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0 points 0 rebounds 0 Assists 0 Blocks 0 Steals in 13 minutes.

I know that he did have a steal.

I think Harp has been the most abused SMU athlete in recent memory here on PonyFans.

In his defense, what does that say about the players trying to unseat him?

Ishiam comes to mind.

SoCal_Pony wrote:I think Harp has been the most abused SMU athlete in recent memory here on PonyFans.

The BLM bashers might have something to say about that.

no reason to bash the guy; I think he becomes the defensive side of the Haynes/Harp rotation, with Justin now the starter. I still think we will see him trying to slow the opponents leading 2 guard.

When are people going to realize just because he hustles and tries hard..that does not make him good on the defensive end. He is not quick enough or athletic enough to be a good on the ball defender.

ClickClack wrote:When are people going to realize just because he hustles and tries hard..that does not make him good on the defensive end. He is not quick enough or athletic enough to be a good on the ball defender.

I tend to agree w/this, but I think people are missing the boat on why Harp is starting. SImply, this team starts 4 guys who don't like to pass, all shoot first, most volume scorers, all need a bunch of looks. Harp plays to help offset that mentality. He's a pass first team guy that scratches and claws. It's an effort to develop better chemistry, mostly between the starters, b/c there are too few balls to go around. Unfortunately, Harp hasn't proven an effective enough 'glue' guy to really help in the way they want him to. This isn't about Harp being good, it's about trying to offset the me first in the other guys. It's time for Haynes full time, or play Faye/Nyakundi/Dia up front when Nyakundi gets healthy.

They fact that this team has 3 guys coming in next year, that can shoot & pass, is a Godsend.

PonyDoh wrote:

ClickClack wrote:When are people going to realize just because he hustles and tries hard..that does not make him good on the defensive end. He is not quick enough or athletic enough to be a good on the ball defender.

I tend to agree w/this, but I think people are missing the boat on why Harp is starting. SImply, this team starts 4 guys who don't like to pass, all shoot first, most volume scorers, all need a bunch of looks. Harp plays to help offset that mentality. He's a pass first team guy that scratches and claws. It's an effort to develop better chemistry, mostly between the starters, b/c there are too few balls to go around. Unfortunately, Harp hasn't proven an effective enough 'glue' guy to really help in the way they want him to. This isn't about Harp being good, it's about trying to offset the me first in the other guys. It's time for Haynes full time, or play Faye/Nyakundi/Dia up front when Nyakundi gets healthy.

They fact that this team has 3 guys coming in next year, that can shoot & pass, is a Godsend.

I agree...however, I do not think Haynes is really a me first guy who will force looks..I think he can get his looks throughout the flow of the game and let the game come to him...I understand your post about Harp being in there for chemistry and to offset all the shoot first players, but it is painfully evident that Harp is TERRIFIED when he gets the ball and he looks to get it out of his hands ASAP (just like when I am playing in pick up games at the gym with guys who are far better than me). Opposing teams know this and really puts us in a bad situation on the offensive end because it allows them to bring over another defender or trap when mccoy or williams tries to penetrate..

I really hate to say this, because mccoy and williams are both so talented...but our teams biggest problem is having both of these guys on the floor at the same time. They are both shoot first combo guards and the other feels like they have to get theirs because they dont think they will get enough looks when the other has the ball (if that makes sense in writing..it made sense in my head). Would love to see a line up of mccoy, haynes, nyakundi, faye and dia.

its concerning to hear there is grumbling in the lockerroom about who is taking the shots and how many. McCoy doesn't look like a selfish player to me. I agree he is not a pass first pg right now, but I see that mostly out of necessity. Who is he gonna feed in the post? Papa has been lost and not exactly a workhorse. everyone else plays spot up game from 18-22 feet (Nyadkundi/Faye). I sure don't think those guys or anybody else should be grumbling. Last year, I frankly wanted McCoy getting up as many shots as possible, he was the only dependable scorer out there other than Williams (I didn't say only capable scorer, but dependable). This year, the release on McCoys jump shot looks off to me. Seems to have a small hitch he didn't have last year. Anyway, one more odd thing about Dohs recruiting is that McCoy and williams as a backcourt duo are so small, its a real defensive matchup issue to have them both on the floor all the time against legit opponents. If you are not really gonna push the ball consistently, its an ill conceived backcourt for the halfcourt game that Doh seems to default to. Do we ever pressure the ball full court unless its desperation time? With such small guards you have to at least bother the other team with some full court defensive pressure and not let them get into their sets with ease. Falling back into a soft 2-3 zone with small guards has almost no chance to work. Sloan had such clean looks from the wing he must have thought he had died and gone to heaven.

Good dialogue here, much of it, I agree with. I think McCoy and Williams should be split up as well. Start McCoy, Haynes, Faye, Nyakundi, Dia. The issue we have, is that the answer at wing, isn't currently on the roster. In an effort to get our best kids on the court, we start 2 shoot first combo's, which doesn't help team play, or benefit us in the 2-3.

If we're gonna run a 2-3 by design, need some length to close out and challenge shooters. I'd really like to see us force the tempo, use our glut of guards, to make things helter skelter etc.

Some goos news is that Ricmonds Vilde played very well, and got positive press at this weekends National Prep Showcase. He showed a very impressive face-up game, which is nice. The '10 class has 3 kids that can shoot, which is much needed.

The fact that Harp is starting is s strong indicator of how good the bench players are.

JasonB wrote:The fact that Harp is starting is s strong indicator of how good the bench players are.

Good point. The bench is thin. The development of Clink & Otis is crucial to the teams success.
Doh needs to loosen the leash on these 2 & let them get some quality pt. Right now they are playing tight looking over their shoulders for captain hook. At this point I see us @ 8 deep. McCoy, Williams, Faye, Dia, Haynes, Otis, Clink & RN.

Stallion wrote:0 points 0 rebounds 0 Assists 0 Blocks 0 Steals in 13 minutes.

Just take a look at his career stats. The bottom line is that he was a good H.S. ball player who for whatever reason has failed to live up to anything close to the expectations. Maybe he's not making the grades ,he got homesick but never went home, or took a tongue lashing motivational speech that he could've received at any college in the US -but couldn't handle the criticisms.Whatever the reason for failure in his case, I have to eliminate the coach for the most part and put this mostly on the kid at this point. No coach would ever give a player this much rope ( actual playing time ) if he didn't believe that there was still something there. Doh has given this kid every possible opportunity to work through whatever ails him and taken a lot of criticism from this message board ( including myself) for his continued faith in Ryan. Ryan could have been the one one player that could have changed games enough to have 5-7 more wins over the last two years , IMO, if he scored and contributed half as well as he did in HS..
That being said, Harp has burned through two ropes in two years -returning nothing in the form of tangible production. Harp should have went to Doherty and given up his playing time , if not his scholarship, for the good of the team. He could 've added to the team by removing himself and minimizing the controversy that still surrounds his playing time.
On the other hand , Doherty should have cut bait no later than midway through last season. He at least put forth a decidedly thorough vetting of Harp at that point. The thought that Harp
" starting " over other guys on the bench because he's better has some merit, because he may have been the only one who understood enough of Doherty's system to put in the lineup- this might be the glue factor that some have mentioned , but at 2.7 RB and 1 assist per game in his career that seems a bit off. And what team can play a 5 man game with only 4 players contributing on the court ? Only a coach having very few options gets into that corner. Or Doh may have had even less confidence in his other bench players.
Harp get so much abuse because he is the biggest disappointment on the team. He also gets it because he gets P.T. and because when he plays nothing positive really happens.

His biggest Career stat is - playing time.
At 18.8 mins a game, he contributes-
2.7 RB,
1.05 assists,
.273 % 3pt pct
4.4 ppg in 07/08,
1.1 ppg in 08/09,
and a career best 2.8 ppg.

These are career numbers that the lucky ticket holder - who takes the half court shot during the half time show- could produce given the same 18.8 mins of time. So all of you message board contributors need to suit up for the next game because ...

" You too can play basketball at the college level".

Stallion, GSP, PonyDoh, etc. -any takers ?