Link: Mean Green Basketball
Didnât realize they were the preseason pick to win the Sunbelt. Looks like we have some solid tests to open the season at home this weekend.
COACH AND PROGRAM
North Texas came up with an instant impact player on the perimeter last season in Arkansas transfer Kendrick Davis. If Arizona State transfer Keith Wooden adds even remotely similar significance in the post this season, the Mean Green could fare well in a Sun Belt West Division that figures to be characterized by parity.
Davis, a 6-4 senior, averaged 16.8 points during his debut in Denton last season. He shot 35 percent from three-point range (60-of-172) and 78.4 percent at the free-throw line (91-of-116), and was chosen Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year. He also averaged 2.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.5 steals for the Mean Green, which went 14-14 and was unceremoniously bounced from the Sun Belt Tournament via a 17-point loss in its opener to Arkansas-Little Rock.
âUsually when guys have redshirted, theyâre a little rusty early, but Kendrick was ready right out of the gate,â sixth-year North Texas coach Johnny Jones said. âWeâd recruited Kendrick hard out of high school. Arkansas came in and got on him really late when [Stan] Heath took the job.â
The former Southeastern Conference player was at his best against the best last season. Davis, a Houston native, scored 20 points against NIT-bound Houston, 21 and 18, respectively, against NCAA Tournament qualifiers Texas A&M and UNC Wilmington, and he averaged 17 points in two games against the Sun Beltâs NCAA representative, South Alabama.
Wooden, a 6-9, 245-pound junior was perhaps more coveted than Davis out of high school in Lawrence, Kansas. He was considered a Top 100 find for Arizona State by the likes of Basketball Times, CBS Sportsline and HoopScoop, and he started his first game for the Sun Devils as well as eight others as a rookie.
Wooden averaged 3.4 points as a freshman, and averaged 9.5 points while getting around 20 minutes per game during a four-game stretch that season. But his playing time dwindled as a sophomore.
âHeâs good with his back to the basket,â Jones said. âHeâs probably the best offensive center weâve had here in five or six years. Shawnson Johnson was a force from the block to the basket and he was a great athlete who would run the floor, but he couldnât do a lot of the things that Keith can at the offensive end.â
[QUOTE=NinerAdvocate;196893]Didnât realize they were the preseason pick to win the Sunbelt. Looks like we have some solid tests to open the season at home this weekend.[/QUOTE]
Theyâre not. Western Kentucky is the favorite to take the SBC this season. North Texas was picked to finish 2nd in the West Division, although they did pick up some first place votes (although I donât know if that means first place in division or first place overall).
Bobby Lutz postgame at about 3:30pm on Sunday:
I want to start out by saying that our fans donât give North Texas State enough respect. They are one of the top teams in their conference are are expected by many to compete for an NCAA tourney bid (through the play in game).
Blue Ribbon projects North Texas to finish 3rd in the SBC Western Division behind New Orleans and Arkansas State. BR lists Mean Green Sr. guard Kendrick Davis as All-SBC and the team with the 3rd best frontcourt in Sun Belt.
FWIW, Western Kentucky had an RPI of 58 last season, while North Texas was 204. Iâm predicting a 20-point Niner win on Sunday.
UNT wins exhibition over Texas CollegeâŚ
Hopefully a tired Niner team doesnât collapse at home after a tough win against Hofstra.
Everyone talks about how we may have trouble on Sunday with UNT after Hofstra, but UNT is playing the night before in Texas and Friday in Lousiana, so theyâll be tired as well. 
[QUOTE=ChevEE;197172]Everyone talks about how we may have trouble on Sunday with UNT after Hofstra, but UNT is playing the night before in Texas and Friday in Lousiana, so theyâll be tired as well. [/QUOTE]
Not sure what you mean. UNT plays their season-opener at home on Friday against a non-DI school (Cameron U. of Oklahoma), then are in Charlotte on Sunday.
You are correct Run. Sorry I thought that would be unusually hard to have three games back to back to back D1 ir not. That was the overall sports schedule I saw. They have a volleyball game on Saturday.
[QUOTE=run49er;197142]UNT wins exhibition over Texas CollegeâŚ
Menâs Basketball Wins Exhibition Game, 92-71[/QUOTE]
Their best player, Davis, only played 5 minutes in the exibition, and was injured after finally getting in the game. This from their messageboard:
[QUOTE]Hey folks, I hate to be the barer of bad news, but Davis took a hard fall last night towards the end of the game. I am not sure what happened. The Mean Green were heading down to score and all of a sudden the referee stopped play and pointed to the other side of the court where K. Davis was laying on the ground in agony. Davis was pissed too and punched the floor. He was in obvious pain and hobbled off the court after the trainers took a quick look at him on the bench. I heard a trainer say to another âgo ice him down.â I suspect it is just a ankle sprain, but can anyone with contacts please check on him. Iâd hate to start the season without him. This really sucks too, because K. Davis sat out almost the whole game (donât know why).[/QUOTE]
From the Denton Record-Chronicle:
[b]Men's basketball: Wooden looks good in UNT exhibition[/b]November 7, 2006
By Brett Vito / Staff WriterKeith Wooden didnât waste any time getting back into a rhythm on Tuesday in his first game with North Texas after transferring from Arizona State.
Wooden scored UNTâs opening basket in an exhibition game against Texas College on a 10-foot jumper and went on to score 15 points in the Mean Greenâs 92-71 win at the Super Pit. The win came in UNTâs last action before opening the season at home Friday against Cameron.
âI was excited to be back on the court,â said Wooden, who sat out last season to fulfill NCAA transfer rules. âIt has been a year, so I was ready to play. ⌠It felt good to see that shot go down.â
Wooden said he still has improvements to make as far as rebounding and on the defensive end after corralling just one rebound against Texas College. The assessment was one UNT head coach Johnny Jones echoed.
âKeith played well, made some adjustments and knocked shots down,â Jones said. âHe can shoot the ball to the free-throw line, which will allow us to stretch defenses, and play well with his back to the basket. ⌠But I was disappointed he only got one rebound.â
Senior guard Calvin Watson led UNT with 25 points and helped fill the void left when Jones sat fellow senior guard Kendrick Davis until the last 7:25 of the game. Jones said he left Davis on the bench to take care of what he termed a âhouse-cleaning issue.â
The preseason first-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection sprained his ankle late in the game but is expected to start against Cameron.
Link: DentonRC.com
Down with the Mean Green!!!
More on UNT from the Denton Record-ChronicleâŚ
What UNT coaches expect is to field perhaps the most dangerous pair of 3-point shooters in the Sun Belt.DentonRC.com: [b][url=http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/drc/sports/college/stories/DRC_UNT_men%27s_hoops_1109.1bb8ba97.html]Men's Basketball: Dynamic Duo[/url][/b]
they have a topic talking crap about us copying the âmean greenâ thingâŚi cant register to post on their board for some reasonâŚsays im not allowedâŚ
[QUOTE=ninerball49;197981]they have a topic talking crap about us copying the âmean greenâ thingâŚi cant register to post on their board for some reasonâŚsays im not allowedâŚ[/QUOTE]
Tell 'em maybe 30 years ago! Not so much now.
Tell 'em maybe 30 years ago! Not so much now.
Donât use a yahoo/hotmail/gmail/free email
They say we got the name 49ers because we are located on interstate 49. How do misnomers like this spread?
[QUOTE=JaMiNNiNeR;198013]They say we got the name 49ers because we are located on interstate 49. How do misnomers like this spread?[/QUOTE]
Because 50% of the students and alumni canât tell you how we got the name.