Next basketball coach?

[PonySnob]

Who could we possibly get to be our basketball coach that could possibly turn this program around?

[PonyTales]

Johnny Dawkins

[LA_Mustang]

I dont think Dement is going anywhere but the next SMU head coach should be Jimmy Tubbs. He's a great recruiter (former DISD coach), he knows SMU, smart basketball mind, and he's getting some great big-time experience this year at OU.

[Corso]

LAMustang is right. I highly doubt Dement is going anywhere.

[mulletmike]

Dement may not be going anywhere yet, but when he does, Johnny Dawkins is a horrible candidate.

The whole ACC knows Dook has dropped several notches since brey and Gaudet left. Quin Snyder and Amaker are recruiters, not teachers. Dawkins is the same. The last thing SMU needs is a straight recruiter that can't bench coach.

[Ikus]

"The last thing SMU needs is a straight recruiter that can't bench coach."

Funny - that description sounds vaguely familiar...

[Stallion]

Boy some of the statements on here are really interesting. (BTW I think Tubbs should be a viable candidate) BUT if the problem is ONLY Coaching then why would we ever consider hiring someone who was part of the COACHING problem for 7 years!!!!!

[OldPony]

Amen Stallion. While I am frustrated at the lack of coordination and control under Dement, until someone gives me a better candidate than Tubbs, I will stay with Dement. Please don't trot out the names of assistants who work for elite programs. They aren't interested. If someone has won at a D-1 level and would look at SMU as a step up, I'd like to hear about them. Old facilities, no tradition, no fans, no money for basketball, not quite level field for recruiting. Sounds like a big step up for most D-1 coaches doesn't it? Dement may be as good as we can do right now.

[Nacho]

OP that's exactly the kind of thinking that kept Cavan around here for a couple of extra years. I'm not advocating anything but I do think you are selling us short. What's wrong with Jimmy Tubbs?

[OldPony]

Jimmy was here for 7 years. Was he part of any discipline probelm like selling out his authority to get athletes (as some claim Dement has done)? People talk about bad bench coaching under Dement. Was Jimmy ignored by Dement? If he was, why did he stay 7 years under Dement? I know Dement and others gave him a lot of credit for bringing in the Dallas boys but I have a another question. Why didn't he bring in but 1 Dallas boy during the Shumate era? He has never coached as a head guy at the D-1 level nor does his experience look as good as Dement's when we hired him. He might be great but the above reasons make me question how good of a hire he would be.

[PX]

I can answer a few of those questions:

1.) Shumate didnt want local kids. Amongst other things he found dealing with their parents to be a problem.

2.) Alot of head coaches ignore their assistants. Or surround themselves with guys they have worked with in the past who share a similar style or philosophy. Its not uncommon, and its not neccessarily always bad. Sometimes a decision needs to be made, and there's no time for a committee meeting to make it. So, one guy makes the decisions. My way or the Highway is not a new phenomenon. Some coaches see it differently, viewing their assistants as a resource, but some head guys are solitary, some border on control freaks. Ultimately, the head coach takes the blame for wins and losses, so many are unwilling to relinquish even the smallest bit of control when its their job and their reputation on the line.

3.) Jimmy Tubbs stayed here for a long time because Dallas was his home. If he was going to leave it would only be for a step-up, careerwise. He interviewed for head coaching jobs at schools like Stephen F, and Sam Houston, then took the Oklahoma job.

In a post up above you scorned people who mentioned assistants at elite programs as possible candidates. Those people wont be interested, etc. Well, Jimmy Tubbs is the top assistant at Oklahoma, a team that made the final four last year, and is ranked in the top-5 again this year. They are getting pretty close to elite status. The guy he replaced up there is now coaching Fresno State to a WAC championship. Within 3 years, Jimmy Tubbs will be the head coach, somewhere.

I'm not jumping into the fire Dement debate. Personally, I dont think he will be fired. I can say beyond a shadow of any doubt that none of us posting on this board have got any say in the matter if he stays or goes. I'm just clearing up some misconceptions you seem to have about Jimmy.

[gostangs]

I think its funny how in athletics everyone always makes statements about what coaches would or would not do, completely forgetting about the most important thing if it was about our own careers - pay. An assistant from a top notch program would consider us if we pay up for them - plain and simple - everyone talks about Bennet always wanting to come here to coach - blah blah blah, but bottom line is he got a huge raise, (much more then we paid Cavan) and that raise will get even bigger if he can win a little -That said, at the END of the season Copeland should ask how many teams beat us even though they had equal or less talent - and is that something that happens often or rarely - that should be the measure

[Pony_Fan]

I would prefer going a totally new direction than Tubbs - surely we can find a decent recruiter and coach...like gostangs said, it's all about $$

Lopes is doing a great job in his 1st year as a head coach at Fresno...he obviously learned something as an assistant.

<A HREF="http://gobulldogs.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lopes_ray00.html" TARGET=_blank>http://gobulldogs.ocsn.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/lopes_ray00.html</A>



[This message has been edited by Pony_Fan (edited 02-17-2003).]

[StangEsq]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by mulletmike:
<B>Dement may not be going anywhere yet, but when he does, Johnny Dawkins is a horrible candidate.

The whole ACC knows Dook has dropped several notches since brey and Gaudet left. Quin Snyder and Amaker are recruiters, not teachers. Dawkins is the same. The last thing SMU needs is a straight recruiter that can't bench coach.</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Duke dropped off because of their assistants? Several notches?

They had 3 guys drafted last year (two in the top 3)... that probably had something to do with their slippage. Even with a bunch of freshmen, they're still the best team in the ACC, and next year they'll be the favorites again.

[Charleston Pony]

"The last thing SMU needs is a straight recruiter that can't bench coach"

I remember they used to say that about Guy V. Lewis at Houston...that he recruited all the best talent in town and then just rolled the ball out on the court and let them play. Don't you know the Cougars wish they could find another Guy V. ?

If SMU does make a coaching change, I'd sure like to see an enthusiastic young guy come in here who can help market this program. That's a big part of recruiting, i.e., "selling the program" and I think the SMU community and Dallas need to be sold as well.

I love the new coach College of Charleston brought in to replace the legendary John Kresse...a guy named Tom Herrion. He was an assistant at Virginia and in his 1st year as a head guy, has C of C exceeding expectations. He's also an incredibly enthusiastic guy who acts like a cheerleader on the sidelines, egging the student section on and acknowledging and thanking them frequently for getting rowdy in support of their team.

Those guys are out there. Before Copeland hired Bennett, who has that type of personality, who would have thought of him as a candidate to replace Cavan?

Having said all that, I'd love to see the Mustangs end the regular season with a 5 game winning streak and play well in the WAC Tourney. Not that it's likely to happen, but would that slow some of this "fire the coach" talk?