DRC: today article on Kobie Baker BB asst

[OldTimer]

Kobie to interview at Alabama...does not have the job yet. scroll way down for part of article dealing with NT prospects Kobie has recruited for NT....impressvie.

Basketball: UNT signs top hoops recruit

08:54 AM CDT on Thursday, April 14, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

North Texas basketball coach Johnny Jones has signed high school

players

with impressive pedigrees when it comes to prep platitudes.

Harold Edwards will bring those credentials, plus an impressive history

on

the summer circuit when he arrives in Denton this fall.

The 6-6 forward signed a national letter of intent with the Mean Green

on

Wednesday after a highly successful year that included trips to both

the

prestigious Nike and adidas summer camps.

"This is a huge signing for us," Jones said. "Harold comes from a

successful

high school program and is a versatile player. I am not sure if we have

ever

signed a high school player who has played in both the Nike and adidas

camps. He is very highly rated."

Rivals.com, a Web site that covers college recruiting, rates Stewart as

a

three-star recruit.

The ranking is based in part on Edwards' standout high school career

that

saw him all-state honors twice. He averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds

as a

senior while leading LeFlore to a 35-1 record, the 2005 6A Alabama

state

championship and a No. 10 ranking in USA Today's final national high

school

basketball poll.

Edwards posted 29 double-doubles in 36 games as a senior. Georgia Tech,

Georgetown, Mississippi State, South Alabama and Illinois State also

recruited Edwards, who was a Nike All-America and McDonald's

All-America

nominee.

Edwards was the South Team's MVP in the 2004 Alabama North vs. South

All-Star Game after scoring 18 points and pulling down 14 rebounds.

"Harold is one of the most competitive, energetic and up and coming

basketball players in the entire city," LeFlore coach Otis Hughley

said. "He

is very good and the scariest thing is his best basketball is ahead of

him."

Jones said Edwards could play a variety of positions for UNT. He joins

a

recruiting class that already includes Harold Stewart of Crowley and

Justin

Howerton of Howe. Both players signed with the Mean Green in the fall

during

the early signing period.

Rivals.com rates Stewart, a 6-8 forward, as a two-star recruit.

Howerton, a

6-9 center, originally committed to Texas A&M before changing his mind.

UNT still has scholarships remaining and will host recruits on official

visits this weekend.

The Mean Green will have a solid base from which to build the rest of

its

class after winning a recruiting battle for Edwards, who didn't make a

final

decision on who to sign with until Wednesday.

UNT finished 14-14 last season after falling in the first round of the

Sun

Belt Conference tourney.

Baker to interview with Tide

North Texas assistant basketball coach Kobie Baker will interview this

week

for a similar position at Alabama.

Baker, a Tuscaloosa, Ala., native was an administrative assistant at

Alabama

from 1999-2001. He completed his second season as an assistant at UNT

this

year.

"I am excited about it," Baker said. "Any time you have a chance to get

closer to home, it is intriguing."

The opening at Alabama was created when Orlando Early left the school

to

become the head coach at Louisiana-Monroe.

UNT coach Johnny Jones said Baker has made an impact during his short

tenure

with the program. Baker was one of UNT's top recruiters and signed

freshman

guard Michael Sturns in addition to Harold Stewart and Harold Edwards,

who

committed to the Mean Green on Wednesday.

Edwards and Stewart are among the top rated players UNT has signed the

last

two seasons.

"Kobie has been good for us in terms of recruiting and in games, Jones

said.

"He has been instrumental in our growth."

Baker said he has developed as an assistant under Jones who he credited

for

helping him earn the chance to interview at Alabama. Kobie

Edited April 14, 2005 by OldTimer

[ADLER]

"Baker was one of UNT's top recruiters and signed freshman guard Michael Sturns in addition to Harold Stewart and Harold Edwards, who committed to the Mean Green on Wednesday."

I would hate to lose an excellent recruiter like Baker. Those are three incredibly talented players and probably the nucleus of our future squads.

[CMJ]

Yep, I don't like the sound of him leaving at all. If he brought in those kind of guys in just two years, I can only think what kind of talent we're losing over time should he go.

[NT80]

Gottfried Adds Eugene Harris to Tide Basketball Staff

Monday, April 18, 2005

TUSCALOOSA – Eugene Harris has been hired as assistant men’s basketball coach, effective immediately, at the University of Alabama.

The hiring was announced Monday by Crimson Tide head coach Mark Gottfried.

“Eugene brings experience, having been in the ACC and SEC for 17 years,” said Gottfried whose staff had a position become available when Orlando Early was hired as head coach at Louisiana-Monroe on April 11th. “As a Scottsboro, Alabama native, his relationships with coaches in this state and the southeast are invaluable. He has always been part of building a winner, and I am confident he will add to the success we have had here at Alabama. I have known Eugene for more than 20 years and have always been impressed by his demeanor. He is professional and driven and has a warmth and sincerity that all combine for the makings of a great college coach. He defines the word “class”. He has recruited and produced a number of NBA players and has been instrumental in their development as people as well as players. He has a 90 percent graduation rate of the players he’s personally recruited. He will be a great asset on the bench as well as in practice with his maturity and experience in game situations.”

Harris, 50, has coached basketball at all levels, as a junior high coach in Florida, as a head coach at Pelham High School in Pelham, Ga., and at Rickard High School in Tallahassee, Fla., and on the collegiate level at the University of South Alabama, as assistant coach at Clemson from 1984-94 and as an assistant coach at Auburn from 1994 until 2001 when he was named assistant athletics director for special projects.

“I’m excited to come and work for Coach Gottfried because he’s a coach who is a star,” said Harris, a 1979 Florida State graduate. “In a short while, he’s been to the Sweet 16 and Elite 8. Our next step up is to win the national championship. That’s the reason I came here. The Athletics Director, Mal Moore, is committed to basketball and I know I will love working for Coach Gottfried because I’ve watched him out in the field and he’s a fearless worker. And the thing that really sold me on this is his 100 percent graduation rate. That shows that he’s committed to the total person.”