First of all, let me tell you how excited I am to write about SMU basketball for PonyFans.com. To be honest with you, I’ve been reading this site ever since my sophomore year and it is an excellent place where the fans can discuss anything — from coaching, recruiting to something completely outside the sports, such as the best burger place in Dallas-Fort Worth area. My goal for this year is just to give you my perspective on the season how I see things as a former player. I might not be correct all the time, or my perspective may be different from your opinion. However, I am open to any discussions and I will do my best to answer any questions that may arise.

A lot has changed since my last season opener at SMU. The new practice facility has been completed (which is definitely a piece of art), and a lot of new players are here to build a program back to the national spotlight. It is exciting time for SMU.

Toronto Raptors star and Dallas native Chris Bosh is among the NBA players against whom SMU players compete in preseason pick-up games (photo by Terry Callahan).

And now is the best time of year for any SMU basketball fan … because it is the official start of a new 2008-09 basketball season. I personally I believe that the players are the most excited that the season opener is finally here! Why? Because they worked extremely hard to get to this point so they can give you, the fans, something to cheer for. It takes a lot of hard work to get to this point and most of the regular fans don’t realize that. That’s why I would like to start off this year by explaining the pre-season training that SMU players go through to get ready for the season.

Coach Doherty used to say, “You must invest something every day in preseason to get the rewards at the end of the season.” For me — a finance and accounting major — it makes total sense. The more you prepare, the more you give in the preseason, the more rewards you receive back during the season.

Once the classes begin in the fall, Coach Doherty likes to start the year by assessing each player’s conditioning. The team would do the Belein Test, which includes a number of ball-handling drills, shooting and a one-mile run. Each drill has a required minimum that the player must reach. This test is repeated at the end of the preseason and each player must pass the minimum requirement to earn an SMU jersey.

The preseason routine is pretty simple: lift and condition three times a week, two hours of individual training and pick-up games at night. Those pick-up games were very competitive, as team would have other players from DFW area joining, such as Chris Bosh (of the Toronto Raptors), Deron Williams (of the Utah Jazz) and former SMU players. It’s great time for younger guys to get some playing experience against the quality opponents. Seriously, if a player does not enjoy competing against the best from NBA, then he should be playing basketball.

Then the official season practices start …

I personally hated the time between the start of the official practices and the season opener! You would always see me tired, beat up. However, most people who are not too familiar with college athletics always say to me: “Oh, man, you are on athletic scholarship, it’s any easy life for you, all you have to do is practice!!!”

Well, my friends, it is not entirely true ¬— ask anyone who played college athletics. Yes, we do get the premier education at SMU for free, but you must understand that it does not come easily. All you do for about a month is practice and practice and practice. There are no games for one month. It has the same routine, same drills, and you practice against the same players.

Right about that time the school gets harder, as most classes have the mid-term exams. You are trying to balance both academic (study halls, tests, papers, quizzes) and athletic lives, and in most cases, there is very little room for a social life. Now, you must understand that the college athletes want to do the same things that the rest of the students do. We do want to hang out with friends, we do want to go out, we do want to enjoy college life as much as possible. It gets pretty hard to do that once the season practices begin. You finally start seeing some light at the end of the tunnel when the scrimmages begin against other schools. You finally get a chance to battle somebody other than your teammates. Coach Doherty prefers the scrimmages, as opposed to exhibition games. It gives Coach the opportunity to test different situations and tactics in a controlled game environment, test the different lineups.

Now, FINALLY, the season opener is here. As a player, you are so excited and nervous at the same time… You are ready to show to everybody all the new set of skills you’ve learned… You are ready for road trips and road games… You are ready to give your very best so that SMU can win as many games as possible. You are ready!!!