North Texas head men’s basketball coach Johnny Jones has announced that DeSoto, Tex., native and Oklahoma State University transfer Roderick Flemings has signed a scholarship to play for the Mean Green.

Out of DeSoto High School, Flemings was ranked as one of the top-25 players in the nation by several publications and websites and originally signed with Oklahoma State, where he played as a freshman in 2005-06. The 6-7, 215-pound guard/forward will have to sit out the 2006-07 season due to NCAA transferring rules, but will have three years of eligibility remaining with the Mean Green.

"We are very excited to have Roderick Flemings as a new addition to our basketball team," said Coach Jones. "His signing will give us a great start on recruiting for next season and he has the ability to make a huge impact on our program. We are excited about him and his family joining our North Texas family."

Flemings was a first-team All-State selection in Class 5A by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches and was ranked the No. 12 player the country by Prep Roundball as a senior in high school. He was also ranked the No. 26 player in the nation, No. 6 small forward in the nation and No. 5 player in the state of Texas by Rivalshoops.com at the time of his signing with the Cowboys. Bob Gibbons, who runs the publication Bob Gibbons All-Star Report, had him ranked as the No. 24 high school player in the country.

Flemings led DeSoto High School to the Class 5A state finals his senior season, scoring 25 points and grabbing eight rebounds in the championship game. In a 47-38 semifinal win over San Antonio Reagan, Flemings recorded 18 points and eight rebounds. For his efforts, he was named to the Class 5A state championship all-tournament team.

Averaging 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 26 regular-season outings, Flemings led DeSoto to a 37-4 record in 2004-05. He was named the District 7-5A Most Valuable Player after leading the Eagles to a perfect 14-0 district record. He was also All-Region I in Class 5A and named the tournament MVP at the DISD/Coca-Cola Invitational after scoring 26 points in a 69-66 win over Dallas Carter in the tournament’s championship game.

Flemings also competed in several tournaments during the summer of 2004 and was ranked as the second-best wing forward at the NBA Players Association Top 100 Camp in Richmond, Virginia. He led all campers in scoring at the elite event.

As a freshman at Oklahoma State, Flemings averaged 11.5 minutes per game in 28 contests, including four as a starter. He averaged 3.1 points on a .484 shooting percentage and pulled down 2.1 rebounds per game. He also posted 18 assists and 13 steals last season with the Cowboys. Flemings scored in double figures four times last season, including three of the first four games. He posted a season-high 12 points in his first collegiate game and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds against nationally-ranked Boston College.

Arkansas-Little Rock  ended the season for the North Texas men’s basketball team with a 72-55 spread victory in the first round of the 2006 Aeropostale Sun Belt Conference Tournament. North Texas closes the season with a record of 14-14.

“They (UALR) came out extremely focused and played a really great basketball game,” said North Texas head coach Johnny Jones. “They forced us out of our comfort zone and we just didn’t play strong enough with the basketball”.

Leading 17-15 with 8:45 left in the first half, Arkansas-Little Rock went on a 15-1 run over the next four minutes to take a 32-16 lead. North Texas odds fought back to cut the Trojan lead to 10 points at 37-27 until Rashad Jones-Jennings ended the first half with a dunk and completed a three-point play with no time left on the first half clock to make it 40-27.

Arkansas-Little Rock extended their lead in the second half to 20 points at 54-34 with 12:45 remaining in the game.

North Texas never got any closer than 17 points in the second half as Arkansas-Little Rock held North Texas to just 35 percent shooting for the game.

Calvin Watson scored a team-high 16 points and Kendrick Davis added 10 points for the Mean Green.