North Texas Basketball: Could Mean Green win the AAC in its first year?

The North Texas Mean Green achieved their crowning moment on Thursday night, defeating conference rival UAB to secure the first NIT title in program history. The championship springboards the Mean Green into an offseason of massive upheaval.

In an instant, their coach was gone, though that wasn’t much of a surprise. Grant McCasland had the inside track for the Texas Tech job for some time and quickly snatched when he was done leading the Mean Green to glory.

North Texas wasted no time filling the job, handing it to longtime associate head coach Ross Hodge. He’s been a big part of what McCasland has built and the program shouldn’t regress too much under the first-time head coach.

That transition is far from the biggest the program is going to have this offseason. The Mean Green will no longer be Conference USA Rivals with the Blazers; instead they’ll be rivals with them in the AAC.

The AAC will be virtually unrecognizable next year. Can North Texas fill the void and take the conference crown in its first year as a member?

What are the chances the North Texas Mean Green win the conference title next season, their first in the revamped AAC?

If you’re not well-versed on who will be in the AAC next season, that’s okay. It’s pretty confusing, so let’s lay it out.

UCF, Cincinnati, and Houston are on the way out. While the Golden Knights didn’t scary anybody on the hardwood, the Bearcats and the Cougars did, particularly the latter in recent years. Houston was even a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, so their disappearance will help the remaining programs.

Those sticking around include a few strong basketball programs, led by Memphis. SMU, Tulsa, Tulane, Wichita State, Temple, South Florida, and East Carolina are all staying as well.

Then, the newcomers. In addition to North Texas and UAB, additions to the conference include UTSA, Rice, CBI champion Charlotte and Final Four participant Florida Atlantic.

Even if the Mean Green can remain a defensive machine, they’ll have 13 high-caliber opponents to battle in the conference while rolling out a new head coach. That’s not an easy ask of North Texas.

The biggest roster question for next season revolves around star Tylor Perry. The Conference USA Player of the Year has at least one year of eligibility remaining. Social media is already running wild with the possibility of Perry following his coach to Lubbock, though.

Kai Huntsberry may also be on the move. He was a stud all season along, particularly in the NIT. He bounced around the lower levels of the collegiate ranks prior to his arrival in North Texas this season. If the senior stays around, that would be a major development for the Mean Green.

On Sunday, star big man Abou Ousmane hit the portal. The rim blocker averaged 10 points and six rebounds per game and will be a significant loss for the program.

According to Rivals’ Travis Graf, one player the Mean Green have reached out to Dayton transfer Mustapha Amzil. But there’s a long list of teams in contact with him, including power programs, so it could be a challenge to reel him in.

With all that said, the Mean Green have built a sustainable identity on the hardwood. In six seasons under McCasland, North Texas never finished with a losing record and went to the postseason four times, including the NCAA Tournament once. They should be able to keep winning.

With all the upheaval, however, asking North Texas to win the AAC in its first season is too much. A finish in the middle of the conference standings feels more likely.