Mean Green

After finishing off a couple of stories for the Denton and Dallas papers, I am back to provide a quick update on the UNT-USA men's game. UNT is up 53-52 witih 8:16 left. Josh White and Collin Dennis have both scored in double figures for the Mean Green, which lost starting shooting guard Dez Willingham to what appears to be a minor injury to his left knee in the first half.

UNT is still rolling at the Super Pit and appears to be on its way to its third win in its last four games. Brittney James has a career-high 28 points, while Amber Jackson has 16.

UNT is pouring it on in the second half of its game against USA. Tricia Lee just hit a 3-pointer for the Mean Green, which is shooting just under 69 percent from the field in the second half.

UNT went on a 14-0 run late in the first half and went up 20 before settling for a 51-32 lead at halftime of its game against USA. This might be the best the Mean Green has played this season.

UNT is blowing its game against USA open late in the first half. The Mean Green is in the midst of a 9-0 run. Brittney James has 15 points and Amber Jackson has come off the bench to score 10. UNT is shooting 60.7 percent from the field.

Amber Jackson has come off the bench for UNT, which has continued to build on its lead over USA. Jackson was at a funeral for a family member and didn't get into town until late, which is why she did not start today.

UNT is on a run and has taken a 21-15 lead at the second media timeout. The Mean Green went on an 11-0 run after falling behind early.

UNT got off to a bit of a slow start against USA and trailed 10-4 before scoring the last five points. Brittney James just hit a 3-pointer to pull the Mean Green to within one.

Amber Jackson is still on the bench for the Mean Green.

The UNT women are about ready to tip off their game against South Alabama at the Super Pit and once again the Mean Green Blog will kick into gear to provide a few updates and random tidbits.

UNT has been playing well of late, winning three of its last four. The Mean Green need to keep it going to move up in the Sun Belt Conference West Division and secure a first-round home game in the conference tournament.

In a strange move, UNT's leading scorer Amber Jackson is not starting.

Horace Dixon, a power forward from Angelina Community College who visited UNT in October, committed to Houston a few days ago.

UNT never offered Dixon a scholarship -- at least not according to the Web sites that track college basketball recruiting.

UNT has a commitment from Arlington Grace Prep power forward Ben Knox and is hot on the trail of Arlington Oakridge shooting guard Chris Babb. UNT also has offers out to Dallas Kimball shooting guard Darian Thibodeaux and North Bridgton Bridgton Academy point guard Cardell McFarland.

UNT has made a habit of landing big-time players late in the process under Johnny Jones -- see Josh White -- and appears to be going the same route this year. This time UNT could use a big rabbit.

UNT will lose Keith Wooden and Quincy Williams after this season and will be left with Justin Howerton, Kedrick Hogans, Harold Stewart, George Odufuwa and Knox in its frontcourt next year.

UNT could use an experienced junior college post player who could come in and contribute right away while Knox -- who appears to be a project -- adjusts to the college game and Odufuwa knocks off the rust after sitting out for a season.

Feel free to weigh in on the blog. Who is at the top of your wish list when it comes to UNT basketball recruiting?

I obtained a copy of the contract new UNT defensive coordinator Gary DeLoach signed earlier this week. The full details will be in tomorrow's paper, but here is a quick rundown.

DeLoach will make $105,000 this year and will also receive a car allowance. The former UCLA defensive backs coach spent the 1998-2002 seasons as a UNT assistant coach, including the final three as the Mean Green's defensive coordinator.

DeLoach's salary is 12.9 percent higher than what former UNT defensive coordinator Ron Mendoza made in his only season with the Mean Green.

DeLoach is a highly respected coach who has spent the majority of his career in Texas. UNT is hoping he can turn around the Mean Green's defense that finished last nationally with an average of 45.1 points allowed a game last season. DeLoach's defenses at the end of his first stay with the Mean Green were among the best in recent school history.

UNT's 2002 unit ranked in the top 10 nationally in both scoring defense and total defense.

For more on DeLoach, see tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

It's been a while since we dug into the mailbox for a blog item, but I received a good question today on football recruiting, so here goes.

A UNT fan asked about the status of Blake Gumm, a defensive tackle from Trinity Valley Community College. Gumm visited UNT and Arizona in early December and has about a half a dozen scholarship offers. I have not checked in with the coaches at Trinity Valley to see what Gumm's status is, but the fact that he visited schools almost two months ago and has yet to make a decision makes me wonder if he will end up signing with a school on national signing day. Gumm would be a great get for UNT. Rivals.com ranks him No. 80 among junior college players.

A second question was in reference to Celina lineman Troy Franklin and where he will end up playing for UNT. When he committed to UNT, Franklin told me that all the colleges that were recruiting him were interested in him as an offensive lineman. UNT has another good tackle recruit in Coleman Feeley, but with Robert Peachey leaving the team, I don't see UNT's coaches changing their minds and moving Franklin to defense. UNT doesn't have a lot of depth on its offensive line and needs Franklin at tackle.

That last part of UNTRugby77's message also talked about how much better UNT's defense would be next season under Gary DeLoach. I know a lot of people are excited about DeLoach, and those expectations for improvement are justified. One factor to keep in mind, though, is there is some doubt about what DeLoach will have to work with next season in terms of personnel. There is a long way to go until UNT's roster is finalized for next season.

On the hoops front, Johnny Jones made an interesting comment in his weekly press conference. Jones expressed some doubt that center Keith Wooden would get back to 100 percent the rest of his senior season because of the banging that goes on under the basket every day in practice and in games. Wooden has a pair of bad ankles. UNT has lost three straight and really needs Wooden to be at his best. One Sun Belt Conference coach told me that one of the key factors that put UNT over the top last season was no one in the league could match up with Wooden and Quincy Williams. UNT won't be nearly as dangerous if Wooden can't regain his form.

Dallas Bishop Lynch offensive lineman Evan Epstein orally committed to Air Force last night, according to my colleague over at The Dallas Morning News Todd Wills.

Epstein is ranked No. 79 on the Morning News' Area Top 100 list and was among the Mean Green's top targets among offensive linemen. UNT has three commitments from offensive linemen so far, including center Nick Leppo of Southlake Carroll and tackles Coleman Feeley of Austin Anderson and Troy Franklin of Celina.

Feel free to post your thoughts on the blog. Has UNT picked up enough linemen in its 2008 recruiting class?

UNT had several young linemen last season, including sophomore second-team All-Sun Belt Conference center Kelvin Drake, but could use some additional players to build its depth. Backup tackle Robert Peachey has already left the team.

Feel free to post your thoughts on the blog. Has UNT picked up enough linemen in its 2008 recruiting class?

I did a little asking around today about the status of the UNT-LSU football game next season. Take it for what it's worth, but an LSU official said that the school is trying to set up a home-and-home series with a BCS conference opponent beginning next season.

The official said LSU might have to move a game to make room for the new series on its schedule, but at this point it does not plan on moving the UNT game.

UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said the school is still working on moving a few games around and will not have its schedule finalized for a few weeks.

It should be interesting to see how UNT's schedule shapes up, but at this point, a couple of scenarios seem possible. The UNT-LSU game is moved back to later in the season to accommodate an LSU game against a BCS opponent or UNT heads to Baton Rouge for a big payday and a potential beat down at the hands of the defending national champion to open the season.

UNT will host Tulsa on Sept. 6 and play at Kansas State on Sept. 27 in two other non-conference games. Both Tulsa and KSU have released their schedules.

MTSU has come all the way back to take a three-point lead on UNT with 2:59 left behind some hot shooting from Kevin Kanaskie. The sophomore has hit four 3-pointers in the last few minutes, including three in a row.

UNT has left MTSU's best shooter wide open for several of his baskets.

UNT appeared as if it might put MTSU away when it went up by 11 points in the second half, but MTSU is not going away. The Blue Raiders are on a run and have pulled to within four.

MTSU pulled to within a point of UNT before the Mean Green went on a run. UNT has scored the last seven points and Harold Stewart is headed to the line to try to complete a 3-point play. Josh White and Quincy Williams each have 13 points for UNT.

Josh White and Quincy Williams have each scored four points in the early going of the second half to put UNT up six. White is heating up and has 13 points.

UNT appeared as if it was going to take a double-digit lead into halftime after going up by 11 on a Josh White bucket, but blew most of its edge in the closing moments of the first half. MTSU scored the last nine points of the half.

UNT has eight steals in the first half, but MTSU shot 51.9 percent from the field before the break.

UNT went on a 6-0 run highlighted by a Josh White layup over a much taller defender to extend the Mean Green's lead to nine.

The bad news for UNT is Quincy Williams hit his head on the floor diving for a loose ball. Williams appears to be OK, but is on the bench.

Josh White scored five straight points for UNT midway through the first half to help put the Mean Green up six. UNT has kept Desmond Yates in check thus far, limiting him to four points.

MTSU has come to life after a slow start and has cut UNT's lead to 15-12 at the 11:25 mark.

UNT head coach Johnny Jones made a couple of changes in his starting lineup that are paying off early for the Mean Green. Justin Howerton started at center, while Dez Willingham started at guard. Willingham has seven points, while Howerton has two points, three rebounds and two blocks.

UNT is up 11-6 at the first media timeout.

UNT and MTSU are about to begin their game at the Murphy Center, where the Mean Green has never won. Granted, UNT has only played at MTSU three times, but it has been a tough place for the Mean Green to break through.

UNT needs to kick it into gear here pretty quick after losing its last two games to fall to 3-4 in Sun Belt Conference play. UNT failed to grab a bye in the conference tournament last season after finishing third in the Sun Belt Conference West Division. UNT went on to win the conference tournament title anyway, but would like to face a shorter path to the NCAA Tournament this season. UNT is sitting in sixth place in the standings heading into today's game. One factor that could help UNT make a late run at a bye is the fact that each team in the division has lost at least three league games.

If UNT is to move up in the standings it will have to find a way to play better on the road. UNT has lost at Denver, Troy and Florida Atlantic in league play. The losses to Troy and FAU definitely look like bad ones at this point in the season. FAU (3-6) and Troy (2-6) are two of the bottom three teams in the Sun Belt's East Division.

The key to today's game for UNT will be finding a way to slow down MTSU forward Desmond Yates, who has averaged 26 points and seven rebounds in the Blue Raiders’ last three games.

Check back on the blog for a few updates and tidbits throughout the game.

I talked to Alonzo Horton of Northwest (Miss.) Community College today for a story that will be in tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of what the defensive end had to say is that an old connection with the UNT coaching staff played a key role in his decision to play for the Mean Green. It turns out UNT running backs coach Shelton Gandy recruited Horton when Gandy was at Southern Miss and Horton was a high school standout in St. Louis.

Horton said he and his high school coach have maintained a relationship with Gandy the last few years, which gave the Mean Green the inside track for his commitment.

For more on Horton, be sure to see tomorrow's edition of the DR-C.

MTSU has run away from UNT in the second half and is about to extend its winning streak in Sun Belt Conference home games to 35. Brittney James and Amber Jackson have 17 and 14 points, respectively, but no one else has more than six points for the Mean Green.

MTSU went on an 18-2 run to open the second half and has blown open its game against UNT. The Lady Raiders hit four 3-point shorts during their surge. UNT has answered with an 8-2 run, but is in a big hole now.

MTSU scored the last six points of the first half to break a tie game and grab the lead at the break.

Brittney James has 14 points for UNT. Amber Holt started to heat up for MTSU late in the first half and has 12 points at the break.

UNT went up seven on MTSU with a little under seven minutes left in the first half, but is now down 29-27 with 1:37 left in the first half. The Lady Raiders went to their press and forced some key turnovers to spark a run.

Talicia Sanders has scored the last four points for UNT, which is up 20-16 on MTSU at the 6:56 mark of the first half. UNT is gaining confidence as the game goes on. There were probably a lot of people in the league who had this pegged as a blowout.

UNT has just gone on a 7-0 run and is up on MTSU 18-16 with 7:55 left in the first half. It's early, but MTSU has a 34-game winning streak at home against SBC teams

UNT is hanging tough early in its game with MTSU. The Lady Raiders have missed a bunch of chippies around the basket. Brittney James has five early points for UNT. The Mean Green's problem is that MTSU is dominating the glass. The Lady Raiders have a 14-5 edge.

UNT is holding Amber Holt in check in the early going here in Murfreesboro, but is still down 9-5 at the first media timeout. Holt came into the game averaging 27.5 points a game, but has just two so far. UNT has gotten some good looks offensively, but is just 2-for-7 from the field.

I made the trek to the Murfreesboro, one of my favorite Belt stops, for this weekend's two-day double-dip between UNT and MTSU.

The women's game is about to start. UNT is officially on fire after winning three straight, but is facing a huge challenge. MTSU has won 34 straight at home against Sun Belt Conference opponents.

UNT usually plays MTSU pretty well considering how much better the Lady Raiders have been than most of the rest of the teams in the Sun Belt the last few years.

Check back on the blog later for a few updates and tidbits.