University of North Texas Athletics
Green Gang: Quietly Sending Shock Waves
1/24/2010 12:00:00 AM | Return to Play
By Eric Capper, January 24, 2010, 11:49 a.m.
The North Texas women's basketball program has had its struggles the past two years. There is little doubt that second-year coach Shanice Stephens has yet to meld her team into one that is widely considered a favorite to win a Sun Belt Conference championship.
One thing that can be assured is that Wednesday night's win over conference-leader South Alabama will make Stephens' Sun Belt colleagues take notice.
Stephens has her young team coming together at the perfect time. Don't look now, but North Texas is third in the West Division standings, behind Denver and Arkansas-Little Rock which are both 8-1 in league play.
Over the next three weeks, Stephens' team will play five conference games, four of which are on the road. The Mean Green is still looking for its first conference road win of the season, and what better place to do it than at Western Kentucky or Middle Tennessee which are the next two stops for the upstart Mean Green.
Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee are battling South Alabama for the East Division lead and neither team has lost a home conference game this season. Do you think those two coaches will bring up North Texas' win over South Alabama during their respective game preparation next week?
Over the last five games, it seems the Mean Green has really come together. Even with a 2-3 record in the last five games, North Texas has scored over 75 points in each of those games - a feat that has never been matched by any team in school history. In the 15 games leading up to this current five-game stretch, the Mean Green was averaging 61.3 points per game, shooting 37 percent from the field and was -5 in turnover ratio. In the last five games, those numbers have improved to 81.0 points per game, 47 percent shooting and +3 in turnover ratio.
What is the reason for the sudden change? I believe three key ingredients.
First is the addition of assistant coach Larry McNeil. McNeil has a wealth of experience, and I believe he has added a calming force to a young team that is trying to find its identity. Secondly, this is a very young team that is finally starting to learn to play together. Of the five starters against South Alabama, two are freshmen and one is a sophomore. The familiarity of playing with each other during the course of a game does not usually happen in the first 15 contests.
Lastly, I believe this team is starting to buy in to what the coaching staff is teaching. I have seen numerous teams in different sports with talent to spare that underachieved because they were divided. It is hard to make a young person today believe in a system that doesn't have a track record of success.
I would bet that early in Geno Auriemma's career he had some detractors. When he finished his first season at Connecticut 12-15 overall and 4-12 in the Big East Conference, I bet he had some players questioning his coaching ability. I would also bet those same detractors would never admit to it now that he has won six national championships and currently has the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
Don't mistake my point. I'm not saying that North Texas' win over South Alabama Wednesday night is a sign that Shanice Stephens will go on to lead the Mean Green to multiple national championships. I'm simply stating that I am beginning to see a change in the attitude of a team.
The next nine games will tell a lot. After the toughest road trip of the season next week, North Texas will close the regular season with four of seven games at home. This team will have a heavy hand in postseason positioning for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and you can be sure that no team will be looking past the Mean Green down the stretch.
