Game Thread Mens bball vs ASU

[Mustangs_Maroons]

I fear we may not win a conference game next year. This is not the right coach to take SMU into the ACC. It should be easier to turn around a basketball team than a football team, if one has the right coach and staff.

[redpony]

mm - totally agree. but how long will it take for our 'ad' to realize this and implement a change? I suspect this coach will destroy any interest in our bball program and if he is here next year will be a complete embarrassment for the university and the person whose name is on the court. I seriously doubt our BMDs will do anything to replace him anytime soon.
This is his second year and all can see how poorly he has recruited, even with the NIL. Compare that to RL who won a conference championship his second year.

[Charleston Pony]

Really disappointing watching this team fold after ASU turned up the pressure. Williamson is such a poor shooter he's a liability having him on the floor at crunch time. Really pathetic performance at the moment. Eleven 2nd half turnovers. This ASU team is not a very good team but either are we. Williamson just fouled out. Too bad we don't have another talented three

I always want to say the best about players, but there is one that is continually a liability when he is on the floor. I keep hearing about how great he is, then he dribbles it off his knee, or throws it away in the corner. I don't blame him for the loss. This was a team meltdown. We need better from Everyone.

This was an SMU win with just a little extra effort.

Williamson has clearly never recovered his shooting touch after his injury but he remains a very talented player who does a lot to help this team. He plays good D and rebounds as well as anyone on this team, I just don't like him taking perimeter shots or standing at the FT line at crunch time but opposing teams are going to look to shut down Harris and do what they can against Phelps so they often leave Williamson more open and it's tough to turn down open looks. The guys were constantly driving into the paint but too many of ASU's 5 blocks came in crunch time last night

[Charleston Pony]

I fear we may not win a conference game next year. This is not the right coach to take SMU into the ACC. It should be easier to turn around a basketball team than a football team, if one has the right coach and staff.

I miss Larry Brown basketball but Hall of Fame coaches just don't grow on trees. It is so frustrating watching our guys play so much one on one ball and our offense features too much throwing it around the perimeter until someone forces a drive down the lane. Not much inside out basketball, not much effective screening and pick and roll...the kind of stuff we saw routinely when LB was running the show.

Lanier's teams have always been built around intense defensive effort and I will credit our guys for that. We out rebounded ASU 43-33 and got 12 more FG attempts than they did but even the announcers acknowledged the refs were calling ticky tack fouls...we had 27 to ASU's 17 resulting in ASU's making more FTs (32) than we attempted (19). It didn't help that we made only 10 of those attempts but making more than your opponent attempts was always a Matt Doherty team's goal

[redpony]

CP- agree with most of your analysis. Since you follow this team and bball in general much closer than most do you have any ideas who might be available as a replacement for next year? Obviously we need a LB2 but doubt if they exist. IMO a top level experienced P5 coach is necessary to move us forward and at least make us middle of the pack in the ACC.
Appreciate any ideas.

[Hop Sing]

I fear we may not win a conference game next year. This is not the right coach to take SMU into the ACC. It should be easier to turn around a basketball team than a football team, if one has the right coach and staff.

I miss Larry Brown basketball but Hall of Fame coaches just don't grow on trees. It is so frustrating watching our guys play so much one on one ball and our offense features too much throwing it around the perimeter until someone forces a drive down the lane. Not much inside out basketball, not much effective screening and pick and roll...the kind of stuff we saw routinely when LB was running the show.

Lanier's teams have always been built around intense defensive effort and I will credit our guys for that. We out rebounded ASU 43-33 and got 12 more FG attempts than they did but even the announcers acknowledged the refs were calling ticky tack fouls...we had 27 to ASU's 17 resulting in ASU's making more FTs (32) than we attempted (19). It didn't help that we made only 10 of those attempts but making more than your opponent attempts was always a Matt Doherty team's goal

Great synopsis, and the one on one ball drives me crazy.

[EastStang]

Unfortunately, one on one seems to be the trend now. I see it a lot in high school games.

[Charleston Pony]

CP- agree with most of your analysis. Since you follow this team and bball in general much closer than most do you have any ideas who might be available as a replacement for next year? Obviously we need a LB2 but doubt if they exist. IMO a top level experienced P5 coach is necessary to move us forward and at least make us middle of the pack in the ACC.
Appreciate any ideas.

I don't see David Miller and Rick Hart giving up on Lanier as easily as some of our fans would like. I will follow this team in hopes they continue to improve as the season wears on but right now this looks like a .500 team in AAC play to me. We clearly need more fire power and I think Lanier will get another year to shop the portal (especially since he now has the ACC affiliation to help in recruiting)

Hindsight is 20/20 but we had our chance to go after Rick Pitino before he went to Iona, but with our history our administration is not going to take chances on anyone the least bit controversial

[Charleston Pony]

Unfortunately, one on one seems to be the trend now. I see it a lot in high school games.

On the season, this team has 155 assists vs 121 turnovers which is a ratio you like to see, but in our losses we have had more turnovers than assists and last night was just another example, Our guys shot pretty well last night but just got killed against ASU's press and that was a huge disappointment to me given the number of pretty talented guards we have this year. We just don't have a Nic Moore or K.D. Guys who were one man press breakers who could make an opponent pay for trying to press with layups and slam dunks on the other end. We blew the one opportunity we finally had at that last night after finally throwing over the top of ASU's press.

[shadowman]

What an awful game from Williamson.

After making the first basket of the game, he never made another one, kept launching threes, kept turning the ball over, and kept making stupid fouls.

FTs really hurt this game, we couldn't make them and we didn't adjust to the refs calling the game tight and put them on the line way too many times.

Hopefully we are learning from these close losses and will be ready for conference play.

[GHammond]

Williamson is truly awful...not sure his value? #Liability Team is close to unwatchable at times, lots of times.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

I'm on eastern time, so I had to turn it off at halftime so I could be functional the next day. SMU was looking good at the half, and yet when I looked yesterday and saw the final score I was not at all surprised. Too bad. Had Wisconsin on the ropes and let it slip away, had Dayton on the ropes and let it slip away, had ASU on the ropes and let it slip away. . .

[rootertooter]

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Hopefully they learn to win.

[Charleston Pony]

I'm on eastern time, so I had to turn it off at halftime so I could be functional the next day. SMU was looking good at the half, and yet when I looked yesterday and saw the final score I was not at all surprised. Too bad. Had Wisconsin on the ropes and let it slip away, had Dayton on the ropes and let it slip away, had ASU on the ropes and let it slip away. . .

Good thing you quit watching at half because we came out playing really well in the 1st 10 minutes of the 2nd half and ASU looked horrible as we built a 13 point lead. I was feeling pretty good until ASU turned up the defensive pressure with a full court press and we repeatedly in bounded to someone in coffin corner leading to turnover after turnover. It was really frustrating to watch and before you knew it we went from up 13 to down 6. The final score was closer than that game really was in the last couple of minutes as Zhuric nailed a pointless 3 at the buzzer. Yes...this team has a problem closing out games!

[geezerdonk]

You can always count on SMU basketball - blow a double digit second half lead - lose by two while shooting free throws at 52%.
Overall performing much better than expected so far but there is a long season ahead. Surprised that there have been no blowouts.