Roland and Sloan To A&M

[SMU Football Blog]

We've had these discussions before.

I am not saying Tubbs can or can't coach. I am saying I think there were better candidates available. Copeland has a nice history of his "also-rans" turning out pretty well. Tommy Amaker turned out pretty good. Skip Holtz beat Phil Bennett. I think it will be interesting to see what Wojcik does against Tubbs.

[PonySoprano]

You've got apples and oranges, to a certain extent. If you really wanted to judge the abilities of the coaches we didn't hire compared to the coaches we did hire, you would have to bring in the "also rans" and see what they could to with the lack of facilities (for bball), the lack of student support and no true commitment from the Administration to the Athletic Department.

So, with Wojcik and Tubbs, if Tulsa finished ahead of SMU in C-USA this year, the only true way to know who was a better coach would be to have Wojcik come in here and coach and recruit under the same conditions as JT has been forced to deal with.

[DickerJames]

I suspect the only reason we were "seriously considered" by the top prospects who looked at us was Tubbs.

I agree. I can't remember a year like this where so many players from Dallas put SMU on their list of schools they were considering. It would have been great to get one this year, but the negative tide isn't going to be turned in one year. Tubbs is the man and I can't wait for the first game.

[jtstang]

...under the same conditions as JT has been forced to deal with.

Thank you for the compassion, I have had a lot of adverse conditions to deal with....

[PK]

...under the same conditions as JT has been forced to deal with.

Thank you for the compassion, I have had a lot of adverse conditions to deal with....

Cute...

[couch 'em]

Well good or bad, we can't give Copeland credit/blame for Tubbs. After all the local Dallas HS coaches came out with support for him, you just couldn't pass him up except for a few godlike coaches. Too bad those letter writers didn't produce any players for their beloved Tubbs.

[Billy Joe]

When will you 'sunshiners' admit the Tubbs hire was another mistake by Copeland. We hired to Tubbs to get the local talent. Tubbs cannot even recruit a single local impact player. How many local players have commited elsewhere. I understand it completely when a player such as Arthur goes elsewhere but there are several mid level players going to other schools. I stress this time and time again....we are bad and average at best in basketball for a reason. The failure to attract good players to the school. Is is facilities, lack of a proven Division 1-A head coach, has SMU created a wedge between itself and high school athletes? We want answers Copeland as to why our sports teams have sucked over the last fifteen years.

[DickerJames]

Too bad those letter writers didn't produce any players for their beloved Tubbs.

High School coaches can't make a player go to SMU. What those coaches did accomplish this year was to get SMU on their players lists. Tubbs has to prove to those players that this program has a future by winning more games this year than last, and maybe going to the NIT or getting really close. If I were an 18 year old basketball player with dreams of the NBA and had offers from SMU and a BCS school, unfortunately the choice would be pretty clear right now. Give Tubbs time to build this thing and I think we're going to have some good times watching basketball.

[SMU Football Blog]

Well good or bad, we can't give Copeland credit/blame for Tubbs. After all the local Dallas HS coaches came out with support for him, you just couldn't pass him up except for a few godlike coaches. Too bad those letter writers didn't produce any players for their beloved Tubbs.

Of course you can and of course, Copeland should have. That letter didn't promise anything. And the HS coaches certainly didn't deliver anything. Anybody that expected differently, was seriously mistaken and some people mentioned it at the time. Copeland's job was to go out and get the best coach available. If he had done that, it would have taken about five minutes to turn the HS coaches around.

[Pony_Fan]

Well good or bad, we can't give Copeland credit/blame for Tubbs. After all the local Dallas HS coaches came out with support for him, you just couldn't pass him up except for a few godlike coaches. Too bad those letter writers didn't produce any players for their beloved Tubbs.

Those letters didn't seem to make a bit of difference, nice gesture...maybe they just wanted their friend to make it?

As we have stated before, HS coaches don't have much influence on kids decisions these days - only AAU coaches mostly.

[jtstang]

When will you 'sunshiners' admit the Tubbs hire was another mistake by Copeland. We hired to Tubbs to get the local talent. Tubbs cannot even recruit a single local impact player.

First of all, "sunshiners" is the protected intellectual property of jtstang, inc., and your are hereby given notice to cease and desist in all unapproved use of same in any post against Jimmy Tubbs, with out prior express written consent. I will retain Stallion, PC, in any action necessitated by continued unlawful use against Tubbs, seeking all remedies available, both legal and equitable.

Second, as the biggest Tubbs apologist out there, I am compelled to point out to you that every local "impact" player we've had over the last 9 years has been as a result of Tubbs' recruiting efforts, including, Sasser, Davis, Ross, Hopkins, et al. As a head coach, he has gotten serious consideration for a program that hasn't done much in recent history by multiple players who are even a notch or two above those listed. That is an accomplishment above the prior regime, whether you want to admit it or not. I think it's a little early to call Tubbs a bust before his second season. Not to mention he has the gall to actually coach DEFENSE.

[Hoop Fan]

no one said Dallas kids would be beating down the doors to come here even with Tubbs. What I thought when he was hired and still think now is that Tubbs gets us back on the map with Dallas. We were COMPLETELY off the radar screen after he went to OU. Doug Wojcik from Michigan St. wouldnt have gotten squat done to change that. Sloan, Beal, Arthur, Lewis, Odufuwa wouldnt even have considered us at all, much less come to play for Wojcik. You're dreaming if you think otherwise.

Its unfortunate that we didnt get a local. I wanted Odufuwa and we got about as close as we could before losing him to Arizona State. It sucks that it didnt happen, but it doesn't mean Tubbs won't get the next one.

[Pony_Fan]

Yes, I think it's VERY unfortunate.

Realistically - is SMU going to be successful in 2008, 2009, 2010? When are we actually going to compete for conference titles? I was hoping we could start a foundation now and get 1 decent local DFW recruit. - I guess we all thought Hop was going to help us turn the corner...my hopes were up back then.

[Hoop Fan]

I'm big on the Dallas thing, but Dez Willingham does count as a local recruit. He has 3 years of eligibility left and lots of promise. I also think Brian Morris was a good pickup last spring. He has the body we have been missing and had interest from some good programs. Bamba Fall is another good pickup for SMU no matter what some people say about him. He may be a project, but the upside is there. Not sure how much upside guys like Chris Reay ever had. Not to pick on him, he was a good kid.

I dont know anything about Epps, but hey, I like getting a juco if he can help us. I have no idea who we will sign this year now, but I still have confidence in Tubbs that he will get the types of guys that it takes to put a good team on the floor: balance of scorers, rebounders and everybody defends.

[Waz]

Sometimes when I read this board, I don't think we really deserve a good team. Some of you wouldn't know a good coach if he stepped on your foot. To judge Coach Tubbs at this juncture is way premature. I thought the level of play picked up considerably last year from what we had seen the years prior and recruiting doesn't just pick up in miracle fashion very often. Get real. What do we have to offer a top local recruit besides being local. Not a huge emphasis on hoop, old and shabby facility, no recent success to build from. This is a project boys and I know we are all tired of waiting, but it will take a little time. The only way this program turns around instantly is if a Knight like person takes the plunge, and that isn't going to happen under the current conditions. We have to hope that Tubbs builds his career here then leaves us with improved conditions so we can next hire a person with some proven credentials. And no Dement's sorry [deleted] .500 career record was not what I call proven credentials, proven longevity maybe, but not proven credentials. Cut Tubbs some slack and lets see what happens. It will be a whole lot easier for him to build a program with support vs throat slitting.