? for LA_Mustang

[WildHorse]

I saw on the football board where you were inviting someone over here to talk hoops. You said that we have the most talent we've had in years, and a good shot at the NCAAs. Is there something I don't know? Are the new kids projected to make up for Nigel Smith, Jibran Kelley and of course The Q? He, in particular, is going to be really tough to replace.

Fill me in! I want to enjoy hoops season as much as you do.

[LA_Mustang]

No problem, Wildhorse. Your right, Q will be sorely missed. He was Mr Everything for this program. The reason for my optimism is that we finally have a talented frontcourt to complement our backcourt. Castro and Simpson are very solid D-I talented big men and we have a quickly improving true center in Rack.

I believe that Isham can help to fill the void left by Q. If he can start hitting from the outside he will fit nicely in our long line of excellent 2 guards from South Dallas. Lowe should provide us with a stable guard/forward that can hit a big shot and do the little things. And if you ever read my posts you know my take on Hopkins. If he stays healthy, he is the most talented athlete to play at SMU in 20 years. He is truly a special player. As for our freshman, Bennett and Pearson appear to be ready to step in a play immediately. Bennett is an excellent shooter and Pearson is a relentless rebounder. If they can provide some help in those areas that will be a huge lift for this team.

[FloridaMustang]

Reay will be invaluable down the stretch. Mark my words.

Any word on Doto's progress?

[bhop]

In order to see significant improvement over last season, it seems to me that the following must happen:

1. Isham absolutely has to become a more consistant scoring threat. Last season he tended to disappear for long stretches. And by that I mean for several games at a time.

2. Simpson has to score more. If he keeps up what he was doing in the second half of last season, he will be our first serious scoring forward since Poerner (who played more like a guard).

3. The Rack needs to step up and provide some quality minutes off the bench. Otherwise, we are very thin at forward. Although we have Pearson and Reay coming in, I don't usually count on freshman to contribute much. The only difference-making freshmen I have seen in my time at SMU were Sasser and Hopkins.

We lose Q and have some new faces stepping in. There will be a transition period for sure while this team gels. Hopefully, having a fantastic point guard will help ease the transition and get this group playing like a team early in the season.

[OldPony]

The biggest difference is experience. This team played together all of last year with only Q to replace. While that would be a huge task if it was one player who had to pick up the slack, all 4 of the other starters should be better than last year. Isham is a good shooter. He just didn't seem to shoot enough in games where he disappeared. He seemed to lay back and watch Q. I look for him to have a breakout season. Rack must show that he ahs improved a lot in order to get to the dance but he played a lot this summer. I believe the talent is there to start by mid year. I think the jury is still out on BHop but if he is half as good as many of you say, this team could dance. We have some talent in the freshman class and they should be able to contribute off of the bench. If Miller's shot is back, this team will have more offensive options than in recent past. I promise that this will be more fun than football season!!!!!!!!!