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Is this really happening????

We are getting our [deleted] handed to us down at Moody to something called Centenary???

And we are 0-2 vs. the SWAC.

THE SMU HEX CONTINUES --- CAN WE EVER GET OUT OF THIS MESS OF MEDIOCRITY???

You have to wonder if we will ever win again in any sport....

It looks like Doh has forgotten more basketball than all of us will ever know. He is looking like the basketball version of Phil Bennett...............

all we have to look forward to this season is the hope that this team will upset someone at some point down the road...but this looks like a team that could compare unfavorably with the 6-21 teams that both Dave Bliss and John Shumate had. Bliss accomplished that record in his 2nd season whereas Shumate pulled it off AFTER winning a SWC Championship.

This ain't no rebuilding project because nobody on this team has played for a competitive Mustang team. This is a major building project Doherty has ahead of him and it will be done without the support of many SMU fans - they are a group nearing extinction from too many years of suffering.

...doh is the ponyfan proclaimed savior, remember?

FordtoTolbert wrote:...doh is the ponyfan proclaimed savior, remember?

time will tell. He's torn it down to the foundation...that's for sure.

My concern is that one of the key pieces (Dia) may need surgery. I can't see that back holding up to a full season.

There are WAY too many freshman on this team and few who look like consistant scorers. It is going to be a long season, but not unexpected given the makeup of the team. Jury will be out for a couple of years until we get some maturity on this team. Roberts and Killen just don't have enough moxie to make up for the lack of experience of everyone else. As a matter of fact, what's up with Roberts? He still looks inconsistant as ever. Hard to believe he averaged 30 points his senior year in high school. He needs to take more of a leadership role if we are going to be competitive this year!

The team is almost completely true freshmen. It is really, really horrible. But there is no way it won't get better over the course of the year. Way, way to early to start freaking out.

I agree. Everyone just needs to take a chill pill. Guys don't the horrid experience of a football season pour over into the basketball season. Lets just try to be patient. We have a team of TRUE freshmen. Honestly what did everyone expect to happen this season. Everyone complaining about our powder puff schedule, well I think it is kind of self-explanatory at this point. Imagine what it would be like if we were not playing cream puff schools. Anyways, I've already said too much. I believe it is time to be supportive and just watch our team grow. Pony Up!

Where are all the "Just wait till Basketball season" posters from October??

Just like the football team we need JUCO's now!!! Bennett tried to build the program without JUCO help and he failed.

LakeHighlandsPony wrote:Just like the football team we need JUCO's now!!! Bennett tried to build the program without JUCO help and he failed.

Don't look for any JUCOs in the current recruiting class as all the commits are coming straight out of high school. Only hope for a JUCO might be if Clark decides to sign with someone else.

everyone, including Doherty, knew when this schedule was released that this group would stuggle to get some wins this year. I'm surprised that many of the pundits actually think ECU will be worse than we are. Too bad we have to play them in NC.

I have no problem playing FR. The problem we have is that none of these FR are talented enough to come right in and compete at this level right away...maybe Papa Dia if he was healthy. We just don't have enough experience on this team to allow the young guys to learn as they contribute just a few minutes each game. The only good thing about that is these FR will be forced to play significant minutes and we will know by the end of this year who the players are.

Right now, this certainly doesn't look like something that can be built in the 3 short years many had hoped.

PonySnob wrote:It looks like Doh has forgotten more basketball than all of us will ever know. He is looking like the basketball version of Phil Bennett...............

So you know even less about basketball than you do about football? I didn't think that was possible.

Some things to consider:

1) Bamba Fall is developing a low-post offensive game.
2) The presumed "best shooter" in the class (Ryan Harp) looks terrified - freshman jitters seem to have lasted a few more games for him than some of the others. Go to a practice - this guy can fill it. He'll be fine.
3) All of three games into the season, Alex Malone looks like he's pressing, like he's trying to create the entire offense. He'll settle down. Anyone who was at the season opener saw a guy who can shoot threes, drive to the rack, rebound and defend. He's completely out of sorts now.
4) For all the crap he takes here for his shooting, Jon Killen is one of the better three-point shooters (percentage) in SMU history.
5) Derrick Roberts is in a bona fide slump. We've seen him for three years — we know he can play.
6) Coach Doherty started a year at UNC with an 0-8 mark. A few years later, that fraud Roy Williams won a national title with Coach Doherty's players.

Are we going to win Conference USA? Nah — I highly doubt Memphis is ready to give up the title just yet.

Have we played like crap thus far? You bet.

But if you're at the games, you can see the difference this year. The raw (and I do mean raw) ability on this team is miles ahead of where we were last year. They don't know what they're doing yet as a team, but watch Papa Dia, watch Alex Malone, watch Bennie Rhodes, etc. — we're going to be fine, people. We're going to lose games this year. We're going to lose some of them by a ton of points. Those of you who have children have seen them do stuff like walk into furniture or fall down for no particular reason. We're the basketball version of those children right now.

But we're going to grow up, too. Hype and Snob need to remember (and admit) these posts in two years when we're running people out of Moody and out of their own gyns, too. This team is going to be fine. Losing sucks, but this is not a team you can give up on.

couch 'em wrote:The team is almost completely true freshmen. It is really, really horrible. But there is no way it won't get better over the course of the year. Way, way to early to start freaking out.

Really? See Sunday's DMN? SMU hasn't lost its first three home games since 1974-75! It hadn't lost to Centenary since the 60s! This is bad. Sad, but true.

I am absolutely amazed at how patient some of you folks really are.

Admittedly I have not been this year ---

Thank God I did not renew my season tickets.

I am a HUGE Dougherty fan and believe we are actually Pony-ing UP with him and Orsini at the helm.

I just believe under NO circumstances do you come out [deleted] all over yourselves at home vs. those particular 3 opponents. I have been watching this program for 22 years now and we have NEVER had a 3 game stretch where you get whipped at home by 3 cupcakes that no way in hell are accessing the kind of talent we should be getting.

Quit drinking the kool-aid guys --- This start is SCARY!