DMN: No reason SMU, TCU shouldn't be dancing in March

[PonyPride]

From dallasnews.com:

No reason SMU, TCU shouldn't be dancing in March

Jean-Jacques Taylor

College basketball fans rejoice this time of year because conference tournaments begin. The bracketologists have already planned all-nighters for Sunday.

To read the rest of this story, click the following link:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 4df2a.html

[DickerJames]

Great article that I agree with everything he says, and its nice that we haven't slipped completely off the radar of the DMN columnist.

One of my favorite quotes from the article aimed right at Doh:

You can't convince me it takes five years to turn a program. A program just needs the right style of play or the right recruiter or, preferably, a combination of the two.

It's a heck of a lot more difficult to turn around a football program because you need more than one or two players to be difference-makers.

[PonyDoh]

Great article that I agree with everything he says, and its nice that we haven't slipped completely off the radar of the DMN columnist.

One of my favorite quotes from the article aimed right at Doh:

You can't convince me it takes five years to turn a program. A program just needs the right style of play or the right recruiter or, preferably, a combination of the two.

It's a heck of a lot more difficult to turn around a football program because you need more than one or two players to be difference-makers.

If by 'great article' you mean a message board quality post, then I'd agree. Pretty awful for a major newspaper even if just as an opinion piece.

[Bergermeister]

If by 'great article' you mean a message board quality post, then I'd agree. Pretty awful for a major newspaper even if just as an opinion piece.

What made it "pretty awful"? I will go with "pretty truthful".

[PonyDoh]

If by 'great article' you mean a message board quality post, then I'd agree. Pretty awful for a major newspaper even if just as an opinion piece.

What made it "pretty awful"? I will go with "pretty truthful".

it was puff and didn't address any of the actual difficulties, nor did it interview anyone of note etc. Just one man's opinion, which is fine, but it reads like a message board post. I'd like to see an article that interviews local AAU and high school coaches, possibly some HC peers etc. Let's hear what industry folk think about the position

[DickerJames]

it was puff and didn't address any of the actual difficulties, nor did it interview anyone of note etc. Just one man's opinion, which is fine, but it reads like a message board post. I'd like to see an article that interviews local AAU and high school coaches, possibly some HC peers etc. Let's hear what industry folk think about the position

Giving their opinion is what columnist do, they aren't the reporters. If Jean-Jacques had said SMU was on the right track with the right coach because he believed it took a coach 5 years to find a system and break .500, you would have hailed it as a masterpiece.

[PonyDoh]

it was puff and didn't address any of the actual difficulties, nor did it interview anyone of note etc. Just one man's opinion, which is fine, but it reads like a message board post. I'd like to see an article that interviews local AAU and high school coaches, possibly some HC peers etc. Let's hear what industry folk think about the position

Giving their opinion is what columnist do, they aren't the reporters. If Jean-Jacques had said SMU was on the right track with the right coach because he believed it took a coach 5 years to find a system and break .500, you would have hailed it as a masterpiece.

not really, I could care less what the take is, just want to see it presented in a way that's actually informative.

[ponyscott]

Doing research is not J J Taylor's forte and he is quick to attack off the cuff. Take it for what it's worth.

[DickerJames]

it was puff and didn't address any of the actual difficulties, nor did it interview anyone of note etc. Just one man's opinion, which is fine, but it reads like a message board post. I'd like to see an article that interviews local AAU and high school coaches, possibly some HC peers etc. Let's hear what industry folk think about the position

Giving their opinion is what columnist do, they aren't the reporters. If Jean-Jacques had said SMU was on the right track with the right coach because he believed it took a coach 5 years to find a system and break .500, you would have hailed it as a masterpiece.

not really, I could care less what the take is, just want to see it presented in a way that's actually informative.

I found these quotes to be factual and informative:

We live in a basketball hotbed that forces every Division I coach with Final Four aspirations to spend at least a few days here checking out our high school hoops or AAU competition.

Remember, our area produced two players – Lincoln's Chris Bosh and The Colony's Deron Williams – in last month's NBA All-Star game.

It's hard to feel sorry for any coach who can't or won't recruit quality players within a 100-mile radius.

It's just not that hard to turn around a basketball program when you hire the right guy.

We've all seen it time and time again over the years whether we're talking about what Billy Clyde Gillispie did at Texas A&M or what Scott Drew has done at Baylor.

[mr. pony]

It wasn't meant to be a detailed exposition of the "why." Only hard core fans of those schools would get past the first two paragraphs of that sort of PhD inquiry.

JJ's just saying, "here comes another NCAA tourney - where's SMU and TCU?"
I'm glad somebody noticed.

[PonyDoh]

I found these quotes to be factual and informative:

We live in a basketball hotbed that forces every Division I coach with Final Four aspirations to spend at least a few days here checking out our high school hoops or AAU competition.

Remember, our area produced two players – Lincoln's Chris Bosh and The Colony's Deron Williams – in last month's NBA All-Star game.

It's hard to feel sorry for any coach who can't or won't recruit quality players within a 100-mile radius.

It's just not that hard to turn around a basketball program when you hire the right guy.

We've all seen it time and time again over the years whether we're talking about what Billy Clyde Gillispie did at Texas A&M or what Scott Drew has done at Baylor.

1) Not every coach w/Final 4 aspirations spends time in DFW for a few days. That's completely false and just a random statement w/o an iota of truth.

2) 2 of the last 3 #1 picks are from PG County Maryland, and neither went to Maryland, who just won the ACC. Hell, they don't have any of the 'best prospects' in Balt or DC. Who gets fired for Bosh going to Ga Tech and Williams heading to the Illini, neither of which are even in Texas, last time I checked.

3) Why can't we recruit Dallas? Who at SMU has recruited Dallas well, for more then 1 year, since the DP? Also, outside of a few Big 12 commits, what local players did you want over the incoming class?

4) It's hard to turn SMUs basketball program, no matter who is coaching, so that's another false assumption. Scott Drew is crazy shady as is BCG. BCG was endorsed for the SMU job by Tim Miller, enough said.

[moodymadmen]

I think the main point of the story was this:
"Common sense says our two local Division I programs should be pretty good. Who couldn't build a quality program with Dallas-Fort Worth as its main hub?

Apparently, SMU and TCU can't.

Neither program is awful. Each, however, is irrelevant.

Trust me, that's worse."

SMU is irrelevant in one of the biggest markets in the country. SMU is the only DI school in Dallas yet Moody remains empty. We play a cupcake schedule yet finish under .500 for 4 consecutive years under Doh. It sucks to watch a poor product on the floor but combine that with being completely irrelevant in Dallas and in the college hoops landscape in general and I couldn't agree more with JJT opinion

[ponyinNC]

I think the main point of the story was this:
"Common sense says our two local Division I programs should be pretty good. Who couldn't build a quality program with Dallas-Fort Worth as its main hub?

Apparently, SMU and TCU can't.

Neither program is awful. Each, however, is irrelevant.

Trust me, that's worse."

SMU is irrelevant in one of the biggest markets in the country. SMU is the only DI school in Dallas yet Moody remains empty. We play a cupcake schedule yet finish under .500 for 4 consecutive years under Doh. It sucks to watch a poor product on the floor but combine that with being completely irrelevant in Dallas and in the college hoops landscape in general and I couldn't agree more with JJT opinion

Post of the year for basketball...well said Moodymadmen!!

[CalallenStang]

I like how he says he can't be convinced that it takes 5 years to turn around any program and then hails Scott Drew as a success story.

When did Scott Drew finally finish above .500? Year 5.

You can't make stuff like that up. Thanks, JJT, for a great laugh.

[Blunt Pony]

Bingo, beat me to it on the Drew "turnaround." Don't ever let facts get in the way of a good argument.