ESPN Men's Basketball

Updated: October 12, 2009, 6:25 PM ET

Team preview: North Texas

Blue Ribbon Yearbook previews the 2009-10 season, exclusively on Insider

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Blue Ribbon Yearbook

Editor's Note: ESPN Insider has teamed with Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook to provide a comprehensive look at all 334 Division I teams. To order the complete 2009-10 edition of Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, visit www.blueribbonyearbookonline.com or call 1-877-807-4857.
(Information in this team report is as of Oct. 1.)

COACH AND PROGRAM

The 2009-10 season could be viewed as a countdown to another shot at madness for coach Johnny Jones and his Mean Green.

Five returning starters bode well for a fourth straight 20-win season, and three all-conference candidates give Jones a good chance for his second NCAA Tournament berth. And it all began with one surreal blast from the past.

Jones was a sophomore at LSU when the Tigers lost to Isiah Thomas-led Indiana in the 1981 Final Four. Thomas went on to win the NCAA title, a couple of NBA rings and eventually become coach and general manager of the New York Knicks, which is an unlikely route to Florida International, where Thomas is now in his first year as head coach.

"I remember the year after that Final Four there was a picture of me guarding Isiah in that game in our media guide," Jones said. "Hopefully things will go a little better on the sidelines than they did on the court."

PLAYERS

That's likely to be the case this season. Jones has experience, depth, balance and an abundance of players Thomas could appreciate -- guys who can get to the free-throw line and cash in consistently.

The Mean Green shot 73.2 percent at the line in 2008-09. It made 648 free throws -- 104 more than its opponents -- and led the nation with 20.25 makes per game.

Junior Josh White (11.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg) shot 90.6 percent (96-of-106), and one more free throw would have qualified him to officially lead the nation. The 5-10 lead guard picked up where he left off after winning Sun Belt Freshman-of-the-Year honors despite injuring his left wrist against Oklahoma State in the second game of his sophomore season.

The injury made it difficult for White to drive to his left for much of the season, and 5-10 Dominique Johnson (11.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg) ended up having his hands on the wheel the majority of the time. Johnson, who was in his first season out of junior college, responded with 120 assists, the most by a North Texas player in 10 years. Johnson also shot 40.4 percent while making 44 three-pointers and shot 83.8 percent (93-of-111) at the free-throw line.

"I'm excited about seeing them both out there with Josh healthy all of the time," Jones said. "He got undercut against Oklahoma State and probably wasn't healthy 65 to 70 percent of the season. Johnson had to play a lot of point.

"He was exceptional. He shot it well; he distributed well."

Another perimeter threat is 6-5 junior wing Tristan Thompson (11.4 ppg, 2.3 rpg). Thompson, who shot better than 79 percent while getting to the free-throw line 148 times, also made 37.4 percent of his three-pointers (34-of-91).

Newcomer Shannon Shorter, a 6-4 junior, immediately enters the discussion in the backcourt. He averaged 15.7 points and nine rebounds while helping Paris (Texas) Junior College to a national top 10 ranking.

Blue Ribbon Previews

Take an Inside look at the Sun Belt with Blue Ribbon's 2009-10 team reports:

Arkansas-Little Rock Arkansas State Denver Florida Atlantic Florida International Louisiana-Lafayette Louisiana-Monroe Middle Tennessee New Orleans North Texas South Alabama Troy Western Kentucky

"Shannon could have a huge impact," Jones said. "He brings some things to our perimeter game that we didn't have. He gives us some size and a physical presence."

Redshirt junior Collin Mangrum, a 6-4 wing, could provide perimeter punch. Mangrum missed 21 games last season and all of 2007-08, but he did start against UALR and scored 19 points against Middle Tennessee, which included five three-pointers.

Forward Eric Tramiel (12.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg) was a third-team All-Sun Belt selection despite feeling his way longer than Jones would have preferred in his first season out of junior college. The 6-7 senior, who shot 57.9 percent from the field and blocked 21 shots, should be more assertive from the get-go in 2009-10.

"He wasn't at his best early on last year," Jones said. "I thought he somewhat deferred to the other players."

The Mean Green has bulk with 6-8, 240-pound senior George Odufuwa (6.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and 6-8, 274-pound junior Cameron Spencer, who sat out last year after transferring from SMU. Odufuwa had 21 blocks and was second on the team with 29 steals last season. Spencer was Matt Doherty's first recruit after taking the SMU job, and he played in 41 games during two seasons.

"He's quite a physical presence," Jones said, "and has the physical ability to make an impact."

The frontcourt also has 6-7 junior Kedrick Hogans (4.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg). The high-flying Hogans blocked a team-high 29 shots in 2008-09 while averaging 16.3 minutes per game.

Jones is high on redshirt freshman Ben Knox, who went from 190 pounds to 215 and added perhaps a half-inch to his 6-10 frame.

"He's really bulked up quite a bit," Jones said. "I really like our incoming guys."

Another JUCO arrival is 6-5 guard Richard Thomas. He averaged 13.6 points while helping Garden City Community College to the NJCAA tournament for the first time since 1956.

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

BACKCOURT: A
BENCH/DEPTH: A+
FRONTCOURT: A
INTANGIBLES: A

North Texas led the Sun Belt in scoring in 2008-09, and figures to play faster this season.

"We should be a little deeper team and we're going to continue to play fast," Jones said. "Hopefully we'll create a lot of offense with our defense."

North Texas' most formidable opponent this season could be itself. Louisiana-Lafayette has a veteran roster, but the potential for chemistry and complacency are probably bigger threats to the Mean Green than most of the teams in the West Division.

After getting South Alabama and Western Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament in 2008 -- the Hilltoppers reached the Sweet 16 -- the league was supposed to be down last year. But WKU came within a second of the Sweet 16 again.

And Jones anticipates the more veteran league to be improved this season.

"I think the league will be extremely tough," Jones said. "But we should have the ability to be a top-tier team."

For the most comprehensive previews available on all 334 Division I teams, order the "Bible" of college basketball, the 2009-10 Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, at www.blueribbonyearbookonline.com or call 1-877-807-4857.