DENTON, Texas (10/17/07) For the North Texas basketball team to make it back to the NCAA Tournament, it will take strong leadership from its trio of senior returnees and nobody knows that better than Ben Bell, Quincy Williams and Keith Wooden.
While the 2007-08 season is only five practices old, the Mean Green seniors figured out months ago that this year can be anything they make it.
Bell, Williams and Wooden have each taken ownership over their senior campaigns, and after the championship banners are raised on Nov. 10, they will get a chance to prove that last year was no fluke.
“We have to set the tempo for the season,” Bell said following Wednesday’s practice. “We have to prepare hard and get the job done before the season even begins. We plan on doing what we did last year and more.”
Bell will once again hold the reigns of the Mean Green offense after earning Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament honors last year. The point guard led the team with 105 assists, making him only the second North Texas player in the last seven years to reach the century mark in assists. North Texas’ top returning three-point threat in 2007-08, Bell hit 23 from beyond the arc as a junior.
Williams set himself apart last year as one of the Sun Belt’s most polished big men. He was one of only five players in the league to average at least 10 points and seven rebounds per game, and trailed only UALR’s Rashad Jones-Jennings - the nation’s leading rebounder in offensive rebounds in Sun Belt play. As a junior, Williams ranked third in the conference in field goal percentage at 57.6 percent, and collected six double-doubles, including four in a seven game span in the stretch run of conference play.
Wooden will anchor the Mean Green post once again. The Kansas native boasted the top field goal percentage (52.5 percent) among all newcomers in the Sun Belt Conference last season. Wooden, who recorded his first career double-double in February at home against New Orleans, racked up 31 blocks on the year, which ties for the 10th most in program history. Wooden finished eighth in the conference in blocks per game, and ranked 16th in the Sun Belt and second on the team with 5.5 rebounds per game.
Don’t miss the North Texas double-header on Nov. 10. The Mean Green football team kicks the day off against Navy at Fouts Field at 3 p.m., followed by the basketball season opener against Cameron at 7:30 p.m. at the Super Pit.
