Mean Green

North Texas head coach Todd Dodge said after the Mean Green's first full scrimmage of spring practice that Daniel Meager is his starter at quarterback, at least at this point.

Meager worked out with the first team throughout Friday's practice and appeared to have the best command of the Mean Green's new offense. The highlight of Meager's day came when he threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Korey Washington.

Dodge said there is still a long way to go before he names his starter for next season, but Meager is off to a good start.

Dodge's comments on Meager were just a few of the interesting notes that came out of Friday's workout. For a complete rundown of the news that came out of the scrimmage, see tomorrow' s edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

North Texas fan and hoops recruiting guru Cooley pointed out recently that the Midland Reporter-Telegram quoted Midland College head coach Grant McCasland a few weeks ago saying that his point guard Ryan McCoy would likely sign with North Texas.

While looking into McCoy's background I ran across this tidbit. Midland's assistant coach is Alvin Brooks III, the son of former North Texas assistant coach Alvin Brooks. Alvin is now at Texas A&M, but worked at UNT from 2001-03 under current UNT head coach Johnny Jones.

Brooks III started his coaching career at Arkansas-Fort Smith and helped lead the team to a JUCO national title with McCoy playing point guard in 2006. Brooks III left after Fort Smith's championship season to go to Midland, which won this season's national title with McCoy playing the point guard spot.

McCoy's ties to the Brooks coaching family and UNT could be nothing more than a coincidence, but connections are what recruiting is all about.

UNT is in the market for a point guard and word is the Mean Green is interested in a few players who were at the JUCO national tournament. You never know. UNT's coaching staff could be tapping into its circle of friends in an effort to wrap up a commitment from McCoy, a former Tulsa recruit who was ranked 40th in Texashoops.com's list of the top prospects in the state after the 2005 season.

John Hamilton, the agent for North Texas head men's basketball coach Johnny Jones, said Thursday that he hopes to have a new contract finalized in the next couple of weeks.

UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal is already on record as saying the school will rework Jones' deal that is set to expire after the end of next season. Jones led the Mean Green to the NCAA Tournament this season and should be in for a big payday from UNT, or at least the opportunity for one.

Jones could well end up signing an incentive-laden deal that would boost his base salary from last season of $205,811, a total that included incentives for a radio show and maintaining membership in the Sun Belt Conference.

While Jones is likely to get a nice boost to his base salary, the real opportunity for additional money could be in new incentives. Jones received just $10,000 for taking his team to the NCAA Tournament. Needless to say, UNT got a bargain on that deal when it came to publicity.

Expect Jones' new deal to have much higher incentives along the lines of the deal South Alabama head coach John Pelphrey signed after taking his team to the NCAA Tournament last year. Pelphrey is also making about $200,000 a year, but has incentives in his contract that can tack on another $100,000.

Hamilton is a longtime friend of Jones, who is just the latest UNT coach to retain an agent. Former Mean Green football coach Darrell Dickey also had an agent late in his tenure at UNT.

For more on Jones, his contract and his new agent, see tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

North Texas has addressed one of the issues that always seemed to be at the forefront during the tenure of former head football coach Darrell Dickey -- assistant coaches' salaries.

UNT's new assistants will make a collective 10.5 percent more than the previous staff's assistant coaches under their current contracts, according to figures provided by the athletic department.

Head coach Todd Dodge said he wasn't aware that he was given more to work with than in previous seasons, but was happy with the staff he put together.

Dodge brought a few coaches with him from Southlake Carroll and added a few veteran college assistant coaches. What could be interesting is to see if that extra money and taking on a few high school coaches gives the Mean Green more stability than it has had in the past.

UNT's assistants seemed to come and go on nearly a yearly basis the last few years, which hurt the program's continuity.

For more on UNT's assistants and tomorrow's scrimmage, see tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

Ever since SMU brought in Matt Doherty as its head men's basketball coach after last season, the question of how his arrival would affect North Texas in recruiting has lingered.

After watching who SMU has received commitments from over the last few months, it appears as if the Mean Green might not go up against the Ponies as often as expected in recruiting the next few years.

UNT has recruited the vast majority of its players from Texas under head coach Johnny Jones. Doherty and SMU appear as if they might cast their net a little farter. SMU has seven commitments for its 2007 class, but only three of those players are from Texas. The Ponies have commitments from players from Connecticut, Iowa, Maine and North Carolina.

SMU's commitment to recruiting nationally could help the Mean Green locally down the line. UNT's profile has never been higher after it advanced to the NCAA Tournament this season, a fact the Mean Green is trying to take advantage of by recruiting a number of high profile local players.

SMU went after a completely different set of players, several of them from out of state.

UNT will always have plenty of competition for players in the Dallas area and will no doubt compete with SMU more than a few times in recruiting, but it certainly won't hurt to have one of its natural rivals taking more than half of its players from halfway across the country.

There are enough talented players in Texas and Dallas specifically to help the Mean Green continue to build its program. UNT is after Joseph Fulce (Plano) and Jordan Smith (Colleyville) among others from the area.

Keeping those players home and building a reputation as a top destination for Dallas area players could help UNT's cause. UNT already has several key local players, including Ben Bell (Irving), Michael Sturns (Fort Worth) and Harold Stewart (Fort Worth). Two of UNT's top 10 scorers in school history, Chris Davis and Leonard Hopkins, were Dallas area products who played for UNT in the last 10 years.

Building on that tradition might be a little easier in the future if SMU's latest recruiting class is an indication of its plans under Doherty.

Joseph Fulce, one of the North Texas men's basketball team's top recruiting targets for its upcoming signing class, was on campus last week to talk with the Mean Green's coaching staff. Fulce's visit was just the latest sign that UNT is in the height of one of its most intriguing recruiting season in recent memory. UNT is, after all, coming off its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1988 and has a load of momentum in its favor. UNT appears to have three scholarships to give after losing three seniors, plus Oklahoma State transfer Roderick Flemings. Senior guard Michael Sturns played as a walkon last season and will fill one of those four scholarships.

The following is a look at a few of the players on the Mean Green's radar. Feel free to weigh in on this blog. Who would you like to see UNT sign?

Fulce -- The combo forward is the type of player who could elevate the Mean Green both in the Sun Belt Conference and beyond. Fulce signed with Texas A&M after his senior season at Plano in 2006 when Texashoops.com rated him No. 15 among the seniors in the state. Providence, UNC-Wilmington and Illinois State are among the other teams that have offered Fulce a scholarship. Landing the former Plano standout would be huge for UNT.

Jordan Smith, 6-3 shooting guard, Irving God's Academy -- Smith is ranked No. 25 in the state by Texashoops.com, which rates him as one of the best perimeter shooters in the state. Like Fulce, Smith has spent the last year in prep school to improve his academic standing. UNT lost Kendrick Davis and Calvin Watson after last season and could use a few more options as far as scorers on the wing. UNT could do a whole lot worse than Smith, who has also been offered a scholarship by Liberty. The Mean Green has not signed a high school player as highly rated as Smith by Texashoops.com since Harold Stewart in 2005.

Marquez Haynes, 6-3 combo guard, Boston College -- Haynes has been released from his scholarship at Boston College and is considering his options. UNT really wanted Haynes before he committed to Boston College two years ago. The question now is whether he is the true point guard UNT needs to help replace Ben Bell after next season. Bell is the only natural point guard on UNT's roster. Haynes is considered more of a combination guard.

Kevin Busby-Hayden, 6-1 combo guard, Dallas Spruce -- Busby-Hayden is the son of former UNT player Donnell Hayden and is ranked No. 52 on Texashoops.com's list of the top seniors in the state. UNT needs to add at least one point guard in its next recruiting class. Busby-Hayden could be the player UNT needs. He averaged 14.4 points and 4.6 assists a game and made 75 3-pointers on the season to lead District 13-4A.

Booker Woodfox, 6-1 shooting guard, San Jacinto JC -- Woodfox played for Lewisville and committed to Louisiana-Lafayette before he ended up at San Jacinto. He averaged 18.7 points a game during the regular season this year and hit 39.6 percent of his 3-point shots. He is a former teammate of UNT point guard Ben Bell. UNT head coach Johnny Jones has always liked Woodfox as a player.

Former Irving High and Irving Nimitz standout Marquez Haynes has asked for his release from Boston College, which granted the 6-3 guard's request, a school official said Thursday.

Haynes is looking to transfer and is considering several schools, including North Texas, according to his former AAU coach Erven Davis.

Haynes was among the Mean Green's top recruiting targets in 2005 before he signed with Boston College.

For more on Haynes, see the Denton Record-Chronicle's Web site late tonight or pick up tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

North Texas head women's basketball coach Tina Slinker will be back for a 19th season with the Mean Green next year and one last shot at taking the Mean Green to the promised land.

Slinker signed a deal last year that stated she would get a contract extension if she could get the Mean Green to the NCAA Tournament in either of the next two seasons. UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said this week that he would allow Slinker to fulfill that contract.

UNT has never made it to the NCAA Tournament in the Slinker era. It's tough to imagine the Mean Green breaking through after all these years, but if UNT is ever going to have a chance, next year seems like as good an opportunity as any.

Colorado transfer Yari Escalera will be eligible and is expected to solidify the point guard spot, top scorers Amber Jackson and Sanetra Jackson will be back and Brittney James will have an extra year of experience after showing the potential to be an all-conference caliber player as a freshman.

UNT is also out hunting for a junior college player to help fill a void at small forward.

It seems like a long shot that those players will push UNT over the top after all these years, but Slinker is going to get her opportunity. In the end, that all a coach can ask for.

To see what Slinker said about coming back for another year, see today's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

There is always a looming concern when a team like North Texas plays its first game in the NCAA Tournament.

None of UNT's players had been past the first round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament before this season, let alone played on the biggest stage in college basketball. Memphis was ranked fifth in the country and had the nation's longest winning streak.

No one would have been surprised if UNT had been blown out like many teams seeded 15th are each season.

Instead the Mean Green came up with a performance that made UNT's fans and head coach Johnny Jones proud. UNT led early and was within striking distance late before falling to the Tigers 73-58 at New Orleans Arena.

UNT's players thought they could and would win. That goal proved to be out of reach, but the Mean Green represented the university well.

One could argue that this is the most successful team in UNT basketball history and one of the best in the history of the Mean Green athletic program overall. The Mean Green had been to the NCAA Tournament only once before this season and no team in program history has won as many games as this season's team that tallied 23.

On the way home today, I thought back to a conversation I had with Jones earlier in the season when I asked about how players like senior guards Calvin Watson and Kendrick Davis would rank among the greats in UNT history.

Jones said both Davis and Watson are great players, but what would help their legacy would be to lead the Mean Green to a memorable season. People always remember the stars on special teams.

UNT fell short of its goal of winning in the NCAA Tournament, but there is little doubt each member of the team was a part of something special in UNT history.

That's not a bad consolation prize for Davis, Watson and the rest of the Mean Green.

Be sure to catch coverage of today's game in the Denton Record-Chronicle. The following are the links:

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/sports/stories/DRC_UNTMemphisForDenton_0317.1ddba021.html

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/sports/stories/DRC_WOODEN_3-17.1ffc20e9.html

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_UNT_loses_to_Memphis_3-17.1ded216c.html

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_UNT_Loss_0317.1bf602f0.html

If North Texas was nervous about its game against Memphis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament today, it certainly didn't show on Thursday during the Mean Green's interview session.

UNT guards Kendrick Davis and Calvin Watson joked about their background and who is the better shooter. Head coach Johnny Jones looked relaxed and confident.

Even Memphis coach John Calipari commented on how confident the Mean Green appeared during his portion of the media session.

There couldn't be much better news for UNT. The Mean Green has nothing to lose against Memphis and can live up to one of Jones' catch phrases by "leaving it all on the floor."

UNT is a big underdog.

Feel free to weigh in on this blog. Do you think UNT has a chance today?

The North Texas men's basketball team waited and waited and waited some more to find out where it is headed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. Sitting around until nearly the end of the selection show proved to be worth it.

UNT landed a No. 15 seed in the South Region and will face second-seeded Memphis in a 12:30 p.m. game Friday in New Orleans.

There is a lot to like about the matchup, from the location of the game to some of the interesting storylines involved.

UNT head coach Johnny Jones was the interim coach at Memphis in the 1999-2000 season after serving as an assistant coach for the Tigers. Jones didn't have the best overall record with the Tigers but led Memphis on a run late in the season.

There were plenty of people who thought Jones should have been kept on as Memphis next head coach.

The game will also be played in Jones' home state of Louisiana.

While Jones' connections are interesting, perhaps the best part of the game is that it will be played in New Orleans, a city that is within driving distance for most UNT fans.

Memphis will be a tough matchup for the Mean Green, but at this point just about anyone UNT could have faced would have been difficult to get past.

Drop me an e-mail to share your thoughts on UNT's matchup so that I can add them to the blog.

The following are links to a pair of stories in tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle about UNT's NCAA bid.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_UNT_react_0312.3fdf71d.html

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/sports/stories/DRC_UNT_basketball_3-12.3e22c48.html

North Texas men's basketball coach Johnny Jones spent six-years building the Mean Green into an NCAA Tournament team.

So what is it about Jones that helped him turn a team that won just 20 games combined in the four seasons before he arrived before the 2001-02 season into a team that will play in the Big Dance? Those who know Jones best say it's his ability to connect with people and his caring nature.

The following is a link to a profile of coach Jones that ran in today's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle. A shorter version ran in The Dallas Morning News.

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_Johnny_Jones_3-11.3c5e0c60.html

The North Texas men's basketball team will get together at 4 p.m. today with fans and students at the Mean Green Athletic Center to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show and find out where it is headed for its first game in the event since 1988.

CBS will have a crew on hand to record the Mean Green's reaction to where it is placed in the field of 65 for a national television audience.

UNT head coach Johnny Jones encouraged fans to come to the event that is open to the public earlier this week.

The event will be a big boost for the Mean Green basketball program that can use all the publicity it can get to build on the momentum it has created with its best season in recent memory.

For more on the event, see today's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle. The following is a link:

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/sports/stories/DRC_UNT_basketball_3-11.3b7285d1.html

North Texas athletic director Rick Villarreal said Thursday that he will talk with head men's basketball coach Johnny Jones about his contract situation after the Mean Green's run in the NCAA Tournament is complete.

The following is the story that will be in tomorrow's Denton Record-Chronicle:

What's your take? Should Villarreal sign Jones to a long-term extension?

By Brett Vito
Staff Writer
North Texas head coach Johnny Jones is in the midst of a frantic few days that will culminate in the Mean Green's second NCAA Tournament appearance in school history next week.
Once UNT's run is done, he will have another important date on his schedule, a meeting with athletic director Rick Villarreal to discuss his contract.
The deal Jones signed in 2003 runs through the end of next season.
"We will definitely look at his contract, but everything has to go through a certain process we will follow," Villarreal said. "Now is not the time to concentrate on it."
Jones took over a program that had won no more than seven games in any of the previous four seasons and immediately led UNT to a 15-14 finish in his first season in 2001-02.
UNT slipped to 7-21 the next year, but finished 14-14 twice and 13-15 once in the next three seasons before Jones' breakout campaign this year.
The Mean Green (23-10) has already set the school record for wins in a season and won the Sun Belt Conference tournament title earlier this week to earn the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid. The Mean Green's only other appearance in the national championship tournament came in 1988.
Jones will receive a $10,000 bonus for winning the Sun Belt tournament title.
"I knew coming here would be a challenge, but I thought it was something that could work," Jones said. "You have to start somewhere. I didn't feel like this was a starter's job, but a place where you could be for a number of years if you could have some success."
Jones appears as if he will be with the Mean Green for a while longer.
"We will sit down and talk about his future, his goals and our goals, make sure we are on the same page and make sure he is a part of what we are doing at the university," Villarreal said.

[UNT to be on selection show]
UNT will host a watching party for the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday, when CBS will have a crew present to show the Mean Green's reaction to where it is placed in the field of 65.
The party will take place at the Mean Green Athletic Center and will begin at 4 p.m.
The UNT ticket office will be open from 6-9 p.m. following the selection show to process ticket orders from UNT fans.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

North Texas welcomed home its men's basketball team at a pep rally on Wednesday, just one day after the Mean Green won the Sun Belt Conference basketball tournament to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

So just what will the bid mean for the Mean Green?

A whole lot, if you ask people both inside the program and in the world of college basketball recruiting.

UNT's players, not to mention head coach Johnny Jones and university president Gretchen Bataille, said the program will be viewed differently after the Mean Green received an unprecedented wave of publicity after its win over Arkansas State in the Sun Belt tournament final.

UNT officials and players aren't the only ones who think the Mean Green could be in for some good times in the coming weeks and beyond. Mike Kunstadt of Texashoops.com, the expert when it comes to basketball recruiting in the state, said the Mean Green should have a great year in recruiting because of its tournament win.

Jordan Smith, a shooting guard from Irving God's Academy and the 25th ranked player in Texas in the Class of 2007, is among the players considering committing to UNT. Former Plano standout forward Joseph Fulce is also considering UNT.

Fulce spent last season at Massanutten Military Academy in Virginia. He was the 28th-ranked player in the state in 2006.

"North Texas is going after some guys who will make them better," Kunstadt said.

It's all a reward for what UNT accomplished in the Sun Belt tournament.

The Denton Record-Chronicle will have two stories on UNT tomorrow, one on the impact of the Mean Green's performance on the future of the program and another by Monty Miller Jr., one of our news reporters, on UNT's pep rally.

The following are the links:

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/sports/stories/DRC_UNTImpactForDenton_0308.2cea4918.html

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/localnews/stories/DRC_UNT_fans_0308.2cf7f405.html

I was sitting here trying to think of a way to put North Texas win over Arkansas State in the finals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament in perspective on the blog tonight with the television on in the background when ESPN got around to showing highlights of the game.

There is no better way to show how important the win is than when a program seen all over the country shows senior guard Calvin Watson hitting 3-pointer after 3-pointer, Johnny Jones celebrating with friends and Harold Edwards holding up his championship T-shirt. It was a celebration worthy of UNT’s first NCAA Tournament berth since the 1987-88 season.

The exposure UNT received just from its win over Arkansas State is priceless for the university and the program, not to mention the publicity the Mean Green will receive over the next few days.

UNT should draw better next season attendance wise, more people will know about the program, and -- most important of all -- UNT ought to be able to land one heck of a recruiting class in the next few months.

UNT has not had a win that will have an impact as big as its victory over ASU since the Mean Green football team beat Cincinnati in the New Orleans Bowl in 2002.

Early word is UNT will celebrate the win at the Super Pit when the team arrives back in town after driving back from Lafayette, La., this afternoon.

North Texas senior guard Kendrick Davis is out the floor knocking down his side-winding jumper in preparation for the Mean Green's game against Arkansas State in the championship game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament at the Cajundome.

Davis missed UNT's win over Middle Tennessee in the semifinals with a stomach virus, but looks ready to go in what will be the Mean Green's biggest game in years. A win tonight puts UNT in the NCAA Tournament. Davis struggled in the quarterfinals of the tournament against Louisiana-Monroe, but usually comes up big for the Mean Green in key games.

UNT will need Davis to be at his best tonight against an ASU team that has already beaten the Mean Green twice this season.

North Texas senior guard Kendrick Davis was still trying to recover from a stomach virus that forced him to miss the Mean Green's win over Middle Tennessee in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament on Monday. His status for tonight's championship game is uncertain.

UNT managed to get past MTSU without Davis, but it certainly would help to have him on the floor tonight with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.

Davis had a tough game against Louisiana-Monroe in the quarterfinals, going 1-for-18 from the field, but has the ability to break out at any time. He had 24 points in a first-round win over Louisiana-Lafayette and has hit more big shots late in games this season than anyone on the team.

UNT is a much more dangerous team with Davis on the floor because of his ability to shoot the ball from deep and go to the basket. The Mean Green scored an uncharacteristic 59 points in its win over MTSU and will have to improve on that total dramatically against Arkansas State.

The Indians beat the Mean Green 84-60 and 74-71 earlier this season. UNT might need 75-80 points to get past ASU.

It would be a whole lot easier to get that total with Davis on the floor.

North Texas is just one win from achieving what would be a monumental milestone in the history of Mean Green basketball -- a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

As everyone knows by now, UNT beat Middle Tennessee on Monday to reach the finals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, where the Mean Green will face an Arkansas State team that has beaten it twice already this season.

Just reaching the finals will be huge for the Mean Green. The UNT-ASU game will be shown on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. High school and junior college players across the state and the country will see the Mean Green on national TV, which will do nothing but help UNT in terms of recruiting and exposure.

The situation is just what UNT head coach Johnny Jones had in mind when he took over a Mean Green team before the 2001-02 season that had won just 20 games the previous four seasons combined.

Jones has been looking for a breakout season ever since. No matter what happens today, he will have led the Mean Green to one of the best campaigns in the history of the program. Only two other teams have won 22 games in program history. At 22-10, UNT has the opportunity to set a record for the most wins in the history of the program today.

UNT's only NCAA Tournament appearance came in the 1987-88 season.

The Mean Green has a chance to join that team on the short list of the best in the history of UNT athletics -- regardless of the sport -- with a win over ASU tonight.

North Texas senior guard Kendrick Davis has been sick all day and will not play against Middle Tennessee in the semifinal of the Sun Belt Conference tournament that is set to begin in about 20 minutes.

Davis was sick to his stomach all day. UNT's coaching staff decided just a few minutes ago to start Rich Young in place of Davis.

Davis struggled in the Mean Green's quarterfinal win over Louisiana-Monroe, going 1-for-18 from the field.

Davis usually bounces back from tough games, but will now have to depend on his teammates to keep UNT's season going. Young has long been known as the Mean Green's "Glue Guy." UNT will turn to him and backup guard Michael Sturns to help fill the void left by Davis.

An athletic department official just let me know that there was a misunderstanding concerning North Texas game against Middle Tennessee being on Ch. 52. He was under the understanding that the game would be on TV, but was later told UNT head coach Johnny Jones would be interviewed before the game, but the game would not be shown.

I just received word that North Texas' game against Middle Tennessee in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament will be shown on Ch. 52 in the Dallas/Denton area. The game was already scheduled to be shown on ESPN+Plus.

The Mean Green (21-10) is in the midst of its best season since Bill Blakeley roamed UNT’s sideline in the 1970s. A win against MTSU would give the Mean Green a shot at an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament in the Sun Belt tournament finals.

There are times in any special season for a college basketball team when it has to find an unconventional way to win a game or two.

Sunday was one of those times for North Texas in a quarterfinal game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament against Louisiana-Monroe.

UNT fell behind by 12 at halftime, senior guard Kendrick Davis finished 1-for-18 from the field and the Mean Green went just 5-of-24 from behind the 3-point arc.

And yet, UNT found a way to scramble back behind starters Calvin Watson, Quincy Williams and Ben Bell with a big assist from Harold Stewart off the bench. Williams finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in a typically solid outing, while Bell more than doubled his average scoring output with a season-high 15 points. Stewart, who was averaging just 4.0 points a game, finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Watson, UNT’s leading scorer at 15.5 points a game, had a team-high 19 points.

The quartet helped the Mean Green make up for an off night by a few of its other key players and move to within one win of the Sun Belt tournament finals.

At 21-10, UNT is just one game from tying the school record for wins in a season and is two wins away from earning an NCAA Tournament bid heading into a 6:30 p.m. game today against a Middle Tennessee team it drilled 66-53 earlier this year.

That situation couldn't have looked much better to the Mean Green, even if the path it took to get there wasn't what head coach Johnny Jones drew up before tip-off.

North Texas senior guard Kendrick Davis had one of his worst games of the season in the Mean Green's 77-71 overtime win over Louisiana-Monroe in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference tournament on Sunday, scoring six points on 1-of-18 shooting.

That could turn out to be good news for the Mean Green today in the semifinals against Middle Tennessee.

Davis usually bounces back from bad games in a big way.

Earlier this season, Davis scored 18 points against Denver after posting just two points against Belhaven in UNT's previous game. He came back from a five-point game against Arkansas-Little Rock with 14 points against Arkansas State.

MTSU is also a good matchup for Davis, who is 6-4. MTSU starting guards Kevin Kanaskie and Nigel Johnson are both 6-2 and don't match up well with Davis or his fellow starting guard Calvin Watson, who is 6-5.

Davis scored nine points, while Watson had with 21 in a 66-53 win over the Blue Raiders earlier this season.

The North Texas men's basketball team caught what could turn out to be a huge break in the Sun Belt Conference tournament when Middle Tennessee knocked off South Alabama in the second round on Sunday.

USA came into the tournament as the No. 1 seed and appeared to be the likely opponent for the Mean Green in the semifinals – if UNT could beat ULM in the second meeting between the teams this season. The Warhawks won the first game in Monroe 66-62.

MTSU, the No. 9 seed that has a 14-16 record on the season, will now face the UNT-ULM winner.

The UNT-ULM game is set to start in about 10 minutes.

Andrew asked about the television schedule for the Sun Belt Conference basketball tournament earlier today.

The bad news is the quarterfinals are not scheduled to be on TV. If UNT advances to the semifinals, the Mean Green's fans could be in luck, though. The semis are scheduled to be on ESPN+Plus while the championship game will be on ESPN2. ESPN+Plus games are often picked up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

North Texas women's basketball coach Tina Slinker said on Friday that she is optimistic about the future of the program, despite a tough season for the Mean Green.

UNT returns all of its key players and will have two additions in point guard Yari Escalera, a transfer from Colorado, and Brittani Bailey, a post from Alvin.

UNT struggled with a lack of experience last season, but seemed to improve at the end of the year when the Mean Green knocked off Western Kentucky and Arkansas State.

For more on what Slinker had to say about the Mean Green, be sure to catch the season wrapup in the Denton Record-Chronicle. The following is a link.

Feel free to post your this blog. Do you have confidence that UNT can turn it around next year?

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/sports/college/stories/DRC_untwomenshoops_3-3.1362de1d.html

New North Texas football coach