Heard a funny question over the weekend about Tubbs...

[Stampede]

said they were very impressed with his bench coaching, his adjustments during the games and how he treats the players.

Then he continued by stating his only question now about Tubbs is... "can he recruit?"

Funny how the issue flips. Six months ago there was an abundance of naysayers who questioned Tubbs' coaching prowess. He has already answered alot of those cynics.

[Stampede]

nobody else thought this humerous? Or do you agree?

[Stallion]

take a close look at some of those wins. I think its humorous that someone would think that a .500 record with that schedule proves Tubbs can coach. The last guy they just fired did better in about 6 seasons until this team quit on him last year

[Waz]

"The last guy" was about 8 wins over . 500 for his ENTIRE career. Coach Tubbs has a better brand of basketball on the court now than we have seen for some time, tough schedule or not tough schedule. This team is a team and improves each game. No way are we a tournament team talent wise, yet. But with the way the WAC is shaping up, no doubt that upsets are going to be possible in the tournament and then, who knows.

Any new coach deserves the honeymoon and the benifit of doubt that goes with it. I think we will all be pleasantly suprised by what's ahead. Tubb's inherited what he inherited. Some think he got good talent already on board, some think he is doing more with less. I think he is taking what he got and getting more out of it than 'the last guy', and that to me is a step in the right direction and progress for a program that clearly showed none in the last 4/5 years.

[DickerJames]

Stallion wrote.

take a close look at some of those wins. I think its humorous that someone would think that a .500 record with that schedule proves Tubbs can coach. The last guy they just fired did better in about 6 seasons until this team quit on him last year


Anybody that suffered through the previous regime and actually attended the games for 8 years can see a HUGE improvement in coaching, the current "weak" schedule and won-loss record not withstanding.

[Hoop Fan]

Stallion, you stopped short of saying he can't coach but you have basically taken both sides of this argument now. I think you would argue with anything Stampede says.

Tubbs appears to be doing all the right things to me. Coaching is not a reason for our mediocre record. We have rebounding, defensive and shooting deficiencies as a team.

[Stallion]

I told you this team wasn't very talented last year-now everybody seems to agree its a miracle we are 9-8 with the most experienced squad in years. Against legitimate Division 1A teams not the South Dakota Techs (also known as UT Tyler, Montana St., Texas St., and Arkansas Pine Bluff) of the world we are about 5-8-not very good even with all those four year lettermen seniors. Where oh where have the "Dement is wasting NIT/NCAA Tourney talent" people gone? Tubbs will become a decent coach when and if he recruits the talent. PERIOD. I'm pretty confident he ain't going to "coach" us into the Big Dance.

[SoCal_Pony]

John Wooden couldn’t coach this team to the Big Dance. And while we are at it, if Jimmy doesn’t get some JC help in the paint next year, BHop’s 4 years here will be a total waste. Patrick and Eric might be mediocre, but on this team mediocrity is no vice.

And furthermore, if Phil doesn’t get some JC help at QB next year, we could be in for a very bumpy ride in FB as well if the whispers about Chris Phillips are accurate. I hope they are not.

[rich_alum]

Last year we beat T Tech, Nevada, and Purdue. This year we have the same team intact and no big wins to show for it. With as much experience as we are bringing back, this team should be more competitive.

Everyone is so ready to jock-sniff Tubbs before he has even done anything. Let's not forget this coach had no experience and in my opinion was somewhat of a gamble.

[Waz]

Stallion, I for one have never mentioned that we have NCAA or NIT talent, but I have a question. Would you conceed that Tubbs has coached this team into the dance if we should win the WAC tournament?

[Hoop Fan]

I told you this team wasn't very talented last year-now everybody seems to agree its a miracle we are 9-8 with the most experienced squad in years. Against legitimate Division 1A teams not the South Dakota Techs (also known as UT Tyler, Montana St., Texas St., and Arkansas Pine Bluff) of the world we are about 5-8-not very good even with all those four year lettermen seniors. Where oh where have the "Dement is wasting NIT/NCAA Tourney talent" people gone? Tubbs will become a decent coach when and if he recruits the talent. PERIOD. I'm pretty confident he ain't going to "coach" us into the Big Dance.

You've been telling me? I've been citing the specific weaknesses in this experienced squad for at least two years now. It takes more than experience to win. I've also said that the win over Purdue was fools gold last year, they were in the process of a collapse at the time. And Texas Tech had such a bad year their coach turned his salary back in. The point about Tubbs is he will get the talent, more than Dement could get. And it appears that when he does, he'll be able to handle them too. I am not a fire the coach guy nor did I expect Dements team to Dance last year. The reason Dement had to go was his team folded on him and his message and style got stale here. It was time for a change. Now that doesn't mean Dement didn't have challenges at SMU from support to academics. Tubbs just has a better chance of overcoming the challenges and he's doing the right things on the sideline. He can't put the ball in the basket for the guys.

[EastStang]

I must admit that last year after the Purdue and TT games, I thought an experienced senior laden team would be ready for a run this year and that we would know if Tubbs could coach or not. Dement had to go because for whatever reason he lost the team. I really expected Simpson to be a star this year. He showed flashes of it his sophomore year. But it hasn't happened. Is that coaching or is it that Simpson has gotten about as good as he'll ever be? Castro has actually exceeded my expectations and has improved dramatically (except his free throw ability). But Castro is not a force that puts fear into opposing teams. He's a decent role player. If Tubbs wants to be up tempo, he's going to have to recruit some inside studs. You can't fast break without some great rebounders and defense. Otherwise, he'd better think about zones and the Princeton offense that Georgetown runs. I watched some of the Georgetown - Seton Hall game last night. There were times Georgetown took 9 or 10 passes before someone shot. Its boring, but they are winning games against quality teams.

[Hoop Fan]

Castro is a good kid and a legit D-1 player. He is strong and crafty on the offensive block. The problem is that Castro does not rebound and defend his position well enough against quality opponents. Sure, he gets rebounds from being on the floor, but he doesn't win enough of the 50/50 situations. Its not his fault, but this team needs more out of the center spot because our power forward is not strong defensively or rebounding either, Simpson. I like Pat Simpson alot, but he is kind of a man without a position. He gets overpowered by most real power forwards and he is not enough of a ball handler/slasher to be a small forward. Devon Pearson is a more ideal small forward. The conclusion to me is we have some nice individual players, but as a unit our frontline is ill conceived. You wont get many big guys who have the total package at SMU, most of those guys go to Top 20 programs. So SMU needs big guys who complement one another. If our power forward is a scorer, our center needs to rebound and defend or vice versa.

[SoCal_Pony]

The Castro / Simpson era has generated a 32-36 WAC conference record including 2-3 in tourney play. Eric and Patrick currently account for 40% of our team rebounds. Someone tell me who is going to replace them?

and btw XtC, thanks for your insights into BHop

[Hoop Fan]

only 40% of the rebounds? I didnt think it was that low. As for who replaces them, thats Tubbs biggest challenge. Unfortunately Reay and Rackaskus don't appear to be ready. I don't know if Bamba Fall is mature enough to play right away, but if hes not the priority for the last scholarship has to be a physical frontcourt player.