We are better than Memphis... in BBall?

[davidpaul123]

Recruit DJ Stephens chose Memphis and had this to say...

"I went down to their camp and they saw me play, and after that, they pretty much said that I wasn't good enough to get into SMU and they needed a player of a better caliber than me

"But Memphis and SMU are in the same conference (Conference USA) and I'm going to Memphis, who won their conference last year."

http://www.kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?s=35250

[MidlandMustang]

Wow, I guess all of a sudden we're just loaded with talent.

[MrMustang1965]

WTF?

[White Helmet]

maybe he meant academically?

[davidpaul123]

maybe he meant academically?

that was the only thing i could think of as well.

[03Mustang]

We do need some top-flight talent to make up for the mediocre coaching - that much is true

[MidlandMustang]

I was thinking he was talking about academics as well. However, he ended it by saying that he was told we needed "a player of better caliber than him." That's what got me.

[Stallion]

This is a 2009 Recruit right? Memphis got left shorthanded because of the Coaching change and defections of its prior commitments to Kentucky and elsewhere. Another guy went Pro right. Almost their entire roster has turned over in a year. They are probably looking for a body to fill out their Roster. Doesn't really look like your typical Memphis recruit. And is SMU really looking for a tweener. Although reportedly SMU could give one more scholarship this year I encourage Doherty to pocket it or save it for a D1A transfer rather than gambling on a project. I could be wrong but I think this is more a case of Memphis scrambling than SMU overlooking a guy

[davidpaul123]

This is a 2009 Recruit right? Memphis got left shorthanded because of the Coaching change and defections of its prior commitments to Kentucky and elsewhere. Another guy went Pro right. Almost their entire roster has turned over in a year. They are probably looking for a body to fill out their Roster. Doesn't really look like your typical Memphis recruit. And is SMU really looking for a tweener. Although reportedly SMU could give one more scholarship this year I encourage Doherty to pocket it or save it for a D1A transfer rather than gambling on a project. I could be wrong but I think this is more a case of Memphis scrambling than SMU overlooking a guy

yeah, this is a 09 recruit. If this is a stretch for memphis, then it is DEFINATELY a stretch since even we didnt sound interested.

[PonyDoh]

Stallion nailed it. They were down to 7 scholarship players ever since Martin Ngalaro got hurt. They'll jump to 8 when/if Elliot Williams is cleared. This kid allows them to scrimmage. Pastner wouldn't sniff him otherwise. Our staff could use some tact, though. This isn't the first time we've heard these types of stories.

[FriscoPMG]

Surely there is more to this kid's story since he had some pretty decent offers from C-USA schools(Tulsa, Southern Miss) before either he waited too long or they withdrew them. But without knowing the full story or knowing whether we're looking to use that extra scholarship in a different way, seems odd that we would flat out tell a kid he's not good enough to play here when better schools in our conference were all interested in him.
I don't know anything about the kid other than what this story says, but I'd think any athletic "big man" would fit into this rotation if he has any skills at all. I guess we already kind of have that in Mook, but if Papa has another year like he did last season, then we'll need any help we can get with physical play down low...even if it is from a 6'5 guy. And if he can get out and run with the guards, then that's an added bonus.
Regardless, the kid's quote certainly makes the SMU coaches sound a bit foolish and arrogant even if they weren't meant to come off that way.

[PonyDoh]

Surely there is more to this kid's story since he had some pretty decent offers from C-USA schools(Tulsa, Southern Miss) before either he waited too long or they withdrew them. But without knowing the full story or knowing whether we're looking to use that extra scholarship in a different way, seems odd that we would flat out tell a kid he's not good enough to play here when better schools in our conference were all interested in him.
I don't know anything about the kid other than what this story says, but I'd think any athletic "big man" would fit into this rotation if he has any skills at all. I guess we already kind of have that in Mook, but if Papa has another year like he did last season, then we'll need any help we can get with physical play down low...even if it is from a 6'5 guy. And if he can get out and run with the guards, then that's an added bonus.
Regardless, the kid's quote certainly makes the SMU coaches sound a bit foolish and arrogant even if they weren't meant to come off that way.

our staff does tell kids they aren't good enough. I know of one local w/a Tulsa offer that was told he couldn't play at SMU, wasn't good enough. That said, if that same kid gave a verbal to SMU tomorrow, you'd all be pissed that we offered the kid.

[FriscoPMG]

our staff does tell kids they aren't good enough. I know of one local w/a Tulsa offer that was told he couldn't play at SMU, wasn't good enough. That said, if that same kid gave a verbal to SMU tomorrow, you'd all be pissed that we offered the kid.

Why would we (assume I'm included in the "you'd all") be pissed if we got a verbal from a kid who was offered by Tulsa or other similar schools? I would much rather be beating out the likes of a Tulsa (or other schools above us in C-USA) for a kid instead of regularly flirting with higher touted recruits only to eventually lose out to a major program. Until we start winning, we have to build a foundation on solid players instead of putting our hopes on landing studs like McCoy. Yes, I know you have to try for those higher ranked kids and you never know, but obviously you can't rely on hitting the home run every time when you're not a big hitter.

[PonyDoh]

our staff does tell kids they aren't good enough. I know of one local w/a Tulsa offer that was told he couldn't play at SMU, wasn't good enough. That said, if that same kid gave a verbal to SMU tomorrow, you'd all be pissed that we offered the kid.

Why would we (assume I'm included in the "you'd all") be pissed if we got a verbal from a kid who was offered by Tulsa or other similar schools? I would much rather be beating out the likes of a Tulsa (or other schools above us in C-USA) for a kid instead of regularly flirting with higher touted recruits only to eventually lose out to a major program. Until we start winning, we have to build a foundation on solid players instead of putting our hopes on landing studs like McCoy. Yes, I know you have to try for those higher ranked kids and you never know, but obviously you can't rely on hitting the home run every time when you're not a big hitter.

I don't disagree. I see people getting excited by Keaton Miles, Michael Cobbins and laugh. All you can do is make a pitch and go hard after those kids, but don't have actual expectations of landing them. Obviously, we want to beat out Tulsa for players as well, but the aforementioned kid was offered to fill a role. His other offers are Northern Arizona, San Diego etc. Basically, he's not a need for us, and if we're to be good in the near future, you have to do better then the kid. I wouldn't have offered the kid who just went to Memphis either. We aren't short on role players, we need a few difference-makers.

[MustangLaxer]

my guess is that he is a ruh-tard...like rainman