Mean Green

After a few days of trying, I finally got in touch with someone who could confirm that former UNT safety Aaron Weathers is going to have a chance to show what he can do for the Miami Dolphins.

It just so happened to be Weathers, who I caught on his cell phone today.

Weathers confirmed that he was invited to the Dolphins rookie mini camp that begins on Thursday and runs through Sunday.

"I'm very excited about it," Weathers said. "The Dolphins had shown interest in me before the draft and the [Kansas City] Chiefs called me after the draft. We looked at the rosters of both teams and also considered that the Chiefs didn't call until later. Patrick [Cobbs] is also still with the Dolphins, so I decided to go there. I think I have a chance to make the team. I just have to play well and work hard."

Weathers posted 64 tackles and blocked three kicks as a senior. He led the Mean Green with 78 tackles as a junior.

Weathers said he hasn’t had a chance to talk with Cobbs yet, but will likely catch up with the former UNT running back in the next few days. Weathers will be trying to follow the same path into the NFL as Cobbs, who went to training camp with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent and made a big enough impression in the preseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers to trade a draft pick for him. The Steelers later released Cobbs, who ended up on Miami’s practice squad before being promoted to the active roster.

Wide receiver Brandon Jackson signed with the San Diego Chargers while defensive end Jeremiah Chapman will have a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings. Post your thoughts on the blog. Who do you think has the best chance of making a team of this year’s crop of UNT players?

There is nothing like a good list to get people talking, so I thought I would pass this one along from JUCO Junction, a Web site that specializes in rating junior college football and basketball prospects. I was looking through the 2008 basketball list the other night and found a bunch of players with UNT/Sun Belt connections. Here is a rundown of who is on the list of 200:

38. Dynile Forbes, point guard, Douglas (AZ) Cochise C.C., committed to Louisiana-Monroe

44. Eric McKinney, power forward, Cowley County, committed to Arkansas State
-- Also visited UNT

50. Jeremy Barr, center, San Jacinto CC, committed to UL-Lafayette

58. Lester Ferguson, power forward, Arkansas-Fort Smith J.C., committed to UL-Lafayette.
-- Had an offer from UNT.

59. Darrian McKinstry, guard, Fullerton (Calif.) C.C., committed to New Orleans.

108. Wayne Burton, power forward, Western Texas CC, committed to Arkansas-Little Rock.

123. Montarrio Haddock, guard, Supply (NC) Brunswick C.C., committed to Middle Tennessee.

125. Lashun Watson, shooting guard, Niceville (FL) Okaloosa-Walton C.C., committed to South Alabama.

151. Jimmie Sutton, center, Ocala (FL) Central Florida C.C., committed to Florida Atlantic

UNT has two junior college players in what is looking more and more like a completed recruiting class who didn’t make the list -- Paris JC forward Eric Tramiel and Arkansas-Fort Smith point guard Dominique Johnson.

Of the two, Tramiel seems like the bigger omission. The 6-7 power forward was a first-team NJCAA All-American. Tramiel was probably overlooked because of his size and the fact he didn’t put up huge numbers at Paris (15.9 points, 6.8 rebounds a game). One can’t ignore that Tramiel was a conference and regional MVP, though. The guy can play, no matter what the ratings say. Johnson seems to be a good fit at UNT because of his ability to handle the ball. It’s a wonder UNT managed to find a point guard with experience considering Sun Belt Freshman of the Year Josh White will be just a sophomore next season.

Post your thoughts on the blog. Are you happy with the two junior college players UNT has landed thus far in recruiting?

Two of the UNT football team's best players of the past few seasons are going to get a chance to show what they can do for an NFL team.

Defensive end Jeremiah Chapman will have a free agent tryout with the Minnesota Vikings in the next few days, while wide receiver Brandon Jackson has signed a free agent contract with the San Diego Chargers.

Chapman was a rock on UNT's defensive front throughout his career with the Mean Green and led the team in tackles (78), tackles for loss (17) and sacks (five) as a senior. Jackson caught 79 passes for 784 yards as a senior and was the Mean Green's second-leading receiver in each of his last three seasons.

On the basketball front, several blog readers pointed out that prep school point guard Cardell McFarland committed to Missouri State.

I have said the last few days that UNT has one scholarship left to give and since former Davidson commit Alex Voyoukas had not heard from UNT and Caleb Patterson, who is transferring from Colorado, is not visiting Denton, threw out there that the Mean Green might be targeting Dallas Kimball guard Darian Thibodeaux.

It now appears more likely that UNT will pocket that last scholarship and wait to see if it can land a Division I transfer who would sit out a season or save it for a player in the Class of 2009.

That wouldn't be an entirely bad deal for the Mean Green, which has already addressed its needs by lining up a class that will include: JC All-American power forward Eric Tramiel, Arlington Grace Prep forward Ben Knox and Arkansas-Fort Smith point guard Dominique Johnson.

I had to lay out the paper tonight, so this turned out to be a Monday morning blog instead of a Sunday night entry. It should be one that hits home for UNT fans, who love nothing more than to talk football recruiting.

Coaches are out on the road around this time of year and a lot of the top players in the state are also on the recruiting circuit at events designed to feature the best Texas has to offer. Two of those events took place in the last few days in Dallas-Fort Worth, where a UNT target was in action.

The first event was the Elite 11 workout at TCU, where the top quarterbacks in the state went though drills. Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal's Doak Raulston, one of UNT's targets, was in action at the event. There was a brief mention in Rivals.com's coverage of the event that Raulston performed well.

It was also interesting to note that one of the players who made the biggest splash was Drew Allen, who is following in the path of current UNT starter Giovanni Vizza at San Antonio Alamo Heights.

The Nike Training Camp Circuit also made a stop at TCU the following day. I didn't notice any players who had expressed interest in UNT mentioned, but Plano's Rex Burkhead, an athlete who dropped UNT from his list of potential destinations was on hand.

UNT has yet to land a recruit, but its neighbor to the south is off to a hot start. TCU has eight players committed, including a pair Rivals.com has rated as four-star recruits -- quarterback Casey Pachall of Brownwood and athlete Jurell Thompson of Wichita Falls.

Post your thoughts on the blog. What do you think UNT's biggest need is in 2009 when it comes to recruiting?

I spoke with a member of Caleb Patterson's family a few hours ago who told me the same thing Patterson told a few other media outlets this weekend. He will not visit UNT, but there is a little more to the story. The person I spoke with in the Patterson family said that UNT told the center that it was interested in him, but that the coaching staff had already offered its last scholarship to another player.

My immediate thought was that it had been offered to Alex Voyoukas, so I gave him a ring. Only Voyoukas told me that he has yet to hear from the UNT coaching staff and he has picked up offers from Marist and Morgan State.

I am starting to wonder if that final scholarship offer might be out to someone other than Voyoukas. If UNT was hot after him, I would assume that the Mean Green's coaches would have spoken to him by now. It seems like every other mid-major program that is interested in Voyoukas had made its pitch at this point.

The only other players on the board who are supposed to have offers from UNT are prep school point guard Cardell McFarland and Dallas Kimball guard Darian Thibodeaux.

Thibodeaux plays for Dallas Showtyme Elite, a program run by Erven Davis, the brother of former UNT great Chris Davis. UNT has had a number of Showtyme players in the past. If it isn't Voyoukas or Patterson UNT is after, it could very well be Thibodeaux, who is ranked No. 56 in Texashoops.com's list of the top 100 players in the Class of 2008.

The Sun Belt Conference has had a pretty good year when it comes to football. Louisiana-Monroe toppled Alabama, Florida Atlantic beat Minnesota and then knocked off Memphis in the New Orleans Bowl. Troy won eight games.

The league will add another chapter to that solid run today in the NFL Draft. The Sun Belt produced a first-round pick a couple of years back in Troy's DeMarcus Ware and will have another today when Trojans cornerback/returnman Leodis McKelvin is expected to be taken in the top half of the first round.

Arkansas State safety Tyrell Johnson could also go on the first day. Even if he is around on Sunday, it looks like he will be gone by the end of the third round. Middle Tennessee offensive lineman Franklin Dunbar could be a late-round pick.

There doesn't seem to be much doubt that the talent level in the Sun Belt is on the rise.

Having a player picked in the first round again is going to give Troy a nice publicity boost, not that it needed one with Ware in the Pro Bowl with the Cowboys and Osi Umenyiora sporting a new Super Bowl ring, thanks to the Giants' win over New England.

UNT will likely go without having anyone selected in the draft, which I never would have guessed when Jamario Thomas was running over, around and through just about everyone the Mean Green faced nearly four years ago. Thomas' stock dropped along with his production late in his career due to injuries and other factors.

The question of the day seems to be, how long will UNT be left out when it comes to draft day? Linebacker Cody Spencer was selected in the sixth round in 2004, but the Mean Green has had few draft prospects since. Post your guess on the blog. Is there a player on UNT's roster who will be a draft prospect by the end of his career?

My random somewhat qualified guess – Sam Roberson. The 6-4 wide receiver has the physical tools and plays in an offense that will allow him to develop them.

The Sun Belt Conference updated its Vic Bubas Cup standings today. Seeing that the conference’s all-sports award has possibly the funniest name in all of college athletics, I thought I would mention where UNT stands.

There are so many funny and off-color puns running through my mind right now, but since this is strictly a G-rated blog I will not tell any Bubas jokes. Maybe my friends at the TY Sports blog can help me out.

Any way, UNT is sitting a very respectable fourth out of 13 in the latest standings. Western Kentucky is No. 1 with 113 points, Middle Tennessee No. 2 with 108.5 and Arkansas-Little Rock No. 3 at 86.5, just head of UNT, which has 85 points.

I won’t bore you to tears trying to explain how the Sun Belt calculates the points. Some sports’ point totals are based on the regular season standings, some on the regular season standings, plus the conference tournament while others are strictly based on the conference tournament. UNT has done well in several sports, including cross country, soccer and indoor track and field, but was hurt by down years in other sports.

Middle or Western has won the Bubas Cup each year since 2001. Middle won it last year.

UNT should get a boost from its traditionally strong track team at the end of the school year, but the softball team has dropped toward the bottom of the standings and other schools will pick up points in baseball, a sport UNT does not offer.

In other news …

This really doesn’t have a lot to do with UNT any more, but I thought I would mention the latest in the saga of former Mean Green basketball recruit Roderick Flemings. The 6-7 forward spent a year at UNT after leaving Oklahoma State, but never qualified to play for the Mean Green. He left UNT, played a year at Weatherford JC and is now being recruiting by some of the top teams in the country.

UConn, Georgetown, Arkansas and West Virginia have all offered. Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie traveled to Weatherford recently to talk with Flemings and his coach Mark Osina, who said the Wildcats are the team to beat. But get this: Flemings visited Hawaii earlier this month. The Warriors are now near the top of his list of potential destinations.

The whole Flemings saga makes me wonder, has a player ever gotten more out of playing less big-time college basketball? The former DeSoto standout played 28 games off the bench at Oklahoma State in 2005, sat out 2006 at UNT, played at Weatherford last season and is now being wined and dined again coming out of junior college.

That’s three years. The kicker? Osina told the guys at Rivals.com that there is some question of whether or not Flemings will qualify to play at the Division I level next year. He is on course to complete the requirements at Weatherford, but might need to take a summer class to finish out at junior college.

It just goes to show, if a kid can play, someone will be willing to give him another chance. Only this time it won’t be UNT. Rivals.com shows that Flemings no longer holds a scholarship offer from UNT.

Post your thoughts on the blog. Would you have liked to see Flemings come back to UNT?

A computer malfunction this morning took down the Mean Green Blog, causing some wild rumors of my untimely demise.

No, I was not fired. I did not land another job or quit the paper.

It was kind of odd that the blog reverted back to one of the few entries I did not write. Go figure.

The blog is back up and running now, thanks to some computer geniuses at the DRC and downtown at The Dallas Morning News.

I will have some stuff later, but I did pick up one tidbit today that I don't mind throwing out early in the day. New UNT head women's basketball coach Shanice Stephens will be back in town next week, when she is expected to interview several candidates to become assistant coaches on her staff. She is back in South Carolina this week preparing to move her family to Denton.

There was not a lot going on today on the UNT front when it comes to the big-name sports -- football and basketball -- so I thought I would take a minute or two to point out the good year the tennis team just finished.

UNT finished 13-9 this year under Sujay Lama or "The Lama" as he is known around the DRC office. That doesn't sound all that impressive until one considers UNT finished 2-19 last season.

UNT had just one senior on its roster this season and should be even better next year.

UNT and booster Ronald Waranch dropped $3 million into the program to build a new tennis facility. The Mean Green showed this year that they are starting to capitalize on that investment.

Today seemed like as good a day as any to point that success out and offer kudos to without question one of UNT's most enthusiastic coaches.

A UNT fan with a keen eye picked up on a new target on the recruiting front for the men's basketball team today.

Caleb Patterson, a 7-0 center who spent last season at Colorado, has been released from his scholarship and is looking for a new school. The guys at Scout.com said UNT, Wichita State, Missouri State, Central Arkansas, UT-Arlington and Northern Illinois are on his list.

UNT has one scholarship to give and is looking for a big man. Alex Vouyoukas, a 6-9 forward from Blair Academy is still on the board and appears to be a better fit for UNT's system. That's not to say that Patterson would be a bad choice. I just wonder about a 7-footer running the floor in head coach Johnny Jones' run-and-gun system.

Keith Wooden and Shawnson Johnson worked out just fine, though, and the Sun Belt's front court players are getting bigger every year. Patterson would certainly help the Mean Green keep pace. He was a three-star player in Rivals.com’s rating system coming out of high school and also had an offer from Rice.

While Patterson has emerged as an option, Eric McKinney is off the board. The 6-7 power forward committed to Arkansas State. McKinney is from Arkansas and UNT picked up a commitment from JUCO All-American Eric Tramiel to play power forward. McKinney heading to ASU seemed like a foregone conclusion after UNT landed Tramiel.

Post your thoughts on the blog. Would you rather see UNT land Vouyoukas or Patterson?

I picked up an interesting note on Blair Academy forward Alex Vouyoukas today. The 6-9 forward accidentally called me back a second time this afternoon, this time after he played in the fifth annual Big Apple Scholarship Games in New York.

The game features the top 40 players from the New York City area who have yet to commit to a college. Vouyoukas was committed to Davidson, but is back on the market because he didn't meet entrance requirements at the school.

While I had Vouyoukas on the phone, I asked how he did. Turns out he did very well, scoring 17 points to go along with 19 rebounds, four blocks and four assists.

Vouyoukas said he is hearing from programs all over the country and is considering UNT.

Coaches from across the country were at the event. Vouyoukas said he didn't talk to anyone on UNT's staff, which was headed to the Kingwood Classic in Houston late in the week. UNT’s coaches have been in contact with the staff at Blair Academy and are expected to talk with Vouyoukas soon.

UNT would have one of its best classes in the Johnny Jones era if it could pull this off. One factor that could play in UNT's favor is that most schools have handed out their scholarships at this point.

UNT has addressed its needs with the addition of Paris JC power forward Eric Tramiel and Arkansas-Fort Smith point guard Dominique Johnson. The Mean Green also picked up a project-type player in Arlington Grace Prep power forward Ben Knox.

UNT has one scholarship left to give and is looking to hit a home run like it did last year with the addition of Josh White. Considering the way he played in New York, Vouyoukas would certainly qualify.

He has my endorsement. I left him message with his coach and another on his cell phone and went two for two on callbacks.

The following is a link to the Big Apple Scholarship Games' Web site:

http://www.bigapplebasketball.com/hsexpo.html

Post your thoughts on the blog. Would the addition of Vouyoukas make UNT's 2008 class even better than its haul from 2007?

I spoke with UNT head coach Todd Dodge this week for the upcoming edition of Dave Campbell's Texas Football magazine. I always make sure I get in for a post spring rundown.

Any way, there was a tidbit I have been saving for a slow day.

When Dodge was discussing his quarterback situation, he mentioned that he really likes what UNT is going to have for "the next five years." That qualified as one of those "things that make you go hmmm."

I asked Dodge a little more about what his plans are for the next few years when it comes to his quarterbacks. He left no doubt that Giovanni Vizza will begin fall practice as UNT's starter. Dodge also said he hasn't ruled out redshirting his son Riley, who he said will start at No. 5 on the depth chart and will have to work his way up.

"Riley might be the next best option," Dodge said. "We are not thinking about what is best two or three years from now. We are going to try to win now. We are going to have our best guys on the bus."

I have no doubt that Riley will be on the bus, but considering he is recovering from shoulder surgery and Dodge is really high on Vizza, I wonder if he won't be carrying a clipboard next season.

Post your thoughts on the blog. Should Dodge redshirt Riley next season?

UNT officially welcomed one new member of its team on Friday and appears to have another in its sights. As promised, here is a little more on Dominique Johnson and Alex Vouyoukas.

I already wrote about Johnson a few days back, but today was the first day UNT head coach Johnny Jones could talk about his new point guard. Jones said that UNT was in the market for a ball-handler to replace two-year starter Ben Bell and free up Josh White to play off the ball at times like he did last season. UNT’s coaches think Johnson will fill that role and provide a whole lot more. Jones said Johnson can really push the pace and is also a good shooter.

Jones also likes the fact that Johnson has experience at the Division I level from his time at Missouri-Kansas City.

Vouyoukas came up today and I was able to get both him and Blair Academy assistant coach Terrell Ivory on the phone. Vouyoukas didn’t qualify at Davidson after committing to play there and is looking for a new home.

Ivory said the race is wide open for the 6-9 small forward’s services. Because Vouyoukas is from Greece, he doesn’t have any preconceived notions of it being important to play in a prominent conference or for a team with a long history of success, Ivory said.

Vouyoukas is considering Western Kentucky, Loyola-Chicago, Loyola (Md.), Wright State, Wichita State and East Carolina in addition to UNT.

Ivory said Vouyoukas is a typical European player with shooting touch and also has the ability to run the floor. He would be a huge get for UNT. The Mean Green could roll out George Odufuwa and Vouyoukas at 6-9 each and have Eric Tramiel at 6-7 at the power forward spot with Harold Stewart, Justin Howerton and Kedrick Hogans coming off the bench. UNT would be a nightmare to match up with at that point.

It also would be nice for UNT to keep him away from Western Kentucky, which has pretty much lost its entire recruiting class after the departure of Darin Horn to South Carolina.

There will be quotes in tomorrow’s paper from Vouyoukas and Ivory, so be sure to pick up a copy.

Post your thoughts on the blog. How good could UNT be with Vouyoukas?

I have received a bunch of questions today about Blair Academy forward Alex Vouyoukas, who is back on the recruiting market after not qualifying to attend Davidson.

I finally got a call back a few minutes ago from Vouyoukas and a coach at Blair. UNT is definitely in the hunt. For more about what Vouyoukas had to say and for Johnny Jones' thoughts on his latest signee Dominique Johnson, check back on the blog later tonight and be sure to pick up a copy of tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

The depth along UNT’s offensive line for the early stages of next season took a hit a few days back when tackle Matt Tomlinson had surgery on his shoulder. Tomlinson came out of surgery fine, but head coach Todd Dodge said today that the red shirt freshman will need several weeks to recover and isn’t expected to return to practice until Sept. 1. Tomlinson will likely miss the first few weeks of the season.

Tomlinson had been impressive in spring practice up until the injury and appeared as if he would end up in a key role as a backup on an offensive line that returns several key players and will add two junior college transfers in the fall. Dodge said Tomlinson would still end up being that key backup. It just might take a little longer because of the injury.

UNT has several offensive linemen who are on the mend and are expected to return late this summer, including center Kelvin Drake, an all-conference selection last season.

Dodge also said that he has ruled out the return of Ajani Banks, a guard who played with UNT in 2006, missed the 2007 season and never lived up to his potential with the Mean Green.

Be sure to pick up a copy of tomorrow’s paper, which will have a story on Tomlinson, a story on the UNT tennis team that opens the Sun Belt Conference tournament tomorrow and a column on new women’s basketball coach Shanice Stephens that we didn’t have room for in today’s paper.

Shanice Stephens had a chance to make a good first impression during her introductory press conference on Wednesday, when she was officially named the new women's basketball coach at North Texas.

She made the most of the opportunity.

Stephens was engaging, enthusiastic and seemed to connect with the fans and officials in attendance. She seemed like the kind of person people will get behind in Denton and believe in when it comes to high school coaches and players.

In short, Stephens seemed like the kind of person UNT needs to build its basketball program into a power.

There will be a story in tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle about Stephens and the first impression she made after being introduced.

On the men's hoops front, Paris Junior College forward Eric Tramiel turned in his letter of intent today, which allowed head coach Johnny Jones to talk about his latest recruit for the first time. There will be a story on Tramiel in tomorrow's paper with exactly what Jones had to say, but in short, UNT's head coach was thrilled to land the 6-7 power forward.

I had been using 6-6 as Tramiel’s height, but UNT listed him as 6-7 on signing day.

Jones said Tramiel was just what UNT needed to help replace Quincy Williams at the power forward spot. Quincy was listed at 6-7 and Jones said the difference between a player who is 6-6 and 6-8 isn't all that great. The more important factor is strength and knowledge of how to play around the basket. Jones believes Tramiel has both. He called Tramiel a huge get for the Mean Green.

Arkansas-Fort Smith will have its signing day festivities today, so Jones will be free to talk about Dominique Johnson sometime Thursday or Friday. Check back on the blog and in the paper to see Jones' thoughts on Johnson.

One final note of the night worth mentioning is the UNT softball team beat TWU today to set a record for wins in a season at 23. UNT had won 22 games in a season three times previously. At 23-26, UNT still has a chance to make a run at the .500 mark over the last few weeks of the season, which would be a nice step for a program that has struggled throughout its existence.

Post your thoughts on the blog. What were your impressions of UNT's new women's basketball coach?

One of my old friends from Abilene broke a story tonight that should interest UNT fans. Former UNT signee Ryan McCoy appears as if he will continue his career with Louisiana-Lafayette.

McCoy played at Arkansas-Fort Smith and Midland College before signing with the Mean Green. The 6-foot point guard never played for UNT due off-the-court issues.

McCoy went back to Houston, where former UNT assistant Jai Steadman arrived on the scene and started to recruit him. Jai appears to have landed the McCoy for the Ragin' Cajuns.

McCoy never put up big numbers, but was pretty highly regarded for his ability to run a team. Both UAFS and Midland won NJCAA national titles with McCoy at the point.

The following is a link to Josh's story in the Daily Advertiser:

http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080415/SPORTS/80415034/1006

Judging from my e-mail, there are a lot of fans out there grinding their teeth over UNT's decision to go with Shanice Stephens as its next women's basketball coach.

Count me among those who think Stephens will turn out to be a fine hire at UNT -- and quite possibly a whole lot better than that.

Let's not kid ourselves here. UNT wasn't going to hire a male coach. The school hired two male head coaches for its last two women's sports openings. Sujay Lama and TJ Hubbard are doing quite well with the tennis and softball teams, respectively, but UNT was not going to hire three male head coaches in a row.

Stephens or former UTA head coach Donna Capps were both qualified. I like Capps and her track record a lot, but I don't think UNT wanted to take on a coach who had an odd departure from a school just up the road.

Stephens will have a lot going for her at UNT. Think about it:

She is a young coach in a state where she spent nine years as an assistant.

She is also the only female minority head women's basketball coach at DFW's Big Three (UNT, SMU and TCU).

She seems to have a dynamic personality.

She showed that she could recruit at Clemson, where she landed some big-time classes during a rebuilding process.

When you think about it, Stephens reminds me a lot of UNT men's coach Johnny Jones, a long-time assistant who got his first chance at UNT. Jones had an stint as an interim coach at Memphis, but other than that he has essentially the same background. That worked out well for the Mean Green in the end.

Stephens already has a much more extensive college resume than Todd Dodge did when he took over the football program. That hire was wildly popular.

Rice was pretty successful when Stephens was an assistant there, especially at the end of her tenure. Clemson landed some big-time players when Stephens was recruiting there.

Will that track record translate into success at UNT? There is no telling now, but for what UNT was looking for -- an up-and-coming female coach -- Stephens seems like a good pick.

One of the guys over at UNT just pointed out that Shanice Stephens' son has already been born. His name is Grayson-David. I took the information about the latest edition to the family off the Clemson Web site while writing a quick story for the Denton Record-Chronicle and Dallas Morning News Web sites.

Needless to say, the information was a little out of date.

My early thoughts on Stephens are that she could turn out to be a very good hire and really was the logical choice. There is no way UNT was going to hire a third straight male coach to take over one of its women's programs.

Ironically, Texas A&M assistant Vic Schaefer called while I was on the phone talking with an editor at the Morning News about getting a story online on Stephens to tell me that he was pulling out of the race for the job.

Donna Capps would have been a solid choice as well, but I don't think UNT officials wanted to hire a former UTA head coach.

In the end, Stephens is just what UNT needs, a young coach who can recruit and create enthusiasm about Mean Green women's basketball. I was impressed with Stephens when we spoke. She seems like the kind of coach who can sell the program to recruits, which in the end is the key to college coaching in the first place. Good players make for good coaches.

What will be interesting to see is who Stephens will land to join her staff. UNT could use a coach with Dallas-area contacts and connections that could land the Mean Green a junior college post player or two who could make an impact next season.

According to a source close to the search, Clemson associate head coach Shanice Stephens will be the next head women's basketball coach at North Texas.

For more, check back on the blog.

A good question was posted on the blog today -- and since we encourage this sort of interactive activity on the Mean Green Blog -- I have an answer for the query of the day. Just how many scholarships does the UNT men's basketball team have left?

One.

UNT lost seniors Keith Wooden, Quincy Williams and Ben Bell after last season. The player everyone is forgetting is Dez Willingham, who was lost in the middle of conference play with a knee injury. A member of the UNT staff reminded me about Dez the other day.

So just what does UNT do with that last scholarship? My guess is give it to a Division I transfer. UNT seems to land at least one a year and has yet to grab one. The Mean Green could also go after Anthony Hill, the point guard from Plano East who recently backed out of his commitment to Rice, but I doubt it. UNT just added a point guard to its class in Arkansas-Fort Smith's Dominique Johnson and Josh White is only going to be a sophomore next season. With Tramiel in the fold to battle down low and Johnson coming to handle the ball the way Bell did for two seasons, UNT should be in position to take the best available player. At this point that player could be a transfer or a freshman who is dropped by a big-time program at the last minute before signing day like White was last year by LSU.

A few people have asked me about whether or not UNT is going to be small up front with Tramiel potentially starting along side George Odufuwa or Harold Stewart next season. UNT will lose a little, but not as much as people think in the way of frontcourt power. Tramiel is 6-6, but is supposed to be a rock. Quincy Williams was a similar player and was really only 6-7 or so. Odufuwa and Stewart are 6-8, only an inch shorter than Wooden. Justin Howerton is 6-10 and showed signs of becoming a more effective post player at the end of last season and Kedrick Hogans is 6-7.

In an interesting side note, Western Kentucky's recruiting class is falling apart now that Darin Horn has left for South Carolina. Former WKU recruit Bryan Narcisse committed to Clemson after being released by the Hilltoppers, while point guard Ronald Nored skipped out to play for Butler.

The Hilltoppers will recover. This is WKU we are talking about, but it is interesting to note that this might not be one of its better recruiting classes.

WKU will always be a threat in the Sun Belt, which makes the Hilltoppers worth watching for all of those people out there wondering about UNT's chances to make it back to the NCAA Tournament in the future.

Post your thoughts on the blog. Who would you like to see UNT land with its last scholarship?

The UNT board of regents is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to approve a new contract for a women's basketball coach. The board has to approve contracts that include a base salary of more than $500,000 for the duration of the deal.

More and more, it is looking like UNT will name a new coach on Tuesday. The athletic department followed the same sequence of events when Todd Dodge was hired. Make the decision, introduce the coach, hammer out the final parameters of a deal, get the deal approved.

I talked on Sunday with Oklahoma State assistant coach Kenya Larkin, the last of the candidates who has not been quoted in the paper. Be sure to pick up a copy of tomorrow's paper to see what she had to say.

I spent a big chunk of Sunday on the phone trying to work the story.

After all the people I talked to, I am sticking by my hunch that Clemson associate head coach Shanice Stephens will land the job. Stephens lacks head coaching experience, but has put in a lot of time as an assistant, has shown that she can recruit Texas from her time at Rice, is a dynamic young female coach and word is she made a big impression during her interview.

Stephens seems like the best combination of all the qualities UNT is looking for in a coach, although I don't think UNT could go wrong with any of its four finalists, an opinion Lamar head coach Larry Tidwell echoed a few days ago when I called to ask if he applied for the job. Tidwell said he wasn't interested, but that UNT couldn't go wrong with any of the four coaches it was considering.

But like Dennis Miller used to say, "Of couse that is just my opinion. I could be wrong."

Post your thoughts on the blog. Would Stephens be a good pick?

UNT landed its most important recruit for 2008 on Sunday when Paris Junior College power forward Eric Tramiel committed to play for the Mean Green.

Tramiel was a first-team NJCAA All-American, the Region XIV regular season and tournament MVP and was a member of the All-NJCAA national tournament team. He averaged 15.4 and 6.8 rebounds a game in the regular season and blew up when it came to recruiting in the postseason.

East Carolina, Penn State, Minnesota, Drake, Murray State and New Orleans all offered Tramiel a scholarship. That's some pretty good company for UNT to be in.

UNT assistant coach and former Paris JC head coach Bill Foy recruited Tramiel.

For more on Tramiel, including quotes from UNT's latest recruit and Paris JC head coach Ross Hodge, see tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

And be sure to check back on the blog later when I will have more on UNT's search for a new women's basketball coach.

There will be a story in tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle on UNT's spring game. Until then, here is a rundown of the good, the bad and the continuing concerns after spring for the Mean Green.

The good:

Heading into spring practice, there was no bigger priority than finding a way to fix the Mean Green defense, which was terrible last season. So far, so good. UNT's first-team defense progressed nicely and ended spring workouts by holding the first-team offense to 10 points in five drives and got after quarterback Giovanni Vizza all day. Defensive end Eddrick Gilmore looks like he could a playmaker.

UNT's kicking game was another big problem last season, one the Mean Green appears to have addressed with the addition of kicker Jeremy Knott.

UNT should also have a much more dangerous receiving corps. Redshirt freshman Sam Roberson looks like he could be a star for an offense that should be very productive again next season.

Giovanni Vizza got a whole lot of work in spring practice. He produced after being thrown to the wolves with very little experience as a freshman last season and should benefit from the experience.

The bad:

There never seems to be much in the way of bad news in spring practice outside of injuries. That happens when the only team you are playing is your scout team, but the Mean Green's offensive line could have had a better spring. Starting center Kelvin Drake missed all of spring with an ankle injury, starting tackle Matt Menard barely got any work in after surgery, backup Chad Rose never got on the field due to injury and backup Matt Tomlinson injured his knee and had surgery on Thursday. A lot of offensive line play is about chemistry, and UNT didn’t get a chance to develop much in that regard. UNT gave up six sacks in the spring game. Teams like Kansas State and LSU are going to throw much better pass rushers at UNT than what it faced in spring practice. The hope is a host of newcomers will help in the fall. They had better help, or UNT could be in trouble.

UNT’s cup is not exactly running over when it comes to impact defensive linemen, either. Joseph Miller is a solid Sun Belt Conference player and could threaten for all-league honors and Gilmore could be great. Outside of those two, UNT does not have much in the way of proven players. Tackles Isaac Thomas and Jonathan Stewart missed spring practice, Charlie Brown was once a wide receiver and is listed at 255 pounds and fellow backup Kail Krider checks in at 245. Marquis Sykes could be a solid defensive end, but is unproven. UNT signed a potential impact player in junior college end Alonzo Horton. The Mean Green could be in trouble if it suffers and injury or two. Losing Miller or Gilmore would be devastating.

The jury is still out:

UNT knows what it has in linebacker Craig Robertson, but most of the Mean Green’s other players on its two-deep are unproven. Tobe Nwigwe was a backup last season and started two years ago. He could be a standout, but has had issues off the field. UNT’s coaches believe AJ Penson has star potential, but he has yet to prove his value in the regular season. Colt Mahan is undersized as UNT’s backup middle linebacker at 220 pounds. It was tough to tell just how good the group could be with UNT’s offensive line in flux for most of spring. Could these guys be great? Maybe. Could they be a liability? That is also a possibility.

UNT’s defensive backs are also a question mark. Head coach Todd Dodge has made no secret of the fact he thought the group was a liability last season. UNT signed a host of junior college players and will likely start nearly from scratch. Adryan Adams and Kylee Hill showed flashes after transferring at the semester break, but no one will know how good the group can be until the fall when the rest of those key transfers arrive.

Running back Micah Mosley provided a nice complement to former national rushing champion Jamario Thomas last season and Cam Montgomery has looked good since taking last year off to recover from a hamstring injury. Can they carry the load together? That has yet to be determined. Thomas carried UNT to its second win last season over Western Kentucky. Dodge doesn’t exactly use the running game a whole lot anyway, but it would be nice to have an impact running back. UNT will find out if it has one or a good combination of a few in the fall.

What’s your take? Post your good, bad and jury still out on the blog.

The first-team offense finally scored its first touchdown of the day on a 36-yard touchdown pass from Giovanni Vizza to Brock Stickler. The pass came on a fourth-and-19 play.

Wide receiver Jamel Jackson caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Tune early in the second half while playing with the thid team. The South leads the North 28-10.