USA Today Sportswriter Predicts SMU Makes 2015 Final Four

[MFFL02]

4. Southern Methodist: This year's biggest NCAA tournament snub will be a sleeper Final Four team next season in Larry Brown's third year. The Mustangs bring back virtually their entire roster - which includes Markus Kennedy and Nic Moore - but most important will welcome a high-caliber point guard in Emmanuel Mudiay. SMU wasn't expected to be that good this season so the NCAA tournament omission is deceiving. In 2014-15, however, the expectations should be much, much higher. Come March, this NIT runner-up team should be scary good.

http://www.delmarvanow.com/usatoday/art ... =sportsmod

[Pony ^]

We sure have come a long way in a short time

[ojaipony]

Great pub, but let's pump the breaks on all the Final Four talk (as a rabid SMU fan, those sure are MY expectations but this team still has to prove it can handle prosperity - meaning beat the team you are supposed to beat on the road especially). I have faith that LB won't let these guys get overconfident . . . need to find a chip -- getting snubbed and losing the NIT 'ship should be more than enough. And, Eman, you didn't get the MVP of the McDAAG although you had just as impressive stats as Okafor. They gave more respect to him and Dukie. Time to show them that, in the words of MJ, they "made a mistake, dude."

[EastStang]

I'm excited about next year, but the dance is full of potholes. Look at how many great coaches only have won it once or twice. Guy Lewis never won. LB's mentor, Dean Smith only twice. John Thompson only once. Tark the Shark only once. Al Maguire once. Rick Pitino only twice. If Florida wins this year, Billy Donovan will be in some rarified air with three. We just need to focus on winning each game one by one and see where we end up. We won't surprise anyone this year. And it may be tougher this year to get any tough OOC opponents since they won't want to lose to us.

[Rebel10]

The goal is to win it all but before we set any expectations we need to see how this team plays with the new players. Probably need to wait until our first big test of the season before we start setting expectations. Just take it game by game and let the team's new players gain some chemistry.

[Grant Carter]

The goal is to win it all but before we set any expectations we need to see how this team plays with the new players. Probably need to wait until our first big test of the season before we start setting expectations. Just take it game by game and let the team's new players gain some chemistry.

You should email the USA Today writer if you are worried about it. Are you really saying that people should not speculate about how the season will go until it has already started?

[Rebel10]

The goal is to win it all but before we set any expectations we need to see how this team plays with the new players. Probably need to wait until our first big test of the season before we start setting expectations. Just take it game by game and let the team's new players gain some chemistry.

You should email the USA Today writer if you are worried about it. Are you really saying that people should not speculate about how the season will go until it has already started?

Not worried about anything just stating my opinion. Sorry you don't like it and trying to tell me what to do.. Speculating and expecting are not necessarily the same thing.

[mrydel]

Everybody just quit posting. NOW!!

[orguy]

Many "sportswriters" or so called experts love to make predictions do they not?

Hate to harken back to the Pony Express days of Football but its relevant. Sports Illustrated had SMU as their preseason number 1 in 1985. We had done well in 1984 with Don King and company leading us to an Aloha Bowl Victory (when that bowl actually counted for something) over Notre Dame. A ton of returning talent on the 1985 team led many to believe SMU would contend for a national title.

Looking back I think it just put extra pressure on the players and coaches. Expectations were so high that year. The win over Texas was really the only bright spot that season in retrospect. Getting pummeled by number 1 OU in Norman on ABC was incredibly embarrassing.

Point is preseason expectations should always be tempered no matter how much talent a team has on paper.

[82Pony]

See Kentucky.... Wait, nevermind.

[The PonyGrad]

Good pub at this point can only help. As someone said "soak it in"

It is good for recruits to know that we are in that conversation.