TOLEDO RAINING 3's

[Stallion]

are we talking Basketball now right? Because I can tell you I expect it to get worse before it gets better. This is the year all that senior and junior leadership was supposed to lead us into contention for NIT and NCAA Tourney bids with that moron Dement gone. It ain't happening and with the prospect of losing Castro, Simpson and Isham SMU will take a step back next year-maybe 2 or 3 if Hopkins leaves. In case you haven't noticed recruiting has been VERY SPOTTY over the last few years and it will show next year. With Reay, The Rack, Ike and Ritter in the center this team will flounder inside next year. I'm not going to name names but I think that easily more than half of next year's roster are questionable Division 1A prospects.

[Charleston Pony]

I'm certainly one of those who thought this senior laden team would make a run at the post season, but this group has played "walking wounded" all year so who knows what might have been? Although losing the 3 seniors is going to hurt, if BHop returns for his senior season I think next year's team has a chance to be at least as good as this year's version. We may suffer in the low post, but with the addition of Willingham and if Roberts comes back healthy, I like our depth in the backcourt and that is without knowing whether the Williams kid will help add another 3 pt threat. College basketball is full of teams who pull upsets because they have quality guard play, and next year's team has that opportunity. Pearson appears to be coming along nicely at the 3 so if any of the low post guys turn out to be factors, don't be surprised if next year's team is every bit as competitive as this group.

[PK]

No question that Tubbs will have his hands full next year and that recruiting will need to improve to the next level from where it has been, but Tubbs appears to be the kind of coach that gets his players to perform up to their potential. Whether or not that potential is sufficient is debatable I'm sure. It has taken awhile for his methods to have an affect, but at least to my eyes, everyone is playing better now than they did last year. I'm thinking we may all be in for a surprise in how next year's team plays...not that we will necessarily see post season, but I think we will at least be very competitive. After a slow start, Hopkins has improved and would probably benefit himself as well as the team to stick around for another year of Tubb's coaching.

[DallasDiehard]

you know it's funny if you check the SMU season stats Castro almost has as many Turnovers as Hopkins (68-61) and he probably touches the ball 1/3 to 1/4 of the time that Hopkins does. I bet Castros numbers rank very high in the country for turnovers by a Center yet he is considered-probably correctly to be having a nice year.

On the contrary, I would bet that Castro's turnover numbers are LOW for a big man. And of course he turns the ball over a higher percentage of the time than Hopkins. If he (at 6-8, 260, or whatever he is) could handle the ball like an all-conference point guard, he'd have every team in the NBA throwing games on purpose to try to get more ping-pong balls in the lottery.
Are you going to call out Hopkins for not rebounding like Castro? Apples and oranges, amigo.

[DallasDiehard]

are we talking Basketball now right? Because I can tell you I expect it to get worse before it gets better....

You? What a surprise.

.... This is the year all that senior and junior leadership was supposed to lead us into contention for NIT and NCAA Tourney bids with that moron Dement gone....

That's classy

.... It ain't happening and with the prospect of losing Castro, Simpson and Isham SMU will take a step back next year-maybe 2 or 3 if Hopkins leaves. In case you haven't noticed recruiting has been VERY SPOTTY over the last few years and it will show next year. With Reay, The Rack, Ike and Ritter in the center this team will flounder inside next year. I'm not going to name names....

Um .... didn't you just do that?
Come on, Stallion, you're better than this.

[Stallion]

well then tell us which two are going to step up -The Rack 2.0 ppg 1.5 rpg (2004), Reay 1.4 ppg 1.0 rpg, Ofoegbu 1.1 ppg 1.0 rpg, or Ritter .5 ppg .8 rpg. I don't think it should surprise anyone that this is probably the weakest group of returning frontcourt players that I can recall. This is a critical weakness to building this program. How would YOU rate this group?

[PK]

OK, the Rack has been out all year, so no telling what he will really be like next year except older and perhaps more mature. As for the others you mentioned, they have averaged less than 10 minutes a game...obviously not able at this point to replace the starters, but with more playing time they might improve their ppg's, etc. My understanding is that Roberts is suppose to be a shooter (his 3 pt percentage isn't too far behind Hopkins...of course he hasn't made near as may attempts as Hopkins) and Devon has been making a mark lately with his play. When it is all said and done, maybe all we need next year out of the front court is good defense and let the guards put up the points. We definitely need Hopkins back.

[DickerJames]

Unfortunately I agree with Stallion that next year on paper doesn't look too good. The great thing about basketball is that one player can change everything. The Aussie down in Waco sure has changed that team, so I have hope that one of next years freshmen will be that guy for us. If not then it will probably be rough.

[Corso]

Badmouthing recent recruiting efforts while conveniently leaving out Derrick Roberts, Devon Pearson, Dez Willingham, etc., is selective criticism, and underscores the idea that if you're careful, you can make numbers back up whatever point you want to make.

If Hop and Roberts and Willingham combine for 50-55 points per game next year, and Pearson adds 12-15 ppg., this team doesn't look so bad. And those numbers are possible. No, we won't challenge the top teams in the country, but the doom and gloom is a bit premature.

[DickerJames]

I assume you are not responding to my post because I certainly haven't "badmouthed" anyone, but I will clarify my opinion. I think Pearson, Roberts and Hopkins are great but after that it gets real dicey. As I said before, IF one of the freshmen is a stud then there is our hope, but if he's not then we look pretty mediocre on paper. Good news is paper don't mean nutin.

[Hoop Fan]

This same team was 12-18 last year, 5-13 in the WAC. Even with 3 seniors coming back, this was obviously a team with some serious weaknesses. Alot of you point out the Purdue win last year, but fail to realize Purdue was overrated and subsequently proved it. People also forget that 3 days before the Purdue win, SMU suffered one of its worst home losses in memory: Appalalacian State. The bottom line is this group had to have everything go right this year to contend for the postseason. Everything has not gone right to say the least. Significant injuries and 4 extremely close losses to Rice, La Tech, Fresno and Utep. If we don't have injuries and defensive breakdowns on final possessions and 3 of those go the other way you are sitting at 15-8 and in serious NIT contention right now. I know, if your aunt had balls she'd be your uncle, but last possession losses are huge and thats where veteran teams have to show their experience. We just are not tough enough defensively at key times, seniors or not, and its as much or more physical as mental.

As for next year, its truly too early to say. You have 3 solid starters you can already pencil in for next year in Willingham, Roberts and Pearson, thats not bad. You might have Hopkins back, I'd say its 50/50. You also have a final scholarship to give, which I would bet Tubbs is looking for someone who can contribute right away to sign in the late signing period. He is in position to promise a starting spot to someone, that can be a big hook. And I dont want to start the Bamba Fall debate again, but he will be an upgrade defensively in the post from day 1. Castros scoring will be hard to replace, but its not a big enough deal to proclaim doom and gloom compared to this years team.

[Charleston Pony]

Those who assume next year's team will fare poorly because none of the returning low post players have shown the ability to score should consider the probability that next year's team will get most of it's scoring from the 1-2-3 spots. The low post guys will need to block the lane and rebound. Garbage points from those guys will be a bonus. Yes, I expect we will striggle in a half court game, but one thing is certain...with Rack and Bamba in the low post, Tubbs will have more height than SMU has has in the low post since...well, I don't remember when.

[OldPony]

This team should have been good in SMU terms. They aren't. We can say Purdue wasn't good last year nor TT but we haven't beaten anyone as good this year.
Tubbs' team has continued to give up the 3's that were dumb ole Dement's fault with his stupid zone. They still rely on 1 person to score like that bad ole Dement did. They are still recruiting projects at the post like dumb ole Dement.
We have mature guards this year. Saying that mature guards will help us win next year is somewhat funny. Next year will not be any more pleasant to watch and could be disastrous. This board is getting smaller in number of posters and it appears that SMU gets smaller and smaller "crowds". CUSA can't get here quickly enough. I hope it will start a reversal of fortunes.This is one sad program right now. That is why OP only reads the board on occasion now and posts seldomly. It hurts too much. There are better ways to feel bad the next day after a game. Right now, I see nothing positive except the move to a new conference. Good luck to all Ponies everywhere and to turning this ship. We need it.

[Hoop Fan]

what did the Purdue and TT wins prove? The fact is the TT and Purdue wins were just circumstantial differences, not proof of anything year over year. We didnt get to play TT at home this year, and we didnt play anybody comparable to Purdue (an overrated big name school that we could sneak up on) in non-conference either. Look at a larger sample than just a few games.

You cant have both sides of the argument. How did we lose to Appalacian State at home in December and finish 12-18 last year? How did we lose 3 games by 30 points or more last year? Because we were so good/talented? If you want to absolve Dement fine, but then you have to say the players were collectively not talented/mentally tough enough. And if you say that, these are the same players and you have to recognize 12-11 overall, 7-7 in WAC is on pace to be SIGNIFICANTLY better than 12-18, 5-13 in the WAC. And there have been more injuries this year. Argue whatever you want and be as disappointed as you want, but dont take both sides of the argument.

[Stallion]

Look what a lot of people are saying is what most people know-this team simply quit on Dement last year so although Dement may have lost his team they expected more in both 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 than breaking even. I personally believe repeated recruiting mistakes/errors/failures started becoming evident last year and will be truly hard to overcome next year. I'll grant you we have some interesting guards-never has and never will be enough to excell.