University of North Texas Athletics
New Faces Abound For WBB
8/27/2019 9:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
DENTON – With a record-setting 2018-19 North Texas women's basketball season in the books, 10 new faces made their way to Denton this summer to form the majority of the 2019-20 Mean Green women's basketball roster with aspirations of continuing to make history.
Six student-athletes carry over from a team that accomplished several program firsts, including the program's only nonconference postseason win in a 56-42 victory over UTRGV during the opening round of the Women's Basketball Invitational. The program also captured inaugural wins at Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss and Western Kentucky and secured a 3-0 start in Conference USA play for the first time.
The 2018-19 squad produced the third most points ever scored with a season total of 2,151 while setting the program record of 3-pointers with 175.
It appears as if this season's newbies are up to another scoring challenge this year by taking a look at their personal athletic accolades. The group has amassed numerous awards, ranging from District MVPs to McDonald's All-Americans, and each has produced impressive stats during their prep career and/or previous collegiate experience.
"This is a class in which we were able to sign a player at every single position," head coach Jalie Mitchell said. "Individually, they are all very talented, hungry and driven young women with extremely high character and winning high school and AAU experiences."
With the bulk of the newcomers coming in as freshmen, the six-pack of N'Yah Boyd, Jazion Jackson, Keira Neal, Destinee McDowell, Randi Thompson and Ashley Bowen are hoping their youth movement will be impactful. Four experienced transfers join the Mean Green in Quincy Noble, Rochelle Lee, Destiny Brooks and Summer Jones. Due to NCAA transfer rules, Noble, Lee and Brooks will redshirt the 2019-20 season.
While there is no denying the impressive talent joining the Mean Green roster, finding ways for the new group to unify into the culture and adapt to the program is also imperative.
Callie Owens and Madison Townley, two of the more experienced returners, also understand the task of merging the new with the old.
"The 10 of them are going to bring their own culture, while we have one that has already been established," Owens said. "So it's going to be interesting to combine what they bring into what we already have."
"When newcomers come in, you have to be sure the returners are willing to teach and always be open to answer questions and push newcomers to do right," Townley said. "We have enough returners to where we are able to take the newcomers under our wings and help them."
"Our team is blending quite nicely, on and off the court," Mitchell said. "There is a ton of personality in this group so there has been a collective effort made to get to know each other better and build team chemistry. This has made the blending process a lot of fun and very smooth. I am proud of the leadership the returners and experienced players have shown, and I'm also encouraged by the growth of our freshmen in just a short period of time."
Figuring out the different styles of play for each teammate will be revealed on the court, but it is an entirely new facet to see how individual dispositions will mesh outside of basketball.
"Our team was already made up of so many different personalities, so it has been fairly easy for the newcomers to find a spot that works for them and be themselves," Owens said. "It's been fun to see everyone's personalities develop even more as everyone becomes more comfortable."
"Luckily not one person is alike in any situation, so having 10 new personalities on the team will be like any other year. They show who they are and all you can do is accept them for themselves. It has been fun so far, and we mix pretty well already," said Townley.
Mitchell made it an emphasis over the summer for the group to get to know one another on several levels.
"We had a lot of conversations about teamwork and how each player and staff member is responsible for our cohesiveness. Our summer book was titled "You Are the Team," and it talks about the six B's to becoming a great teammate. The stories it told and questions it asked helped open the door to some very important topics that allow us to improve ourselves, relate to one another better and get us closer to our common goal of becoming a great team, on and off the court."
So what's the key to having such a large group buying into Mean Green women's basketball?
"I believe the big secret to buy in is no real secret at all," Mitchell said. "I believe you win with people. As long as we have the right people who are selfless, hard-working, trustworthy, humble, positive and respectful, we can accomplish anything we set out to do."
Owens believes the team is off to a good start. "Coach Mitchell has set a great standard and culture for us all to follow. The returners that we do have are great leaders and set a very good standard so the newcomers were able to buy in quickly."
Six student-athletes carry over from a team that accomplished several program firsts, including the program's only nonconference postseason win in a 56-42 victory over UTRGV during the opening round of the Women's Basketball Invitational. The program also captured inaugural wins at Louisiana Tech, Southern Miss and Western Kentucky and secured a 3-0 start in Conference USA play for the first time.
The 2018-19 squad produced the third most points ever scored with a season total of 2,151 while setting the program record of 3-pointers with 175.
It appears as if this season's newbies are up to another scoring challenge this year by taking a look at their personal athletic accolades. The group has amassed numerous awards, ranging from District MVPs to McDonald's All-Americans, and each has produced impressive stats during their prep career and/or previous collegiate experience.
"This is a class in which we were able to sign a player at every single position," head coach Jalie Mitchell said. "Individually, they are all very talented, hungry and driven young women with extremely high character and winning high school and AAU experiences."
With the bulk of the newcomers coming in as freshmen, the six-pack of N'Yah Boyd, Jazion Jackson, Keira Neal, Destinee McDowell, Randi Thompson and Ashley Bowen are hoping their youth movement will be impactful. Four experienced transfers join the Mean Green in Quincy Noble, Rochelle Lee, Destiny Brooks and Summer Jones. Due to NCAA transfer rules, Noble, Lee and Brooks will redshirt the 2019-20 season.
While there is no denying the impressive talent joining the Mean Green roster, finding ways for the new group to unify into the culture and adapt to the program is also imperative.
Callie Owens and Madison Townley, two of the more experienced returners, also understand the task of merging the new with the old.
"The 10 of them are going to bring their own culture, while we have one that has already been established," Owens said. "So it's going to be interesting to combine what they bring into what we already have."
"When newcomers come in, you have to be sure the returners are willing to teach and always be open to answer questions and push newcomers to do right," Townley said. "We have enough returners to where we are able to take the newcomers under our wings and help them."
"Our team is blending quite nicely, on and off the court," Mitchell said. "There is a ton of personality in this group so there has been a collective effort made to get to know each other better and build team chemistry. This has made the blending process a lot of fun and very smooth. I am proud of the leadership the returners and experienced players have shown, and I'm also encouraged by the growth of our freshmen in just a short period of time."
Figuring out the different styles of play for each teammate will be revealed on the court, but it is an entirely new facet to see how individual dispositions will mesh outside of basketball.
"Our team was already made up of so many different personalities, so it has been fairly easy for the newcomers to find a spot that works for them and be themselves," Owens said. "It's been fun to see everyone's personalities develop even more as everyone becomes more comfortable."
"Luckily not one person is alike in any situation, so having 10 new personalities on the team will be like any other year. They show who they are and all you can do is accept them for themselves. It has been fun so far, and we mix pretty well already," said Townley.
Mitchell made it an emphasis over the summer for the group to get to know one another on several levels.
"We had a lot of conversations about teamwork and how each player and staff member is responsible for our cohesiveness. Our summer book was titled "You Are the Team," and it talks about the six B's to becoming a great teammate. The stories it told and questions it asked helped open the door to some very important topics that allow us to improve ourselves, relate to one another better and get us closer to our common goal of becoming a great team, on and off the court."
So what's the key to having such a large group buying into Mean Green women's basketball?
"I believe the big secret to buy in is no real secret at all," Mitchell said. "I believe you win with people. As long as we have the right people who are selfless, hard-working, trustworthy, humble, positive and respectful, we can accomplish anything we set out to do."
Owens believes the team is off to a good start. "Coach Mitchell has set a great standard and culture for us all to follow. The returners that we do have are great leaders and set a very good standard so the newcomers were able to buy in quickly."
Players Mentioned
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