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DALLAS (SMU) --- The SMU men's basketball team will host its fourth-annual Tip-Off Dinner at the Royal Oaks Country Club on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6:30 p.m. ESPN basketball analyst Hubert Davis will serve as the keynote speaker and head coach Matt Doherty will give insight into the 2009-10 season on the Hilltop.

Mustang fans can buy individual tickets for $100 or sponsor a table for $600, which includes seven tickets plus a coach or student-athlete. To register or get more information, contact Jeff Lockhart at 214-768-4314, [email protected] or visit http://www.SMUMustangs.com.

"I am excited to have a great college basketball ambassador and my good friend Hubert Davis as our keynote speaker," says Doherty. "He has been a part of the game at the highest level for a long time; from his playing days at North Carolina and in the NBA to serving as one of the most well known analysts of college basketball. He will add to a wonderful event to start the season."

Davis becomes the fourth member of an elite list of speakers for the event, following SMU great Jon Koncak (2006), television commentating legend Bill Raftery (2007), and prominent coach and analyst Fran Fraschilla (2008).

Davis joined ESPN for the 2005-06 college basketball season where he currently serves as both a game and studio analyst, appearing on the high profile "College Gameday" studio show. Prior to joining ESPN, Hubert was a radio analyst for the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks. Hubert was selected 20th overall by the Knicks in the 1992 NBA Draft where he remained for four years; he was then traded to the Toronto Raptors prior to the 1996-97 season. He also played for the Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, Detroit Pistons and the New Jersey Nets. Davis attended the University of North Carolina, where he averaged 21.4 points per game during the 1991-92 season.

The Mustangs now feature a more experienced lineup with two seniors, five juniors, six sophomores and two freshmen. Last season, a first-year player led the team in scoring in 27 of 30 games, which was the highest percentage in the nation. Sophomore Paul McCoy led 12 times during his freshman season and senior Derek Williams led in scoring 10 times. Senior Mouhammad Faye followed last season by playing for Senegal's National Team in the 2009 African Games in Libya. Faye was seventh in the tournament at 17.3 points per game as the Senegalese went 5-4 to finish seventh in the championship.

The Mustangs have 17 home games set for Moody Coliseum during the 2009-10 season, including non-conference games against South Florida, TCU and Texas A&M. The Ponies will host Conference USA contests with Houston, Marshall, Memphis, Rice, Tulsa, UAB, UCF and UTEP. For season or game ticket information call 214-SMU-GAME, visit http://www.SMUMustangs.com, call the Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone line at 214-373-8000, or go to http://www.ticketmaster.com.

Is this the last tip-off dinner with Doherty at the healm? It is absolutely amazing Doherty is still our coach. Top 25 in everything we do!!!!

This is his big turning point year...SMU needs 16-17 wins minimum methinks to keep his job....the 10 win years need to be in his rear view mirror..

Assuming the main contributors are healthy for the entire season, what is the # of wins it'll take for Doh to keep his job? Unless they really overachieve and show vast improvement, I think this is a .500 team. If that's the case then do you think Doh returns or you think they have to win 17-20 games this season?
I would be thrilled if somehow they manage a 20 win season, but I just don't think that's realistic. So if they manage 15-17 wins I'll be pleased, but at the same time still don't think I want Doh back unless they were competitive is almost every game, win or loss.

Doh has two things against him 1) he has lost a lot of winnable home games to inferior opponents and 2) he has been unable to recruit Texas and in particular the D/FW area. The Crum Center was built and it supposed to be one of the nicest basketball facilities in the country and Doh still cannot get looks from mid-to-top talent. Maybe it is not all Doh's fault and maybe building a basketball program at SMU is a bigger challenge than most of us realize. I just do not sense much excitement with Doh anymore. I like his two assistant hires and believe they should have been brought in from day one but it may be too late for Doh to hold onto this job. If he can get to around 15 wins then he may be back to complete his contract but I just don't see it happening.

SMU wins 15+ games and Doherty gets an extension.

MustangIcon wrote:SMU wins 15+ games and Doherty gets an extension.

Agree. Even though I haven't seen the finalized schedule, I think that we will be a .500 team this year... I just hope that our bigs can stay healthy because we could have some serious problems if Papa went down with injury...

IIRC Orsini said in a recent interview that anything less than a .500 season would be unacceptable. I am wondering if he has put Doh on notice that he had better perform this season.

GO PONIES!!!