Let's not forget

[Dement-ed]

.... that at the beginning of the season, a lot of people were predicting a very poor record. After all, in each of the last three years, SMU has had reliable, prolific senior scorers/leaders (Sasser/Davis, Hancock, then Ross). As I recall, the posts before the season basically said "well, we've got Hopkins, who will be really good once he's totally healthy, and .... well, let's hope Isham or Simpson or Castro or Miller or someone else really steps up." Maybe it raised expectations too high when the Ponies beat Tech and Purdue. Had we been beaten -- not annihilated, but comfortably beaten -- the current skid might sting just a little less.

I don't want to see any more losses, any more than the rest of the PonyFans. I just wonder if those wins over Tech and Purdue made us expect more than we had a right to.

[TacoPony]

I disagree! at least partially... I agree that we should not have had high expectations, but we still expect a .500 team. We've come to expect that based on Dement's history and based on our raw talent. I'm afraid that it's not looking likely that we'll scare the .500 mark again this season. (the way we're playing we could lose them all)

TP

[Diehard Pony]

I would add that the SMU team that beat Tech and Purdue, and took Wake to the wire in no way resembles the current group. That early team had balanced scoring, good chemistry, and hustle (which translated to better defense and rebounding)...all elements that are currently non-existent.

The early season performances gave all of us hope that this would be an above average Dement season, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, just the opposite has occurred.

<small>[ 01-24-2004, 04:36 PM: Message edited by: Diehard Pony ]</small>

[Charleston Pony]

I felt coming in that we had the makings of another 17-13 team. These guys got my hopes up after beating TTech and Purdue, but the losses to San Diego and App St kept things in perspective.

The FACT of the matter is that, with the exception of San Jose St, the WAC is a pretty decent conference and we don't have the talent to win 20 games against this competition...but there is no question this team is down right now and not playing as hard as they did in some of those early games.

We haven't yet reached the mid-point in conference play and I'm not sure whether we've bottomed out yet or not. This next 4 game stretch should tell us. Would be nice to see us compete on this road trip and then come back home and do something we haven't done in a while...beat either Fresno or Nevada.

I still think these guys are capable of making some noise before the season ends. All they have left to play for is the WAC Tourney and the chance to shock the conference by winning the NCAA bid. Certainly a long shot and out of the question if we continue playing like we are right now, so why not use the complete roster in trying to find the right combinations? I like the way playing time was distributed yesterday and want to see 8-10 guys scoring every game.

Oh well...those of us on this board are "hard core" and we will support this program no matter what. As I tell my cohorts in this part of the country who support ACC or SEC teams when they get down: "try being an SMU fan. That's a TRUE test of character!" We are SO ready to taste success...anything; just a crumb now and then will keep us coming back. And if this bball team doesn't provide any further satisfaction this year, it's on to spring practice!