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LOCATION: Denton, TX
CONFERENCE: Big West (Eastern Division)
LAST SEASON: 4-22 (.154)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 4-12 (t-5th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Eagles
COLORS: Green & White
HOMECOURT: The Super Pit (10,032)
COACH: Vic Trilli (Midwestern State '76)
record at school 9-43 (2 years)
career record 9-43 (2 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Nate Sheahan (Westmont '92)
Melvin Haralson (Auburn '89)
Chris Beard (Texas '94)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 14-15-10-5-4
RPI (last 5 years) 216-190-226-233-256
1998-99 FINISH: Did not qualify for postseason.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Everything is poised for North Texas to make a big move this season. Coach Vic Trilli has more athletes, more experience and even a bit of good vibrations coming off last season. Throw in the problems four of the other Big West East Division teams could potentially have and North Texas could suddenly vault from its annual stay in the cellar to second place? Don't laugh. It's possible. Yes, North Texas' win total may have been flatter than ballpark beer for the last few seasons, but the Eagles have a chance to break through this winter, even with another young team. "It's pretty hard to win conference championships with freshmen and sophomores," Trilli said. "I think it's asking a lot of a team that young. That doesn't mean it can't happen. We want to pick up right from where we left off last year and keep the ball rolling." Much of North Texas' optimism comes from the conclusion to last season. The Eagles were in the middle of yet another disastrous winter, falling to 1-21 after a 19-point loss to Idaho.Then came a road victory over UC Santa Barbara, the same UCSB team which cruised to the West Division title. Then the Eagles lost by just two to New Mexico State, which easily won the East title and the Big West Tournament. Throw in two victories over Nevada and Utah State and suddenly North Texas looked like one of the top teams in the conference.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C BENCH/DEPTH C+
FRONTCOURT C INTANGIBLES C+
Patience is beginning to grow short in Denton, where the Eagles drew just 2,340 fans per game this past season in part because North Texas keeps getting blown out. For the last two years, the Eagles were a fast-breaking team which couldn't shoot or rebound. They also played an impossible schedule. The team still fast breaks. It still plays a brutal schedule. But this year could be a pleasant surprise because the team proved at the end of last season that it can find the basket and brought in a half-dozen post players to give North Texas a chance on the boards. Trilli notes all the talented freshmen and sophomores and calls this a good junior-college team. Normally, that wouldn't be enough to contend for the No. 2 seeding in the Big West's East Division. This time around, however, it will be. |
What happened? The young kids grew up. They also learned to shoot. "One of the things we did well at the end of the year was shoot the ball," Trilli said. "That's something you always worry about. I think we finally found our confidence." The player that impressed the most last season was Deginald Erskin (12.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg), who scored 75 points in UNT's final two games. The 6-6 sophomore forward uses great athleticism to score. At times he simply took over. He combines with 6-7 sophomore swingman Dexter Tennell (10.8 ppg, 3.0 rpg) to give the Eagles a potent 1-2 punch. Tennell hit 34 percent of his three-pointers last season and has a knack for scoring in the lane against bigger defenders. The two swingmen combine with 6-0 junior guard Calvin Williams (6.9 ppg, 132 assists) to give the Eagles a lot of punch on the perimeter. Williams, who led the league in assists (5.3 apg) also paced North Texas in assists, steals and minutes played. He boasted a solid assist-to-turnover ratio (137 to 74) and is very unselfish, but he isn't much of a scoring threat. Last year he made just 24 percent of his 112 three-point shots. Those are North Texas' three returning starters. The remaining two starting jobs are wide open. Senior center Brandon Gilbert (6.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg) was a part-time starter who returns with plenty of experience. The 6-7 junior college transfer is described by Trilli as one of the major keys to the season. "He has got to have a big-time senior year," Trilli said. "He knows what's at stake. This is his last go-around." Gilbert will be spelled inside by 6-8 senior forward Sam Funches (6.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg), 6-9 freshman forward Chris Jackson, 6-7 junior Bryan Lucas, 6-10 freshman power forward Unjel Masters, 6-9 freshman center Jason Miller (Livingston HS/Livingston, Texas) and 6-7 freshman forward J.B. Mulvany (Clear Lake HS/Houston). That's a lot of height that North Texas, and the entire Big West for that matter, isn't used to. The problem is that only Funches played on the team last year, so the frontline depth might take a while to make a difference. Expect Funches to contribute right away. He finished the season strong, hitting 14 of his final 23 shots from the field. He has potential, having played (sparingly) for more than a year at Connecticut. Lucas also has seen some college experience: The 246-pounder started 30 games at Azusa Pacific. Of the newcomers, the one to watch is probably Masters. He was rated as one of the top 15 players in the state by Texas Basketball Review and averaged 14.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.0 blocks for South Oak Cliff High School. "Our overall team size will be much bigger than last year because of the kids we brought in," Trilli said. "The one glaring thing that we struggled on last year was on the boards. We felt we needed to address that in our recruiting, and I think we did." Trilli returns some other options at small forward in 6-4 sophomore Kenneth Mangrum (5.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg), who played well at the end of the season, and 6-6 freshman Chris Davis. Davis started his first two college games, struggled mightily from the field, and then was diagnosed with a tumor in his foot. It's doubtful he'll be a big factor this season, in part because he hasn't played basketball in a year, and by September was just beginning to run again. One player Trilli has high hopes for is 6-0 junior guard Kyle Crawford, who averaged 23.0 points and 8.0 assists two years ago for Western Oklahoma State. He can shoot, handle the ball and has a 36-inch vertical leap. His play is important because Williams played too many minutes last season. Crawford could really help give North Texas a needed 1-2 punch. Also back at the point are 6-3 sophomore Wes Allen (3.5 ppg) and 6-0 senior guard Michael Colter (0.8 ppg). Neither played much last season. They aren't expected to get too many more minutes this time around either. That's why Crawford is important.
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