Mavs Ex Josh Howard Chosen As First-Ever Coach at UNT Dallas

It's a New Challenge For Dallas Mavs Ex Josh Howard As He's Chosen As The First-Ever Coach at UNT Dallas

DALLAS - UNT Dallas is starting a men’s basketball program and has chosen former Dallas Mavericks All-Star forward Josh Howard as its first-ever coach.

"It's a great honor to start a program from the ground up, to be able to create a legacy for these young men in the city that I hope to recruit," Howard says.

UNT Dallas will compete at the NAIA level and in the Sooner Athletic Conference against schools such Texas Wesleyan University, Oklahoma City University, Langston University, and Wayland Baptist University and others. Men’s and women’s Trailblazers basketball games will be played at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster.

Howard, 39, is a former Wake Forest star who played 10 seasons in the NBA. He made the 2007 All-Star Game while averaging 18.9 points per game for a 67-win Dallas Mavericks team on which he was often the second fiddle alongside superstar Dirk Nowitzki. Howard also spent time with the Wizards, Jazz and Timberwolves before his career ended after a G-League stint in the 2013-14 season.

Howard accepted the job at Piedmont International in 2016 and led that small-school program to a 49-49 record. Along the way, "J-Ho'' has found himself meeting all sorts of challenges. This challenge, at this time, is unique.

"It's kind of hard to recruit (with the COVID-19 situation)," Howard says. "So I just have to be close in touch with the kids that I want to get on the team, and hopefully once we can get around a group of people, the basketball will show, and I'll be able to make the right pick with the kids I select.”