University of North Texas Athletics
Photo by: Ben Stewart
Offense Coming Alive
12/13/2019 11:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DENTON — The North Texas men's basketball team's offense has been out of control over the last three games.
So much so, the university police had to get involved.
The night following an 80-point performance versus Oklahoma on Dec. 5, the UNT police were concerned why the lights were still on at Super Pit.
What they found was Mean Green junior James Reese practicing.
"The police do a great job on campus and they were just doing their job," said head coach Grant McCasland. "This team puts in more work outside of practice than any other team I've been a part of. It was only a matter of time the shots started falling."
After a slow start to the year offensively where the Mean Green averaged just 59.2 points per game in their first seven games, they've now turned things around.
Over its last three games (UT Arlington, Oklahoma and Little Rock), UNT has averaged 77.6 points per game.
Newcomers like Reese, Thomas Bell and Javion Hamlet have been the catalyst to turning the corner offensively.
Hamlet, the team's point guard, has had 18 assists over the last three games, which is three more than he had in the first seven games combined. Furthermore, he's doing it efficiently with a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio during this recent stretch of games.
Reese's field goal percentage has been 30-percent better over the past three games than the previous three. The Mean Green newcomer made a career-high four 3-pointers in their most recent game, a 76-53 win over Little Rock.
Similar to Reese, Bell has seen his scoring average increase over the last three games, thanks to efficient scoring and being a menace on defense, which has led to transition offense. On Dec. 7 versus Little Rock, Bell had three steals. The UNT six-man also grabbed 20 rebounds during the recent three game stretch.
"I don't know if there's a team in the country that works as hard as us," Reese said after the Mean Green's 23-point win over Little Rock. "We all knew with our work ethic and talent that we'd start to see the results."
In the win over Little Rock, the Mean Green scored 26 field goals on 23 assists. An incredibly telling stat of how good the offense can be, especially against a team like the Trojans who was giving up just 67 points per game prior to Dec. 7.
Also in the win over Little Rock, the Mean Green were 19-of-35 from deep. It was the most 3-pointers UNT has made against a division I opponent in program history.
Redshirt sophomore Umoja Gibson was 7-of-10 in the win. Gibson has been one of the top shooters in the country all year. He ranks in the top 50 in the nation in 3-point field goals per game, 3-point field goal percentage and total 3-point field goals made. The Waco native who is not even half way through his second season at UNT is just three 3-pointers away from entering the top 10 for program history and is less than 100 away from breaking the school record. Gibson made 99 3-pointers last year, which set a freshman school and conference record.
Redshirt senior DJ Draper has been another consistent threat all year but really taken his lethal scoring to another level the last three games. Draper is shooting 64.2 percent from deep over the last three games and has been praised by the coaches for his tough defense.
North Texas is on a 10-day break for end of semester exams, but they return to action on Dec. 17 at No. 14 Dayton. It'll be their third ranked opponent they face this season and is the first time the program has faced three ranked teams in less than two months since 2000.
Next Tuesday's game can be seen on ESPN+ and on the Mean Green Sports Network. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
So much so, the university police had to get involved.
The night following an 80-point performance versus Oklahoma on Dec. 5, the UNT police were concerned why the lights were still on at Super Pit.
What they found was Mean Green junior James Reese practicing.
"The police do a great job on campus and they were just doing their job," said head coach Grant McCasland. "This team puts in more work outside of practice than any other team I've been a part of. It was only a matter of time the shots started falling."
After a slow start to the year offensively where the Mean Green averaged just 59.2 points per game in their first seven games, they've now turned things around.
Over its last three games (UT Arlington, Oklahoma and Little Rock), UNT has averaged 77.6 points per game.
Newcomers like Reese, Thomas Bell and Javion Hamlet have been the catalyst to turning the corner offensively.
Hamlet, the team's point guard, has had 18 assists over the last three games, which is three more than he had in the first seven games combined. Furthermore, he's doing it efficiently with a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio during this recent stretch of games.
Reese's field goal percentage has been 30-percent better over the past three games than the previous three. The Mean Green newcomer made a career-high four 3-pointers in their most recent game, a 76-53 win over Little Rock.
Similar to Reese, Bell has seen his scoring average increase over the last three games, thanks to efficient scoring and being a menace on defense, which has led to transition offense. On Dec. 7 versus Little Rock, Bell had three steals. The UNT six-man also grabbed 20 rebounds during the recent three game stretch.
"I don't know if there's a team in the country that works as hard as us," Reese said after the Mean Green's 23-point win over Little Rock. "We all knew with our work ethic and talent that we'd start to see the results."
In the win over Little Rock, the Mean Green scored 26 field goals on 23 assists. An incredibly telling stat of how good the offense can be, especially against a team like the Trojans who was giving up just 67 points per game prior to Dec. 7.
Also in the win over Little Rock, the Mean Green were 19-of-35 from deep. It was the most 3-pointers UNT has made against a division I opponent in program history.
Redshirt sophomore Umoja Gibson was 7-of-10 in the win. Gibson has been one of the top shooters in the country all year. He ranks in the top 50 in the nation in 3-point field goals per game, 3-point field goal percentage and total 3-point field goals made. The Waco native who is not even half way through his second season at UNT is just three 3-pointers away from entering the top 10 for program history and is less than 100 away from breaking the school record. Gibson made 99 3-pointers last year, which set a freshman school and conference record.
Redshirt senior DJ Draper has been another consistent threat all year but really taken his lethal scoring to another level the last three games. Draper is shooting 64.2 percent from deep over the last three games and has been praised by the coaches for his tough defense.
North Texas is on a 10-day break for end of semester exams, but they return to action on Dec. 17 at No. 14 Dayton. It'll be their third ranked opponent they face this season and is the first time the program has faced three ranked teams in less than two months since 2000.
Next Tuesday's game can be seen on ESPN+ and on the Mean Green Sports Network. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's Basketball
Guard
/ Men's BasketballThursday, March 05
Thursday, March 05
Monday, February 23
Monday, February 23