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  1. The Sun Belt Conference tournament final between Western Kentucky and Florida International is underway. A lot of people thought a year ago that UNT would be playing tonight. The Mean Green was bounced in the first round by Louisiana-Lafayette instead. So, what are UNT’s prospects moving forward? That’s something we will take a look at over the next few days on the blog. First off, a disclaimer. Tony Mitchell said after UNT’s loss to ULL that he would make a decision on whether or not to enter the NBA Draft after meeting with his coaches and family. UNT’s prospects will hinge largely on Mitchell’s decision. There has been some talk among the UNT faithful that this team might be better off without Mitchell. My take? That’s nuts. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/03/unt-mens-basketball-look-ahead-part-i-whos-gone.html/
  2. Every aspect of Niko Stojiljkovic’s college basketball story has been unconventional. So it stood to reason that his last hurrah in a home game at North Texas would be a little different as well. Stojiljkovic took his turn walking to center court on senior night at the Super Pit last week, but the former member of the French national team wasn’t met by his parents or his girlfriend like his teammates. Stojiljkovic was met by head coach Tony Benford and everyone else on UNT’s bench who crowded in for a senior night picture that commemorated the end of his unique journey, one Stojiljkovic didn’t want to make a few years ago. Stojiljkovic wrestled with the decision of whether to turn professional or come to the U.S. to play college basketball before electing to sign with San Francisco back in 2009. Four years, four coaches and three colleges later, Stojiljkovic is still trying to fully capitalize on his potential and is down to his last chance in the Sun Belt Conference tournament, which will begin Friday when UNT faces Louisiana-Lafayette in an opening-round game. That’s perfectly fine with the lanky 6-foot-9-inch forward with an inside-outside game and a pass-first mentality. For Stojiljkovic, the journey — one that left him alone when it comes to family for events like senior night — has been worth it, even though it didn’t turn out as he expected. Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20130306-mens-basketball-french-connection.ece This post has been promoted to an article
  3. UNT president Lane Rawlins announced today that he is retiring. While Rawlins was only around a short time — and he will stay on for a few more months — his impact on UNT’s athletic program was pretty significant. There were several people who played a role in helping UNT get out of the Sun Belt and into Conference USA, and there is little doubt Rawlins was one of them. He helped found C-USA in 1995 when he was at Memphis and had the connections in the league that helped UNT make its case that it belonged, especially after SMU left. He also played a role in bringing in Dan McCarney as UNT’s football coach. UNT contracted consultant Chuck Neinas to study the overall athletic program and then brought him back to help conduct a search for a new coach after UNT finally got rid of Todd Dodge. McCarney has already won more games in two years than UNT won in the previous four years combined. UNT opened Apogee Stadium during his watch and moved closer to bringing a baseball program back to UNT. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/03/thoughts-on-the-departure-of-lane-rawlins.html/
  4. http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/02/interesting-tidbit-on-idaho-contract.html/
  5. Wow. That was a wild day. I talked to Tony Benford about the exchange he had with Arkansas State coach John Brady, talked to Dan McCarney about Justin Gaines, wrote a story about Jacob Holmen and Justin Patton hanging it up in their senior seasons with the UNT men’s basketball team, talked to Jermaine Antoine and Kahlee Woods about their decisions to not sign with UNT and tried to get ready for signing day. As far as the blog goes, let’s split this in half and talk football tonight and basketball in the morning — mostly because I wrote a story on “Benford-Brady Gate” for tomorrow’s paper that gives Benford’s side of the story that people will see late tonight/early tomorrow. Dan McCarney returned my call late this afternoon and said that Gaines resigned to pursue other opportunities and said he wished his former cornerbacks coach well. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/02/monday-night-football-notes.html/
  6. I just got off the phone with Jermaine Antoine, the Louisiana cornerback who has been committed to UNT for a few weeks. I also talked with his head coach Trent Delahoussaye this afternoon. A few outlets are reporting that Antoine has flipped to TCU. Delahoussaye also told me that Antoine is flipping to TCU. Antoine told me that he wants to talk things through with his parents tonight. After a while one tends to get a feeling about the way things are going to go with players. I would be surprised if the Louisiana Class 2A all-state selection does not end up at TCU at this point. Delahoussaye pretty much told me that is the way this is going to go, especially in the wake of Justin Gaines leaving UNT’s staff. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/02/jermaine-antoine-i-will-decide-tonight.html/
  7. Fort Bend Bush cornerback Chad Davis has committed to UNT. I just got off the phone with Davis, who confirmed that he committed on Christmas Day. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2012/12/unt-picks-up-cb-commit.html/
  8. I am down in Miami for the FIU-FIU hoops swing, but I did make a couple of calls on the recruiting front and talked with Omar Tebo, a defensive tackle from Liberty, Texas. Tebo is coming to UNT on an official visit this weekend and said he would like to commit to UNT. The issue is he is a little farther down on UNT’s wish list at this point. Tebo indicated that there is another lineman who is considering an offer from Tulane in front of him on UNT’s recruiting board. UNT only has three scholarships left and several players still on the board. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/thursday-afternoon-recruiting-update-tebo-ing.html/
  9. Sherman linebacker Kahlee Woods has cut the list of schools he is considering to four: UNT, Texas Tech, Colorado State and New Mexico. I talked to Woods a couple of days ago and he said he isn’t leaning toward any school. My gut feeling is that UNT has a shot, which makes it a little more interesting to follow every turn in the chase. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/tidbit-that-could-affect-unts-chances-with-sherman-lb.html/
  10. This is the first of a two-part blog series looking at UNTs football schedule for 2013. A lot of people have weighed in since it was released. I waited a bit for people to let it sink in. Today, we look at the teams on UNTs slate, what they have coming back next year and the bottom line in terms of the importance of the game to UNTs prospects next season and other reasons why the game could be big for the program from recruiting rivalries, to fan interest. I will come back later with an overall look at what is realistic considering what UNT is facing. Aug. 31 Idaho 2012 record 1-11 Returning starters Nine offense, five defense About Idaho Idaho hired longtime assistant Paul Petrino, who was Arkansas offensive coordinator, in the off-season after a terrible finish in 2012. The Vandals have nine offensive and five defensive starters set to return, but kicked quarterback Dominique Blackman off the team in the middle of last season after he threw for 1,610 yards. Bottom line UNT paid to bring Texas Southern in for a nearly guaranteed win last year and is going the same route with Idaho next year. The Vandals should be down way down next season. UNT is rolling out throwback jerseys and making a big production out of its first opener at home since 2001. UNT has to win this one. Expect mass panic among the fandom if it doesnt. Sept. 7 at Ohio 2012 record 9-4 (Beat Louisiana-Monroe in the Independence Bowl) Returning starters Eight offense, four defense About Ohio The Bobcats beat Penn State in their opener and won their first seven games before stumbling down the stretch. Ohio lost four of five before righting the ship at beating Louisiana-Monroe in the Independence Bowl. Ohio has 12 starters returning and should be good again next year. Tyler Tettleton threw for 2,844 yards, Donte Foster caught 59 passes for 659 yards and Ben Blankenship rushed for 1,604. Bottom line This will be a really tough game for UNT on the road. Ohio has its key skill position players back on offense, not to mention the core of what should be a pretty good defense. Sept. 14 Ball State 2012 record 9-4 (Lost to UCF in the Beef OBradys Bowl) Returning starters Seven offense, eight defense About Ball State The Cardinals posted one of their best seasons in years, winning six straight games before falling to UCF in the Beef OBradys Bowl. Ball State has a trio of key offensive players returning in quarterback Keith Wenning, running back Jahwan Edwards and wide receiver Willie Snead. Wenning threw for 3,095 yards, Edwards rushed for 1,410 and Snead finished with 89 catches for 1,148 yards and nine touchdowns. Bottom line Ball State will present a pretty big challenge at home for UNT. The Cardinals should enter the season on a roll and have the core players from its offense returning. Like Ohio, a game against Ball State does not rank high on the list of potential wins. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/8462.html/
  11. I have to run out here in a minute, but I did make a couple of calls already on the recruiting front. Kahlee Woods enjoyed his visit to UNT, but he has no favorites among his final four of UNT, Texas Tech, Colorado State and New Mexico. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/early-sunday-afternoon-recruiting-notes.html/
  12. Just when you thought it couldnt get any worse for the UNT men, it has in fact gotten worse. Alzee Williams went down with at least a sprained right knee late in UNTs loss to FIU on Thursday. Tony Benford confirmed that Williams will be out today. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/unt-loses-another-player.html/
  13. Tony Benford mentioned during his coach’s show last night that Jacob Holmen could be out for a while. I had a chance to follow up today. It doesn’t sound good. Holmen went down after colliding with another player in UNT’s win over South Alabama. Chris Jones, myself and a university spokesman started counting concussions today in practice. That is usually a bad sign. Holmen cracked his head on the floor early last season in a loss to Mississippi State, had another concussion late in the year and has now had one this year. That is three that we remembered at practice today. Holmen really had a tough time recovering from those concussions last year. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/tuesday-afternoon-hoops-notes-holmen-unt-womens-gpa-et-cetera.html/
  14. I made a few calls today on the recruiting front and was able to confirm another official visitor for this weekend. Omar Tebo, a big lineman from Liberty, Texas, will be in town. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/another-weekend-visitor.html/
  15. Chris Loving is going to get a second chance to play football on the FBS level. The Blinn College product said tonight that he is seriously considering making UNT the place he finally reaches his goal. Loving will take an official visit to UNT this weekend. “I’m pretty excited about maybe playing at North Texas,” Loving said. “The coaches made it sound like a fun place to be. I know coach [Mike] Grant and talked to the new tight ends coach they just hired [Tommy Perry]. I really like the program. They said that the program is on its way up and I can be a part of it.” Loving was an honorable mention All-Southwest Junior College Football Conference selection last season and was a standout player at Klein. The question when it comes to Loving has always been his grades. Texas A&M, Miami, Utah, Colorado State and UTEP were among the teams that offered him a scholarship when he was a senior in high school. Loving didn’t qualify and ended up at Blinn. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/taking-recruiting-with-chris-loving.html/
  16. UNT put out a little note on the performance of its football team academically today that is definitely worth talking about. UNT had 45 players post a GPA of 3.0 or better this fall, the top total for the program since 2001. “I am extremely pleased with the effort that this team put in to their academic work during the fall,” head coach Dan McCarney said. “With all of the demands on their time during the season, they still took pride in showing progress in the classroom. With the help of the academic staff, football players at North Texas are beginning to understand the importance and benefits of scholastic success.” read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/unt-posts-impressive-performance-academically-in-football.html/
  17. Wednesday afternoon basketball notes (Overlander update) Caught a bit of breaking news here in the last few minutes. Clarke Overlander has a sprained ACL and will be out two to four weeks. Thats great news for UNT, which thought Overlander might be out for the year. UNT cant afford to lose any more players. And in other news, a few people have asked me if I have asked Tony Benford about any underlying problems UNT is experiencing in the wake of a tough season and a series of suspensions. Keith Coleman was suspended for a game against Troy, while Alzee Williams sat out UNTs loss to Louisiana-Monroe. Yes, I have asked. Here is what Benford had to say: Guys are making bad decisions. Thats all it is. That has happened everywhere I have ever been. It happened at Marquette and Nebraska. I told the guys we have team rules, you have to follow them. We are going to play to win every game. No one is going to give up. No one is going to quit. We are going to keep working hard and keep playing hard. I think the thing is still wide open. We want to get back into the race. That is our goal. Its a long season with a lot of games left to be played. I think Benford has a point here. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/wednesday-afternoon-basketball-notes-overlander-update.html/
  18. http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/overlander-down-with-knee-injury.html/ Sounds like he could be out for a while.. Lots of tough breaks this year..
  19. We are about to head down the home stretch in football recruiting season, which pretty much amounts to life and death in college football. You either have the players or you don’t. So where does UNT stand and what are the storylines to follow the next few weeks? Here’s the way I see it. Let’s start with what UNT has in terms of players who will count towards its class of 20. Here is the list: UNT commits QB (2) — Brock Berglund, Valor Christian (Colo.)*, Dajon Williams, Pflugerville Connally CB (2) — Chad Davis, Fort Bend Bush; James Jones, Kilgore College DE (1) — Quenton Brown, Eastern Arizona CC LB (4) — Sed Ellis, Paris; Sergio Medina, Hahnville, La.; Calvin Minor, Lewisville; Fred Scott, Kennedale OL (5) — Justin Manu, Snow College (Utah); Shawn McKinney, Trinity Valley JC; Cody Nelson, Keller; Harrison Sorge, Wichita Falls Rider; Dominic Walker, Fort Bend Austin S (1) — John Schilleci, Guyer; WR (2) — Darvin Kidsy, Fort Bend Elkins; Turner Smiley, Frisco Wakeland * Transfer currently enrolled at UNT Transfers who don’t count toward the 20 players in UNT’s class S (1) — Zed Evans Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2013/01/taking-a-look-at-where-unt-stands-in-recruiting.html/
  20. P.J. Hardwick didnt know when he would get an opportunity to play a major role at North Texas. That was part of the deal when he joined a team that already featured Chris Jones, one of the Sun Belt Conferences top point guards. There were games when Hardwick played a couple of minutes and others in which he barely saw the court. None of that bothered Hardwick, who kept grinding away in practice and hoisting extra shots on his own. I am a team player and believe in winning, Hardwick said. Whether I am playing for two minutes or 30, I am going to cheer for my team and play hard when my opportunity is there. For Hardwick, his time is now. A series of dominoes fell in just the right way to elevate Hardwick to the starting lineup, where he will be for the second straight game today when UNT faces Louisiana-Monroe. The Mean Green (6-9, 1-3 Sun Belt) will take on the Warhawks (2-8, 1-3) in a doubleheader that will begin with the womens game at 5 p.m. UNT heads into tonight looking for its second straight win after knocking off conference foe Troy 76-59 on Thursday. Hardwick played a key role in that victory in his first start, handing out seven assists in one of the Mean Greens most efficient offensive outings of the season. UNT shot 48.3 percent (28-for-58) from the floor, despite being shorthanded. Small forward Jacob Holmen didnt start due to a foot injury that will keep him out of todays game as well, and backup forward Keith Coleman served a one-game suspension after a violation of team rules. Being shorthanded made it all the more important for UNT to get the ball to star forward Tony Mitchell. Hardwick played a key role in making sure UNT did just that on a night when Mitchell scored a season-high 29 points. I feel good about P.J., UNT coach Tony Benford said. Defensively he did a good job on the ball, was vocal out there and got guys the ball in the right spots. He tried to hit a home run a couple of times; I told him to make the simple plays. If he does that, he will be fine. Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20130105-basketball-freshman-hardwick-gets-opportunity-to-shine.ece
  21. After taking a short one-day vacation with the better half, I ventured back to town and the Super Pit to cover the UNT-Southeastern Louisiana game today. We are way past style-pointing wins at UNT like fans did at times the last couple of years, but yikes. UNT darn near lost to a 1-6 Southland team. If UNT had, things really would have gone south. Tony Mitchell went 1-for-9 and never seemed to be into one of his sweet spots in the halfcourt, Jacob Holmen went 1-for-6, Chris Jones scored one points and UNT went 0-for-11 from 3. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2012/12/unt-southeastern-louisiana-thoughts.html/
  22. He is starting to get back into the flow, Benford said. Its hard on a point guard to miss that much time, come back, have the ball handed to him and be asked to run the team. Its a process. I dont care how talented you are. You have to be an extension of the coach. Hes calling the offense, hes calling the defense, he has to get the guys into the right spots and know where everyone is supposed to be on every play. He is getting into a routine now and is getting comfortable with that. What Jones has realized is that for UNT to run the way he wants his Ford to run smoothly and with style he is going to have to take a lead role. I have to be aggressive for the team, Jones said. The first couple of games of the season, I wasnt as aggressive as I used to be. When Im attacking, it opens things up for everyone else. Benford has encouraged Jones to be aggressive because he sees the potential his point guard possesses. Chris strength, quickness, toughness, his ability to run a team and also to score make him effective, Benford said. He has all the intangibles you need to be a quality point guard in any league. The guys really listen to him. Hes a leader. I was telling him the other day that if hes moody, his teammates are going to be moody. If he challenges them and is vocal, they will follow suit. http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20121215-mens-basketball-driving-in-style.ece
  23. I made some calls and sent some text messages today to see if anything moved on the recruiting front. It’s pretty quiet at this point. I did hear back from Louisiana linebacker Sergio Medina. Seemed like a good guy, which I will get to in a minute, but first … Trinity Valley defensive end Kewan Alfred never got back to me. When I talked to his teammate Shawn McKinney this weekend, he has not made a decision yet. The same was true for Utah offensive lineman Justin Manu, who was at Florida Atlantic over the weekend. UNT still has a shot with both, but a school’s chances go down when player walks away without committing. It looks like UNT is going to have to wait it out to see what a few of its top targets decide to do. It’s been a tough few years for UNT. It shouldn’t come as a big surprise. The mid-term signing period begins on the 19th. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2012/12/monday-afternoon-notes-and-thoughts-on-recruiting-et-cetera.html/
  24. I mentioned earlier in the night that I was hoping to get in touch with a couple of players who committed to UNT this weekend. I did end up talking with Shawn McKinney, the center who played for Trinity Valley JC last year. McKinney is a mid-term transfer who was offered by Central Arkansas, Grambling, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Jackson State and Southeastern State. Read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2012/12/sunday-night-recruiting-notes-part-ii.html/
  25. First off, here is the list of banquet award winners tonight: Newcomer of the Year – Antoinne Jimmerson Scout Team Offensive MVP – Brock Berglund Scout Team Defensive MVP – Brandon Johnson Bill Bishop Award (Outstanding Defensive Lineman) – K.C. Obi Bill Brashier Award (Outstanding Defensive Back) – Zac Whitfield Byron Gross Award (Outstanding Linebacker) — Zach Orr Joe Greene Award (Outstanding Defensive Player) – Zach Orr Shawn Kramer Award (Most Inspirational Players) – Coleman Feeley, Jeremy Phillips Abner Haynes Award (Outstanding Special Teams Player) – Will Atterberry Phillip Armour Award (Outstanding Offensive Lineman) – Mason Y’Barbo Ja’Quay Wilburn Award (Outstanding Offensive Back) – Brandin Byrd Steve Ramsey Award (Outstanding Offensive Player) – Aaron Fortenberry Odus Mitchell Awrd (Team MVP) – Zach Orr No real stunners. read more: http://meangreenblog.dentonrc.com/2012/12/banquet-award-winners-thoughts-and-notes.html/
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