Mean Green

We have heard for the last few years about how UNT was in the process of really improving offensively. Remember the back-to-back seasons with 4,000 yards?

I never put a whole lot of stock in that stat, considering teams plays more games these days than they did a few years ago and the fact that UNT had a ton of empty yards it picked up at the end of blowout losses in those seasons.

Here's a stat that to me is a whole lot more impressive sign of progress. UNT heads into a game against Louisiana-Monroe tomorrow leading the Sun Belt with an average of 30.8 points a game. That total doesn't include a lot of empty points at the end of games because UNT has been competitive in most of its games this season.

UNT picked up a couple of late touchdowns after Troy blew the Mean Green's doors off a couple of weeks ago, but that is about it when it comes to empty points that didn't really matter.

UNT has gotten into some shootouts and kept pace, which is something the Mean Green hasn't been able to do in the past.

Granted, UNT has played one of the softest schedules in recent school history. Ball State and Western Kentucky will end up ranking as two of the worst teams in the country and there really only was one money game on the slate against Alabama. Even with that said it is impressive that UNT has been able to put up so many points, especially considering Riley Dodge has missed two games due to injury and UNT has no downfield passing game to speak of.

I am not saying that UNT should be happy with 2-6.

But it is impressive that the Mean Green has Alabama and Troy in the rearview mirror and is still the top scoring team in the Sun Belt.

Now, if UNT could recruit some defensive players for Gary DeLoach to work with ...

There will be a story in tomorrow's paper on Jamaal Jackson, UNT's junior wide receiver who is starting to come into his own in the second half of the year after coming to UNT from the JC ranks.

The theory on junior college guys is that you are lucky if you get a good season and a half out of them. Jackson and Mike Outlaw have been solid contributors since they arrived, but might be ready to break out the rest of the year.

I talked to Riley Dodge about Jackson. Riley's a smart guy who knows what to say, two big pluses on his side in my book. And he made a great point. UNT is starting its drives at the 30 or 40 this season instead of the 15 or 20, like it was last year. There are a lot of guys who have helped make that happen, but it has been Jackson who has averaged more than 30 yards a return the last two weeks.

I don't think UNT beats WKU if Jackson doesn't just about single-handedly score the Mean Green a touchdown with a good kickoff return and an 11-yard touchdown reception right before the end of the first half.

UNT would have been down 14 at halftime with WKU fielding the opening kickoff of the second half if Jackson doesn't work his magic there.

In an interesting side note, one of Jackson's good friends since childhood is ULM defensive end Aaron Morgan, who is also from Amite, La., which begs the question "How the heck did two pretty good college players come out of a place like Amite?"

Louisiana produces a ton of talent, but by all accounts Amite is about as small a town as one can find in Louisiana.

It should make for an interesting day for both players.

TWU held off UNT in women's basketball and posted its first win over the Mean Green since 1981.

It was a bitter end to a tough day in UNT women's sports.

The UNT soccer team appeared like it had a clear path to the Sun Belt tournament finals until it ran into UALR and lost in the semifinals today. The Trojans are the No. 8 seed in the tournament. UNT has now failed to make it to the finals in consecutive years after advancing to the finals in every prior season the Sun Belt has been around.

The good news is that the sun will come out tomorrow for the UNT women's basketball team. UNT has a ton of talent and looked like it was starting to figure out how to play together while coming back from a 20-point deficit in the second half.

UNT has just three players back from last year. You can't just roll the ball out and expect it all to come together in the team's first exhibition of the season. I still think Shanice Stephens is going to get it done at UNT.

UNT might not be at the same level as Middle Tennessee, a team that drilled the Mean Green last year, or Western Kentucky, but I bet it is in the top half of the league.

This is a little off the UNT subject, but TWU coach Beth Jillson might end up being an up-and-comer in the profession. If she can win at TWU (and she is already showing that she can; look back at what she did last season) she can win anywhere.

UNT keeps closing the gap here at the Super Pit in its game against TWU. The Pioneers are holding UNT off by getting to the line.

UNT has the ball after TWU committed a really bad turnover at the 3:56 mark of the second half.

Brittney James has 15 points for UNT.

UNT is making its push here late in the second half at the Super Pit. UNT is on an 18-4 run.

The tempo has really picked up, which favors UNT.

TWU has UNT on the ropes at the Super Pit.

TWU was actually up 20 a couple of minutes ago. The Pioneers have hit nine 3-pointers and have outscored UNT 20-12 in the second half.

TWU has extended its lead to 11 points at the first media timeout of the second half. The Pioneers were actually up 13 a couple of minutes ago.

UNT is having a bad night offensively. No Mean Green player had more than six points.

TWU has hit seven 3-pointers.

Officials reviewed Kayla Weaver's shot at the end of the half and changed it to a 2-point field goal.

They originally called it a 3.

TWU is up 34-26 as we get ready to start the second half.

UNT is down nine at halftime to is crosstown rival TWU in a stunner at the Super Pit.

TWU hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer before halftime. The Pioneers have six 3s on the night.

Tamara Torru has six points to lead UNT.

What is even more surprising is that the Pioneers, who have just one player in action tonight over 6-feet tall is out-rebounding UNT 21-20.

UNT has 12 turnovers.

UNT transfer Brittani Bailey, who is 6-3, isn't playing.

TWU has extended its lead to 12 at the 3:45 mark of the first half. UNT can't buy a bucket at this point.

The Mean Green is shooting 5-for-20 from the field. Tamara Torru has six points to lead UNT.

TWU has dropped six 3-pointers on UNT.

TWU was up 21-11 in the first half before UNT showed some signs of life. UNT has cut its deficit to 23-15 at the third media timeout of the first half.

UNT has not looked good at all offensively and TWU has dropped a couple of pretty big shots from behind the arc.

Tamara Torru has six points to lead UNT. Interestingly enough, she is one of the few players back from last season's team.

TWU has hit UNT right in the mouth on its home court and is up 19-11 in the first half. The Pioneers have hit a couple of 3s early on.

No, really.

TWU was up three a minute ago, but Tamara Torru hit a layup to pull UNT within a point.

Torru has four points for the Mean Green.

UNT is going to need some time to adjust to a whole new lineup this season. It's just taking longer than anyone expected.

This has been a brutal game so far. Brittney James scored the only two points for either team on a layup at the 16:12 mark.

Both teams are 0-for-2 from the line.

The teams are a combined 1-for-9 from the field.

UNT is a few minutes away from starting its exhibition game here at the Super Pit.

The interesting aspect of this for UNT will be seeing all the new players Shanice Stephens added in the offseason in action. Brittney Hudson, Raquel Cuffie, Niq'ky Hughes and Jasmine Godbolt will join holdover Brittney James in the Mean Green's starting lineup.

Hudson and Hughes both sat out last season at UNT, so they should help provide the Mean Green a base to build from in head coach Shanice Stephens' second season.

This is essentially a team made up entirely of Stephens players. She promised an up-tempo style that mirrors what the highly successful teams at Middle Tennessee have used through the years.

UNT should also be a lot bigger in the post.

TWU is a rapidly improving Division II team that hung with UNT last season. In theory, UNT should blow the doors off the Pioneers this year.

T. dropped by with a couple of good questions today, including one about Denver and its status in the Sun Belt.

The Pioneers are on their way out by all accounts, which will impact the Sun Belt in a couple of ways. Denver is way out of the league's geographic center that stretches from Florida to Denton. The school brings a lot to the table in non-revenue sports like tennis, golf and soccer and is a good academic school, but it does nothing for the league in the only major sport it plays in the Sun Belt -- basketball.

Denver is a complete afterthought in the city (and remember, I lived there until I left for college). At most Denver basketball games there are a couple of hundred people there, and that usually includes my parents, who I can usually pick out in a matter of 30 seconds when I get to my seat on the floor.

T. was wondering if UNT pushed to help keep the school in the Sun Belt when the league changed its standards for being a member as far as the number of sports a school sponsors. That rule is going to help push Denver out.

I am not sure what UNT's stance was, but I can guarantee you soccer coach John Hedlund would be there to help pack the U-Haul if it would help move the Pioneers to a West Coast conference. I know soccer is not a high-interest sport, but UNT fell to the Pioneers in the conference tournament finals in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007.

Even if UNT only wins three of those five finals, it would have five NCAA Tournament appearances instead of two in its history. Who knows what three more berths could have done for UNT's soccer program or the athletic department in general? Maybe nothing or maybe it could have attracted the attention of some soccer-loving booster who would have kicked in some money to help the program.

Anyway, the point is I don't think UNT is going to be shedding any tears if Denver leaves.

The other question of the day was why UNT is playing Newman in an exhibition and Cameron in its season opener in men's hoops. Former UNT head coach Vic Trilli is the athletic director at Newman and is a FOJJ (Friend of Johnny Jones). UNT will give Newman a little cash to come play the Mean Green.

As far as Cameron goes, UNT has opened the season with a game against a team from the Division II Lone Star Conference in five of the last six seasons. This will be the fourth straight year UNT has opened with Cameron.

Jones is like a lot of coaches who like to open the season with an easy win a home.

What would be fun would be to see UNT open with DII Angelo State and former Mean Green assistant coach Fred Rike sometime. The "Fightin' Freds" made the NCAA Division II national tournament last season and would offer a better game than Cameron. It would be a more interesting game and would provide a boost for a former UNT assistant who was one of the truly good guys to come through the department the last several years.

Usually I save the maibag for last, but since it is football related and that is what people care about ...

T. pointed out that defensive lineman Draylen Ross is a junior after receiving a medical redshirt. I was looking at the preseason fact book and forgot that he was granted an extra year. My bad.

Ben was wondering if Kylie Hill will play this week after being injured in UNT's win over Western Kentucky. I asked Todd Dodge if anyone was out this week. He mentioned that Micah Mosely might miss the game with a concussion, but didn'e mention Hill. Dodge might have been playing it close to the vest, but my guess is Hill plays. What I will be interested to see is how much he plays considering how Jeremy Phillips played last week.

The other question of the day was what Cam Montgomery's role would be going forward. I would think that UNT would still use him even though Lance Dunbar is the guy now. Montgomery is a good back and keeping Dunbar fresh will help UNT in the long run.

And in non-football news and notes ...

If you have read the blog over the past few years, you know that one of my stances when it comes to UNT athletics it's always a good idea to trust in the Big Johns (Jones and Hedlund).

The first round of the Sun Belt Conference soccer tournament today is a good example of why. John Hedlund's soccer team was having a tough stretch late in the season and couldn't score to save its collective life until all the chips were on the table. UNT was down 1-0 to Middle Tennessee, but came back to tie the game on Shannon Gorrie's goal and won it in the 87th minute on Michelle Young's goal.

Top seed Florida International and No. 3 seed Western Kentucky are out. UNT will face No. 8 seed UALR in the semifinals with a potential match with hated rival Denver looming in the finals. I know very few people follow soccer, but UNT-Denver in women's soccer is the best rivalry in Mean Green athletics. The dynamic is similar to UNT-SMU, except UNT and Denver have a long history of meaningful matches.

UNT has been to the semifinals of the conference tournament in 10 straight seasons, by the way.

UNT and TWU will throw down in women's basketball tomorrow, which will be a good chance to see all the talent Shanice Stephens has added in the last year.

It pains me to mention exhibition basketball. I am still in mourning over Syracuse falling to freaking Le Moyne. I am a huge fan of the Cuse, where my dad's side of the family is from.

Le Moyne?

Just remember TWU nearly pulled a Le Moyne-like upset last season at the Super Pit.

There were a couple of good questions posted on the blog today. Here are some answers and thoughts on UNT.

T. was wondering about Draylen Ross' role and the injury situation with Cam Montgomery and Micah Mosley.

The story on Cam was that he pulled his hamstring in practice and then got sick with the flu before the Mean Green's win over Western Kentucky last week.

Lance Dunbar has clearly taken over as UNT's feature back. Cam is a senior on his way out while Dunbar is the future for the Mean Green. He really is a terrific young player. I am not saying that UNT is inventing ways to move Cam out, but the transition is clearly underway. UNT is going nowhere this year and the cries of "we are going to be really good next year" have already started.

Todd Dodge seems to feel safe that he is going to be around for another year and is playing a lot of young guys late in the season. Quite frankly some of those players like KC Obi are performing better than UNT's veterans anyway.

And that leads me to Draylen Ross, who is playing as a defensive tackle, even though he might be a better fit at defensive end. We heard in the offseason that UNT's defensive front was going to be rebuilt around newcomers this season, but Ross has started three straight games at tackle and Eddrick Gilmore looks like he will play the rest of the season at end.

Some of UNT's additions have played well, including Shavod Atkinson, but the holdovers have also seen a lot of time. I just don't know if UNT has a better answer at tackle than Ross and moving him at this point would cut into the time UNT is giving to its young guys like Obi and Brandon Akpunku. Since UNT is clearly in build-for-the-future mode, I can't see the team moving a senior on his way out to a spot where he would cut into the playing time of a guy who will be around a while.

And finally, running back Micah Mosley was injured on a special teams play last week. UNT had him in on a short-yardage play early in the game, but that is not when he suffered a concussion. I am one of many people who wondered why UNT wasn't using him in short yardage situations all year. If Mosley can return this week, you would like to see him in there if UNT needs a yard on third or fourth down. He showed the ability to pick up a yard or two when he was splitting time with Jamario Thomas a couple of years ago. I didn't like that decision on UNT's part, but it did show that Mosley is the kind of power back UNT needs in there when it needs a yard. Mosley is not a threat to break a long run, but he rarely is stopped before he picks up a yard or two.

Today was the big media availability day for UNT.

I will be using some things I picked up in the paper the rest of the week, but here are the highlights.

UNT is preparing for both Trey Revell and Cody Wells and doesn't know who will play quarterback this week for ULM. Charlie Weatherbie isn't talking, either. This is just my guess, but I bet we see Revell this week. The Warhawks have a chance to get to a bowl game and Weatherbie is under the gun. He will play Revell if he can get him on the field.

Micah Mosley has a concussion, didn't practice today and is questionable for the Mean Green's game against ULM. He was injured while playing special teams.

Oklahoma State transfer William Cole practiced for the first time Tuesday. I should be able to get a better look at him the next time I am out there.

Dodge said there would be no lineup changes this week, so the shifts that UNT made against Western Kentucky that paid off appear as if they will be in place for another week. Eddrick Gilmore will be at defensive end, Tevinn Cantly will be at tackle, et cetera. I would expect Jeremy Phillips to play a lot.

T. asked a couple of good questions today, including if we will see Kylie Hill back at safety after the emergence of Phillips. I doubt it. Dodge really likes the combination of DaWaylon Cook and Ira Smith back there. There was also a question posted about UNT focusing on stopping the run for the rest of the season. Gary DeLoach is a bend-but-don't-break guy. My guess is we will see UNT try to prevent the big play against the Warhawks this week. ULM is throwing the ball pretty well. Revell ranks second in the league in passing efficiency. My guess is UNT tries to keep him contained and not give up the deep ball.

UNT has been hinting over the past few weeks that Johnny Jones and the athletic department were close to finalizing a couple of gems when it comes to the Mean Green's nonconference basketball schedule for the next few seasons.

I stopped by practice today and Jones said UNT was far enough into the process that he could share the details with me.

LSU and Texas Tech are coming to the Super Pit.

UNT will play at LSU in the 2010-11 season before hosting the Tigers in 2011-12. Texas Tech will play at UNT in 2010-11 before UNT heads to Lubbock in 2011-12.

Rice will also play at UNT in 2010-11 in a return game. The Mean Green plays at Rice on Dec. 5.

The contracts still have to be finalized, but at this point it seems like it is a matter of making sure the paperwork is in order.

Needless to say, this is a huge win for UNT and an indication of just how far the basketball program has come in the last few years. Jones indicated that getting both LSU and Tech to Denton is a sign of the respect the coaches of those programs have for the Mean Green.

The LSU series will be interesting just from the human interest angle that goes along with UNT's head coach. Jones was a great player for the Tigers and was also an assistant coach at the school for a long time. He interviewed for the coaching job there the last time it came open.

Getting Texas Tech on the schedule will also be interesting for UNT. There is a huge contingent of Tech fans in the area. Heck, about half of our sports staff at the DRC is Tech graduates who are big time Red Raiders fans.

Both games should draw big crowds and rank up there with the game two years ago when the Mean Green hosted Oklahoma State. UNT won that game behind Josh White.

Could UNT be in for another upset win? Who knows? At least the Mean Green will have a chance. That opportunity is another step in the right direction for a program that has become the headliner for the UNT athletic department.