Three With CPC

[The CPC]

CPC is proud to announce the start of 2 new Basketball coulmns from your favorite well traveled rooster. In addition to his usual scouting reports, CPC will now be sharing his musings and observations on all things hoops related in 2 new weekly columns, Three With CPC, and The State of the Game.

Three With CPC is going to be a question and answer type format, and is a response to the multitude of CPC fans who have been requesting something of this nature. Its going to be very similar to the old Ask The AD, and Five With Phil columns, with one very important exception: CPC plans to actually answer the questions every week. Lack of actual answers in anything resembling a timely manner was seen as the primary weakness of these previous efforts, and CPC vows not to ever let his fans down in a similar manner. CPC would like to have the first column this weekend, so get those questions in now. Send your questions to: ThreeWithCPC@AOL.com and we can get this puppy underway.

The second column, State of the Game, will be a weekly look at basketball around the state of Texas, not just college, but high schools and recruiting, as well. This column will also come out once a week as well, probably on Tuesdays or wednesdays.
To get things started, CPC will give you his first official Texas Top-12, ranking the teams around the state:
1.) Univ. of Texas: Ranked 4th in the AP poll, the Longhorns are 3-0 in Big 12 play and 12-2 overall. Showdown with Kansas, possibly for first place in the conference, coming in one week.
2.) Texas Tech: 11-3 overall, but only 1-2 in conference, the Raiders got to spend a few weeks in the national rankings, but fell out after losing their Big 12 opener at Kansas State. Played OU very tough in Norman tonight, but fell in overtime.
3.) Texas A&M: Aggies season began with some promise, pulling off eye opening Non-conference wins at LSU and Tennessee, but they were blown out by UT and Oklahoma State in conference play. Only a road win at Nebraska is keeping them out of the Big 12 cellar.
4.) Rice: Owls are definitely on the rise, at 11-4 Rice is a legitimate contender in the WAC. They have a quality OOC road win at Colorado, and they are the only WAC team to win at Boise State (where Tulsa and Hawaii have already lost.) In a conference where everyone wins at home, the Owls have shown an ability to win on the road, and that might seperate them from the rest of the pack. Could actually see post-season play for the first time in almost a deccade.
5.) SMU: In-state wins over TCU, Baylor, and UNT keep the Mustangs in the top half of the rankings.
6.) TCU: Wins against State rivals Baylor and UNT are about the only thing going right for the Frogs this season. Winless in conference play, Houston is the only thing standing between TCU and the C-USA cellar. The frogs still lack any kind of physical inside presence, and without it they're going to finish with a losing record again this season.
7.) Baylor: Nice looking record against pitiful non-conference competition hasnt helped the Bears compete in the Big 12. Winless in conference, and with OU and Oklahoma State up next, its going to be a while before the Bears see their next win.
8.) UNT: Promising season started to fall apart after a few injuries. The Eagles have been playing people close, but still losing. The season isnt completely lost, yet, but its teetering.
9.) Prairie View: Former laughingstock has actually made a little progress. At least they beat Houston this year.
10.) The Southland Conference: There's really nothing interesting to say about these teams, but half of them are in Texas, so I had to rank them somewhere.
11.) Houston: Win over St. Louis broke their losing streak, but at 3-10 this team has to be one of the seasons biggest underachievers. Just a few years ago Louis Truscott was one of the most highly recruited players in the country, think he regrets this decision?
12.) UTEP: Battling tooth and nail with San Jose for the WAC cellar. Without Roy Smallwood, there's not much hope.

Thats all for tonight, CPC will be back with his scouting reports on Wednesday. Until then keep your beak straight and your feathers fluffed. Peace out.

[The CPC]

Here it is sports fans, the first installment of Three With CPC, your chance to pick the brain of everyones favorite barnyard hoopster rooster. CPC would like to thank all his fans who sent in questions, even the questions that are unprintable in a Family Friendly format. In fact, some of those were actually the best, and if the fan who wrote in as "Tina in Fresno" has any more pictures to send, be sure to put them in JPeg format so CPC can open them on his laptop.
With that out of the way, lets us move now, without further ado, to your questions:

1.) Dear CPC,
I greatly enjoyed your rankings of the Texas Top-12 last week. Could you do a similar ranking for all the teams in the WAC? Signed, TulsaFan.

Well Tulsa, CPC gave this question some serious thought, and actually was putting together a ranking for you, but then this weekends games threw everything into chaos. All CPC can say for certain is that Fresno State is still in first place, and Nevada is in 2nd, and those 2 teams will meet this week. After that it looks like every other team in the league is tied for 3rd. Or, at least, every other team in the league can beat every other team, if the stars are lined up properly. This might be good for SMU, considering the surprising results of this weeks road trip, but it also does some serious damage to the WACs prospects of getting a 2nd team into the NCAA tournament.
The bottom 3 teams in the WAC, La. Tech, San Jose, and UTEP, combined to win 2 games against D1 teams, before the beginning of conference play. UTEP and San Jose were both under 300 in the Sagarin and RPI rankings at that point, and La. Tech was only a little bit better. Boise State had a decent OOC record, but all their wins were against weak teams, and now they have a loss to UTEP. Hawaii, Tulsa, and Fresno were the WAC teams that performed well outside the conference, and the teams expected to remain at the top of the conference standings. Someone, though, apparently didnt read the script. Hawaii was invincible on the big Island, even knocking off Fresno there, but on the mainland they're not just vulnerable, they're pitiful. After losing on the road to Boise, Fresno, and (ACK!) San Jose, Hawaii has played themselves out of any possible at-large bid to the big dance, and probably out of the NIT, as well. How does it look when your conference leader loses to a team that lost to (ACK!) San Jose? And as Hawaii's losses on the road continue to mount, that loss is going to look worse. Tulsa has losses at Fresno and Boise, and now a home loss to SMU. The Hurricanes are fading fast, and they have also blown their chances at an at large bid. Tulsa seemed to have the upper hand by hosting the WAC tournament, but if they cant defend their home court against SMU, can they defend it against Fresno? Many expected La. Tech to return to the NIT this year, they were even invited to the made-for-TV Bracket Buster event, but the Bulldogs are losing to almost everyone.
Good teams should not lose to mediocre teams, and mediocre teams should not lose to really bad teams. There should be a wide seperation between a team that makes the NCAA tournament and teams that are under 300 in the Sagarin. The strong are supposed to eat the weak. If the conference looks too balanced and even, with 3 teams as low as UTEP, San Jose and Tech still able to play with the better teams consistently, then that conference isnt likely to get anyone into the NCAA tourney beyond their automatic bid.

2.) CPC, we all know you love the ladies, and the ladies love you. So, who do you think is the best looking female athlete at SMU? Let us know who the rest of us guys should be checking out. Signed, Moody Bleacher Bum.

Ahh, this is a very pertinent question, Bum (if CPC may call you Bum?) CPC does indeed always keep one eye peeled for the loveliest of ladies, particularly Lady Mustangs. After all, where would this chicken be without hot chicks? Sadly, though CPC cant answer this one, at least not completely. The school year is only half over, how can CPC make any kind of valid comparison when he hasnt had a chance to check out the spring sports yet? With that caveat, CPC will do the best he can, but all he can do for you now is pick a finalist from amongst the fall sports. The winner will go on to compete in the Miss Mustang grand championships against the Spring finalist, this May.

And the Nominees are:

Volleyball: junior Middle Blocker, Allison Holder. With the face of an Angel, and legs that belong on a Lady Mustang, this blonde beauty could have a future in modeling, following in the footsteps of Gabrielle Reece and other former athletes who have made a bigger name in front of the camera than they ever did on the court.
Volleyball Alternate: Freshman setter Jessica Mihm.

Soccer: senior Defender, Diana Kelm. The womens soccer team has a surplus of strong candidates, but Di has that little extra something. That little extra sparkling bit of strength of personality that sets her apart from all the othes. What CPC is saying is that she's mean. Meaner than a snake. Vicious. If CPC doesnt nominate her, your favorite traveling poultry is going to wind up quartered, battered, breaded and stuff in the deep fryer. While he's still breathing. Under such circumstances I think we can all agree that Miss Kelm makes a perfect candidate, and will represent her team well in the Miss Mustang competition.
Soccer Alternate: Junior midfielder/forward Kim Harvey.

Basketball: senior Center, Kaci Alexander. Another statuesque beauty, some might say Kaci is too elegant to be an athlete. Let CPC assure you though that Kaci has both the athletic credentials and the looks to be a strong Miss Mustang contender.
Basketball Alternate: junior Guard, Juli Colli.

There we have them, all certainly deserving, but, alas, there can only be one Miss Mustang finalist. So, without further ado....... the envelope please........

And the fall finalist is (drumroll please) Allison Holder! Congratulations Allison! Phil, could you tell us a little more about our lucky winner?

"CPC, Allison is a junior advertising major from San Antonio. A very versatile athlete, Allison usually starts at Middle Blocker for the Lady Mustangs, but she can also log minutes at the Outside positions, and she led the team in service aces this year with 39. Allison is the latest in a long, proud line of Holders to attend SMU, including her older brother Bill (a starting offensive lineman for the Mustangs who lettered from 1996-99) and 6 other family members. In high school Allison was a member of the National Honor Society, she's a Virgo, and she lists her hobbies as "Outdoor activities.""

Thats great Phil, and what kind of prizes have our sponsors put together for tonights finalist?

"Well CPC, for advancing to the Miss Mustang finals, Allison wins an all expense paid night out on the town, with America's most eligible bachelor Bantam, The CPC! On the night of her choosing our winner will be picked up by limousine and whisked away to the restaraunt of her choice, followed by dancing, concerts, movies or the outdoor activity of her chooosing, all paid for by her debonair escort, the idol of millions, star of stage and screen, and internationally renowned basketball prognosticator, The CPC! Congratulations Allison, you're one lucky girl."

Thats great Phil, and what kind of consolation prizes do we have for our other contestants?

"You wont believe it CPC, the 5 runners up tonight will all receive......... The same thing! All of the lucky ladies will recieve a date with the CPC, paid for by our sponsors. To pick your prizes, ladies, just email us at ThreeWithCPC@AOL.com to set up the time and date. Dont wait too long ladies, this chicken will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and you dont want to get left without a drumstick."

Th

[PonyGirl]

Oh please. Rating the female athletes?
Is this the way you view our female athletes?
Please do us a favor and save that for the other site. This board is too good and too positive for that.
Thank you.

[The CPC]

CPC does not understand, what is not positive about saying someone is beautiful? Kindly elucidate.

And yes, being Male, CPC cant help but notice when an athlete is also an attractive girl. Cant help it. Its one of those primal things, nobody does it intentionally, it just happens. Its in our genes. You arent going to try to tell us that women dont look at male athletes that way, are you? Didnt think so.

The Miss Mustang contest is an expression of admiration for someone who displays a combination of strength, talent, and beauty. CPC cannot imagine paying anyone a higher compliment.

[Eddie P]

I have to say that I thought the Miss Mustang-thingy could have gone quite another direction if the CPC had allowed it. But I think it was very tastefully done. I think he touched on a variety of positives about the women in question, beauty being one of them. And having read the CPC for awhile, I think it should be obvious everything's a bit tongue-in-cheek. And yes, the girls do notice the male athletes in "that way" as well. At the Super Bowl party, there were plenty of women making various comments about the male body during the game.

[PonyGirl]

You're right, it could have been more tasteless than it was. But one of the great things about this site is that it is extremely (if not exclusively) pure in its focus on the SMU athletic teams, the players and coaches, and the gameday atmosphere.

It wasn't obscene the way CPC did it, but it just seemed to me it teetered on the edge of opening the door to a flood of mm.com-ish commentary about players' anatomy.

There are comments made at suprt bowl parties that are more extreme and less extreme. But this site is not a super bowl party.

The constructive stories, newslinks and comments on this site are the best anywhere on the internet. Let's keep it that way.
Thanks

[DiamondM]

Dear CPC,

I hope Pony Girl was just kidding rather than being truly self-righteously indignant. I thought your 3 with CPC was entertaining and witty, and not demeaning. And if Pony Girl herself doesn't appreciate the beauty in the male athletes along with their athletic ability, then she's either blind or lying. CPC, your contribution is much appreciated on this board.

And to Pony Girl, just relax a little. CPC's comments are not crass or rude. They don't at all approach the "I boned your sister" crap that is on the other board quite often. His sardonic quips are much needed on this heretofore *ahem* boring forum.

[Hoop Fan]

Long live the Crippled Chicken. I dont know what Super Bowl party you all are talking about, but I sure hope they didn't serve wings.

[The CPC]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by PonyGirl:
<B>You're right, it could have been more tasteless than it was. But one of the great things about this site is that it is extremely (if not exclusively) pure in its focus on the SMU athletic teams, the players and coaches, and the gameday atmosphere.
</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...... CPC understands now. This is really all about keeping the board "pure" as in "No Chickens Allowed!" "Poultry Need Not Apply!" Uhuh.... ok... so thats how it is....

Thats ok, no problem. CPC can fight fire with fire. You aint seen nothing yet. NOTHING! But you're gonna......

The last time CPC looked the moderators for this board were "PonyPride" and "I AM" no mention of anyone else, so CPC does not know why PonyGirl wants to tell him what he can or cant post. But CPC's fans can rest assured that their favorite Yardbird isnt taking this lying down. Nope. More to follow, as soon as CPC's master plan is properly formulated. Peace Out.

PS: CPC extends his heartfelt thanks to the fans who expressed support for him. CPC is nothing without fans. Keep the questions and emails coming to ThreeWithCPC@AOL.com, and we'll have another column up next week.

[FloridaMustang]

CPC, ignore PonyGirl It was a clever bit and I enjoyed it. Keep up the good work and keep the posts comin! We love poultry on PonyFans.Com. Go Mustangs!

[The CPC]

Hello Sports fans, its once again time for Three With CPC, your chance to ask questions directly from the worlds most notorious hoopster rooster, your basketball bantam, your pullet with a mullet. A Rhode Island Red with hoops in his head. I know you're all eager to hear the answers to this weeks questions, so lets get right to them.

mr chicken,
Why on earth can't Coach Dement see that most teams can hit 3 pointers and

why doesn't he defend them? Signed Pony_Fan.

First Pony_Fan, lets keep things casual here, you dont have to call me Mr. Chicken. You can call me Cee, or CPC, or even chicken, just dont call me Sunday's dinner.
To answer your question, I think Mike Dement does see teams hitting all those threes on us, he'd have to be both deaf and blind not to. Even if he couldnt see, the announcer is loud enough to hear outside the building. The real question is why does it keep happening?
When we play straight man to man, our guards cover the perimeter pretty tight. The problems come when our defense drops back into a 1-3-1 zone, or when we trap in the halfcourt. In both situations, perimeter defenders will be out of position and have to recover quickly when an open man catches the ball. When you trap you have to disrupt the passes, either force a turnover or prevent the ballhandler from seeing the open man. In the zone, if a man sinks too deep into the paint to help on a post player, he has to recover quickly when the ball is kicked out to the perimeter. When you're in man, you have to switch on the screens, and if you know a man is a threat from the perimeter, you have to step over the screen, instead of under. All of this is pretty basic basketball, everyone knows it. The real question is why would you stay in a defense that obviously isnt working. The only answer CPC can give you is that sometimes when a coach gets stuck, he stays with what he knows. He's married to a particular defense or style of play, and he sticks with it, come hell or high water. Its what he's comfortable with, what he knows, and he's going to stick with it, and its up to the players to make it work. CPC cant give you a better answer than that, thats just the way it is, sometimes a leopard will refuse to change its spots.

2.) CPC, are you going to give us all an update about how your dates with the Miss Mustang contestants went? Your fans want details! signed, Sleepless in Fort Worth.

Sorry Sleepless, even if CPC were not a gentleman he couldnt give you any details. Apparently CPC has offended a certain feminist element who takes exception to the whole concept of the Miss Mustang competition, and they have filed a slew of restraining orders and other legal folderol against CPC to stop the proceedings. CPC's legal advisers asssure him that this is all nothing but frivolous harrassment and champtiferous connivance (borrowing a quote from To Kill A Mockingbird,) but they have warned CPC not to say anything until all the various briefs and motions and subpoenas have been filed, notorized, stamped in triplicate and appealed to a higher court so that they can be buried in one of the file cabinets where the paperwork from the McDonalds fast food lawsuit is kept. Otherwise, CPC cannot comment on Miss Mustang until all torts, malfeasors and motions of discovery have been resolved to the satisfaction of this nations highest judiciaries. Once again, CPC apologizes, but there is nothing that can be done.

3.) CPC, are you a real Mustang fan or not? Why are you always going on about Tulsa? When Tulsa loses its good for us, it means we can win the WAC! Why do you keep talking about them like you're actually a Tulsa fan? Whats wrong with you? Signed, Obnoxious Dipstick.

Thank you for writing, Dip, you know you've always been one of CPC's favorite fans. Tulsa's decline is bad for a couple of reasons: First, it makes the WAC title irrelevant to everyone outside the conference. The rest of the college basketball world would prefer to ignore the WAC, and that should be fairly obvious from the size of the conferences TV contract. Without at least one team thats ranked in the top-20, the rest of the country can turn their back and pay no attention to the WAC, because nothing that happens in this league matters. Your conference has to have at least one strong program, a team thats good year in and year out, a team thats made some noise in the NCAA tournament before, and that people who follow other leagues have to worry about facing in the next Dance. If your conference doesnt have at least one notable program, then who cares who wins it? You become the Horizon league, or the MEAC in that situation. Tulsa legitimized the WAC, in the same way that Gonzaga legitimizes the WCC, Valparaiso legitimizes the Mid-Con, and Creighton legitimizes the Valley. Tulsa's basketball team was the WACs highest profile program, in any sport. It drew more attention and press coverage than anything else the WAC did, including Fresno's latest flop into the NCAA's hot water. If Tulsa becomes irrelevant, then to most of the country the entire WAC becomes irrelevant, because none of our other teams have acheived anything close to what they've done over the last decade. The idea isnt to make the WAC weak enough for SMU to eventually win, the goal should be to make your own program strong enough to compete against the legitimate teams.
The second reason is financial. This one should be pretty simple to understand, when a top team comes to your gym, you sell more tickets. Past Tulsa games at Moody have always drawn at least 5,000, and until Bobby Knight came to town they were the last team to legitimately sell out the gym. Compare that to this years crowd. TV networks want to televise more of your conferences games when a ranked team is involved. Strong teams make the NCAA tournament, win games in the tournament, and earn more money for the entire conference. The WAC conference revenue split is pretty puny as it is, but if the league only gets one team into the NCAA tournament (first time thats ever happened) and that team gets knocked out in the first round, then this years split might be less than half of last years.

Thats all for this week Hoop fans. This weekends game with Rice may determine wether SMU can finish 6th in the WAC, and avoid the Play-in round, or if they'll have to first flounder past UTEP just to get the the WAC tourneys first real round. Unfortunately, though, CPC wont be there to see it. Most fans may not have known, but CPC has another hooby, he's a big fan of classic cars, and recently he's been restoring a 1965 Shelby Cobra. CPC chose the Cobra because he loves the old classic musclecars, but he needed something small, because otherwise his feet cant reach the pedals. In retrospect, a car with a roof might have been more practical, since the Cobra isnt a very good car to take out in the rain, but its too late now, and sometimes you just have to go with what you've got. Anyway, the Shelby American National Convention is this weekend in Austin, and CPC needs to hit the road as soon as there's a break in the clouds. Cant miss this, CPC has been waiting for months and he's going to be there come hell or high water, and right now it looks like both. So, if you're on I-35 south this afternoon and you see a Viper yellow Cobra with Chocolate brown stripes in your rearview mirror, move aside, because the CPC is Coming Through! This has been the CPC, until next week, Peace Out.

[wilthestilt]

If you were the SMU Athletic Director, what qualities would you look for in a new basketball coach? <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by The CPC:
<B>CPC is proud to announce the start of 2 new Basketball coulmns from your favorite well traveled rooster. In addition to his usual scouting reports, CPC will now be sharing his musings and observations on all things hoops related in 2 new weekly columns, Three With CPC, and The State of the Game.

Three With CPC is going to be a question and answer type format, and is a response to the multitude of CPC fans who have been requesting something of this nature. Its going to be very similar to the old Ask The AD, and Five With Phil columns, with one very important exception: CPC plans to actually answer the questions every week. Lack of actual answers in anything resembling a timely manner was seen as the primary weakness of these previous efforts, and CPC vows not to ever let his fans down in a similar manner. CPC would like to have the first column this weekend, so get those questions in now. Send your questions to: ThreeWithCPC@AOL.com and we can get this puppy underway.

The second column, State of the Game, will be a weekly look at basketball around the state of Texas, not just college, but high schools and recruiting, as well. This column will also come out once a week as well, probably on Tuesdays or wednesdays.
To get things started, CPC will give you his first official Texas Top-12, ranking the teams around the state:
1.) Univ. of Texas: Ranked 4th in the AP poll, the Longhorns are 3-0 in Big 12 play and 12-2 overall. Showdown with Kansas, possibly for first place in the conference, coming in one week.
2.) Texas Tech: 11-3 overall, but only 1-2 in conference, the Raiders got to spend a few weeks in the national rankings, but fell out after losing their Big 12 opener at Kansas State. Played OU very tough in Norman tonight, but fell in overtime.
3.) Texas A&M: Aggies season began with some promise, pulling off eye opening Non-conference wins at LSU and Tennessee, but they were blown out by UT and Oklahoma State in conference play. Only a road win at Nebraska is keeping them out of the Big 12 cellar.
4.) Rice: Owls are definitely on the rise, at 11-4 Rice is a legitimate contender in the WAC. They have a quality OOC road win at Colorado, and they are the only WAC team to win at Boise State (where Tulsa and Hawaii have already lost.) In a conference where everyone wins at home, the Owls have shown an ability to win on the road, and that might seperate them from the rest of the pack. Could actually see post-season play for the first time in almost a deccade.
5.) SMU: In-state wins over TCU, Baylor, and UNT keep the Mustangs in the top half of the rankings.
6.) TCU: Wins against State rivals Baylor and UNT are about the only thing going right for the Frogs this season. Winless in conference play, Houston is the only thing standing between TCU and the C-USA cellar. The frogs still lack any kind of physical inside presence, and without it they're going to finish with a losing record again this season.
7.) Baylor: Nice looking record against pitiful non-conference competition hasnt helped the Bears compete in the Big 12. Winless in conference, and with OU and Oklahoma State up next, its going to be a while before the Bears see their next win.
8.) UNT: Promising season started to fall apart after a few injuries. The Eagles have been playing people close, but still losing. The season isnt completely lost, yet, but its teetering.
9.) Prairie View: Former laughingstock has actually made a little progress. At least they beat Houston this year.
10.) The Southland Conference: There's really nothing interesting to say about these teams, but half of them are in Texas, so I had to rank them somewhere.
11.) Houston: Win over St. Louis broke their losing streak, but at 3-10 this team has to be one of the seasons biggest underachievers. Just a few years ago Louis Truscott was one of the most highly recruited players in the country, think he regrets this decision?
12.) UTEP: Battling tooth and nail with San Jose for the WAC cellar. Without Roy Smallwood, there's not much hope.

Thats all for tonight, CPC will be back with his scouting reports on Wednesday. Until then keep your beak straight and your feathers fluffed. Peace out.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>