Not much info yet, but this is from a post on gomeangreen.com

Tim McMahon Twitter:

Confirmed @CBSSports report that North Texas basketball will hire Marquette associate head coach Tony Benford

CBS Sportsline

North Texas is expected to hire Marquette associate head coach Tony Benford.

Sources told CBSSports.com that Benford, who was also a finalist for the SMU job, will likely be introduced at a news conference later this week.

Benford and ESPN's Fran Fraschilla were the two finalists for the position.

Benford has spent the past four seasons with Buzz Williams at Marquette, but is a veteran in the business. He spent eight seasons at Arizona State, six seasons at New Mexico and also played at Texas Tech.

Do you know if he was the guy Mitchell wanted?

Bio. Posted on gomeangreen.com by Harry.



Collegiate coaching veteran Tony Benford, considered one of the top assistant coaches in the country, is in his fourth season with the Marquette University men's basketball program and was named associate head coach in May of 2011.

A veteran of postseason success, Marquette's NCAA Championship appearance in 2011 marked the 13th campaign in Benford's career he has helped guide a program to tournament competition.

Benford has played a key role in compiling a consensus top-25 recruiting class for the Golden Eagles in two of the past three seasons, including a 2009 group ranked by one media outlet as the best in the country.

Before arriving at MU, he had spent each of the previous two campaigns at Nebraska under head coach Doc Sadler. The Huskers collected 37 total victories in the two seasons, highlighted by a trip to the National Invitation Tournament in 2008. The squad posted 20 victories in 2007-08, just the 12th 20-win campaign in the program's 112-year history and the first in nearly a decade. Nebraska players were also well represented on the all-league squads, including three honorees last year.

He was tabbed among the top-three assistants in the BIG EAST by FoxSports.com in 2010-11. Following each of his two seasons at Nebraska, Benford earned well-deserved recognition as he was ranked among the top-35 assistant coaches in the nation by Basketball Times magazine and HoopScoopOnline.com (currently ranked in top-25). The list compiled the 100 top assistant coaches among the over 330 basketball schools at the Division I level.

Benford's recruiting and coaching efforts have helped develop multiple all-conference caliber players at each of the stops during his coaching career. Ike Diogu (Arizona St.), Eddie House (Arizona St.), Jeff Pendergraph (Arizona St.), Kenny Thomas (New Mexico), Wesley Matthews (Marquette) and Lazar Hayward (Marquette) also continued their respective careers in the National Basketball Association.

Off the court, Benford helped the Huskers make significant strides on the recruiting trail. Nebraska's eight-man recruiting class for 2007 was ranked among the top 25 in the nation by at least three major recruiting services, including ESPN.com's Bob Gibbons (21st), CSTV.com's Van Coleman (12th) and HoopScoopOnline.com's Clark Francis (5th).

Prior to Nebraska, Benford served on the Arizona State bench as an assistant coach for his first six years in Tempe. He was then named associate head coach for his last two seasons with the Sun Devils. During his time at Arizona State (1999 to 2006), Benford recruited and coached Pac-10 Players of the Year Ike Diogu (2005, consensus All-America) and Eddie House (2000), and also brought in all-freshman team performer Jeff Pendergraph in 2006 (All-Pac-10 also). Benford helped the Sun Devils to four postseason appearances during his tenure, including gaining a spot in the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.

Before joining the ASU staff, Benford spent six seasons as an assistant coach at New Mexico (1993 to 1998). He helped New Mexico to five NCAA Tournament bids while winning 73.2 percent of its games (139-51 record). New Mexico picked up a pair of Western Athletic Conference tournament titles (1993 and 1996) and a regular-season championship (1994) with Benford on the sideline. During his stint with the Lobos, Benford coached the top four scorers in program history, including all-time leading scorer Kenny Thomas, who Benford recruited to New Mexico.

Benford finished his playing career at Texas Tech in 1986 and during his playing days, he helped the Red Raiders to two Southwest Conference Tournament titles (1985, 1986) and the SWC regular-season championship in 1985. He was an all-conference pick as a senior and was the league tournament most valuable player. He earned his bachelor's in physical education from TTU in 1992.

A native of Hobbs, N.M., Benford was a 1986 fourth-round NBA Draft selection by the Boston Celtics. He played professionally in Holland during the 1986-87 season.

As a prep all-star, Benford was a Converse All-American and the New Mexico Player of the Year after pouring in 27.5 points per game as a senior. He led Hobbs to the state title in his final season, earning MVP honors of the state championship tournament after posting 29 points in the title game.

Benford and his wife, Deborah, have two daughters, Audriana (22) and Milena (14), and one son, Tony Jr. (19). Benford also has a son, Jeremy (29)

(04-24-2012 12:20 PM)AtlantaJag Wrote:  Do you know if he was the guy Mitchell wanted?

Post from gomeangreen.com. Macmahon is a well respected writer in the DFW area.

Here's some good news about Benford...

@espn_macmahon
Tony Mitchell's HS coach says North Texas star has good relationship w/ Tony Benford from recruiting. Expects Mitchell to stay in school.

ESPN

North Texas has hired Marquette associate head coach Tony Benford as its new head coach, multiple sources told ESPN.com Tuesday.

Benford, 48, was a finalist for the job at SMU (that went to Larry Brown) and was approached by the school to be a coach-in-waiting on Brown's staff.

At North Texas, Benford replaces Johnny Jones, who left for the head coaching position at LSU.

Benford is expected to sign a five-year deal with a news conference set for Wednesday. He interviewed for the position over the weekend.

Benford has strong Texas ties and has consistently recruited the state at his stops at Marquette, Nebraska, Arizona State and New Mexico. Benford played at Texas Tech and is from neighboring Hobbs, N.M. Benford was a 1986 NBA draft pick of the Boston Celtics, the second player chosen in that draft by the Celtics after the late Len Bias.

Benford's first chore is to make sure that leading scorer Tony Mitchell stays with the Mean Green and doesn't leave for the NBA draft. The early-entry deadline is Sunday.

The Mean Green are projected to be one of the top teams in the Sun Belt next season and are poised to move to Conference USA, possibly in 2013. CUSA has to decide if it's going to merge with the Mountain West or simply replace Memphis, Houston, Central Florida and SMU -- all of which are headed to the Big East.

ESPN.com reported Monday that Fran Fraschilla, an analyst at ESPN and former head coach at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico, interviewed for the job and was a strong candidate. Sources said that Fraschilla would have accepted the job if it was offered

http://espn.go.com/dallas/ncb/story/_/id...head-coach

UNT official site article

DENTON, Texas – One of the nation’s most respected assistant coaches, Tony Benford, has been named the 17th head coach of the North Texas men’s basketball program. Benford will be introduced at a press conference at 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Club Level of Apogee Stadium. The event is open to the media and the public.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to add Tony Benford to the strong group of coaches at the University of North Texas,” said Director of Athletics Rick Villarreal. “In this search we were looking for a set of traits that make up a great coach and a great person, and Tony Benford fit the bill. He is a tireless worker, has great relationships with his players, has been a part of several successful programs and is highly respected by those that have coached with and against him. He has always recruited the Dallas area and has the ties that will help keep Texas talent in Texas.”

A veteran of 20 years in Division I basketball and 14 postseason appearances, Benford served as the associate head coach under Buzz Williams at Marquette last season; his fourth year with the Golden Eagles. During his time at Marquette, Benford helped recruit and coach six All-Big East players, including 2012 Big East Player of the Year Jae Crowder.

Tabbed by Basketball Times, Fox Sports and Hoop Scoop as one of the country’s top assistant coaches, Benford also spent time at Nebraska (2006-08), Arizona State (1998-06) and New Mexico (1992-98) developing some of the nation’s most talented players.

“I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity of taking over the basketball program at North Texas,” Benford said. “I would like to thank Rick Villarreal and President V. Lane Rawlins for this opportunity, and Johnny Jones for doing such a great job in making North Texas a winner. My philosophy is all about the players, and we will do everything in ensure that our players grow in the classroom, the community and on the court.”

In his career Benford recruited and coached five NBA first-round draft picks: Garland, Texas; Ike Diogu (Arizona St., ’05), Charles Smith (New Mexico, ’97), Kenny Thomas (New Mexico, ’99), Lazar Hayward (Marquette, ‘10) and Jimmy Butler (Marquette, ’11), as well as three second-round picks in Eddie House (Arizona St., ‘00), Tommy Smith (Arizona St., ’03) and Jeff Pendergraph (Arizona St., ‘09).

A native of Hobbs, N.M., Benford played collegiately at Texas Tech and was the catalyst for the Red Raiders Southwest Conference regular-season and tournament titles in 1985, and their 1986 SWC Tournament championship. He earned All-Southwest Conference and SWC Tournament MVP honors as a senior. The Boston Celtics selected Benford in the fourth round of the 1986 NBA Draft, and he played professionally in Holland for the 1986-87 season.

With Williams and Benford at the helm at Marquette, the Golden Eagles have reached the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in each of the last two years. Marquette was ranked No. 11 in the final AP poll of 2012, and ranked 31st in the country in scoring offense with an average of 75.4 points per game. MU won at least 20 games and reached the NCAA Tournament in each of Benford’s four years with the program.

Before arriving at Marquette, he had spent the previous two campaigns at Nebraska under head coach Doc Sadler. The Huskers collected 37 total victories in the two seasons, highlighted by a trip to the National Invitation Tournament in 2008. The squad posted 20 wins in 2007-08, just the 12th 20-win campaign in the program's 112-year history. North Texas forward Alonzo Edwards was recruited to Nebraska by Benford prior to transferring to Denton.

Benford served on the Arizona State bench as an assistant coach for his first six years in Tempe before being named associate head coach for his last two seasons with the Sun Devils. Benford helped the Sun Devils to four postseason appearances during his tenure, including earning a spot in the second round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament. While at ASU, Benford recruited Keith Wooden and George Odufuwa to Phoenix before the pair transferred to North Texas and went on to start a combined 143 games for the Mean Green.

In six seasons with New Mexico, Benford helped the Lobos reach five NCAA Tournament bids while winning 73.2 percent of their games (139-51 record). New Mexico picked up a pair of Western Athletic Conference tournament titles in 1993 and 1996, and a regular-season championship in 1994. During his stint with the Lobos, Benford coached the top four scorers in program history, including all-time leading scorer in Kenny Thomas.

As a prep all-star, Benford was a Converse All-American and the New Mexico Player of the Year after pouring in 27.5 points per game as a senior at Hobbs High School. He led Hobbs to the state title in his final season, earning MVP honors of the state championship tournament after posting 29 points in the title game.

He graduated from Texas Tech in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science in physical education. Benford and his wife, Deborah, have four children; Jeremy Soria, Audriana, Tony Jr. and Milena.

http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArtic...=205418845

Didn't ole Buzz coach at UNO ?

(04-24-2012 09:30 PM)KAjunRaider Wrote:  Didn't ole Buzz coach at UNO ?

Yep, left after one season.