University of North Texas Athletics
Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Last updated April 6, 2026
Deshon Parker was hired as a UNTÂ men's basketball assistant coach on April 25, 2025 to head coach Daniyal Robinson's first Mean Green staff.
In his first season in Denton (2025-26), Parker helped guide the Mean Green to a 19-14 overall record and a 9-9 league record. North Texas finished tied for fifth in the American Conference standings and reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 American Conference Tournament. UNT's 19 wins were the second-most in program history by a first-year Mean Green staff and its nine conference wins were also the second-most by a first-year UNT staff. North Texas' .576 win percentage was the second-best ever by a first-year UNT staff in its DI era and the best in 50 years.
UNT featured the league's top scoring defense, holding opponents to 67.4 points per game and racked up 308 steals on the year, which were the second-most in a single season in program history and third-most in American Conference history.  UNT featured the second-best turnover margin in American Conference history (+3.7) and the third lowest turnover per game average in program history (11.3).
North Texas had notable victories throughout the season. On Jan. 4 they defeated Tulsa at home 72-67, snapping the Golden Hurricanes' then 10-game winning streak. At the time of the game, Tulsa was ranked No. 38 in the NET. It was UNT's highest ranked NET win since upsetting Purdue in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.Â
The Mean Green also had notable wins over Memphis on Feb. 12, 76-69, Florida Atlantic on Feb. 22, 73-72, and at UAB on March 1, 62-58. North Texas also defeated FAU in its conference tournament opener, 74-70, continuing its streak of consecutive seasons with a conference tournament win to seven in a row.Â
Parker was critical in the development of sophomore guard Je'Shawn Stevenson who earned second-team American Conference All-Conference honors as he averaged 17.3 points per game and 2.0 steals per game. His 572 total points scored was the fourth-most in the league that year. Stevenson led UNT in 3-pointers with 74 and his 66 steals were the second most in program history and led the league that season.
Point guard David Terrell Jr. also had a breakout season. The then junior who came to UNT from UTEP set single season career highs in every statistical category and became just the second player in North Texas history to score 400 points (446) and have 150 assists (160) in a single season. Terrell's 160 total assists were the fourth most in a single season in program history.
Parker, who was a standout player for Robinson at Cleveland State, came to North Texas after being on Robinson’s coaching staff last season at his alma mater CSU where he was the youngest DI assistant coach in the nation.
 At Cleveland State during the 2024-25 season, Parker helped lead the Vikings to a 23-win season, which was the program’s most single season wins in 14 years. CSU finished second in the Horizon League standings and was the 2025 CBI runner up.
Parker was instrumental in Cleveland State earning nine all-conference honors that season. A tremendous defensive player himself, Parker was critical in the development of two Vikings players earning Horizon All-Defensive Team honors in 2025.
Parker joined Robinson’s Cleveland State staff in 2024 after playing one professional season in the country of Georgia for BC Sokhumi in the Georgian Superliga. That season he made the Georgian Superliga First Team honor as he averaged 18.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game.
He is a 2023 graduate of Cleveland State. As a senior for the Vikings, Parker played for Robinson who was in his first season as CSU’s head coach. Parker helped lead the Vikings that year to 21 wins and were the runner ups in the 2023 Horizon Conference Tournament. As a senior Parker averaged 9.7 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Parker was voted at the end of the year to the Horizon All-Defensive team.
In total Parker played in 150 collegiate games and made 126 starts. He scored 1,004 career points, had 481 career assists and 409 career rebounds.
A native of Huber Heights, Ohio, Parker graduated from Wayne High School in 2018. He led the Warriors as a senior to a 26-2 overall record and to the Division I OHSAA state quarterfinals where they lost to eventual state champion Archbishop Moeller.
Parker has five siblings. His older brother Demond played at DII Cedarville and is on the men’s basketball staff at Florida Atlantic.
Deshon Parker Coaching Career
North Texas (2025-present)
Cleveland State (2024-25)
