ESPN SMU Team Preview

[Smerkins]

ESPN put up their team preview for SMU today, picking us to finish 5th. They also project the starting lineup as Yanick, Jalen, Keith, Nick Russell, Nic Moore. It's insider, so I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post the full article, but here is the link.

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college ... t-mustangs

[blackoutpony]

shhhh...... don't tell anyone....

Southern Methodist Mustangs

2012-13: 15-17 (5-11 Conference USA)
In-conference offense: 1.01 points per possession (8th in C-USA)
In-conference defense: 1.02 points allowed per possession (6th in C-USA)

Larry Brown and stability fit about as well together as water and oil. So if there's one program that could still promise to look fundamentally different despite returning all five starters, it's Brown's SMU Mustangs.

The famously transient coach's mission was massive when he arrived at SMU, requiring a major upgrade in talent. So even though he rode his starters hard last season -- each averaged at least 32 minutes per game -- five newcomers will push them for their jobs in 2013-14. "I don't know if any of last year's starters will start," Brown said. "We didn't have any competition for minutes last year. Now they will earn the right to play."

Projected starting lineup
C Yanick Moreira Jr.
F Jalen Jones Jr.
G Keith Frazier Fr.
G Nick Russell Sr.
G Nic Moore So.

That goes for everyone. Guards Nick Russell (14.0 PPG) and Ryan Manuel (12.1 PPG) were two of the top three scorers a year ago. But Russell, the transfer from Kansas State, had nearly as many turnovers (121) as assists (138), and Manuel made just five 3-pointers. Suddenly, they will have a fight for minutes on their hands.

Nic Moore, a 5-foot-9 point guard, joins the team after transferring from Illinois State, where he averaged 10 points and 3.5 assists as a freshman. Brown compares Moore's game to that of former Villanova star Scottie Reynolds and said the Mustangs would have won 25 games with Moore on the roster last season. Moore should allow Russell to move off the ball, where he fits more naturally.

That will threaten Manuel's position, as will the addition of Keith Frazier. The 6-5 shooting guard was a McDonald's All American and the type of prospect SMU couldn't even sniff before Brown came aboard. Frazier is a gifted scorer with deep range and outstanding athleticism, and it will be almost impossible to keep him on the bench. "Keith changed our program," Brown said. "We've never been successful in recruiting inner-city kids in the Dallas Metroplex. Now everywhere I go, kids are interested in us because of Keith."

If that perimeter group doesn't seem deep enough, SMU also has Crandall Head, a defensive-minded transfer from Illinois, and freshmen Sterling Brown and Ben Moore, both out of the Chicago area. It's a good bet, then, that the Mustangs will improve on last season's 22.9 percent turnover rate (313th in the nation) and 98.3 points per 100 possessions (205th).

As competitive as the perimeter will be, the frontcourt is even more jammed. Cannen Cunningham, a 6-10 center, started all 32 games and averaged 9.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. But he'll be hard-pressed to fend off Yanick Moreira, a 6-11 transfer who was the top-rated junior college prospect in the country, according to Rivals. Another transfer, 6-9, 260-pound Markus Kennedy, averaged 4.4 rebounds as a freshman at Villanova. After slimming down this summer, Kennedy can play both the 4 and 5 spots. And Brown still has Jalen Jones (14.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG) and Shawn Williams (8.5 PPG, 5.2 RPG), last season's starting forwards, at his disposal.

Brown's task of meshing the old with the new isn't as large as the issues he inherited at SMU, but it won't be seamless. Still, there's no question that he has significantly upgraded the program's talent level. Now he just to fit everything together which, of course, is what coaching is all about. And over the years, few have done it better than Brown.

Projected 2013-14 conference finish: 5th

[SMU 86]

I think both Kennedy and Moreira start.

[ponyboy]

I'll take fifth in conference.

[PonySnob]

Be interesting to see what the rotation looks like when conference play gets here in January.

[blackoutpony]

I'll take fifth in conference.

So would I. In this conference, that'd be huge

[The PonyGrad]

I think 5th makes the tourney. 6th is likely a bubble team.

[Harry0569]

I think 5th makes the tourney. 6th is likely a bubble team.

But the real question is will Harry0569 and co. see the first conference tourney win since before harry started smu in the fall of 2006?