The official site is reporting University of South Florida product Collin Dennis has signed on with North Texas.  He is a 6'2" 185 lb guard from North Richland Hills.  This signing continues a trend of signing transfers from other universities.  Information on Collin Dennis can be found on the following websites:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=22123

http://southflorida.scout.com/2/534792.html

http://usf.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=547676

Time for the 2-2 defense with one player just cherry pickin' . 

Yeah, Brown was the PG. 

Seneca transfered to North Texas last year from Tulsa's basketball team.  He wanted to play football and came to North Texas to do so.  As far as I know it is unknown if he would ever step foot on the SuperPit floor.  He was a great player for his high school basketball team ( I think Duncanville).  Scrappy is not sure if he is still on campus though. 

Welcome CMJ.  Leave a few hot sports opinions in here now and then. 

Many of the states top recruits will be coming to Denton on the weekend of July 7th, to participate in the 18th annual Denton Great American Shoot out.  While NCAA coaches are forbidden to converse with these student-athletes, the weekend provides a great opportunity for prospects to see the facilities at North Texas.  Many current NBA stars have walked through the halls of the PEB during this event. 

 If you have a mid-Summer basketball jones, make it up to Denton July 7-10th and check it out!

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The 18th Annual Denton Great American Shoot-Out will tip-off on Friday, July 7th at 25 gyms at the University of North Texas, the IAD complex and Denton area schools with 256 teams in the field. The field of teams is expected to attract 300+ college coaches to town for the weekend. Games will begin at all courts at 2:00 PM Friday. All teams will play their 3 pool games on Friday and Saturday. Single elimination bracket play will begin Sunday morning with the championship in all divisions taking place on Monday afternoon. The entire POOL schedule will be available on Monday, July 3rd. The teams entered are listed here...


TEAMS ENTERED AS OF 06/27/06
===================================
All 4 One, One 4 All
All 4 Sports
All 4 Sports Dream Team
Allen Swoosh
American Heritage (FL)
Ardmore (OK)
Arizona Premier Basketball Club
Arizona Premier Basketball Club
Arkansas Bucks
Arkansas Bucks
Arkansas Hawks
Arkansas Heat
Arkansas Wings - Barksdale
Arkansas Wings - Cooper
Arkansas Wings - Williams
Arlington All-Stars
Arlington Swoosh 17
ATX 16
ATX 17
Austin And 1
Austin Dawgs Varsity
Badgers
Bay Area Hoosiers
Boys and Girls Club Comin Up
Brazoria Ballers
Burkburnett
Cen Tex Shooters 17
Central Chargers
CJ Miles All Stars
Colleyville Heritage Panthers 1
Colleyville Heritage Panthers 2
Colleyville Heritage Panthers 3
Colorado Chaos 15 Blue
Colorado Chaos 16 White
Colorado Chaos 17 Red
Colorado Chaos 17 White
Colorado Hawks 17
Colorado Select 15
Colorado Select 16 Blue
Colorado Select 16 White
Colorado Select 17 Blue
Colorado Select 17 White
Colorado X-Press
Conway Heat
Coppell HS
Crusaders
Dallas Heroes 14
Dallas Heroes 16
Dallas Hoop Dreams Blue
Dallas Hoop Dreams White
Dallas Longhorns
Dallas Mustangs 14
Dallas Mustangs 15
Dallas Mustangs 16 Blue
Dallas Mustangs 16 White
Dallas Mustangs 17 Blue
Dallas Mustangs 17 White
Dallas Pacers
Dallas Showtyme 15
Dallas Showtyme 16
Dallas Showtyme 8th
Dallas Showtyme Select
Dallas Slam 16
Dallas Slam Blue
Dallas Slam Green
DFW Select - Orange
El Paso Suns
Elite All-Stars 16
Fast Break Flower Mound Jaguars
Flower Mound Cagers
Flower Mound Jaguars
Fonde Prep All Stars
Fort Bend Blue Devils U16
Fort Bend Blue Devils U17
Fort Bend Eagles
Fort Stockton Hoopstars
Fort Worth MLK MASH 1
Fort Worth MLK MASH 2
Frenship Blue
Frenship Gold
Frenship White
Future Stars
G2S Magic
G2S Magic Black
G2S Magic Blue
G2S Wildcts
Garland Jayhawks
Glen Rose Tigers
God First -- Team Houston
Griffins
Ground Zero
Gulf Coast Basketball
HEB Rockets
Hebron Hawks JV
HMC Select
Hornets 16 El Paso
Houston Chiefs
Houston Elite 16
Houston Elite Black
Houston Gold
Houston Heat 16
Houston Heat 17
Houston Hoops 15
Houston Hoops 16 Red
Houston Hoopstars Elite
Houston Jammerz 14
Houston Knights
Houston Lynx Blue
Houston Lynx Gold
Houston No Limit 16
Houston Playmakers 15
Houston Pride
Houston Select 16
Houston Select 17
Houston Shocks 14
Houston Shocks 17
Houston Silver
Houston Superstars Blue
Houston Swoosh 16
Houston Swoosh 17 Blue
Houston Swoosh 17 Orange
Houston Team Genesis
Houston Westside All-Stars
Houstonians
H-Town Flame Blue
H-Town Flame Red
IBF
Irving Sixers
J Hohnholt CC Panthers
Kansas City Premiere 16
Kansas City Premiere 17
Kansas Gators
Kansas Top Prospects
KC Cowboys
Kingwood Knights
Laredo Longhorns
LBA Seawolves
Lewisville Farmers
Lewisville JV
Liberty Warriors
Lindale HS
Lone Star Warriors
Louisiana Dream Team
Louisiana Hoops - Smith
Louisiana Leaders
Midlothian HS
Missouri Titans
MO Valley Rebels
New Braunfels Thunder
New Mexico Force 15
Next Level - Wichita Falls
NM Force Gold
Nmotion
Nolan Catholic
Northwest Blue
Northwest Red
NW Arkansas Raptors
OK Showtyme Elite
OKC East
Oklahoma Aces
Oklahoma Eskimos
Oklahoma Explosion Elite
Oklahoma Kings
Oklahoma Rams
Oklahoma Rams
Oklahoma Shockers
Oklahoma Trotters
One Way Basketball
Oxford Runnin Rebels Blue
Oxford Runnin Rebels Red
Pearce Mustangs
Players Only (OK)
Ponder
Rashard Lewis SE TX All-Stars
Richland Rockets
Rough Riders
Runnin Lions 1
Runnin Lions 2
Runnin Wildcats
San Antonio Bulls
San Antonio Celtics
San Antonio Jayhawks
San Antonio Legends
San Antonio Ro Hawks 1
San Antonio Ro Hawks 2
San Antonio Ro Hawks Black
San Antonio Ro Hawks Red
San Antonio Spurs
San Antonio Tornados
South Texas Blue Devils
South Texas Stallions 16
South Texas Stallions 17
Southwest Celtics
Sports City U Force
Spring Hill
St Louis Catholic
Sulphur Tors
TA Pistons
TCA USA
Team 94
Team Extreme - San Antonio
Team Hoop Zone
Team Hoopsters
Team Hoopsters 2
Team JAMODI
Team Larry Johnson Elite
Team NCI Elite
Team NW Florida
Team Rowlett
Team Texas Netburners
Team Texas Swoosh
Team TG - San Antonio
Texas Ambassadors - SA
Texas Ambassadors 14
Texas Ambassadors 16 Black
Texas Ambassadors White
Texas Blue Chips Navy
Texas Blue Chips Orange
Texas Blue Chips White
Texas D-1 Ambassadors 17
Texas Heat
Texas Heat - San Antonio
Texas Hoop Force Blue
Texas Hoop Force Orange
Texas Hoopsters
Texas Redhawks
Texas Showtime 14
Texas Terps
Texas Thunder 15
Texas Top Prospects 15
Texas Top Prospects 17 North
Texas Top Prospects Elite
Texas Trojans/St Alban's
TFW/DFW Select - Blue
TJ Ford Elite
TUAC Warriors
Tulsa Blue Chips
Tulsa Bulldogs 14
Tulsa Bulldogs 17
Tulsa Jammers
Tulsa PWP - 15
Tulsa PWP - 16
Tulsa Titans
Urban DFW 8th
Urban DFW Gold 15
Urban DFW Elite
Urban DFW Showtyme
Urban Kings
USA Lions (OK)
Waco Basketball 1
Waco Basketball 2
Weatherford Kankaroos
Weatherford Roos
Wedman Pumas
West Texas Zags
Wichita Flight


http://www.greatamericanshootout.com/DentonMaps.htm
http://texashoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=554544

He has always been a hair experimenter. 

So what are they saying in that picture?  I am sure there is a funny caption out there somewhere, I just don't have the brain power right now to come up with it.

This is about the best point of all of this.  Joe Blow sports fan really isn't much of a sports fan accept when it is cool to do so.  (See Dallas Stars fans a few years ago).  The current bracket is a lot to tackle...........128 teams would be a nightmare to fill out. 

What does everyone think of the point guard situation?  I am concerned with Brown gone.  Lets hope Ben Bell is worth something.  Many have mentioned that Sturns coming back helps, but I am worried about using him there.  I think he is a scorer - built to be a 2 guard.  If he can handle the pressures of playing point and make everyone better, than he can fit the bill.  Otherwise I fear a breakdown in play due to being thin at the point. 

Test

UTPB is a 21 loss NAIA team, so a 59 point win is expected. I pretty much decided to make the trek up to Denton because I could, and I figured I would see some nice dunks. I was right.

Marqus Mitchell had what will probably be the dunk of the year, rising up and over a defender, reaching out for the backside of the rim, throwing it down and drawing the foul. It was amazing. If MM can't do anything else, he can leap out of the gym.

Jeffrey Simpson was unstoppable, and had 26 points in 20 minutes. Simpson had a few nice slams himself, but they aren't quite as impressive looking when you are already as big as he is. That is not saying they weren't powerful though, he looked like Shawnson Johnson Lite out there.

North Texas scored the first 16 points of the game, and other than 8 first half turnovers, everything went well. The game was pretty much just focusing on perfecting the offensive and defensive sets and gaining confidence for what will be a very tough and important game against Denver Thursday, a game that will also be on ESPN Regional. Denver is in first place and has already walloped NT up in the thin air. Thursday is a big game to knock off a top team, on TV, and to gain ground in the seeding race for the tournament.

Positives:
1) Simpson could not be stopped, had he got more minutes, there is no telling how many points he could have scored.
2) Mitchell's slam. Worth the drive and traffic right there.
3) Getting Sturns and Williams some valuable minutes that will really help them.

Negatives:
1) Ron Harris and Justin Barnett probably don't feel as good as they might have anticipated. Barnett needs to do two things- hold on to the ball and not negate his size advantage by bringing the ball down to his waist. Harris just did not play well, though he picked it up a lot at the end with a near 60 point lead and being "guarded" by someone that looks like they could have been the fifth Beatle.

Be there Thursday, the Super Pit in Denton, NT vs. Denver. It should be a well played and intense game.
Yahoo Box Score

It was the opposite ending as the WKU heartbreaker Saturday as Leonard Hopkins nailed a jumper with .3 left in the game to give NT the 2 point win over first place Denver.

I don't think I have been to a more thrilling game at the Super Pit. The game was close throughout, with neither team pulling away at any point.

Several players had big games, so let's take a look at them:

Leonard Hopkins - You have to start with the guy who hit the game winner. Not only is that a tough shot with the pressure, but it was at a tough angle to the side of basket, and he had to get it off quickly. Hopkins also contributed 18 points and was a perfect 6-6 from the line.

Isaac Hines - If I said that you could argue the player of the game had 2 points, you would think it must have been an ugly game. But scoring isn't what Hines does. He led the team in rebounding with 8 boards, led the team in assists with 3 and led the team in steals with 3 with only 1 turnover. He does all the little things to help a team win, he reminds so much in style of Jason Kidd.

Ron Harris - Harris broke out scoring 16 points in easily his best game ever for North Texas. His contribution is huge because it is not something you count on, and anytime a player like that steps up so big in the points category, it helps a ton.

Jeffrey Simpson - Simpson was 4-4 with 9 points and 2 blocks, but the most impressive thing he did was not on the box score. He harassed Denver's Yemi Nicholson who may be the Sun Belt POY and an NBA prospect to a night of 5-17 shooting and just as importantly 5 fouls. Simpson has really come through and without his emergence, postseason hopes would be non-existant.

Justin Barnett - This was the best game I have ever seen Barnett play. The 8 points aside, he actually did a good job on Nicholson. His lack of mobility came into play a couple of times, but he did his best to make up for it and did a better job on Nicholson than anyone thought he could do. If he can pull out this kind of effort over the next 4-7 games, it will help the team immensely.

Calvin Watson - Watson shot poorly from the field and turned the ball over 5 times. The good news is, he did hit a 3 when it counted most, and scored 12 points despite his shooting touch issues early on.

This was a complete team effort, and is the kind of game that can beat anyone in the Sun Belt. Denver was in first place, had demolished NT earlier in the season, and had a 6'10 leaper that was being talked about as the best player in the conference. He got his 17 points, but had to go 5-17 to get it, and fouled out and watched the decisive final minutes on the bench. Simpson and Barnett did a great job on him and Harris did his part as well. The next game is at UL-Lafayette which is a tough game for anyone, but the next two games after that are at home. NT trails New Orleans by one game for the #3 seed and a first round bye in the tournament. UNO comes to the Super Pit next week, so each game from here out is absolutely crucial.

Link:
Yahoo! Sports

For the second time in three days, North Texas lost a tough game at home in Sun Belt action.

Leonard Hopkins started off strong, unlike Thursday night and North Texas got out to an early lead. The pattern the entire game was of North Texas getting ahead anywhere from 7-11 points only to have ASU come back. This seemed like it happened 10 times in the the first half. The team was all over the rebounds and loose balls early, and got out on the break. Isaac Hines really shines in this type of game pace. Calvin Watson also started off very well, hitting his shots from downtown. Another good sign from Watson were some nice moves taking his man off the dribble. If he can implement that into his arsenal, he will be a much more potent scorer. Right now, he is very streaky because he relies so heavily on his outside shooting. On nights that he is off, and it happens to everyone, he needs to be able to rely on an all-around offensive game much like Leonard Hopkins.

At halftime, North Texas led by nine points shooting at over 51% and dominating on the boards. The second half would be a different story.

ASU really dominated the boards in the second half, and not with big size controlling the paint. They did it by using the body to gain position, blocking out, and going after the ball in the air like Johnny Quinn after a Scott Hall floater. It really did seem like they wanted it more, and that is a very disappointing sign.

ASU repeatedly had second chance points, and I have no doubts that it was the difference in the game. Had North Texas been able to cut those opportunities in half, the three point defecit would have been made up.

North Texas was able to come back in the final minutes, but like Thursday fell just short. Drives into the lane by Hopkins and Watson resulted in three point plays. Isaac Hines made one of two after drawing an over the back call to cut the lead to two points. But the inability to secure the rebound was the difference, as ASU ran the clock down and hit their free throws making a three pointer the only option for the Mean Green. Hopkins got off an off-balance shot with a defender close by, and Watson chased down the rebound and had a decent look, but a little too far out and ASU escaped with the win.

Bad things:
1) North Texas did not show the desire to rebound or play defense that they had shown earlier in the season. They are too cautious in the diamond press and unagressive crashing the boards.
2) The two Mikes, Jones and Sturns are non-factors at this point. Jones has all-conference potential, but gets in too much foul trouble, and is inconsistent. In his defense, he is playing out of position, but he is still not playing to his ability. Sturns is a freshman making the transition to point guard and is being overwhelmed. I advocate moving him to the 3 so that his defense and athletic ability can be used. I would rather see him play that position than Ty Thomas, though Thomas has improved his shot greatly.

Good things:
1) Once again, Jeffrey Simpson was solid inside. He got the start tonight and ended up with a career high 16 points. He should have the starting job until further notice. I would also like to see more of Simpson at the 5 and Quincy Williams at the 4 to help with rebounding. I'm impressed with the way Williams sees the floor when he is posting up. He is much more of an offensive threat than Ron Harris.
2) Calvin Watson led all scorers with 20 points. He was hitting from downtown, and as was mentioned earlier, he added some nice off the dribble moves as well. I was also impressed with his on the ball defense, in the past he has not been entirely focused on defense, but he is improving there. I think he realizes that when he does that, he does not get pulled to get a defender (Thomas) in there.

The homestand ends up 0-2 and this team needs to work on all areas. Shooting, defense, and rebounding or this season could start slipping away. I think Johnny Jones is a good coach, and I do have faith in his ability, but this team is regressing before our eyes and with the Sun Belt tournament at home, the timing for a collapse would be horrible. There was a decent crowd on hand tonight, but that still needs to be doubled, and that won't happen until the program turns the corner like they showed the ability to do earlier in the season. I hate to put pressure on Coach Jones, but the collapse watch is on, and if things do not get worked out, the seat may get a little hot. This team is better than this, and the fire is just not in their eyes. Arkansas Little-Rock wanted it, and Arkansas State wanted it. This team has two leaders in Hopkins and Hines and both of those are quiet strong leader types. They may need to speak out more and get the guys around them focused and wanting the loose balls, wanting the defensive stop, wanting the win. I hate it, but they did not want it as bad as the last two opponents, and things must be changed.

Mean Eddie Walker

Links:
Yahoo Sports
Official Mean Green Site

Scrappy is cool