle and another birdie to finish the round. He’s in a tie for eighth at 6-under-par.

The tournament will continue tomorrow.

Former North Texas forward Tony Mitchell will compete in the NBA Draft Combine today. (Denton Record-Chronicle/David Minton)

Tony Mitchell’s big chance to improve his stock before the NBA draft begins today in the NBA Draft Combine up in Chicago.

I never got a hold of Mitchell, but did write a story about the combine for today’s paper.

Last year was a tough one for Mitchell. Johnny Jones left for LSU, Brandan Walton went down early, Chris Jones got hurt in January, the big guy who was supposed to play next to him followed Jones to LSU and UNT really floundered on its way to a 12-20 record while everyone UNT played made sure to take Mitchell out of his comfort zone.

Along the way, Mitchell went from being projected as a potential lottery pick to being slotted by many at the end of the first round.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Mitchell’s stock begin to rise again this week. Mitchell is a freak athlete, good defensively and has a good enough offensive skill set to develop. He’s not going to be asked to carry a team in the NBA. Roger Franklin told me at Mitchell’s press conference that he would be able to settle in and play to his strengths. If he lands on a good team that takes him in the mid-to-late first round, he could end up being in just the right spot to develop. He could use some good influences and guys who could push him.

And in other news, the NCAA golf regionals start today. UNT is out in Pullman, Wash., trying to advance for the third straight year. UNT has four seniors playing, including two who are playing in the regional for the fourth straight year. Here is the story in today’s paper. UNT has come up short of getting out of the regional round in each of the last two years.