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...and ya'll thought the UTEP game was bad. We had an 18 point lead early in the 2nd half. I want to say SU had a 22-1 run or something to that effect at one point.

I'll say this, though...once Papa is comfortable with his court presence at this level, awesome things will happen. If he'd had his touch in the first half, SMU would've led by 20 going to halftime.

I just back from the game.....what a terrible day to be a Mustang.

That loss hurt, but it did show a lot of upside, especially in alex malone and papa dia. I still have high hopes for this squad in coming years.

mustangklick wrote:That loss hurt, but it did show a lot of upside, especially in alex malone and papa dia. I still have high hopes for this squad in coming years.

This team is hands down (right now) better than the nightmare of last year...QUICKER, FASTER, DIVING ON THE FLOOR (DESIRE)...Just better ATHLETES...Quote me now, "this team will be way better than any Sasser, Davis, Ross team"...Just maybe not this year...Though better than I thought so early in the year...We looked together, just had an experienced team make free throws and knocked down open shots...Keep the faith...

moody is really improved, even the sound system that always used to seem so blaring. the whole experience is better than recent years.
as for the team, they got schooled by a smaller but very quick and well coached southern u. team that will not be confused with memphis state. after playing man almost the whole first half and leading by about 9, smu played zone the entire 2nd and never covered the 3 point bombers of southern. lost by about 8.

there is the old tennis addage that you never change a winning strategy, you let the other guy change his. i say, if you are winning its probly because you picked the right strategy in the first place. doh may have been just making his team use both to see what they need to improve. what they need to improve is covering the 3 point shooters. but its a really young team, and i doubt they really have any idea what you have to do to play college defense yet. also, SU made a higher % of free throws.

keep in mind this is based on one game against a non cusa type matchup:

papa dia is 6-9, athletic, jumps, and has some touch on his shot.
alex malone may become the offensive punch they have been missing, but probly not this yr. at one point he got an offensive rebound on a free throw, split two defenders and laid it in. great move. led with 19 i think. seems he can score inside and out. optimistic projection makes him a ricky pierce tipe player in 2 yrs. not a very good defender yet.
cameron spencer must have been working with a personal trainer, really looks like a power forward, and seems willing to do the dirty work in the lane, which we need.

roberts and killen were ok, got a few 3 pointers.

walker, could become a decent floor general. seems to make good decisions with the ball. might have penetrated and dished more early in the game, tho. smu either shot from outside or passed it in to bamba, papa, spencer, and they all still have limited offensive games and usaully missed. they missed, got fouled, and missed at the line, too. although bamba did make some of his.
there will be more growing pains but there is some talent there.
ryan harp looked kind of lost.
dnp: nuakundi, rhodes, kwiatkowski. don't think i saw ritter.

this is what happens when you live and die by the three ball

[quote="smupony"]
This team is hands down (right now) better than the nightmare of last year...QUICKER, FASTER, DIVING ON THE FLOOR (DESIRE)...Just better ATHLETES...Quote me now, "this team will be way better than any Sasser, Davis, Ross team".[/quote]

That's a really curious statement, considering that we just lost to Southern.

You do understand who that team was, dont you? Southern comes from the weakest conference in Division 1 ( http://www.warrennolan.com/basketball/2 ... erencerank ) They were #322 in last years Sagarin ranking, which puts them below every team that we beat last year. Beating us gives them as many OOC victories as they had all of last year, when they went 1-11 outside the SWAC, and three of those losses were by more than 50 points. They are really D1 in name only. How does losing to them by 14 on our homecourt give you any indication that this years team is "hands down" better than last year? We just lost to a team we would have beaten last year, how is that improvement?

Southern is a team that every school in C-USA would beat by double digits. This is a game we scheduled for a guaranteed victory. They aren't the worst team on our garbage schedule, but only because we're playing Paul Quinn and Houston Baptist. If they played within C-USA, they would be completely non-competitive. Losing to them on our home floor makes the rest of the season look a bit frightening, even considering the weakness of our non-conference schedule. Alabama State is a better team than Southern, perhaps Prairie View, as well. The 3 Southland conference teams we scheduled, SFA, UTSA, and Texas State, are similar or better. SFA beat Southern last year, in Baton Rouge. Every team in C-USA is better.

Last week, Tougaloo College, an NAIA school, gave Southern a closer game than we did, 72-62.

If we cant beat Southern on our home court, show me the teams we are going to beat?

Tougalou? Tougalou?

[quote="originaloverthehilltop1"] after playing man almost the whole first half and leading by about 9, smu played zone the entire 2nd and never covered the 3 point bombers of southern. lost by about 8.
[/quote]

Papa and Bamba both had 3 fouls before halftime, they couldnt play man-to-man for another half.

Without Ritter and with 3 players possibly redshirting, we have no depth anymore. We used 8 players last night, and if all 3 kids redshirt, then that's all we're going to have for the rest of the year. If that's the case, we'll probably be playing alot of zone.

but how do you really feel? That was pretty good. What was your take on Mike Dement's victory over Georgia Tech at their place? Pretty good for a guy who can't Coach. It doesn't really matter though what they do this year as long as the young players keep improving. He's upgraded the talent at least in the freshman class-the 2008 Class appears to be a pretty mediocre group. He's got his work cut out to achieve what Mike Dement did by his 3rd and 4th year at SMU using players Mike Dement couldn't get in school and in a much weaker conference.

[quote="Stallion"]but how do you really feel? That was pretty good. What was your take on Mike Dement's victory over Georgia Tech at their place? Pretty good for a guy who can't Coach. It doesn't really matter though what they do this year as long as the young players keep improving. He's upgraded the talent at least in the freshman class-the 2008 Class appears to be a pretty mediocre group. He's got his work cut out to achieve what Mike Dement did by his 3rd and 4th year at SMU using players Mike Dement couldn't get in school and in a much weaker conference.[/quote]

Is the question directed at me? I told Mike congratulations over the phone last night, but I havent really seen the game or even a box score, so I cant comment on how the game went. It's a nice win for his program, definitely. Another poster mentioned that Tech will be down this year, but even so for Greensboro to beat an ACC team is a quality win for them. I'd say its about equivalent to the victory at Purdue, when he was here.

Dang, SU can't get props for winning? I sense bitterness and accept the lost. Nobody expected SU to beat SMU. I am always confident in every sport but ok.

[quote="T-ROCK225"]Dang, SU can't get props for winning? I sense bitterness and accept the lost. Nobody expected SU to beat SMU. I am always confident in every sport but ok.[/quote]

I'll give your team a big hand for their comeback. They could have hung their heads and folded when they were down big, but the fought their way back into it. That's a sign of a team with heart.

That's what I am talking about. Good luck against Bama State