Even when the ball ends up in the basket, Brown is the ultimate teacher who always finds areas for improvement (photo by SMU athletics).

Went to my first basketball practice of the season Friday. Some observations:

• First thing that jumps out: Several players look different this year. Forward/post Cannen Cunningham and guard Ryan Manuel look visibly stronger than they did last season, and forward Markus Kennedy looks like he’s in better shape — much better shape. He’s listed on the roster at 245 pounds, which is down 15 from last year’s listed weight of 260. Haven’t seen him run yet (they’re warming up), but he looks leaner.

• The idea that Kennedy is just a back-to-the-basket big guy is inaccurate. In warm-ups, he has shot several three-pointers. Not all have gone in, but some have, and his shot is an effortless flick of the wrist. He looks like he could shoot from much further, if he had to. Whether the coaches would want him to, or would let him, is another matter altogether, but Kennedy can fire them from a long way.

• Remember the statement head coach Larry Brown made when he was hired? Something about “we’re going to play man (defense) and pick you up at the airport”? Brown said throughout his first season on the Hilltop that the Mustangs’ man-to-man defense would improve dramatically as the team gets more athletic. Suffice to say, the team is more athletic. When Brown made his now-famous proclamation, the perception for many was that the Mustangs’ perimeter players would be flying around on defense, but make no mistake: everyone is involved. Cunningham, Kennedy, Yanick Moreira, Ben Moore … everyone does the same drills on defense, just like everyone does ball-handling drills and shooting drills. A lot of teams leave their bigs under the rim, rooted in place. What they’ll do defensively in games remains to be seen, but rest assured, this is active and athletic a group of big guys as SMU has had in years.

• For the past year, there have been rumors about guard Nic Moore, the transfer point guard from Illinois State. Head coach Larry Brown has raved about Moore’s ability as a “pure” point guard, accolades that are based in part on Moore’s exceptional quickness. What has drawn less attention is Moore’s ability to stop as quickly as he accelerates, an ability he uses to create separation to shoot over fast guards, even those who enjoy a considerable height advantage over the 5-foot-9-inch Moore.

• Ryan Manuel’s jump shot looks smoother, and he hit it pretty consistently. But one of the most interesting things about practice was that the coaches didn’t comment even once about making shots. They talked about running a play correctly, coming off screens, putting a pass in a place where only its intended recipient could reach it, with the assumption that if those things are done correctly, the shots will fall. At one point, he stopped a play to discuss some of the fine points of setting effective screens, rather than focusing on the shot that was produced as a result of the screen. Said Brown: “a good screener always gets open,” adding that a half-hearted screener “usually never gets a shot.”

• Brown can’t stop teaching. On several occasions, the players ran a specific play, ending with a shot or dunk. But Brown was quick to point out that even one bobbled pass potentially can result in a turnover, and had the team run the same play over again, until it was run with no bobbled or juggled passes.

• Yanick Moreira should make an impact on the defensive end of the floor, and make it quickly. Yes, most players who are an inch shy of seven feet and have long arms will block some shots, but Moreira is fast and a quick leaper. In addition to the shots he blocks, he’ll alter more.

• Moreira also has a decent array of moves in the low post, and is smoother when he puts the ball on the floor than many big men.

• All in the family? PonyFans are well aware that Prime Prep point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, one of the top high school players in the nation, has committed to play next year for the Mustangs, and that his brother, Jean-Michael, has enrolled this fall. The transfer from Western Texas College is a strong player with a soft shot. Whether he is as good a passer as his brother remains to be seen, but he does have a knack for it. At one point, during full team (five-on-five) drills, he swung to the top of the key, where he had an open shot. But before pulling the trigger, he spotted forward Ben Moore sliding down the baseline toward the rim, and threaded a laser pass through three defenders to Moore for the easy lay-up. Mudiay’s shot was a good one, but he saw Moore’s was better.