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"He's terrific," USM coach Larry Eustachy said. "He's an NBA player. I can't believe the improvement he's made. Jimmy has done a great job in developing him."

That is one of the best quotes I have seen in a long time concerning SMU. Coaches will be more willing to encourage kids to come play for us as they know that the kids will be developed into better players. It is great to see that Coach Tubbs is getting some props from another coach for doing that.

I agree!

If that's an accurate quote, every recruit should see that in bold letters. Shady?????????

Anyone not coming out to Moody to see Bamba, are missing something special in the making. He is my favorite player by far! I have been Bambarized!

LA Mustang it is an accurate quote it is from the Dallas Morning News:

here is the article:



Mustangs follow freshman's lead

11:53 PM CST on Saturday, February 4, 2006

By CALVIN WATKINS / The Dallas Morning News

UNIVERSITY PARK – When Jimmy Tubbs was hired as SMU's basketball coach in 2004, his familiarity with the local recruiting scene was one of the reasons.

The Mustangs are in the running for several top area players, including South Oak Cliff forward Darrell Arthur – who is considered one of the top players in his class nationally.
Colleges

SMU 58, S. Mississippi 53

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Saturday's scoreboard

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But Tubbs has by no means limited his recruiting to the Dallas area, and one of SMU's national finds delivered in a 58-53 come-from-behind victory over Southern Miss on Saturday night in front of 2,874 at Moody Coliseum.

Bamba Fall, a 7-1 freshman from Senegal – by way of Oak Hill Academy in Virginia – led the Mustangs with a season-high 14 points and a season-high-tying five blocks.

Fall has become such a fan favorite that SMU's marketing department has posted a banner that reads "Swat City" and tracks the number of blocks the team has this season. Fall has played in 11 of the Mustangs' 20 games and leads the team with 33 blocks.

"He's terrific," USM coach Larry Eustachy said. "He's an NBA player. I can't believe the improvement he's made. Jimmy has done a great job in developing him."

SMU (11-9, 3-4 Conference USA) twice rallied from double-digit deficits. The Golden Eagles led by 14 in the first half, but SMU pulled within 26-22 at halftime.

The Mustangs trailed by 10 early in the second half before two free throws by Fall capped a 12-2 run that made it 39-39.

Fall made two other key plays in the second half, including a two-handed dunk off a feed from Derrick Roberts and a tip-in that gave the Mustangs the lead for good at 44-43 with 6:35 remaining in the game.

"He played well for an extensive time," Tubbs said. "He's a kid with good character with a tremendous amount of pride."

Tubbs said he didn't want to put too much pressure on Fall, who helped cover the absence of another talented freshman, power forward Brian Morris – who has a sprained ligament in his right knee and missed a game for the first time this season.

"I just know I had to play good defense because I was needed to block shots to help the team," said Fall, who was not alone in helping the Mustangs put an end to a two-game losing streak.

Roberts added 13 points, and Devon Pearson contributed 12.
[Click image for a larger version] IRWIN THOMPSON/DMN
IRWIN THOMPSON/DMN
Bamba Fall showed plenty of force against Southern Miss. The 7-1 freshman finished with 14 points and five blocks. 'He's an NBA player,' Golden Eagles coach Larry Eustachy said.

Tubbs also pointed to the strong defensive play of backup guard Jon Killen, whose one-handed dunk and ensuing free throw gave the Mustangs a 47-43 lead with 6:23 remaining.

"It was one of the hardest-fought games to win," Tubbs said. "To win a game like that, you have to be mentally tough."

Southern Miss (7-15, 1-6) was led by Mildon Ambres' 19 points.

I ran into PonyPride on the way out of Moody last night. He said that in the post-game press conference, Coach Tubbs agreed that Bamba is a major selling point with recruits, and that players are talking to him about the chance to play with Bamba. Sounds to me like the word is getting out -- hopefully it pays off.

And I'm with you, Alex Lifeson -- I'd buy a #21 jersey today.

If that is true...go get darrel arthur!

Great - that's all we need is for everyone to start telling Fall he is NBA material. One year and declares for the draft - just what we need...........

I agree that he could be (NBA material) one day, but at the moment, he's still raw. There are countless reasons for optimism, to be sure, but let's not tout him as the next Lew Alcindor just because he's tall. He could be a rare shot blocker, but without another 30 pounds and a much more polished offensive game, he'd go the route of every other tall-but-not-yet ready kid to come out. Coach Tubbs was talking after the game Saturday about Fall's need to add strength, and said "I can't wait to see him as a senior." I don't know if they already have talked about staying the full four years, but if he does stay, then we really could be on to something.

And shame on you, MFFL02, for creating fantasies of Fall and Darrell Arthur on the same SMU team! What are you trying to do to us?

friarwolf wrote:Great - that's all we need is for everyone to start telling Fall he is NBA material. One year and declares for the draft - just what we need...........

I really dont think you have to worry about this one. With his uncle working as a scout for the Mavericks, Fall is not going to be influenced by hype and heresay. He will get good advice if and when the time comes. I'd like to see him here for four years and I think he probably will be, but if he puts it all together and is a first rounder sooner then good for him and good for us.

You don't suppose Larry was trying to influence Bamba to go Pro ASAP?

Do you think he wants to play against Bamba for the next 3 1/2 yrs??

He did give Coach Tubbs credit for B's improvement so that is definitely a plus.

The Falcon wrote:He did give Coach Tubbs credit for B's improvement so that is definitely a plus.

That's the thing I noticed.

Bamba would get killed in the pros now...he is much too weak to play the 5 spot. I expect him to stay all 4 years and end up getting drafted toward the end of the first/beginning of the second round.