Basketball: UNT signs seven on first day

09:18 AM CST on Thursday, November 10, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer


Ben Bell waited until the very last moment before providing the North Texas men’s basketball team a pleasant surprise in the days leading up to the opening of the NCAA’s early signing period on Wednesday.

The San Jacinto Junior College point guard had an offer from Louisiana Tech and interest from South Florida and LaSalle, but passed on those opportunities to sign with the Mean Green.

Bell was one of four players who signed with UNT, including a pair of frontcourt players from Mineral Area Community College in Missouri.

The UNT women also got a head start on their recruiting class by signing three players, a group highlighted by Waxa-hachie post player Torrian Timms and high scoring guard Brittney James of Orange.

“North Texas really wanted me to come there and they needed a point guard for my junior year,

Mean Green Basketball Early Signing Class Gets Good Reviews From Hoop Scoop
Courtesy: University of North Texas
Release: 11/11/2005


DENTON (11/11/05) -- The North Texas men’s basketball team’s 2005-06 early recruiting class received recognition from HoopScoop.com as one of the best recruiting classes in the country as the website ranked the Mean Green’s class among the top 30 in the nation.


Including Arizona State transfer Keith Wooden, the five-player signing class ranks 29th in the nation for the early signing period. That is is the highest any North Texas signing class has been ranked by Hoop Scoop since the 1997-98 class that included 12 players was ranked 21st. Without Wooden, the 2005-06 class still ranks 53rd in the country.


North Texas’ 29th ranking with Wooden and 53rd ranking without the 6-9 forward are both the highest among all Sun Belt Conference school’s.


In addition to Wooden, the Mean Green’s 2005-06 signing class includes Howe (TX) High Scool’s Collin Mangrum, San Jacinto (TX) College’s Ben Bell and Mineral Area (MO) College’s Curtis Muse and Jonathan Jackson.


Wooden ranked 100th nationally by Hoop Scoop when he signed with Arizona State two years ago. Muse is ranked among the top 25 junior college players in the country by the Street & Smith’s Preseason Yearbook. Jackson ranked eighth in blocks among all players in Region 16. Bell was named the NTJCAC Freshman of the Year last season with Weatherford College. Mangrum was an all-state selection last year as a junior.


North Texas head coach Johnny Jones earned his stripes as one of the country’s top recruiters while he was an assistant and associate head coach at LSU from 1984 through 1997. While with the Tigers, Jones recruited and coached the likes of NBA superstar and College Player of the Year Shaquille O’Neal, two-time All-American Chris Jackson (now known as Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) and former national high school player of the year Randy Livingston.