First year UNT men’s basketball head coach Ross Hodge on Monday announced the hiring of Phil Forte to his staff as an assistant coach for the 2023 National Invitation Tournament champion Mean Green.

Forte, a Flower Mound, Texas, native and one of Oklahoma State’s all-time greats, joins North Texas after two seasons at Saint Louis as an assistant coach where he helped lead the Billikens to back-to-back 20-win seasons and a combined 44-24 record. SLU reached the semifinals of the 2022 A-10 Tournament and earned an NIT bid that year as well. Saint Louis’ 23 wins that year is tied for its most single-season win total since 2013-14.

“We are very excited to add Phil to our staff,” Hodge said. “He is a rising star in this profession and is very well respected among everyone. He has a tremendous ability to connect with student-athletes and will pour his heart into helping them achieve their goals.”

Prior to his two seasons at SLU, Forte was an assistant coach at Sam Houston under Jason Hooten. The Bearkats went 37-22 in Forte’s two seasons there.

During his time as a full-time coach, Forte has helped five different players to eight all-conference honors, including 2021 Southland Conference Player of the Year Zach Nutall at Sam Houston and back-to-back A-10 First Team All-Conference honoree Yuri Collins at Saint Louis.

Forte played his college ball at Oklahoma State from 2012-17. He is one of the Cowboys’ most accomplished guards in program history. He led OSU to four NCAA Tournament appearances. He made an OSU record 329 3-pointers and scored 1,792 career points, which ranked six in school history at the time of his graduation.

Forte graduated from nearby Marcus High School in Flower Mound in 2012 and was a two-time state champ. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 2012 Texas Class 5A State Tournament after scoring a game-high 24 points in the championship game. He was first-team All-State that year as well.

“Winning has followed him wherever he has been,” Hodge added. “We are excited to be adding him to our basketball program.”

Phil Forte Coaching History
2023-present: North Texas, Assistant Coach
2021-23: Saint Louis, Assistant Coach
2019-21: Sam Houston, Assistant Coach
2017-19: Saint Louis, Graduate Assistant
2013-17: Oklahoma State, Student-Athlete

https://meangreensports.com/news/2023/4/17/mens-basketball-adds-phil-forte-to-staff