Mean Green Blog

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Needless to say, the information was a little out of date.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