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FAU Going to do Things to Combat Mitchell

2012-02-10T19:16:24Z

Last year's Sun Belt Conference regular season title winner Florida Atlantic (10-14, 6-5) will be hosting North Texas (14-10,7-4) in Sun Belt Conference action this Saturday with tip-off slated for 7 PM ET, 6 PM local time.

The Owls are heading into the game coming off a home win against Denver, 72-71. This will be the third home game in a row for FAU. North Texas is bringing in a road win against Florida International 68-61 and this is their second and final road game.

The Owls are led by Greg Gantt who puts in 14.7 points a game and is their only player in double figure scoring. Raymond Taylor is second in scoring with 9.2 points per game. There are four players averaging around 7 points a game and three with about four points a game.

Kore White, a Marshall transfer, grabs 4.4 rebounds a game mainly defensive rebounds. He has garnered 36 offensive rebounds to 69 defensive rebounds. Right behind him is Jordan McCoy with 4.3 rebounds a game about fifty-fifty between defensive and offensive rebounds. McCoy has posted those numbers in spite of coming off the bench and playing about ten minutes less per game than White. Overall they get outrebounded by opponents 33.7 to 34.7 rebounds per game.

Gantt and Taylor average slightly more than 28 minutes per game, Alex Tucker pulls 23, White 22, Kelvin Penn 21, with the rest averaging about 18 minutes a game.

Taylor is the assist leader with five per game and Tucker is behind him with 3.8 a game. Tucker set the school record for assists in their last game against Denver. Taylor has a chance to get to the 1,000 point mark if he scores ten points against North Texas.

From three point range, Gantt has taken 120 so for this season hitting .392%. Taylor has put up 112 hitting for .321%. The most accurate shooter from downtown is Omari Grier hitting ,412% out of 97 he put up.

Most of FAU games are tight low scoring affairs. FAU averages 65.1 points a game while giving up 66.5 points a game. In total points in the first half this season, FAU and opponents are tied with 743. The Owls falter in the second half of games where they have been outscored 824 to 787.

They are a pretty good ball handling team forcing 6.6 steals a game while only losing 5.3. In turnovers, they are a +1.4 per game.

This game will be the only meeting between the two teams. FAU calls their coliseum “The Burrow” which seats 5,000. They are averaging close to 2,100 per game.

FAU Head Coach Mike Jarvis stated about playing North Texas that “Tony Mitchell is one of the top players in the country probably going to be a lottery pick. He's the best talent in our league.” Jarvis thought Mitchell was NBA material and FAU was going to do several things to combat him. They might use one or two players to cover him and “who knows maybe three.” His concern was if they put too much attention on Mitchell the other players on the team will beat them. So, FAU just might let Mitchell get his thirty points and 15 rebounds and have the other North Texas players try to beat them.

FAU has had problems this season with teams with big players. White and Graduate Assistant Jelani Floyd, a transfer from UC-Davis are the next tallest players at 6-8. They have one player at 6-7, two at 6-6, two at 6-4 and the rest below.

North Texas should be able to score inside the paint as well as outrebound the Owls even though they are pretty active around the basket. They are quick inside the paint but Mitchell should be able to add to his block total.

Walton Rains Threes on FIU

2012-02-10T03:33:23Z

North Texas was down in Miami, Florida to take on Sun Belt Conference member Florida International University. Both teams knew this was time to step it up going into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. A win would help put either team in a better position in tournament rankings.

Both teams mainly played the 2-3 defense which made the game go slow and resulted in a slugfest. With about eight minutes left North Texas was up by one point. At this point Brandan Walton went on a three point shooting spree scoring 13 points in a row to break open the game. However, with under one minute left in the game, North Texas started to play sloppy allowing FIU to climb back into the game closing to a two possession game. It was A. Williams arising to the occasion sinking a free throw to put the game out of reach resulting in North Texas taking a 68-61 road win.

FIU took the early lead going up 3-0 before Walton got North Texas their first basket. Tony Mitchell hit one free throw and Walton hit a three but North Texas was down 11-6 before the first timeout.

Mitchell hit for two followed by A. Williams adding two more but North Texas was down 10-13 at the 10:38 timeout.

A. Williams blocked a three point shot which resulted in Niko Stojiljkovic getting a layup at the other end of the court. Mitchell added to the North Texas point total by hitting one of two free throws. Tyler Hall gave North Texas their first lead of the game, 16-15, when he hit a three point shot. FIU retook the lead followed by Hall missing a three but Mitchell was there for the put back giving the lead back to North Texas. Mitchell followed up with a windmill slammed dunk to give North Texas a three point lead 20-17 at the 3:56 mark.

FIU closed to within one but Mitchell pushed the lead to 22-19. With 2 minutes a timeout was called with North Texas up 22-21.

FIU took the lead but A. Williams gave North Texas back the lead. A. Williams extended the lead when he hit the second of two free throws. With 34 seconds left in the half, North Texas Head Coach Johnny Jones called a timeout with his team up 25-23 and having possession of the ball.

With four seconds left, Mitchell did not get the shot off giving the ball to FIU. On the inbound pass FIU threw the ball to Walton who was fouled on an intentional foul. He made the second free throw for the halftime score 26-23.

Mitchell opened the second half on a layup giving North Texas a five point lead. Both teams went back and forth with baskets and with 14:52 left in the game a timeout was called with North Texas up 36-33.

A. Williams hit two free throws to give North Texas a five point lead. Franklin hit two free throws giving North Texas a seven point lead its largest of the game at that point. FIU closed to within one before Stojiljkovic got an offensive rebound and two points. Mitchell was fouled at the 11:07 timeout with North Texas up 42-39.

Mitchell converted the second of two free throws giving North Texas a four point lead. Both teams traded baskets before FIU closed to within one. Walton pushed the lead to four with a three point shot and with 7:01 left North Texas was up 50-46.

Walton added to the North Texas lead hitting another three point shot. He then hit another three and followed it up with a layup giving North Texas a 58-46 at the timeout.

Walton was about to add to his eleven point run and was fouled. After hitting the free throws he scored the last 13 North Texas points in a row. A. Williams ended Walton's run when he hit both of his free throws.

After a timeout Forrest Robinson came in from the bench and hit for two. Walton hit one of two free throws giving North Texas a comfortable lead. However, North Texas started to play sloppy ball by turning the ball over and falling to the FIU pressure resulting in losing a 64-50 lead with 1:33 left in the game. After hitting two baskets in a row and following them with a three, FIU called a timeout with 27 seconds left and the score 65-59.

North Texas passing the ball back and forth ran the clock down before FIU was able to foul A. Williams with 18 seconds left. He hit the second free throw which put the game out of reach. With 14 seconds left, Walton got a steal and pass to Williams for a layup. FIU scored the last basket as time expired for the final score North Texas 68 FIU 61. North Texas improves to 14-10, 7-4 while FIU falls to 7-16, 4-7.

North Texas travels north of Miami to Boca Raton to take on Florida Atlantic for another Sun Belt Conference game this Saturday with local tip-off at 6 PM.

North Texas on Road Against FIU

2012-02-09T03:02:38Z

North Texas Head Basketball Coach Johnny Jones is trying to put together the pieces to his basketball teams puzzle after losing two key components to his offense. It looked like he may have found the key to winning again even though he lost 66-68 to a Middle Tennessee team (21-4, 10-1) which, at the time, was knocking on a national top 25 ranking. North Texas could have sent the game into overtime but three or four shots with just seconds left in the game refused to fall.

It looks like he has his players believing in themselves and can hold their own against anyone. There are six more regular season games left before the Sun Belt Tournament and now is the time for Jones' crew to make a run before going into the tournament. The close loss at Middle Tennessee is a loss and not a moral victory either but it should prove to the players there is enough talent on the team to compete with almost anyone. Now they have to prove it on the road this Thursday against Florida International (7-15, 4-6). The Panthers have not done well at home going 1-6 while North Texas (13-10, 6-4) has not done well on the road going 3-6.

This will be the third season for FIU's Head Coach Isiah Thomas, former NBA great player and coach. In the first two years at the helm his teams were named the “Most Improved Teams in 2011” by the NCAA. Last year his team averaged 71.7 points a game one of the best in the Sun Belt and was #28 in the nation in steals. Thomas will get to see a player he was recruiting to join his team in North Texas' Tony Mitchell.

FIU has four players in double figures and the rest of the team adds 4.4 points or less per game.

No. 14 DeJuan Wright, G, 6-4, 185, Sr., puts in 16.1 points a game, #11 Phil Taylor, G, 5-10, 160, So., is adding another 14.2, with #32 Jeremy Allen, G, 6-4, 190, Sr., putting in 13.7 and #3 Dominique Ferguson, F, 6-9, 210, So., putting in 10 a game. The team relies mainly on these four players from start to finish. All four are logging 31 minutes or higher per game. In their win against George Mason, Taylor, Wright, and Allen all logged above 41 minutes in the game. This can explain why they are in their games in the first half scoring 647 total points to the opponents 649 total points but in the second half they are outscored 757 to 694.

Last year FIU was a scoring machine putting in over 71 points a game but they have dropped off this year averaging 62.1 points per game while giving up 65.2.

Wright leads the team in rebounds with 7.6 with Ferguson in second with 6.7. Allen is the reason FIU out-steals their opponents, he has a total of 59 steals this year. Arkansas transfer, #22 Brandon Moore, F, 6-10, 213, Jr., has a total of 27 blocks shots with Ferguson getting 25.

North Texas should be able to out-rebound, out-block and out-assist FIU. The Panthers should lead in steals since they have won that category against other opponents.

Jones' group can't play a close game but have to get a good lead on FIU and stay there. In their wins, FIU won 79-76, 64-62, 58-56, 81-63, 65-62, 63-50 and 78-56. They average losing by ten points a game. Right now they are on a two game winning streak beating Florida Atlantic 76-56 and Troy 63-50 and have won three of their last five.

As noted FIU generally wins the close games but lose when outscored by around ten points. North Texas has to get a strong lead and stay there. North Texas fans should not be concerned if the game is close at half-time but red flags should go up if the game is close near the end of the game. With so much time on the court during the game, FIU's starting four are generally tired late in the second half. Look for Jones to use a lot of bench players to take advantage of this weakness.

This will be a nationally televised game on the Sun Belt Network, ESPN Full Court Package and webcast on ESPN3. This will be the only time the two teams will face each other in the regular season. North Texas beat FIU 87-77 last year on January 13^th. North Texas holds a 10-3 lead in the series. Tip-off is 7 PM at FIU, 6 PM in Denton. This will be a lightly attended game with slightly over 1,100 fans expected in the 5,000 seat U.S. Century Bank Arena.

Former Denton Ryan QB Rumored to Transfer

2012-02-08T03:44:59Z

Rumor mill around the Texas Tech program is former Denton Ryan Quarterback Scotty Young will not be with the team come spring drills.

Young was considered to be one of Tech's top recruits two years ago after being named a Parade All-American and was listed on Rivals.com top 250 recruits.

North Texas is rumored to be one of the schools he is considering to make a move to. Tech has not given him his release but his expected to be signed in the next few days.

In high school he accounted for 129 touchdowns in his career. In his senior season he threw for 64 touchdowns and 4,467 yards.

Texas Tech Head Coach Tommy Tuberville stated "He felt like going somewhere else he might get on the field a little big sooner."

If he transfers to a division one program he will be required to sit out a year and have two years of eligibility left. He could play for a division two or below and play immediately.

North Texas Upset Bid Falls Short

2012-02-04T01:53:17Z

North Texas Basketball welcomed Sun Belt Conference member Middle Tennessee for action at The Super Pit. North Texas battled the visitors from wire to wire only to fall short. The game was in doubt until seven seconds were left in the game. North Texas had its chances to pull out the win but they could not get the ball to fall at critical times and lose 66-68. MTSU improves to 21-3, 10-0 while North Texas falls to 13-10, 6-4.

North Texas opened up scoring when Alzee Williams got a steal and a layup for a 2-0 lead. It didn't last long at MTSU hit their first three of the game. Williams gave North Texas the lead once again on a jumper. MTSU returned the favor and took the lead by one 5-4. Williams, on a fast break, hit a jumper to give North Texas a 6-5 lead.

After the first media timeout, North Texas had a 7-5 lead when Mitchell hit one free throw. MTSU tied the game but Mitchell hit a three for a 10-7 lead. North Texas continued to expand their lead and went up by seven points 20-13. North Texas went on a cold streak allowing MTSU to tie the game at 20-20 and then take a 25-20 lead.

The two teams traded baskets but at the 1:57 mark MTSU hit a three to take a 31-23 lead and continued to expand their lead to 36-26. North Texas played for the last shot at halftime but a Tyler Hall three point shot didn't fall.

Williams opened the second half with a layup in the paint to close to 28-36 but, MTSU answered and extended their lead to 14 points. North Texas managed to close to within ten before MTSU opened their lead to 15 points at 55-40. Mitchell got a three point play with a basket and a free throw with 11:12 left in the game. It started a North Texas run. Williams added two more points closing North Texas to within in ten followed by Brandan Walton hitting a three to make the score 48-55. MTSU answered with a two but Walton hit another three to make the score 51-57. Norris got a layup before Williams added two free throws and with 7:41 left in the game North Texas closed to within two at 55-57.

After a timeout North Texas continued to stay within reach and manage to close the gap to within one at 57-58. MTSU pushed their lead back to 57-64 before Mitchell hit for two. However, MTSU answered at the media timeout MTSU held a 66-60 lead.

Williams hit one free throw before Niko Stojiljkovic hit a two point jumper making it a 63-66 game. Walton added on free throw making it 64-66 with 2:26 left in the game. At this point North Texas could buy a basket.

North Texas had opportunities to tie the game but nothing would fall even from point blank range. MTSU added two free throws making the score MTSU 68-64 with seven seconds left. Williams brought the ball down the court for the final score with one second left making the final score North Texas 66 MTSU 68.

MTSU Hottest Team in Sun Belt at North Texas

2012-02-02T04:34:33Z

Middle Tennessee 20-3 brings it record to Denton to take on North Texas in Sun Belt Conference action. This game is extremely important for both teams. MTSU is coming off a very disappointing loss at Vanderbilt. North Texas is coming into the game winning at home against Arkansas State giving North Texas Head Coach Johnny Jones his 200^th coaching win.

The Blue Raiders are close to breaking into one of the top 25 teams in the nation and their loss against Vanderbilt kept them out of the polls. They are still getting votes for being a top 25 team and will be looking for redemption when they take on North Texas. Its a game that should propel them into the 25 with a win.

LaRon Dendy, F, 6-9, 235, R-Sr., is the man for MTSU. The four star committed and played at Iowa State before transferring to MTSU. He is averaging 14 points a game and second in rebounds with 6.8 per game. Most of his rebounds have been on the defensive side of the ball with 5.8 per game. Last week he became the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week ending the three in a row won by North Texas' Tony Mitchell.

Here is a video of Dendy in action from YouTube. It starts slow with him practicing before it shows him in action. Laron Dendy Highlights.

Dendy one of the transfers contributing to the successful season. Bruce Massey transferred in from Dodge City Community College. Coming in from Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College is Raymond Cintron the leading 3 pointer shooter for the 23 games hitting .412 shots from outside. Finally Chipola Junior College is Marcos Knight the second leading scorer on the team.

Four of the top eight percentage shooters in the Sun Belt are on MTSU. JT Sulton is third, Shawn Jones is fourth, Dendy is sixth and Marcos Knight. Sulton is second on the team in scoring.

MTSU has won 16 games by double figures, winning by 12.3 points a game. They are seventh in the nation in field goal percentage hitting 49.5% of their shots. Their defense is 15^th in the nation allowing opponents only 38.4% of their field goals from going in. Opponents score 60.3 points per game. They are only the eighth team in the nation to have 20 wins so far this season.

The hallmark of the team is defense getting 7.4 steals a game to 6.5. They average 13.9 turnovers per game while forcing opponents into 15.6 turnovers. They outrebound their opponents to 35.2 to 33.1 per game.

North Texas is still trying to get things together after the loss of two of their top two scorers to grades. While it looked like the shoulders of Tony Mitchell needed to broaden because of the losses as it looked like everything was going to fall on him. However, other players around him are stepping up and some injured players are back. With one game under their belts playing together in its present complement of players, the team did not have much playing time together. The game against MTSU will tell Jones where his team is and where it is going.

Could Sun Belt Get Two Bids to NCAA Tournament

2012-02-01T21:44:28Z

Could the Sun Belt end up with two bids to the NCAA March Madness? The answer could be a yes, or it could be no. Unlike the BCS, not controlled by the NCAA, teams from all the conferences have a legitimate shot at becoming National Champions. To achieve the goal of giving everyone a shot at the title, most conferences are given one automatic bid which is generally the tournament champions. There is the rub.

What if a team has a 29-4 record and lose in their conference tournament? Nothing. For the most part they get to pack up and go home because conferences like the Sun Belt are for the most part a one bid conference. If you don't win your tournament you go home. A team with the same situation out of a multi-bid conference could pick up an At-Large bid. So a losing in the conference tournament is not as critical as a Sun Belt type conference.

Now to answer the question 'could the Sun Belt end up with two bids?

Middle Tennessee is 20-3, 9-0 going into the North Texas game. They nearly beat Vanderbilt before falling 77-84 as a result of cold shooting in the final few minutes. The loss really upset MTSU Head Basketball Coach Kermit Davis for several reasons. He's coached in the big name conferences and understand teams in Sun Belt like conferences with 20 or so wins will get shut out of the NCAA Tournament if they are upset in their conference tournament.

Another reason for him to be upset is the win over Vanderbilt would mostly likely landed MTSU in the top 25 for the first time in school history.

MTSU has wins over UCLA, Ole Miss, Akron and Belmont which has helped their RPI to be around the 50 mark. The NCAA likes to have the top 64 RPI teams in the tournament.

For sake of argument, if MTSU was able to win their last seven season games, win a couple in the Sun Belt Tournament before losing, they could have a 29-4 or so record and sit at home.

It would be interesting to see if another Sun Belt team won the conference tournament if the NCAA selection committee would reach down and pull MTSU into March Madness giving the Sun Belt two participates with a shot at the National Title.

Big Receiver Lancaster Signs with North Texas

2012-02-01T17:37:07Z

He is big, he is fast and he is just what North Texas needed at wide receiver, Life Oak Cliff's wide receiver Roderick Lancaster, 6-2, 200, 4.4, LB, WR.

Life Oak started playing football ten years ago and has played as a 2A Varsity team in 2006. They play in the seven league 2A Region II District 13. This year was the first year they earned a playoff berth and ended their season 6-5. So recruiting around the program is overlooked thus allowing North Texas to get a steal with this player.

Each year Lancaster kept getting better and ended the season with 29 catches for 534 yards and two touchdowns. His senior year he averaged 18 yards a catch, his junior year 15.2 yards a catch and his sophomore year and over 13 yards per catch.

On the defensive side of the ball he was aggressive and near the ball on almost every play.

As a track member he was a three year letterwinner and a state finalist last year on the 4 X 100 relay team.

Lancaster improved his stock by hitting the weight room and attending camps this year. He graded out high in the camps and started to garner attention late. Here is his SPARQ ratings from the NIKE camp held at the Grand Prairie High School. There were 948 prospects in attendance and Lancaster graded out to the #36 spot. In the forty he ran 4.66, SH 4.4 , VJ 35.6, PB 6.39 for a final rating of 101.28. Basically grading out a four star player.

At the UNT's camp he ran 4.4 and 4.5 and Head Coach Dan McCarney knew he wanted Lancaster.

North Texas Picks up "slippery" Carlos Harris

2012-02-01T15:47:44Z

North Texas picked up a speedy but undersized wide receiver in Carlos Harris, 5-8, 175, 4.4, QB, WR, RB, Ath., Frisco High School, Frisco, Texas. Harris was a two way player in high school. He played as a running back Carlos Harris 3rd Coast Recruiting and defensive back for the Raccoons helping them to a 10-3 season. Fri

Harris rushed for 1722 yards and 21 touchdowns and is also responsible for three passing touchdowns and a season total of 201 passing yards. He ended the year with 142 receiving yards and two touchdown passes. Breaking it down he accounted for 6.9 total points per game. In spite of his lofty numbers he was on his way to the 2,000 mark but was slowed by an ankle injury.

In a 62-64 loss against Lovejoy, Harris carried the ball 36 times for 446 yards and seven touchdowns. On a two point conversion attempt, Harris was stacked up at the endzone in an effort to tie the game. The result was he was named the Dallas Morning News Player of the week.

On the defensive side of the ball he had 1.3 tackles per game.

Here is some action from Carlos from 3rd Coast Recruiting Look out for that guy in the open field he has jets to burn.

The athlete is projected to be a WR at North Texas.

Clark is in

2012-02-01T15:04:05Z

Dustin Clark, LB, 6-0, 205 from Borger High, Borger, Texas. As a defensive end for the Bulldogs he was selected the District 3-1A Defensive MVP because of 20.5 sacks as a senior the most of any player in Texas. He recorded 116 total tackles, nine forced fumbles and three blocked punts. He help lead his team to a 6-5 overall record. Against Vista Ridge he recorded seven carries for 63 yards and four touchdowns.

Clark was selected 3-1A First Team in 2010 and 2011 he was selected second team 3-1A by the AP and third team by the Texas Sportswriters.

He had offers from North Texas.

Here is a video from Texas PanHandle Sports.com which shows Clark in action from his defensive end position. He is projected to be a linebacker at North Texas. Dustin Clark from Texas Panhandle Sports

FIU's Mario Cristobal Staying

2012-01-31T01:27:59Z

It was beginning to look like Sun Belt Conference member Florida International University was facing signing day without a head coach as Mario Cristobal seemed to be on his way to Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights lost their head coach Greg Schiano to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Cristobal stated he turned down the job because he was too close to signing day, he didn't want to hurt recruiting for FIU and he didn't want to leave the team. He also thought he would have to work with Schiano's recruits and did not have time to find the ones he wanted.

Immediately, Rutgers took off the interim head coaching label from Kyle Flood and gave him the top spot.

Jones gets 200, North Texas Powers by ASU

2012-01-29T01:27:29Z

North Texas Head Basketball Coach Johnny Jones was denied his 200^th win Wednesday at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. He was in the same position when North Texas welcomed Arkansas State to The Super Pit for a noon Sun Belt Conference contest. The last time the two teams faced each other ASU knocked off North Texas on a three point shot as time expired at Jonesboro, Ark.

Jones was “not at all” worried about getting his 200^th win and did not think about it. What he was looking for was “for the team to improve.” As for his 200^th win, “maybe at the end” of his career he will look back to see how important getting the win was.

The game was featured on the Sun Belt Conference Television Network which is why the game was played at noon. TV fans were treated to a great game and a great outing by North Texas. It was also a 'Coaches against Cancer' game where the coaches wore tennis shoes and suits.

Jones thought ASU would be entering into the game with a lot of confidence because their last win came against North Texas. In that contest, ASU post players hurt North Texas by almost doubling up on what the North Texas post players scored. They also hit on a three point shot as time expired to secure a win.

There are a lot of North Texas and other Sun Belt Conference teams winning in the last minute or two. Jones noted it when he stated “all our games coming down to possession” with several North Texas games lost “right down there at the end.” With almost all the conference games coming down to the end it showed “there was a lot of parity in the league.”

There was some good news for Jones as Jacob Holmen was able to play and got the call to start. Missing 11 games would mean he would be out of shape but Jones said “it will take a few games to get his legs back under him.” It didn't take long for him to be a factor in the game as his feed to A. Williams resulted in the first North Texas points. He played for 24 minutes putting in nine points.

Another player Jones had in his arsenal for this game was Kedrick Hogans. This gave North Texas some depth inside which was badly needed as last game ASU whipped up North Texas in the paint. He was also needed to keep the team from tiring at the end of the second half. Hogans logged 12 minutes and four points.

It was Alzee Williams, Brandan Walton, Jacob Holmen, Tony Mitchell and Roger Franklin starting for North Texas. They took an early 5-0 lead before ASU got their first two points of the game. North Texas stretched their lead to 9-2 before ASU went on a run to tie game at nine all.

After the first timeout of the game at 14:52, Hogans made his first appearance getting a two point layup. North Texas continued to build their lead to ten points before ASU went on a 10-0 run to tie the game at 23 all with about eight minutes left in the first half.

Mitchell ended the run by hitting two free throws then immediately got a steal and a big dunk giving North Texas a four point, 32-28 lead at the 2:39 timeout. Before half, North Texas added four more points to ASU's two for the halftime score 36-30.

North Texas is 41-43 when winning at halftime with their only two losses coming at the hands of ASU.

Could this happen in this game?

Mitchell got his tenth rebound to open the second half, however, ASU cut the lead by getting the first points of the second half on a three point shot. Franklin answered the challenge with his first bucket of the game. Mitchell got into double digit scoring within two minutes of the second half with a layup and a foul. He added to his point total on a three to make the score 44-33 forcing ASU to call a timeout.

ASU started to close the gap but North Texas answered when Holmen hit for two, A. Williams hit a jumper for two, Mitchell added two on a dunk, Holmen hit two free throws before ASU could score making it a 52-39 game. Both teams traded baskets then Mitchell hit a dunk, Franklin hit a two and a free throw before ASU could score again. North Texas pushed their lead out to 21 points before ASU went on a 9-0 run. North Texas then manned up and backed ASU down to take a 76-64 victory.

Unlike the last contest North Texas outscored ASU 34-28 in the paint.

The victory gave Jones his 200^th career win in a game that basically was never in doubt as North Texas led from tip-off to buzzer with a couple of ties.

Mitchell had a career high six blocks, five in the first half and tied for fifth place in the North Texas history books for six blocks in a game. He poured in 21 points and collected 15 rebounds.

Not to be outdone, “Credit Card” Walton ended the game with a career high 19 points and once again got a charging call.

Another career record came from A. Williams dishing off a career high five assists.

North Texas ups their record to 13-9, 6-3, while the Red Wolves fall 8-14, 3-6.

Now North Texas will face Middle Tennessee this Thursday, at 7 PM. The Blue Raiders are 20-3, 9-0 after falling to Vanderbilt 77-84. Before Saturday's contest, they led the East Division by four games. In second place is Florida Atlantic with a 5-3 record. The best record in the West Division is Denver and Arkansas-Little Rock with 6-2 records. Waiting on other scores to finish, North Texas is 6-3.

This will be the only contest this season between the two teams.

Showdown at High Noon for North Texas

2012-01-28T04:20:54Z

The Super Pit will be rocking at high noon when Arkansas State and North Texas tip-off for a Sun Belt Conference matchup. The two teams played January 7^th in Jonesboro, Ark., where the hearts of the North Texas fans were ripped out by a desperation shot from near midcourt by ASU that went at the buzzer to send North Texas home a 72-75 loser.

Gone from North Texas since then is Jordan Williams who had 15 points in the game and reached double scoring in the first half. Also gone is Chris Jones who poured in a game high 17 points plus four steals. Both are gone because of grades.

The good news is Tony Mitchell who had five blocks in the game, Brandan Walton who had double figures and three steals and Niko Stojiljkovic with four assists will be suiting up for North Texas.

ASU whipped North Texas in the paint putting in 42 points to North Texas’ 22. They creamed North Texas 21-11 in turnover points. Out-ran North Texas in fast break points 11-6. The only thing ASU did not do was runaway with the score.

North Texas is facing a lot of uphill obstacles in the final seven games. Who will step up to replace Williams and Jones?

Last game Tyler Hall did an admirable job in his new position as a starter. He has been very effective passing to Tony Mitchell and getting the ball to the open man. However, with Mitchell out in the ASU game he seems to erratic.

Alzee Williams gave it all he had playing 40 minutes, because Mitchell got into foul trouble within the first few minutes of the first and second half. Williams put in 11 points and had a career high three assists.

Even though Mitchell played only 17 minutes, he managed to score 11 points and get five rebounds.

Roger Franklin grabbed 11 rebounds and added 15 points.

The return of Jacob Holmen resulted in six points.

It appears with the new lineup, some players are starting to play as a team. The problem is they seem to lose confidence when Mitchell is on the bench in foul trouble. However, in the Louisiana-Lafayette game, with Mitchell on the bench, the rest of the team kept pace with the Cajuns which should show the team they can play without Mitchell. The game also showed without Mitchell they will get tired late in the second period allowing opponents to pull away from them.

Every team is going to go after Mitchell early in the game to get him into foul trouble. They know the game plan is to go after Mitchell, get him into foul trouble and Head Coach Johnny Jones will put in A. Williams in for 40 minutes. That will wear him out in the second half.

More than ever, Mitchell is the key to the team however, when he gets into foul trouble, it is proven the rest of the team can play with almost anybody and can keep the game close until Mitchell gets back in.

Foul Trouble Dooms North Texas

2012-01-26T04:04:48Z

The Cajuns generally don’t lose at home and they knew they had their hands full with North Texas and Tony Mitchell. They started the game with three guards, used zone defense, planned to go inside, get rebounds, run the ball, go after Mitchell, it worked for the first few minutes of the game and the first few minutes of the second half.

The Cajuns got the first offensive rebound of the game resulting in the first two points of the game. They got the first foul resulting in them getting the first points from a free throw. They also got the first block of the game and the first turnover.

UL-L went right after Mitchell and it worked. With less than two minutes gone he picked up his first foul. Quickly going to the basket and running the ball within the first 18:50 minutes of the game North Texas recorded three fouls.

Brandon Walton got North Texas’ first two points of the game making the score 2-5. Tyler Hall picked up his second foul at the 17 minute mark.

Mitchell was able to tie the score 7-7 on a free throw but with 14:55 left in the first half he picked up his second foul and found himself buried on the bench until half.

Walton got into foul trouble with two fouls.

The game seemed as if both teams seemed to be saying we don’t want this game you take it. Neither team seemed to play particularly well. While UL-L had the manpower in its favor, North Texas in foul trouble, two starters on the bench the best the Cajuns could do in the first half was to get a six point lead. They managed to get a game high ten point lead point lead late in the second half.

UL-L took their first six point lead 22-16 with less than six minutes left in the half.

Walton hit the first three point basket of the game for either team cutting the UL-L lead to 22-19. After an over the back call on UL-L allowed Walton to hit two free throws closing the gap to 22-21.

Both teams played back and forth before Alonzo Edwards’ dunk with 24 seconds gave North Texas their first and only lead of the game at 27-26. However, seconds later UL-L ran the ball down the court to take a 28-27 halftime lead.

UL-L opened the second half with a dunk followed by a two point bucket to extend their lead. The Cajuns opened the second half like the first half going after Mitchell again. Once again it worked. With 18:39 left in the game Mitchell got his third foul. Then a few minutes later he picked up his fourth to visit the bench. He was there until about the eight minute mark.

North Texas continued to get into foul trouble which allowed UL-L to pull ahead by ten points. After Mitchell came back into the game North Texas was able to close to within four with about 3 minutes left.

UL-L tried to pull ahead but Mitchell got a defensive rebound which resulted in Walton hitting for two to close within two. UL-L pulled ahead a few second later by four before Franklin was fouled 55 seconds left. After hitting both free throws North Texas was down 64-62.

The Cajuns tried to pull ahead by four but with 16 seconds left they missed their shot which was almost grabbed by Mitchell but it went off him luckily it went to Holmen and with 11.6 seconds left in the game Head Coach Johnny Jones called timeout.

North Texas missed several shots but the ball simply would not fall and North Texas falls 62-64.

North Texas drops to 12-9, 5-3, UL-L improves to 11-11, 5-3.

Alzee Williams picked up a lot of slack in the game as he played forty minutes.

North Texas heads home to take on Arkansas State, noon, on Saturday.

North Texas Nine to face the Cajuns

2012-01-25T01:42:54Z

North Texas travels to Sun Belt Conference member Louisiana-Lafayette for a Wednesday battle between the two conference members. UL-L, (10-11, 4-3) lost five seniors from last years team but they do have three starters and three contributors returning. Coach Bob Marlin is returning for his second season. Last year the Cajuns went 14-15 but were plagued with injuries. In spite of the injuries, at the end of the season they won eleven in a row to claim part of the West Division Title.

Things revolve around J.J. Thomas who leads the team in scoring with 11 points a game. He has played only 15 games this season with seven starts due to a continuing problem with his knee. He leads the team in free throws and second in three points. He also leads the team in turnovers with 3.1 per game. Last year he was named Louisiana Freshman of the Year and named third team All-Louisiana.

Josh Brown is second in scoring with with 10.3 points a game and is the leading scorer for the Cajuns in three games. The final player in double digits is Kadeem Coleby putting in 10.2 points a game but has been the leading scorer in six games the most of any Cajun player. Just outside double digit scoring is Darshawn McClellan with 9.4 points a game and is the leading scorer in four games.

They use a lot of players throughout the game. The Cajuns have seven players averaging 20 or more minutes per game. So they have a lot of fresh players at the end of the game.

While they are known as a defensive team they are just as effective on the offensive side of the ball.

They average 70 points a game while holding opponents to 67. From three point range they put in 5.7 shots per game averaging .354% from beyond the arc. They are +2.5 in rebounds per game getting 37.6 rebounds to 35.1. Opponents get 16.4 turnovers per game while the Cajuns only get 14.6 turnovers.

The key to UL-L is their bench play. It is what wins games for them. In all but six games the Cajun bench has outscored opponents. When they don't it is generally a loss.

What is unique to UL-L is the scoring, they have several players to count on. When one player is in a slump another player is there to pick up the slack. So when an opponent is able to shut down one shooter there are three more capable of putting the ball in.

UL-L likes to score inside the paint using the three point shot to loosen up the defense. If forced to go outside they have the shooters that are able to hit from downtown.

North Texas can expect a team that will be in their faces every time they shoot. UL-L will be all over Roger Franklin and Tony Mitchell forcing other players to win the game. North Texas' bench has to answer the UL-L bench point for point to have a chance to win. When UL-L gets out-rebounded and shoots below 30% they lose. So, look for North Texas to be aggressive under the basket on both ends of the court, they can't give UL-L anything.

UL-L got a lot of national exposure this year when they beat Western Kentucky 72-70 in overtime with six players on the court which led to the firing the next day of the WKU's head coach.

North Texas, 5-2, is in a three way tie for first with Denver and Arkansas-Little Rock. UL-L is one game behind at 4-3.

Channel 8 Features North Texas Players

2012-01-24T05:42:24Z

North Texas Basketball got some premium time on Channel 8 Sports Monday January 23. Dale Hansen introduced the piece by saying “Hey North Texas is starting to win again and they are doing it with local kids.”

The story was done by George Riba with the line “North Texas has had some good basketball teams in the past but this years team might have a chance to top them all.”

The success of this years team is built around local talent and Alzell Williams said “we all take pride in it” that fact most of the players are from the Dallas area.

Williams was supported by Tony Mitchell when he said “it was like high school” with all the Dallas area fans coming out to watch the team. “It feels really good.”

Mitchell added he is listening to what his coaches are teaching him on offense and defense. “He loves the game” and “plays with a great deal of passion” stated Head Basketball Coach Johnny Jones and that is why Mitchell has been so successful.

It was pointed out Mitchell was the player of the year when he played at Pinkston High School. His college career got sidetracked because of academic woes but Channel 8 pointed out “he is back on track.”

Mitchell gave praise to lord and stated “he blessing me in a major way.”

Roger Franklin said Mitchell was really funny and sometimes you don't know what he is going to do. He's going to eat up all the food or he is going to share the food.” He added “I'm glad I'm his roommate.”

North Texas Getting to Know Each Other

2012-01-24T04:58:19Z

North Texas Head Basketball Coach Johnny Jones credited his players for they way “they were able to come together” after a challenging week when Chris Jones and Jordan Williams were declared academically ineligible.

After the bad news, North Texas played and won the exhibition game against Huston-Tillotson and fought a very determined Sun Belt Conference member Denver to win in overtime as the clock expired.

“We always talk about playing every second, every play” and Jones felt North Texas did exactly that in the Denver contest. It wasn't a perfect game because “there were breakdowns” but “at the end of the day we were able to make enough plays to out of there with a win.”

Jones pointed out Denver was a very solid team and were “right there at the top” of the conference standings and were off to their best start as a Division I program.

“Now we have to roll up our sleeves” and take to the road as they travel to take on Lousiana-Lafayette on a Wednesday night contest.

After scoring 30 points and grabbing 17 rebounds, Tony Mitchell was named the Sun Belt Conference 'Player of the Week' for the third straight time and only the second player in conference history to do so.

Jones pointed out that Roger Franklin added 18 points and pulled in ten rebounds. He's been drawing a lot of defensive attention from opponents and has “done an excellent job competing extremely hard in the post area.” Franklin also is defending the better offensive players from the other team and is winning the battle.

The team has been playing together for awhile and that is why the team is playing better. Still, “they are trying to find each other” and each one is starting to find their niche in the team. “Roger really has found his.”

Jones pointed out the Mitchell is keeping things in check. When informed he won the SBC Player of the Week three times in a row “he turn[ed] his head because its almost like he's embarrassed or ashamed because he is such a team guy.” The coach stated Mitchell wants to see his teammates get the praise for what they do. “He's one of the most unselfish players I've been around” the coach.

The rest of the players on the team understand what Mitchell can do and they “have become a great supporting cast around him.” The result is every player is getting better.

Even though Mitchell and Franklin's numbers are up, Jones stated “if you look around” the rest of the team's numbers are up. Brandan Walton has been shooting the ball better from the perimeter. Tyler Hall was inserted into the starting lineup and the last two games he has been shooting better from the perimeter. Alzee Williams numbers are improving. Their numbers are improving and if they continue to do so they team will be successful.

Mitchell is help garnering attention to the North Texas program as Channel 8 and Channel 33 were at Monday's practice to interview him. Jones felt this will help put some fans in the stands and for North Texas fans to come out and see him because no one knows how long Mitchell will be at North Texas before turning pro. There is a lot of speculation he will probably only spend this half year with North Texas before moving on. Jones laughed and stated Mitchell needed to stay with the program three more years for the coach to help Mitchell get better.

Jones said after the season is over, Mitchell will have to evaluate what has happen this year to see how he has progressed and to talk to some professional NBA people to see where he might be projected to be drafted. Jones pointed out when he was at LSU, Shaquille O'Neal could have left school early and would have been picked in the top five in the lottery. He decided to stay two more years resulting in him becoming the number one draft pick.

Whether Mitchell stays or goes, Jones said “that is something we don't worry about every day” because they are concentrating on making sure Mitchell is the best he can be on and off the court and in the classroom. The coach felt Mitchell would benefit by staying another year but the decision is up to Mitchell and his family.

North Texas needed someone to step up with the loss of Jones and it appears Hall is ready to answer the bell, broken nose and all. Jones stated when Hall got the first shot of the Denver game to go for three putting North Texas up 3-0 “I thought it gave him a great deal of confidence” and he became a threat in the game. “He made some incredible passes inside to Tony” that led to Mitchell getting a lot of points. Although the stat sheets said Hall had two assists, he really had about six. On about four baskets, Mitchell dribbled once before scoring.

Jones said he was proud of the way Karen Aston has turned the woman’s basketball around. He goes to the practices and games and says she has really changed the attitude among the players and the program.

WHEWWWWWWWWWWW North Texas Wins in OT

2012-01-22T05:10:24Z

North Texas knew they were facing a tough game when they hosted Denver on Saturday at the Super Pit. With one starter, Chris Jones and one force coming off the bench, Jordan Williams, two of the top scorers out because of grades, Head Coach Johnny Jones had to go to the bench to pull up Tyler Hall to the starter’s role. Jones had been trying to get Tony Mitchell to take charge of the game and to be a “little more selfish”, in this game there was no choice. Another thing Mitchell had to do was to stay out of foul trouble.

With nine players at his disposal, HC Jones had to pull out all his coaching skills and that of his assistant coaches to pull out a win. A loss would set the tone North Texas was giving up and playing out the rest of the season. A win would state North Texas is not giving up and will still battle for the Sun Belt Title.

Hall opened the game by hitting a three and then Mitchell’s two gave North Texas a 5-0 before Denver got their first points of a game on a three point shot. It was one of the nine that went in during the first half for them

Denver took their first lead of the game with 12:52 left in the first half. Roger Franklin gave North Texas a one point lead before Denver answered with a three to give them an 18-16 lead. Mitchell tied the game at 18 all before Denver took the lead on a three point shot and they pulled away to 24-18 lead.

With 7:13 left in the half and Denver up by three, Hall tied the game on a three point shot before Denver was able to pull ahead by six points. They answered any North Texas challenge hitting three pointers. Still, North Texas was able to cut the lead to four at half 39-35.

The second half started out with Franklin cutting into the lead with three points the old-fashioned way, a basket and a free throw. Mitchell carbon copied Franklin with a basket and free throw to give North Texas a 40-39 lead.

With about ten minutes left in the game, the intensity was turned up by both teams. The players were flying everywhere fighting for the ball, going after rebounds, stealing the ball, altering shots and getting turnovers by any means possible.

The two teams traded baskets before Denver recaptured the lead and moved in front by six points. North Texas came back to tie the game at 52 all on a Franklin basket. Franklin then gave North Texas a 54-52 lead after hitting two free throws.

When Mitchell pushed North Texas up 56-52 on a reverse dunk the crowd of about 5,000 were on their feet. North Texas went up by seven points 61-54 before Denver started a comeback with 2:56 left in the game. They hit their first three point shot of the second half to close the gap to 61-57.

Brandon Walton answered with a three to give North Texas another seven point lead. Denver was able to stay within striking distance and with 44 seconds left in the game they hit a three for a 66-62 North Texas lead.

After a timeout was called, Denver got a steal was fouled but got only one free throw to fall. Denver then scored again, was fouled and tied the game 66-66 when they hit the free throw. North Texas called a timeout with16 seconds left. With one second left in the game, Mitchell tried a three which did not go in forcing the game into overtime.

The overtime period started out with Franklin getting a reverse dunk to get the crowd into the game and giving North Texas a two point lead. Denver tied the game before Franklin gave North Texas a one point lead after hitting one of two free throws. Mitchell stuffed the ball home to give North Texas a three point lead. After hitting two free throws Denver was behind by one with 50 seconds left.

After a timeout, Denver took the lead on a basket but Mitchell’s dunk gave the one point lead back to North Texas. With 15 seconds left Denver hit a basket giving them a one point lead. North Texas played for the last shot, but with one second left the ball bounced off the rim but Alzee Williams got the tip back at the buzzer to give North Texas the 75-74 win. The win was not official for another a minute or so as the officials reviewed to the tape to make sure the Williams put-back was with time on the clock.

North Texas is in a three way tie for first in the Sun Belt West.

Trey Norris was the only bench player to score for North Texas. Mitchell ended the game with 30 points and 17 rebounds.

While the other players may have had more baskets, rebounds, rejects and won MVP, it was the defensive play of Trey Norris that affected Denver enough to help North Texas to a 75-74 overtime buzzer beater win.

Big Game Tonight at The Super Pit

2012-01-21T03:26:35Z

North Texas (11-8, 4-2) will be taking on Denver (15-4, 5-1) this evening 6 PM at The Super Pit. Denver was selected to finish third in the west division just ahead of North Texas. Last year one of their players Rob Lewis and another player where lost with injuries. Lewis is back and giving Denver the support they need. Denver is off to their best start in their history as NCAA Division I.

North Texas is going the opposite direction. Two of their top three scorers, Chris Jones and Jordan Williams are out because of classwork. The good news is Forrest Robinson has returned and doing well.

Denver runs the Princeton offense which is not used by many teams. North Texas Johnny Jones said “we can't let them get into their rhythm” or it will be a tough evening for the home team. One of Denver’s strengths is “they have a lot of experience.”

The Princeton offense doesn't really have set players. They have four players outside the arc and one at the top of the key. By using motion and passing they find the mismatch which will allow a cut to the basket or an unoccupied area. It requires a strong presence in the middle for back door cuts. The idea is to get a player between the basket and defensive player to get a clean layup. If the defense packs the center to stop the layups, then the team has to have players who can hit from the arc. Denver has the players who can hit from outside.

Denver is putting in 67.4 points a game ranking them 195^th in the nation, they get 25.2 rebounds a game putting them 344^th in the nation. Because they use a lot of passing they are rank high in assists at 16.1 per game putting them 23^rd in the nation. They hit for .494 on field goal attempts ranking them 11^th in the nation, third in free throws with .798, and 13^th in three point shooting at .403.

It will be bombs away as Denver is expected to shoot from beyond the arc forcing North Texas to come out to defend the shots. It will be a tough assignment for North Texas since Denver moves the ball around the perimeter before taking their shots.

Denver dominates the Sun Belt in three point shooting. Royce O'Neale is first in the Sun Belt hitting .477 % of his three point shots. Brian Stafford is second hitting .470 and Brett Olson is third hitting .444. Throw in Chase Hallam with .426% he is in ninth place so four of the Denver's players are in the top ten in the conference in three point shots. Each game they average 8.3 three point shots a game.

Chris Udofia provides the defense getting 2.4 blocks a game putting him second in the Sun Belt. The team averages 4.3 blocks a game.

Udofia not only blocks shots he is fifth in the Sun Belt with 14.3 points a game. He is second on the team in scoring with Stafford leading Denver with 14.7 points a game.

Denver is averaging 67.4 points a game and are allowing 60 points a game for a plus 7.4 points a game.

They are out rebounded a game for a negative 4.5 rebounds 25.2 to 29.7. This expected since they shot so much from the three point line.

With the loss of Jones and Williams to classroom failures North Texas is in dire straights. Even though North Texas has an overall record of 15-9 and 9-2 in Denton, this is going to be a tough one to overcome two of the top double digits scorers.

There is a local feel to Denver with O'Neale, Udofia and brothers Travis and Chase Hallam hailing from the metroplex area.

This will be the last conference meeting in Denton for the two teams since Denver will be moving to the WAC conference next season.

Dunbar Garners Attention

2012-01-20T22:59:59Z

Former North Texas Running Back Lance Dunbar got some attention from some NFL Scouts after his play in the Casino Del Sol All-Star Game. Dunbar was the leading rusher in the game carrying the ball ten times for 59 yards leading his Stripes team to a 24-21 victory. The Stripes team won with 22 seconds left on a pass from San Jose State QB Matt Faulkner to Division II Minnesota State's WR Lamark Brown who won the MVP Trophy.

Dunbar was not invited to NFL combines but maybe things might change. Here is what one scouting report said about Dunbar. They look at him as being a little undersize but has a good 2^nd level burst of speed. He also impressed some scouts because on one cutback he found a big hole to run through resulting in a great gain. When the middle linebacker came in to tackle him, he lowered his shoulder and got an extra five yards. When he took a screen pass he was able to made the defender miss which resulted in a seven yard gain.

Dunbar got some attention before the game when he was listed as one of the top ten players to watch. Considering there were close to 100 players at the game, he got some people to notice him before kickoff.