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May 20, 2007

A little more on Sturns' departure from UNT

I have received a few questions about Michael Sturns' departure from the North Texas basketball team and the circumstances surrounding it.

What made the whole situation unusual was not that Sturns left, but the way the scenario played out.

Sturns had been granted his release. UNT's coaches knew he was leaving, but didn't talk about it to give Sturns a chance to take his visits and find a new place to play. What came as a surprise was UNT's coaches found out where Sturns was headed from a press release from another school.

One would expect that a coach at Holy Family or Sturns himself would have let the coaches at UNT know where he was headed. Sturns spent a significant amount of time at UNT and had some good times with the Mean Green.

Jones said he planned to have a press release written to acknowledge Sturns before he left town. Who knows, Sturns might have wanted to let Jones know where he was headed and didn't get a chance before the release hit the Web site at Holy Family.

What really matters is UNT will have another scholarship available without Sturns, a talented player who was at times great, at others out of control with the ball in his hands. Sturns played a vital role in a win at Western Kentucky last season and made key contributions in several other big victories. At other times, he was a little too careless with the ball. He struggled in the NCAA Tournament against Memphis.

Without Sturns, UNT will have more playing time for recruits Ryan McCoy and Josh White at point guard behind starter Ben Bell. The sixth-man role will also be open for a player like incoming junior college recruit Adam McCoy, who can play shooting guard and small forward.

Sturns could also benefit from a new situation. He will join a team that finished 19-9 last season and will be eligible next season at the Division II school. He could be not only a starter, but also a star at Holy Family. Talent was never a problem for Sturns, harnessing it was a different story at times.

Being a little wild with the ball will prove less costly at Holy Family than against Memphis in the NCAA Tournament.

While Sturns was a little out of control at certain points on the floor and didn't always get along with his teammates, he conducted himself well in the public spotlight. If you needed a good quote, Sturns was the man to ask. He always had something to say and was willing to take the time to talk with anyone who wanted a minute of his time.

That fact made it seem odd that he left UNT in the quietest manner possible.

For more on Sturns, see tomorrow's edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.

Posted by Brett Vito at 12:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0