Question

[JR]

Tough game tonight, another big loss in another big game. I was wondering, does anyone know how many years are left on Dement's contract? Thanks.

[mulletmike]

2 excruciatingly long ones

[FloridaMustang]

Let's start a petition or something demanding that Copeland fire Dement. Put some pressure on the guy!

[NCPony]

I know Copeland will keep it close to his chest, but does anyone know if this is on his radar screen? Is he concerned? Has he put any pressure on Dement? I'm pretty sure that if I was doing sub-par work (below .500), my boss would tell me I need to get my [deleted] in gear or find another job.
Dement's work needs to speak for itself; I'd say he needs to be "Hooked On Phonics" b/c his work isn't saying anything good.

[Ikus]

Perhaps the man to approach is Scott Secules. When The Commitment was announced, Copeland's duties changed a little, so that while he is still the face/voice of the athletic department, it is Secules who now handles many of the day-to-day responsibilities of the athletic director. Copeland's focus is now largely on raising large (read: "corporate") sponsorship dollars.

Haven't heard word one about how that's going.

[LA_Mustang]

I understand the concerns about Dement but I want to know how many years Copeland has left on his contract?? There seems to be the problem. Outside of getting a new football stadium, tell me one good thing to happen with SMU athletics since he has been here?

[DiamondM]

Sorry this is so long...I really think you're wrong about Copeland. Lots of good things have happened in SMU Athletics since he came. And while many have been in the so-called "non-revenue" sports including a number of individual and team top ten and even #1 rankings, which is more than many ADs can say, there have been some in "revenue" sports as well. You seem to poo poo the stadium, but that in an of itself is a HUGE accomplishment. Hiring of Phil Bennett is another. The Committment (as of Tuesday, after 2 weeks of the fund drive we are already at $810,000 out of a 1.5 million goal due mostly to the Commitment. All of these are the foundation for future success.

Have we been as successful as we would like to have been? No way, but you seem to think that Jim Copeland single-handedly controls when coaches come and go, recruiting restrictions, and budget issues, and thus he is to blame for the shortcomings in the Win/Loss column. So who should we have hired or should we hire now as AD that would (a) have the level of respect in the small Div. I AD community that Copeland does, (b) have stuck with SMU despite all the red tape and handicaps SMU entailed (still entails?), (c) have the Midas touch to turn football and basketball into perennial top 25 tourney/bowl programs, (d) win over donors and board of trustees to spend big money to buy out multiple years of contracts of any coach that loses favor with the alumni?

Dement is not going anywhere this year, and not because Copeland doesn't care or sucks as an AD. Dement shouldn't be going anywhere after this year. We can't afford it, not to mention the fact that we generally start 1 senior, 3 sophmores, and 1 very talented but very green freshman. Next year is a different story because the price is half as high. We'll see then.

This is not a defense of Dement. I jave come to believe that he has lost the ability to motivate his players. And whether or not that is his fault, the players' fault, or just stagnation, it doesn't matter. A coaching change may be in order, just not this year.

[Austin]

For those of you who think Dement hasn't had enough time to turn it around: I encourage you to read this article in ESPN about the turnaround of BYU basketball.

<A HREF="http://espn.go.com/ncb/columns/wojnarowski_adrian/1513643.html" TARGET=_blank>http://espn.go.com/ncb/columns/wojnarowski_adrian/1513643.html</A>

I know this thread was about not being able to buy out Dement's contract, but I just thought this was an interesting perspective for all of the people who keep claiming Dement is such a terrific recruiter that is righting the ship at SMU.

Also, if you think that it would be easier to recruit inner city basketball players to go to Salt Lake City than downtown Dallas, please keep that moronic notion to yourself.

[OldPony]

Austin- Are you saying there is no advantage having the choice of athletes from the entire Mormon population so that you only have to get an occasional good player from without? Or is it that SMU's rich history of basketball and the ability to play in front of 2000 people would excite an inner city kid more than playing in front of 16000. Don't make wild assumptions unless you think for a minute. Is BHop or Kelley or Simpson or Q an inner city kid? I don't think so. These guys have good solid families who want their kids to get good educations. Black does not mean inner city and inner city does not mean good. Did you read the part of the article about how Utah loved basketball? Can the same be said of Texas? Does BYU already have an outstanding football team year in and out to help make them recognizable? Get a grip son. Think. You aren't making like comparisons. One of SMU's biggest drawbacks is when recruits come to Moody and see 2000 rather apathetic fans. Dement has a tough recruiting challenge and does a great job of selling the benefits of the school's education bercause there is nothing else to sell a top player.

[Ringer]

OldPony, you are correct sir!

[Bergermeister]

Dement is going to turn it around.... and he knows that next year is the year to make big strides, no doubt about it. But, I'm not giving up on him. I think we've got all the ingredients now... including the coach! I hope so and you should, too. I just think we've made some bad choices since Bob Prewitt left the sidelines. Mike Dement is (by far) the best we've had since Coach Prewitt.

[OldPony]

Berger- Did you forget Dave Bliss? Dement has not proven himself yet. We all hope he does. If next year isn't a much more successful team then I will no longer have any patience. Q will be very hard to replace but with 4 returning starters and 2 of the top 3 bench strength guys returning, there are no excuses for next year. Dement needs to bring in a shooter who can play defense for next year at the least and a big banger on the boards to challenge our current signees and freshmen but that should not be an insurmoutable task. This team has at times played really well as a team after a horrible start. I think that is due to Dement and growth by a young team. If this hadn't occurred midway through the year, I'd be calling for his job now. Next year- Do or be gone!

[Fresh]

Huh? Have we been watching the same team this year?

I agree, I'm never going to give up on the team, because I'm always loyal to SMU.

However ....

Where does the offense come from? Bryan Hopkins and Justin Isham and Patrick Simpson and Eric Castro have been good but inconsistent, and Q is gone next year.

Convince me about the virtues of the inside game next year. Castro is a nice rebounder with the other team's big men aren't that mobile. Simpson is a nice rebounder with the other team's bug men aren't too burly. Jibran Kelley will be missed more than we know.

Is Isham ready to be a shut-down defender on the perimeter? He'd better be. He should spend the entire offseason chasing Hopkins around at top speed and

Will Brian Miller re-emerge as a shooting threat?

Can any of the 2003 freshmen play? Who knows?

Don't get me wrong, I'll root like hell for the Ponies. (I didn't even miss a game when Shumate was coaching the team into the D-I cellar.) I guess I'm just not as encouraged as you are.

Convince me I'm wrong! Please!

[OldPony]

The best thing about freshmen according to Al McGuire is that they become sophomores. I agree. Look at the growth in Simpson's game. He is a legitimate scorer inside. He will be bigger and stronger next year. BHop will have a season under his belt and should start living up to potential. He hasn't shown much yet but this is a huge learning curve and he was hurt for a large part of the season. Isham seems to have disappeared but he is an excellent athlete and should be able to pick up some of Q's scoring especially inside. Casstro is much better this year and has shown the capability to shoot outside which will help him offensively. He should also come back stronger. Rack should be able to give both Simpson and Castro good quality relief by next year. We do need a quality outside shooter who is quick enough to play good defense. Lowe should be improved some also and BHead has shown that he can help in spots. Team chemistry has improved greatly over this year. I didn't say we would be a top 10 team but I do expect to challenge for the WAC title and a NCAA berth. Time will have run out on Dement from my view if next year's team isn't much better.

[abezontar]

Does anyone remember the time when we had Sasser, Davis, Woods, and company, and everybody expected us to do really well, because we had all this talent.....nothing happened....nothing will ever happen under Dement, I will still be there to support the team through thick and then, but Dement does not know how to get us to where we want to be....he has a lot of great talent, but he doesn't know how to use it. Next year will be no different than this, which was no different from the previous years.