Mean Green

It was pretty obvious when the UNT women's basketball team received a commitment from Raquel Cuffie this week that it had landed a player with one of the more impressive resumes for a Mean Green recruit in recent years.

Well, there is even more about the 5-10 guard to be impressed with than I mentioned yesterday in the paper or on the blog. I picked up these tidbits today.

Cuffie started playing for her high school varsity team in Bay Shore, New York, when she was in the seventh grade and has been her team's defensive MVP in each season since. That fact is even more impressive considering she spent the last two years playing for prep powerhouses Oak Hill Academy in Virginia and The Patterson School in North Carolina.

When Cuffie was in the eighth grade, she led Bay Shore to the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade. A year later, she led her team back to the playoffs and was a Long Island Empire All-State selection.

Cuffie received a scholarship to Oak Hill before her sophomore season, led her team to a high school national title and was an all-tournament selection at the national championship tournament.

Cuffie transferred to The Patterson School before her junior year and was again selected all-tournament at the national championship event.

Cuffie also led her Club team, the Long Island Silver Bullets to a 2007 USJN championship. The USJN is an organization that runs tournaments featuring the top players nationally each summer.

The combination of Cuffie and Rice transfer Brittney Hudson appears to be UNT's backcourt of the future. Hudson will sit out the upcoming season and will be eligible the same year Cuffie arrives in Denton.

Doneal Mack is leaving Memphis and could soon be taking on UNT while playing for New Orleans, according to a Rivals.com report.

The shooting guard averaged 6.9 points a game and hit a team-high 66 3-pointers last season for the Tigers, who advanced to the national title game. Mack will have to sit out the upcoming season and would be eligible in 2009-10.

In an interesting twist, Mack scored eight points in a win over UNT in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. UNT advanced to the tournament behind a host of transfers, including Keith Wooden and Kendrick Davis.

The Privateers appear to be trying to follow a similar plan with the addition of Mack.