Keith

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

Is it just me, or is Keith starting to look pretty darn good out there? Still very raw, and at times his shots are just plain ugly (I remember a couple of long jumpers last night that weren't really close), but the times when he looks like a stud out there seem to be increasing by a lot. And his D last night was absolutely stifling. The only time I really got mad at Keith last night was when he got the T after a strong defensive play. In the past, I think I've gotten mad at Keith on average several times a game. I'm starting to become a big fan.

[Pony_Law]

I'll trade a few mistakes and a technical every now and then for the energy he is bringing every night.

[Pony ^]

He made Levert look like a lost child on offense

[malonish]

I still chuckle every time the crowd goes KEEIIIITH when he shoots a 3.

[gostangs]

He is becoming our blanket. There is nothing more annoying to the other team than to have their best shooter get "the blanket". It unsettles everything, especially on the road.

[Junior]

He is becoming our blanket. There is nothing more annoying to the other team than to have their best shooter get "the blanket". It unsettles everything, especially on the road.

Like Ryan's role last year.

[smusportspage]

He is becoming our blanket. There is nothing more annoying to the other team than to have their best shooter get "the blanket". It unsettles everything, especially on the road.

Like Ryan's role last year.

With some offense thrown in!

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

He is playing a ton better this season - on both ends, but I wouldn't have let him back in after that ridiculous T last night.

[Ponyneighbor]

I guess I'm in the minority on PFs, but I have a more neutral outlook on him.

Pros:
He clearly has God-given talent as a shooter. Despite his awful mechanics, he's reasonably accurate from long range, and you see it even more at the foul line, where he has to plant his feet and doesn't double-clutch
He's an athletic, active and willing defender now. This makes him a nuisance to opposing ball handlers
I love how enthusiastically he encourages his teammates and gets the crowd into the game. His histrionics are generally good-natured and intended to benefit the team

Cons:
I really think he's got among the lowest basketball IQs I've ever seen. He clearly still doesn't know the playbook after 3 years in this system. I get the sense he could play for Larry for 7 years and his teammates would still be telling him where to go on the floor
He's emotionally unstable/fragile. This is the flipside of #3 above, but it rears its ugly head particularly in road games, where he is generally a shadow of the player he is at home when dealing with the adversity those games present. I still don't trust him to show up in road games or in tense situations
This is related to the first point, but his shot selection is still really bad. He passes up the good shots (e.g., open looks he gets when we run our offense properly) and takes bad ones

This, of course, is on top of the NCAA stuff, which admittedly may be biasing my perspective here.

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

Interesting comments Neighbor. In Keith's defense, I'll say 2 things:

1. Keith today vs. Keith during his freshman year is night and day. The improvement has been tremendous.

2. There was a time when I thought Keith's primary contribution to the program was that he was a McDonald's All-American who chose SMU, which gave us cred. While that is still significant, I don't think of him primarily in those terms anymore. The guy contributes.

[ponyte]

KF seems to have improved significantly over the last two years. And sure one half of the season last year he sat out.

I do remember another great SMU recruit that didn't look Hall of Fame his first two years and that was Eric Dickerson. He too had to learn and work to improve. He did and so too it appears KF.

[Ponyneighbor]

Interesting comments Neighbor. In Keith's defense, I'll say 2 things:

1. Keith today vs. Keith during his freshman year is night and day. The improvement has been tremendous.

2. There was a time when I thought Keith's primary contribution to the program was that he was a McDonald's All-American who chose SMU, which gave us cred. While that is still significant, I don't think of him primarily in those terms anymore. The guy contributes.

Agree with both.

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Yes. Please don't take compliments on Keith being much better this season as saying he is awesome or anything. That is certainly not the case.

[mavsrage311]

I guess I'm in the minority on PFs, but I have a more neutral outlook on him.

Pros:
He clearly has God-given talent as a shooter. Despite his awful mechanics, he's reasonably accurate from long range, and you see it even more at the foul line, where he has to plant his feet and doesn't double-clutch
He's an athletic, active and willing defender now. This makes him a nuisance to opposing ball handlers
I love how enthusiastically he encourages his teammates and gets the crowd into the game. His histrionics are generally good-natured and intended to benefit the team

Cons:
I really think he's got among the lowest basketball IQs I've ever seen. He clearly still doesn't know the playbook after 3 years in this system. I get the sense he could play for Larry for 7 years and his teammates would still be telling him where to go on the floor
He's emotionally unstable/fragile. This is the flipside of #3 above, but it rears its ugly head particularly in road games, where he is generally a shadow of the player he is at home when dealing with the adversity those games present. I still don't trust him to show up in road games or in tense situations
This is related to the first point, but his shot selection is still really bad. He passes up the good shots (e.g., open looks he gets when we run our offense properly) and takes bad ones

This, of course, is on top of the NCAA stuff, which admittedly may be biasing my perspective here.

This is pretty spot-on. It's hard not to notice how much better he is at home vs. on the road. Unfortunately, I agree with what you said about his basketball IQ, and about passing up good shots and taking bad ones. Still, he's a player you start and ride for as long as you have him.

[skyscraper]

The past two years, any time Keith had the ball I'd worry because I'd have no idea what was about to happen.
This year I don't worry too much anymore. He's improving as a player, which is all I can ask, but definitely still has more room for improvement too.