Take A Knee’s 2009-10 SBC Basketball Preview

North Texas Mean Green

Probable Starters:

PG. Dominique Johnson 5’10 160 Sr.
(11.0ppg, 3.1rpg, 3.8apg)

SG. Josh White 5’9” 175 Jr.
(11.3ppg, 2.9rpg, 2.6apg)

SF. Shannon Shorter 6’4” 205 Jr.
(9.9ppg, 5.1rpg, 1.3apg @ Paris JC)

PF. Eric Tramiel 6’7” 230 Sr.
(12.0ppg, 6.6rpg, 0.8apg)

C. George Odufuwa 6’8” 240 Jr.
(6.1ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.0apg)

UNT Certainties:

Scoring.  The Mean Green return their top four scorers from a season ago.

All four averaged in double figures and all four dropped 20+ points at least once last season.  And all four should be improved- Josh White struggled for most of the year with a hand injury, Johnson and Tramiel were in their first year in a new system and Tristan Thompson (6’5” 195 Jr.) has had another year to mature.

UNT Questions:

Proven depth.  UNT boasted the Sun Belt’s best bench last season, being able to call on the likes of Collin Dennis and Adam McCoy for instant offense.

A move to 6th man for Tristan Thompson would help considerably, as would a significant contribution from transfer Richard Thomas (6’5” 190 Jr.) and/or Collin Mangrum (6’5” 190 Jr.).

A Nice Luxury Would Be:

If Cameron Spencer (6’8” 265 Jr.), Ben Knox (6’10” 220 Fr.) and/or Jacob Holman (6’8” 220 Fr.) can make a significant contribution this season. A season ending injury to Kendrick Hogans makes this a bit more important than just a luxury.

Theoretically, in the guard-driven SBC, the Mean Green can get by with Tramiel and Odufuwa seeing the bulk of the time, with the bench just eating minutes and space.  That said, if at least one of these big men can give a steady 15-20 minutes a night, it would significantly improve UNT’s unproven front court depth and keep their starting posts fresh down the stretch.

This Team Is Special If…:

Tristan Thompson puts it all together.

TT has shown flashes of brilliance  mixed with flashes of immaturity.  Thompson is the toolsiest player on the roster and he has the capabilities to lead UNT in scoring if he becomes more consistent.

Email the author: jhemingway.sbc@gmail.com