DMN: SMU's Doherty Mending Fences

[SMU Football Blog]

I can't believe Calvin could not get a quote from that DISD asst AD that was there.

He was too busy putting padlocks on the gyms.

[Hoop Fan]

The King is dead. Long live the King! So now its that tubbs just couldnt get it done in the community huh? Some of you guys actually think two years PROVES your case? thats foolish. His biggest mistake on the court and off was taking Matt Williams. Isnt that ironic? I commend Doherty for making a small FIRST step to reach out, but that article is a bunch of spin and everybodys got an agenda.

Look, if tubbs cheated in a significant way and its substantiated, then SMU had no choice. But lets not trump up a bunch crap like two years proves anything or that Tubbs sat at a certain table at Lubys away from the glory seekers and suggest that has any real meaning.

When you guys put all this stock into Blair saying part of it was on tubbs for taking the community for granted, think about that a bit more. Isnt it likely that Blair was saying Tubbs should have offered more scholarships to second tier dallas kids instead of taking kids from Portland and New Hampshire? And in response to the line of the thinking by Friar and others about not needing Dallas because there are plenty of players for us elsewhere, then WHY is Doherty wasting his precious time focusing on this right now when he has at least two scholarships he needs to fill ASAP? The fact is there was real damage done in South Dallas and Doherty knows it.

[CarMichael]

Doherty is very "intentional" in his approach to a job. He puts effort into strategic thinking. He has studied principles of management and sales in hopes it would make him a better coach (maybe, maybe not). So I'm not surprised to see him attacking the local PR problem in an intelligent way.

I don't know that he and Stackhouse have much of a personal connection. When Matt was at Carolina, Jerry complained that changes (such as new secretaries) had interrupted communications between alumni players and the UNC bb program. These connections were traditionally very close, with NBA and European players often returning to Chapel Hill for summers to work out, play pickup, and make progress toward degrees.

However, I'm sure Matt will make an effort to build that connection, and probably the Carolina "family" mystique will come into play. It was great to see George Lynch at the PC. Having the program associated with NBA stars would be a huge boost to recruiting.

[Stallion]

I agree 100%. Tubbs went after ALL the Top Dallas players he thought he could get in school. All of them. I've heard other Dallas commentators especially on Texasroundball.com that thought he should have been taking a shot at lower tier DFW players-quite frankly like our 2007 recruits. Putting this into concrete terms-would you have taken them over Brian Morris? Over Bamba? We've seen this before-the entering hero to save the program from Rossley from Shumate from Dement, from Cavan and now from Tubbs. Its spin. The focus on the individual coach to SAVE the program is a little tired. Giving that Coach the tools he needs to do his job is what matters. Finally, I agree that if there were serious violations Tubbs should be fired immediately although I have seen no evidence of that. The really moronic idea espoused by MANY on this board is that a Coach can be properly evaluated especially at a school like SMU in 2 years. Again the direction of a program should be evaluated by analyzing 4-5 year revolving windows based on the talent recruited and performance.

[mrydel]

With no argument or agreement with anything said about Tubbs' performance, is it not at least a little nice to see a spin article about SMU that spins it to the positive for the future rather than the negative. I see this article as a positive statement as to what MD is trying to do and it has been a long time since anything positive has been written about SMU basketball.

[Hoop Fan]

yes, i think tubbs made a tactical error in focusing on the big dogs too much. The reality is that SMU did not have the facilities, team or surroundings to attract the big dogs right away. Tubbs was getting in the door on his name and relationships alone and SMU had nothing to back him up. Tubbs probably should have dialed it back and taken some second tier guys early to get the community behind him and hope that would help attract a local blue chip eventually. But in the end it didnt matter because SMu fans do not support someone through a building process and that would have been a long one. Tubbs 'went for it' so to speak and came up short. I see it for what it is and commend him for trying, even though I think the better strategy would have been to take some lesser rated local guys to start and count on the family approach gaining momentum. Tubbs was starting to do that with Ronnie Morgan and Chris Roberts I think.

[Hoop Fan]

With no argument or agreement with anything said about Tubbs' performance, is it not at least a little nice to see a spin article about SMU that spins it to the positive for the future rather than the negative. I see this article as a positive statement as to what MD is trying to do and it has been a long time since anything positive has been written about SMU basketball.

yes, i think Doherty sees the landscape and is starting what will now be a long hard road to local acceptance. As for the article and the visit to Lubys, remember this is all still textbook honeymoon stuff. You won't see articles like this and hear about visits like this one year from now.

[jtstang]

Good points, all. Here's my question. When is SMU going to announce the findings of its internal investigation of Tubbs' alleged violations? My money is on never.

And as usual, Hoop Fan is right--Tubb's taking Matt Williams was a mistake. I'd love nothing more than to see Doherty yank his scholarship and let gramps have to pay his way if he wants to stay at SMU. I'd also like Max to be banned for life.

[93Mustang]

I don't disagree Hoop Fan. Also, looking back on this season, had the team won a few of those close games when we were starting to get some hype about Bamba, Tubbs might have been saved. In the end, the mounting losses killed him - fairly or unfairly since he only had 2 years. Throw in the alleged, yet from outward appearances, very minor NCAA violations, and he was cooked.

That said, I view this article today as a positive. Tubbs is gone. People claimed the sky is falling on local recruiting because Tubbs was treated unfairly, but now we've hired a high profile coach with some national credibility who seems to get it. Rather than rehashing what went wrong in the brief Tubbs era, we should be closely watching Doherty and speculating on who he'll bring in to be his number one assistant - hopefully it will be someone just like Tubbs was when Dement brought him in because its hard to argue with his recruiting success - Sasser, Davis, Hancock, and Ross. This hire has been a PR hit so far, let's hope Doherty can maintain the momentum he seems to be building.

[Mexmustang]

Max Williams never wen to the NCAA, nor did he threaten to. He went to Copeland, and it was Copeland that did so. Are you going to ban every alum rich or poor, letterman or not every time they go to the AD and complain?
Copeland went to the NCAA and his report may or maynot have included what Max said or didn't say. All this conversation we have seen has come from a "fired coach" speaking to the press and some employees of the athletic department, not officially from the school, nor Copeland.

[Hoop Fan]

Max Williams never wen to the NCAA, nor did he threaten to. He went to Copeland, and it was Copeland that did so. Are you going to ban every alum rich or poor, letterman or not every time they go to the AD and complain?
Copeland went to the NCAA and his report may or maynot have included what Max said or didn't say. All this conversation we have seen has come from a "fired coach" speaking to the press and some employees of the athletic department, not officially from the school, nor Copeland.

Don't you think that Williams knew that Copeland would be compelled to investigate the allegation? Don't be so naive to think Williams did not know what he was starting.

[MrMustang1965]

All this conversation we have seen has come from a "fired coach" speaking to the press and some employees of the athletic department, not officially from the school, nor Copeland.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't recall reading any quotes or comments from Tubbs in the press (DMN) following his firing.

[MustangIcon]

I am not going to discuss too much regarding Tubbs here bc you really can't read all that much into a single quote. I am just pleased that Doherty is making all the right moves and playing all the right cards. I think we have a very intelligent coach on board, a guy who knows how to work people as well as the system.

I don't think anyone wants us to ignore DISD. I think some people want to point out that while Doherty is approaching this the right way by building relationships in the community, he has the ability to recruit other regions of the country if it takes a little while to regain a foothold in recruiting locally.

I cannot change any of the Matt Hater's minds about the kid as a person. Ya'll have labeled him a traitor with no evidence or even heavy speculation whatsoever (from what I have seen or heard). He is the grandson of Max. Other than that does ANYONE have ANYTHING in which he was mentioned? Heck even if someone would sack up and say they had an "anonymous source" I could at least entertain the idea of bashing the kid.

Regarding Matt being Tubbs' biggest on court mistake, I think this could not be farther from the truth. With a kid like Matt you knew what you were getting- a shooter. Ask any of the guys on the team and they will tell you he is lights out. Can he create his own shot? Nope. That is why the teaching aspect of coaching is important at the college level. Many great shooters come in to college as just that- shooters without any other great skills. But that doesn't mean he can't be a very effective player. If you have a great shooter you can get him open looks coming off screens all day. Great shooters also keep defenses honest. If Matt is in the game you can't leave him to double down on one of our big men. Not many other players on the roster have the same effect. I will now step off my soapbox (or Cheer box for jt) about the Matt bashing.

[Blunt Pony]

I agree 100%. Tubbs went after ALL the Top Dallas players he thought he could get in school. All of them. I've heard other Dallas commentators especially on Texasroundball.com that thought he should have been taking a shot at lower tier DFW players-quite frankly like our 2007 recruits. Putting this into concrete terms-would you have taken them over Brian Morris? Over Bamba? We've seen this before-the entering hero to save the program from Rossley from Shumate from Dement, from Cavan and now from Tubbs. Its spin. The focus on the individual coach to SAVE the program is a little tired. Giving that Coach the tools he needs to do his job is what matters. Finally, I agree that if there were serious violations Tubbs should be fired immediately although I have seen no evidence of that. The really moronic idea espoused by MANY on this board is that a Coach can be properly evaluated especially at a school like SMU in 2 years. Again the direction of a program should be evaluated by analyzing 4-5 year revolving windows based on the talent recruited and performance.

You more than most, certainly recognize that college athletics is big business and has changed drastically in the last 10-15 years. The money is huge, the competion is fierce and the need to win is not just for pride, but to support entire athletic programs and the university in general. Coaches are not going to get the 5 years that they used to get to turn programs around. Reason being all of the things that you point out. Jucos, transfers, and prep schools, provide some instant gratification for new coaches looking to build programs. They can get a little instant success to buy the time necessary to "build a program" with high school talent. While Tubbs was only here two years, the W-L was not good and topped off with some violations and SMU decided to cut bait. For better or worse this is probably going to be the way a lot of programs are going to operate. College is becoming more and more like pro not only in the way kids are handled but coaches as well. I don't like the changing landscape, but in my opinion that is where we are headed.

[The PonyGrad]

Good for Doherty. See the landscape with open eyes and attack issues head-on and in an intelligent manner. This is not the typical (apparent typical if not actual typical) SMU approach, which is to try to ignore issues until they fall on SMU.

This is just the kind of proactive PR that many of you have been arguing for. If that PR comes from a coach that is fine with me. I tend to think that a coach can make a difference.

For those that complain that the story was spin, well what do you think PR is? That is the point of it. To put your best foot forward and promote your concern in the best light possible. If that means looking for those with thier own agendas as long as they are helping you with yours, so be it.