University of North Texas Athletics
Men's Hoops Rounds Out Recruiting Class With Willingham
8/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DENTON, Texas (8/23/07) North Texas head coach Johnny Jones announced the signing of former SMU standout Dez Willingham to a basketball scholarship on Thursday.
Willingham, who is expected to compete in 2007-08, will have one year of eligibility at North Texas after starting 42 games over the last two seasons at SMU, leading the Mustangs in assists/turnover ratio (1.59 a/to) and free throw percentage (82.9 percent) in 2006-07.
"Dez will be an excellent addition to our basketball program," Jones said. "He has the ability to play both guard spots, and with his experience from Kansas State and SMU, I think the leadership qualities he brings will be extremely helpful for us in our quest to compete for another championship."
In two seasons at SMU, Willingham (6-0, 180, G) averaged 7.4 points and 2.3 assists in 26.4 minutes per game. He also recorded at least one steal in 17 games last year, and has 59 career steals to his credit.
Willingham nailed the game winning three-pointer as time expired to down TCU in December, and posted a career-best 20-points against No. 12 Oklahoma in 2006. Playing arguably his best ball late last year, Willingham averaged 9.3 points and 2.5 assists in the final eight games of last season.
Willingham started the final 13 games of 2006-07, reaching at least five points in 12 games and multiple assists in eight.
A former De Soto High School All-State selection, Willingham played his freshman season at Kansas State, averaging 17.4 minutes in 22 outings for the Wildcats. He boasted a clip of 36.8 percent from beyond the three-point line, and had an impressive 2.8 assist to only 1.5 turnovers per game for K-State.
As a prep star, Willingham was a consensus top-100 player in the nation, rated as high as No. 18 by the PrepStars Recruiters Handbook. He was the second leading scorer on the Global Games Select Team that earned a second-place finish at the Global Games International tournament in Dallas.
Willingham earned State Tournament MVP honors after leading De Soto to a 33-6 overall record and the 2003 Texas 5A Championship. He was named the Dallas Morning News Player of the Year, and was a Class 5A first-team All-State by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
Willingham is the sixth addition to the Mean Green roster this offseason, joining Kedrick Hogans (6-7, 195, F, Edna Karr HS), Josh White (5-10, 167, PG, Baton Rouge Christian Life), Tristan Thompson (6-5, 185, G, Brewster Academy), Adam McCoy (G, 6-4, 190, Mesa CC) and George Odufuwa (6-8, 240, F, Arizona State) as the North Texas newcomers for 2007-08.
The Mean Green is coming off its most successful season in program history. North Texas racked up a school-record 23 wins and earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament in 19 years after taking its first Sun Belt Conference crown.
