Drcblog Odufuwa's Former Coach Says Nt High On Forwards List

OldTimer · May 17, 2007

Odufuwa 's former coach says UNT high on forward's list

North Texas men's basketball coach Johnny Jones appears to be in good position to land a George Odufuwa as the crowning jewel of his latest recruiting class.

The 6-7 power forward who spent last season at Arizona State after a standout high school career at Dallas Kimball visited UNT this week.

Kimball coach Royce Johnson is helping Odufuwa go through the recruiting process for a second time and said Wednesday that UNT is definitely one of the favorites to land the former first-team all-state selection.

Odufuwa spent one season at ASU, played 4.8 minutes a game and averaged just 0.7 points an outing.

If there is one selling point UNT has with Odufuwa, it's playing time. UNT's starting frontcourt players Keith Wooden and Quincy Williams will be seniors next season when Odufuwa would be sitting out after transferring.

Odufuwa would have three seasons left after Wooden and Williams graduate and would make a potent combination with Harold Stewart, a 6-8 forward who would be a senior in Odufuwa's sophomore campaign. Stewart is more of a finesse player and could be a perfect fit with the 240-pound Odufuwa.

Johnson wouldn't comment on what other teams Odufuwa is considering, but it is interesting to note that Johnson is a former North Texas player.

Posted by Brett Vito at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) |

meangreenacct · May 17, 2007

I hope PT is something that is reall high on his list, because after he sits out there should be plenty of that to go around. The only bigs under scholarship for 2008-09 are Harold Stewart and Justin Howerton. I just don't see Howerton developing into a starter, so the 4 or 5 spot is definitely open.

Cooley · May 17, 2007

Harold Steward is a bench player. We need help at 4 & 5 in 08-09

GMoney · May 17, 2007

Royce Johnson is a UNT man. He played some football at NT (w/me in the earlier 90s) and also was a walkon basketball player for a year or two. Most NT fans will remember him by his nickname - Snoop.

This is starting to look very promising!

Edited May 17, 2007 by GMoney

NT80 · May 17, 2007

If JJ can land this Big man then it will be a good class. It worked out this year, but this recruiting process of waiting for leftovers from other programs seems a gamble to get what we need. Perhaps "Tic" can help secure recruits sooner?

CMJ · May 17, 2007

The tournament run came late in the recruiting process. It may help our early recruiting for November/whenever the early signing date is for the next class.

Harry · May 17, 2007

CMJ is right, the timing of the tourney will not help as much in this years class as much as it will next years.

meangreenacct · May 17, 2007

If Sturns is on shcarlarship, then we should have four scholarships available for next years recruiting period. I think the true benefit of the tournament run should be felt next year. Given the amount of quality players that had already commited when we made our tourney run, this years recruiting class has surpassed my expectations.

Cooley · May 17, 2007

If JJ can land this Big man then it will be a good class. It worked out this year, but this recruiting process of waiting for leftovers from other programs seems a gamble to get what we need. Perhaps "Tic" can help secure recruits sooner?

In hindsight, JJ may continue to be better off waiting until spring if he can't land 3-star kids in November. I've felt that he has reached too early by signing some past recruits in November. Granted he was not coming off an NCAA bid, however, every year there are many top kids that are rejected by bigger schools and/or become home sick.

I honestly will be surprised to see a dramatic change by November of this year. Our program, unfortunately, has not arrived yet in the eyes of the top local kids, parents, HS and AAU coaches; where the kids want to sign with UNT initially as opposed to waiting on better offers. We need to do the tournament thing more and often. (including kicking butt during the regular season)

As someone stated earlier, this team finished 5th in the conference. The attendance was worthy of a 5th place team. The team did jell during the tournament but after all home games had been played. While most of us will be in the PIT for most of the games, the casual student/fan will take up residence in Missouri.

Question:

How many current roster players (signed out of HS) would we want JJ to sign right now? (at this stage of the program) I think it makes good sense to wait and take our chances on Top 75 recruits than wasting scholarships.

Fact:

10 Biggest Recruiting Hotbeds (the nation's top 150 ranked propects produced in the last five classes - 2003-2007)

# of five-star recruits produced over this period

City Rivals 150 Prospect 5-Star Prospects

1) Los Angeles 35 7

2) New York City 34 3

3) Atlanta 27 7

4) Dallas-Fort Worth 24 5

5) Chicago 23 4

6) Houston 23 5

7) New Jersey 23 6

8) Washington, DC 22 4

9) Philadelphia 19 5

10) Detroit 17 3

Go Mean Green

Harry · May 18, 2007

I think there are exceptions but for the most part you are right Cooley. Calvin Watson was a good player for us. A good influence on the team too. I thought the point guard from Louisiana would have been a fine player for us until he left for personal problems. Stewart has potential. Edwards was a bust and the jury is still out on Howerton although I'm skeptical. Quincy has been a decent player. Our best players have been jucos and transfers though. I think here you need a mix of both.

El Paso Eagle · May 18, 2007

Fact:
10 Biggest Recruiting Hotbeds (the nation's top 150 ranked propects produced in the last five classes - 2003-2007)
# of five-star recruits produced over this period
City Rivals 150 Prospect 5-Star Prospects
1) Los Angeles 35 7
2) New York City 34 3
3) Atlanta 27 7
4) Dallas-Fort Worth 24 5
5) Chicago 23 4
6) Houston 23 5
b]7) New Jersey 23 6
8) Washington, DC 22 4
9) Philadelphia 19 5
10) Detroit 17 3
Go Mean Green