Consecutive 20-win seasons have given North Texas the preseason respect it's been due. Now it's up to the Mean Green to see if they can live up to the billing.

Picked in a tie for first with UALR atop the Sun Belt Conference's West Division, North Texas welcomes back the league's Freshman of the Year, as well as the Newcomer of the Year. Josh White and Collin Dennis return 27.5 ppg to the backcourt.

"I think this is a compliment to the hard work that our players and staff have put in over the past few years," Mean Green coach Johnny Jones said.

It's also a compliment to what Jones can rely on this winter. White, a 5-foot-10 sophomore which Jones spirited from his old stomping grounds of Baton Rouge, led the team in scoring at 13.9 ppg and played the most minutes at nearly 32 a night.

A deadeye shooter, White drained 49-of-107 3-pointers (45.8 percent) and ranked 50th in the nation in foul shooting at 84.8 percent. He's a preseason first team All-Sun Belt choice.

Dennis, a 6-2 senior who transferred from South Florida, became the first North Texas player to enjoy a pair of 30-point games in seven years, including a 34-point explosion against Troy.

Dennis averaged 13.6 ppg and was second on the team in steals (25). He's a second team pick on the preseason All-Sun Belt squad

Question is, what kind of help can the Mean Green give their two scoring guards? There's no other proven scorer on the roster and no proven rebounders, either, although there may be help on the horizon in the form of transfers.

George Odufuwa, a 6-8 forward who left Arizona State after 13 games in the 2006-07 season, has the potential to be an immediate contributor inside. Junior college signee Eric Tramiel, a 6-7 forward, was a first team All-American at Paris (TX) JC last year after averaging nearly 16 ppg and 8.6 rebounds.

If one of those two and perhaps 6-10, 240-pound senior center Justin Howerton can take up space and at least do the job on the boards, North Texas could contend for the Sun Belt title in March.

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