The Newest Mg Blog

[CMJ]

UNT hoops recruiting, the jury is still out

The North Texas men's basketball team picked up what figures to be a key player next season in Midland College point guard Ryan McCoy on Wednesday, but still has a lot of work to do if it is to land the class some expected after a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Joseph Fulce, who was widely considered to be one of the top prospects on UNT's wish list, ended up signing with New Orleans, a conference rival. UNT lost out on Fulce largely because Buzz Williams took over at UNO before last season and had a prior relationship with the 6-7 forward after recruiting him at Texas A&M.

So where does UNT go from here?

The Mean Green still has three scholarships to give, plenty of time to use them and a chance to build around McCoy, a three-star recruit according to Rivals.com. Expect UNT to dip into the junior college market in an effort to supplement a solid group of returning players in an effort to win now and post a second straight 20-win season.

UNT lost all three of its top wing players in Calvin Watson, Kendrick Davis and Rich Young, but Collin Dennis will be eligible next season after transferring from South Florida and sitting out last season. UNT's coaches and some high school coaches who faced Dennis believe he could be just as good as any of the players the Mean Green lost.

UNT also has three solid front line players in Keith Wooden, Quincy Williams and Harold Stewart returning. Point guard Ben Bell is also back and will have a solid backup in McCoy. The coaching staff is also high on Collin Mangrum, who they believe could be ready to become a major contributor as a sophomore.

UNT's focus appears to be supplementing that core with players who will be ready to contribute right away.

UNT will bring in some additional players for visits. One coach in the state -- no not a UNT coach -- said he would not to be surprised to see UNT go after a player from Paris Junior College, where Mean Green assistant coach Bill Foy worked before coming to UNT.

DeUndrae Spraggins, a 6-2 guard who averaged 10.6 points a game last season at Paris, could be a perfect fit for the role Young played last season as a defensive stopper and complementary offensive player as a third guard.

UNT was also said to be interested in 6-6 Paris forward Ramon Clemente earlier in the year. Clemente averaged 13.9 points a game last season, but is more of a post player who does not appear to fit UNT's needs.

Paris shooting guard Derek Fugate is also still on the board.

UNT could also turn to the transfer market, even though a Division I transfer won't help next season. The Mean Green would never have won 23 games last season without Division I transfers Kendrick Davis (Arkansas) and Keith Wooden (Arizona State).

Boston College transfer Marquez Haynes is still uncommitted. And while UNT's focus appears to be making a run next season, word is the Mean Green would like a frontcourt transfer to stash away for a season to soften the blow of losing Wooden and Williams after next year.

The hope was UNT would pick up some highly rated high school recruits to build around for the future after reaching the NCAA Tournament in this class. UNT has yet to reach that goal, but that could change if it can land a few of the top players left out there for the taking.

The bottom line is UNT appears to be far from done in recruiting for the current class and could quickly build on McCoy's commitment for a standout class or could fizzle late. It's just too early to make a judgment.

For more on McCoy, including a more detailed look at the medical problems that hampered him last season, see tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.