The SMU men’s basketball team has a decidedly different look on the eve of the 2010-11 opener at 8 p.m. Friday at Moody Coliseum against Arkansas-Little Rock, and it has nothing to do with the departure of four players who either started or were regulars in the Mustangs’ rotation last year.

“This is the most relaxed, confident team we’ve had,” SMU head coach Matt Doherty said, “because the program is healthier than it has been since I’ve been here. We’ve got good young players, we’ve got good recruits, we’ve got a great staff. Things are in place.

Senior forward Papa Dia led all returning players last year in virtually every statistical category (photo by Travis Johnston).

“I think the schedule fits, but we’re already talking about major upgrades next year as the talent continues to grow. Does that mean we’ll win 25 games? Probably not, but things are in place for this program to really grow.”

The Mustangs are coming off a 14-17 season that included a 7-9 mark against Conference USA opponents and a 10-7 mark in games played at Moody. Guard Derek Williams — who led the Mustangs last year in minutes, points, field goals, free throws and assists — and forward Mouhammad Faye graduated, while guard Paul McCoy and forward Frank Otis transferred.

Doherty and his staff — which includes first-year assistants Larry Mangino and Jerry Hobbie, as well as holdover Reggie Brown — will rely heavily on the veterans on a Mustang team that includes six seniors. Leading the way is forward/center Papa Dia, who leads all returning players in virtually all categories, including: games started (31), field goals (143), field goals attempted (263), free throws (96), free throws attempted (120), offensive rebounds (94), defensive rebounds (172), total rebounds (266), assists (40), blocker shots (38) and points (382/12.3 per game).

“(Dia) has grown so much as a player, and does so many things for us,” Doherty said. “His biggest growth is from an emotional standpoint. He’s able to manage his emotions more maturely, and that makes him a better player and a better leader.”

Dia echoed his coach’s sentiments, and said his ability to lead the team this year will be affected significantly by his improved emotional maturity.

“I’m an emotional guy — I always have been,” Dia said. “I used to get calls against me and let them bother me. This year, I feel like I’ll be able to take a deep breath and move on to the next play, because that’s what the team needs me to do.”

Dia, who was named second-team preseason all-Conference USA by the league’s coaches, and first team by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and by Athlon Sports, is the Mustangs’ unquestioned leader heading into the season, but expects major contributions from several teammates, including forward Robert Nyakundi, who has impressed his teammates and coaches with significantly improved strength and athleticism, and freshman point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas.

“Rob (Nyakundi) is much more athletic,” Dia said. “He worked really hard this offseason. He drove over every day from Arlington to work on his game and lift weights, and it shows.

“(Samarrippas) is a good shooter and a good passer. He’s very quick. He’s good going to his left and his right, and he has a very high basketball IQ. He’s a freshman, so he doesn’t really know the college game yet, but he’s smart and he works hard. He’s going to be good.”

The Mustangs will be without three newcomers who were expected to be a part of the rotation. Freshmen Leslee Smith and Ricmonds Vilde have yet to be cleared academically by the NCAA due to international transcript issues, while sophomore Aliaksei Patsevich awaits NCAA clearance on issues related to amateurism because he played on a team while he was still in Europe that included professional players.

“As we enter the year, thinking we’re going to have those guys, we’re thinking we have depth, rebounding, shooting,” Doherty said. “Those are three guys who probably were going to be in our top six or seven — that’s a big blow.”

Head coach Matt Doherty said his program is the "healthiest" it has been during his tenure (photo by Travis Johnston).

Doherty and Dia admit that the absence of Smith, Vilde and Petsevich, coupled with the departures of Williams, Faye, McCoy and Otis means that this year’s team — while more experienced than last year’s squad, with its six seniors and four juniors (although transfer guard London Giles is sitting out, per NCAA transfer rules) — is less athletic than last year’s Mustangs. Doherty said that the dropoff can be overcome through improved execution.

“I think offensively, we’ll be at another level compared to last year,” he said. “We installed this spread offense last year, sort of like what Georgetown runs, and the guys are so much more comfortable in the system now. That offense is really Larry Mangino’s area of expertise, and he is helping us make it smoother and more efficient. We’re also better shooters than last year, which is where Jerry Hobbie is a huge help.

“I think we’ll be pretty good defensively. We played a lot of zone last year, and we’ll play more this year, with some man-to-man sprinkled in. So while we might have lost a little athleticism, we should execute better on both ends, and this is also where attention to detail, studying scouting reports … this is where things like that come in.”

Doherty said the Mustangs are healthier than last year, and in better physical condition because of increased effort in the team’s offseason conditioning program.

“The guys have worked really hard with (strength and conditioning coach) Karl Jordan, who has done a great job with this team,” Doherty said. “The biggest change is probably Rob (Nyakundi). If you remember, when he got here as a freshman, he was out of shape and didn’t play because he couldn’t finish his mile time. He came back, but last year he had heel and knee injuries, so he was never really at top speed. Now, he’s dunking on people every day in practice. He’s quicker, he’s faster and he’s more explosive. He’s not just a long shooter anymore. Being healthy and being in shape will help him a lot on both ends of the floor.”

Samarippas will quarterback a relatively small backcourt that should include Mike Walker as the other starter, along with Ryan Harp, Rodney Clinkscales and University of North Texas transfer Collin Mangrum coming off the bench. Up front, junior Justin Haynes will start along with Dia and Nyakundi; they will be backed up by a rotation of front-court players that includes centers Myles Luttman and Tomasz Kwiatkowski.

The new look and feel around the program, Dia said, stems from the coaching staff. Doherty appears more relaxed, even if he must wait for the influx of new talent, and Mangino and Hobbie bring what Dia said is more “swagger” to the team.

“Coach Hobbie told us that when he was at the University of Houston, they would play SMU and say, ‘they (SMU) have a nice gym, but that’s all — let’s go at them,’” Dia said. “Well, he gave us the heads-up. It’s our turn to go at other teams now.”