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i never really followed the basketball team, but with tthe new coach has there been any real improvement in the team? is their any future with the young guys?

Seems like the team is rebounding better this season but otherwise no real improvement....as for the young guys - Spencer has not had much playing time - so it is hard to tell what he will do down the road....the guys getting a lot of playing time are seniors and juniors....so its not really a young team....Killen & Willingham should be better next season with the experience they have picked up and Fall has the most upside....have heard that this coaching staff will make him NBA ready - I'll settle for college ready.

If our incoming class is as good as they say, I am predicting that we will start 5 freshmen next year. Please let their be at least one guard that can handle the ball.

That's the key point. Not to disrespect any of our current players, but there are only three or four that deserve to be playing at this level. Doherty's done what he can with what he has.

If Fall can elevate his game, I could see him start next year. You can't manufacture height and we are leading CUSA in shot blocking (perhaps near the top nationally). But I'm sure Doh has told him that there are areas that need work. He needs to work on something akin to a hook shot or a turnaround jumper. He needs to stop trying to dribble when he gets the ball. Either he needs to shoot or to pass it without a dribble. Lastly, he needs to work with a medicine ball to get hand strength. Perhaps, he should take up bowling.

There are a couple of players that you can definitely see improvement in their game. Bamba has offensive capabilities in addition to his shot blocking. He has also started not just swatting the ball away, but he occassionally comes away with the ball now or knocks it to a teammate. I've noticed a few improvements with the rest of the team as well.

I think this season might have been much worse without Coach Doherty. There are many areas where improvement is needed, but I think that the combination of working with the returning players and bringing in some good recruits will make next season very exciting.

Buckethead wrote:If our incoming class is as good as they say, I am predicting that we will start 5 freshmen next year. Please let thier be at least one guard that can handle the ball.

Bamba and DRob will without a doubt start next season. But the 5 incoming freshman are all supposed to be bigtime players and some will make major contributions I would imagine.

I know people are really down on Killen but he is not a ball handler. I think if he were to play with a real ball handler to take the pressure off him he would be a very serviceable player. Great defesne, much improved shot, plays with toughness and a leader on the floor.

Hear a rumor that Mike Walker is now the starting PG at South Kent. Can anyone confirm this to be true? If so that is really remarkable bc I think the team has at least 8 players with scholarship offers. I have heard 10.

this year's team is definitely NOT YOUNG. With 3 returning SR guards next year and a couple of good looking FR coming in, we should have a 5 guard rotation that will allow some 3 guard "small" lineups. The problem is, that's only effective if the guys are shooters and we don't have anyone who fits that bill with any consistency. The youth on next year's team will be competing for the 3 & 4 spots. Should be interesting to see if these guys are ready for the college game and I think how well we do at the 3 & 4 positions will dictate whether we see any improvement next year. We just have to hope Doherty stays around long enough to rebuild this program.

I would think he wouldn't be able to go anywhere until he does rebuild the program with at least one good year.

My view is that we have the same problems with turnovers and bad shooting that we had last year. Theoretically. the guys he recruited should fill some of our holes, but since they will be freshman, who knows how long it will take them to contribute. We lost our big scorer in Bhop, and no one has consistently stepped into that role consistently; Ike being the most consistent scorer. I think he has done as much as anyone could with the players he had. No knock on our guys - they have played hard.

What Coach Doherty has already produced with facilities and publicity is definitely an improvement last year.

Realistically we are looking at 2009-2010 if we expect to make the tourney and get some more good recruits in here. I don't see Doherty going anywhere for a while. What has he done latley? It's not like he's Gillespie or a hot coach right now. He has 2 conference wins regardless of the talent level, that's what people look at.

Thank goodness for the new facilty and Moody improvements that are coming soon.

so what does everyone think: football bowl game or ncaa tourney first?

expony18 wrote:so what does everyone think: football bowl game or ncaa tourney first?

definitely football bowl game first, hopefully next year

Doherty makes NIT next season and NCAA birth the season after (his third as head coach). Not sure if SMU can win 7 in football next year although I guess we could back into a bowl with 6 wins right?

Charleston Pony wrote:this year's team is definitely NOT YOUNG. With 3 returning SR guards next year and a couple of good looking FR coming in, we should have a 5 guard rotation that will allow some 3 guard "small" lineups. The problem is, that's only effective if the guys are shooters and we don't have anyone who fits that bill with any consistency. The youth on next year's team will be competing for the 3 & 4 spots. Should be interesting to see if these guys are ready for the college game and I think how well we do at the 3 & 4 positions will dictate whether we see any improvement next year. We just have to hope Doherty stays around long enough to rebuild this program.

Agreed that our roster is anything but young. However, it sounds like Harp is a FANTASTIC shooter, Drob isn't bad, and Killen is better than people think from the outside! Dez is just too d*mn small though.