North Texas head coach Johnny Jones can laugh a little at the old adage that still holds true when it comes to one of his recruiting philosophies.

Jones is an avowed “big guard guy.”

One just wouldn’t know it from looking at UNT’s roster as the Mean Green prepares to begin the regular season today against Division II Cameron (Okla.).

UNT’s backcourt looks more like the pint-sized all-stars this season.

Sophomore Josh White is the Mean Green’s leading returning scorer at 13.9 points a game, despite being generously listed at 5-10.  Collin Dennis, a 6-2 shooting guard, averaged 13.6 points a game a year ago.

The pair is big on talent, but small on size when compared to UNT’s stars of the past.

“I am a big guard guy,” Jones said. “That is what we have always had because what we run is conducive to big guards. We have tweaked our offense a bit to take advantage of Josh’s quickness and put us in the best possible position.”

UNT will feature arguably one of the best backcourts in the Sun Belt Conference. White and Dennis were named the Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the league, respectively, last season.

That was no small feat considering there were only so many shots to go around on a team that had several returning stars that helped lead UNT to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.

“I was surprised by it,” White said of playing such a large role. “I was not expecting it. I was just trying to get my team to the tournament.”

UNT fell short of that goal, but is expected to make another run at the postseason this year behind White and Dennis, who could miss the first game or two of the regular season while dealing with personal issues off the court. White was a preseason first-team all-conference selection while Dennis was a second-team pick.

UNT finished in a tie with Arkansas-Little Rock atop the Sun Belt Conference West Division in the preseason coaches poll, despite losing Quincy Williams, Keith Wooden and Ben Bell, three core members of the Mean Green’s 2007 NCAA Tournament team.

“It was nice to see that people recognized what we have done, but I would trade that to go to the tournament and have a deep run,” Dennis said. “With me it’s not about personal stats. I appreciate it, but I would rather go to the tournament.”

The Mean Green’s backcourt duo will have to carry a heavy load if UNT is to make it back to the postseason for the second time in three seasons. Williams and Wooden were UNT’s main scoring threats last season in the frontcourt.

UNT has depth and several players with potential to fill the void, including transfers George Odufuwa and Eric Tramiel and veteran Harold Stewart. None of those players are proven offensive players at the Division I level, though.

“I am positive we can do it again,” White said of getting back to the NCAA Tournament. “We lost some key players, but we definitely have weapons. People think that we are small in the backcourt and that is our weakness, but Villanova got to the Elite Eight with a small backcourt.”

White and Dennis should be the most potent of those weapons. White scored 25 points while leading the Mean Green to a win over Oklahoma State in just his second college game last season, while Dennis tallied 34 in a win over Troy.

White set the school record for 3-point percentage in a season at 45.8 percent, while Dennis tied for the ninth-best percentage from behind the arc at 42.1 percent.

“They say that dynamite comes in small packages sometimes, and that is what we have with this group,” Jones said. “Those guys are very explosive. Sometimes special players come along and I consider Josh one of those players.”

Both White and Dennis have thrived while playing against bigger players throughout their careers.

Dennis was a second-team all-state selection at Richland and played two seasons at South Florida before transferring, while White was a three time all-state selection at Baton Rouge (La.) Christian Life.

“Whenever I played, I was always small,” Dennis said. “When I went to camps and played AAU, I was guarding guys who were 6-5 or 6-6. I have always been short. You just learn to play with it and make up for it with heart and hustle.”

UNT is hoping that approach will help it build on a run that has seen the Mean Green win 20 games in back-to-back seasons.

“I told this team that we have to write our own chapter for this season,” Jones said. “All we can do is look back at the hard work that we put in and what happened at the end of the season two years ago. A lot of these guys were not a part of the 2007 team. We have to come out and focus on what we are capable of doing.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .

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March

x — Sun Belt Conference game

* — at Little Rock, Ark.