PonyFans.com

February 15
"I'm Alright"

http://smumustangs.cstv.com/hoopsblog/

"Oh, by the way, three years after that 8-20 season at UNC.....Carolina won the National Championship! "

with Coach Roy Williams...and I don't think Doh's first class here was as highly rated...just speculation though

So...is Kiki really a donkey or a [deleted]? He isn't insinuating a direct comparison, but that a bad start does not mean ultimately a bad finish.

BTW... Attitude is important. So take your downer attitude elsewhere. Excuse me...please take your downer attitude elsewhere. Thanks.

abezontar wrote:with Coach Roy Williams...and I don't think Doh's first class here was as highly rated...just speculation though

You're right, Cameron Spencer wasn't as highly rated as Coach Doherty's first class at UNC. But you're fooling yourself if you give Coach Williams much credit at all. After showing what a brilliant coach he is by constantly flickering out early in the NCAA tournament despite a lot of talented players at Kansas, he inherited a team full of future NBA-ers, all recruited by Coach Doherty and rolled to the title. Coach Doherty should have gotten a ring for that, and maybe a few of Williams' paychecks.

[quote="Roach"] Coach Doherty should have gotten a ring for that, and maybe a few of Williams' paychecks.[/quote]

Except for one small detail. None of those future NBA players were going to remain at North Carolina if Doherty was still the coach. They were threatening to transfer, en masse. I know some of you wont want to believe that, but it wasnt a secret. I can probably dig up a few media articles from that time period if you want.

The XtC wrote:

Roach wrote: Coach Doherty should have gotten a ring for that, and maybe a few of Williams' paychecks.

Except for one small detail. None of those future NBA players were going to remain at North Carolina if Doherty was still the coach. They were threatening to transfer, en masse. I know some of you wont want to believe that, but it wasnt a secret. I can probably dig up a few media articles from that time period if you want.

I recall McCants being the most vocal on that matter, but I could be wrong. It is true that many threatened to transfer.

The XtC wrote:None of those future NBA players were going to remain at North Carolina if Doherty was still the coach. They were threatening to transfer, en masse.

True, there was chaos during Matt's last season at UNC. But how much of the blame for the situation rests with him versus the players? IIRC, some of the players' families were trying to get involved in making decisions about the program.

abezontar wrote:with Coach Roy Williams...and I don't think Doh's first class here was as highly rated...just speculation though

Who said his first class here was as highly rated as his first at UNCs??

He was pretty much run out of town by the majority. Hopefully he's learned some things. I think they started 0-3 and everyone freaked b/c they aren't used to that at all.

McCants was asked in an interview that year what playing basketball was like at UNC, and he replied "prison.' It wasn't just McCants either. Sean May and his Dad were going ballistic about Dohs behind the scenes antics and Ray Felton was counting the minutes till he could leave. Dean Smith turned on Doh and had multiple sit-downs w/him.

Roy Williams is pretty much a horrendous bench coach, but he's a good figurehead for overly talented teams. His flaw is that his teams generally suck on defense and run to a fault. Not exactly March material.

Doh has to get some credit for that Natty, as he recruited the players, and to be honest, they were a vastly different group than what Coach Gut had lined up. Guthridge had been recruiting Julius Hodge, James White etc. Doh, came in and changed that strategy on a dime. Immediately went after Jackie Manuel, McCants, and pretty much stole May from IU, capitalizing on Mays Dad not liking Knight. He also grabbed Jawad Williams at the last second when he looked to be a sure Maryland commitment.

In short, the guy can seriously recruit at the high d1 level. Now that the bloom is off the rose, can he recruit at a mid-major? I think its safe to say we have some moving parts in the freshman class in Dia, Malone, Harp & Walker. Frank Otis, Jared Dubois & Justin Haynes can play some as well. Chris Clarke doesn't even start for his own high school team.

The real question is what about the dead weight of the huge classes? Are Rhodes, TK & Nyakundi ready to contribute in a big way next year? If not, does Doh run them off and open ships for kids that can contribute? Faye was a nice pick-up, but where is the PG, everyone knows we need, to compete?

With respect to the Blog's by Doh, I like his enthusiasm. However, are we getting close to the 'talk is cheap' response. SMU has been below average in basketball for a long, long time. Hopefully, Doh, the Crum Center, and the so-called commitment to athletics will allow SMU to get better basketball players to SMU. I am still waiting for in-roads to be made with the local DISD coaches and players as there seems to be a wall between SMU and those schools and players. There are a lot of great local players that do not even look at SMU. Is it because of the Tubbs debacle or is it the preception SMU is too tough academically, or both? When SMU can land the local kids, then I will start believing more that SMU can take steps to putting a winner on the court.

so is he saying we will win a national championship three years after he gets canned?

expony18 wrote:so is he saying we will win a national championship three years after he gets canned?

Awww


I made the same deduction, I love logical implication

i just wanna be competitive. is that so much to ask for?

I think if a coach of Doherty's stature cannot get us into being a consistent winner, then it ain't gonna happen, guys. Here is a guy who has recruited the best and has a known face. He is a good judge of talent and by all accounts is a very good bench coach. Heck, he even has Michael Jordan's cell phone number on his Rolodex. He may have some anger problems (but so did Bobby Knight). All in all, this is a time for patience. If after four years we still haven't had a winning season under Doh, its time to re-evaluate things.