Men's Basketball Picked Atop Sun Belt West Division

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. (10/13/08) Anchored by back-to-back 20-win seasons, the North Texas men’s basketball team was picked atop the Sun Belt West Division as Josh White and Collin Dennis earned preseason all-conference honors at SBC Media Days on Monday.

Its highest preseason coaches’ poll selection since joining the league in 2000, the Mean Green tied with UALR for tops in the West with 76 total points. Josh White, the reigning Sun Belt Freshman of the Year, was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team and Collin Dennis, the conference’s Newcomer of the Year, was named to the second team.

“I think this is a compliment to the hard work that our players and staff have put in over the last few years,” said North Texas head coach Johnny Jones. “It’s an honor to have the respect of your peers, and I think it speaks volumes to the perception of the program.”

White earned freshman mid-major all-America honors from multiple publications after scoring a team-high 13.9 points per game, the most by a freshman in the Sun Belt Conference. His 404 total points made him just the sixth freshman in school history to top the 400-point plateau. He ranked fourth in the Sun Belt and 50th in the nation in free-throw percentage, and set the school record with a 45.8 percent clip from the 3-point line.

Dennis was just the third player in school history to be named the Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year. Along with White, Dennis is one of only four players in the Sun Belt to win multiple SBC Player of the Week awards. One of the league’s most explosive players, he posted a pair of 30-point games, including a 34-point outing versus Troy which are the most points by an NT player since 2001.

The Mean Green is just a season removed from its first Sun Belt Conference title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. North Texas won a school record 15 home games last year, and opens the season at the Ken Bahnsen Center versus Cameron on Nov. 14.

SUN BELT PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL

East Division

1. Middle Tennessee - 76 points (11 first-place votes)

2. South Alabama - 60 points (2 first-place votes)

3. Western Kentucky - 52 points

4. Florida Atlantic - 38 points

5. Florida International - 33 points

6. Troy - 14 points

West Division

1. UALR - 76 points (6 first-place votes)

1. North Texas - 76 points (4 first-place votes)

3. Louisiana-Lafayette - 75 points (3 first-place votes)

4. Arkansas State - 43 points

5. ULM - 39 points

6. Denver - 35 points

7. New Orleans - 20 points

SUN BELT PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

Preseason Player of the Year

Desmond Yates, Middle Tennessee

ALL-SBC FIRST TEAM

Carlos Monroe, FAU

Russell Hicks, FIU

Desmond Yates, MT

Josh White, NT

Brandon Davis, USA

ALL-SBC SECOND TEAM

Tony Hooper, ULM

Kevin Kanaskie, MT

Collin Dennis, NT

Domonic Tilford, USA

Jeremy Evans, WKU

ALL-SBC THIRD TEAM

Steven Moore, UALR

Paul Graham III, FAU

Chris Gradnigo, ULL

Kyndall Dykes, UNO

A.J. Slaughter, WKU

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Players Mentioned

Collin Dennis

Josh White

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University of North Texas Athletics