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Hey guys, I'm a new poster on this Message Board, big Larry Brown fan so I of course started following SMU basketball after he moved. I'm quite impressed with what you guys are doing, got a great team coming up, a brand new palace to play in, a great conference with a good schedule, just a good place to be right now. I'll have tickets so I'll be down to a few games this year, also a Buckeye basketball fan (sure most of you hate OSU, so I apologize in advance).

I've seen many of your kids play either in high school or now in college, I've been lurking on the board a bit and I think it's interesting in how little stock has been put into Nic Moore overall. I've seen that kid on the AAU circuit and as a freshman at Illinois State, that kid would be my pick to be your top player this year. I've seen Keith Frazier play too, obviously not near as much, but that kid is smooth. Jumper needs to come around, but it will get there. As far as a pure athlete, he's top shelf, great size, good combo guard. He is big enough to bounce around in the lane but quick enough to play the wing and get up and down the court. Nonetheless, really excited to watch SMU basketball this year, I know a lot of the guys down at the school in and around the team/ticket office, ect, so I've always had them in my ear.

Definitely one exciting time for the program. Let me know if you have any questions on Midwest bball (Big Ten or otherwise) and I'll try to share what I know. Big Ten basketball is obviously more my forte that AAC. It's easier to follow the teams this way, but I also know quite a bit about the recruits, having either played against them, have siblings that played them on the AAU circuit, ect. I know Turner was at OSU last weekend, he's an interesting recruit, not sure anyone feels good about landing him. I know that he really enjoyed his time/visit, was there for the Iowa football game and got to see the Psych Dept (future major), but it's going to be a tough pull from Duke and Kentucky. And to build on that, I'm not even sure that K or Cal think they have the inside track, he does however talk to Brown quite a bit still.

Cool side note, had a chance to speak with Sonny Vacarro the other day. One very interesting guy to say the least. I hope to get involved in some discussions and I'm looking forward to a bright year for you guys.

Welcome to the board. By the way, no one here is discounting Nic Moore. In fact everyone is exciting to get a true point guard on the team this year. No problem with OSU but some have some issue with OSU. Oklahoma State that is (mascot issue, too long of a story to tell). Anyway, I think Kansas could be the landing point for Myles Turner imo.

OBF, looks like NW has a nice class doing in as well, what do you think? Collins being from the Chicago area seems to be recruiting better in the area than the previous coach. Did you get a chance to see Sterling brown or Benn Moore?

Welcome to the board ohio. Myles Turner is going to be very interesting to watch. I think he is KU bound personally but then again, everyone thought Mudiay was a UK lock. You never know

I have to second what '86 said. We are all really REALLY glad the nic moore is here. Having a true point guard is going to make a huge difference.

The Godfather is gonna do some work this year. Glad to have you here. And yes I hate OSU

Welcome, OhioBrownFan. Glad you're following the team and decided to buy season tix. It should be an exciting season. I had the chance to watch a couple of practices last year and it was very obvious that Nic is going to make a huge difference in this year's team. Despite his size, he's an extremely talented kid - true PG who can shoot. Along with Nic, the big difference is going to be the additions of Kennedy and Morenia in the middle. Last year Jalen Jones had to play out of position in most games. Also, a couple of guys I talked to who are a lot closer to the program than I am said that Brown and Moore have been just as impressive in practices as Frazier. The talent upgrade is going to be beyond significant.

As for Turner, he's a long shot. As 86 mention, I believe he ends up at Kansas. William Lee a forward from AL visited last week and it appears he's deciding between us and Alabama. Regardless, this year should be great and next should be even better (Mudiay). Good to have you onboard.

SMU 86 wrote:OBF, looks like NW has a nice class doing in as well, what do you think? Collins being from the Chicago area seems to be recruiting better in the area than the previous coach. Did you get a chance to see Sterling brown or Benn Moore?

Chris is a heck of a coach from a personality stand point. Both their football and basketball programs are on the uptick. I heard from a pretty reliable recruiting analyst that if OSU ever lost their head coach, Fitzgerald would be his #1 choice without question. He told me I have no idea how many recruits tell him behind closed doors that Northwestern was their 2nd choice after committing to OSU, Notre Dame, Michigan, Stanford, ect...I feel the same about Collins, just a personable guy that players want to play for. I saw the other day, he gave a walk-on a scholarship, may not seem like much, but that is a huge honor and commitment in giving up a roster spot to someone who was pleased by just being a walk-on. That says a lot to me about his character especially with limited scholarships of basketball.

As for their recruiting, he's doing a great job. He's bringing in some of the best recruits they've ever had at least on paper. Problem: So is the rest of the Big 10. H*ll, even Nebraska has brought in a decent class or two and they will only get better with Pinnacle Arena just being built, it's not hard to sell a recruit when they also have sold out their entire stadium of 15K for the season. You have Iowa, Wisconsin, MSU, Indiana, Michigan, and OSU all recruiting at a high level as well. Groce has Illinois on the rise and Minnesota has done well when Tubby was there. So I think that, yes the recruiting is getting MUCH better, but is it enough to compete when everyone else is picking up solid players too? I don't know. What I do know, is if he owns Chicago, he will be just fine, talent there is some of the best in the nation. But it's tough when you got 7 or 8 top schools picking and sifting through kids, heck, Ohio State even has a few kids from Chicago on the team now including Sam Thompson.

Sterling Brown I have not seen in person, in fact I can't even recall the AAU team he played for. I'll ask a few buddies if they saw him play, but I don't have too much input on him. Ben Moore on the other hand, I have caught. He's very unpolished down low, but good motor for a big man and really gets after it on the glass. He's not a real big guy (both tall or muscular) but he simply outworks people. I don't see him getting on the floor much, he's probably behind Kennedy I would imagine. I really just don't think he's polished enough to see measurable playing time. Sterling Brown is also likely to sit the bench. I really don't see Brown straying from Moore, Frazier, and Russell will eat up the minutes. I think ideally it'd be Moore and Frazier along with a bit more size for Brown but unfortunately, the front-line is pretty thin. So smaller line-up probably sees those three on the floor and eating up playing time imo.

LA_Mustang wrote:Welcome, OhioBrownFan. Glad you're following the team and decided to buy season tix. It should be an exciting season. I had the chance to watch a couple of practices last year and it was very obvious that Nic is going to make a huge difference in this year's team. Despite his size, he's an extremely talented kid - true PG who can shoot. Along with Nic, the big difference is going to be the additions of Kennedy and Morenia in the middle. Last year Jalen Jones had to play out of position in most games. Also, a couple of guys I talked to who are a lot closer to the program than I am said that Brown and Moore have been just as impressive in practices as Frazier. The talent upgrade is going to be beyond significant.

As for Turner, he's a long shot. As 86 mention, I believe he ends up at Kansas. William Lee a forward from AL visited last week and it appears he's deciding between us and Alabama. Regardless, this year should be great and next should be even better (Mudiay). Good to have you onboard.

No doubt, without seeing Moore in a while, I can't really comment how far he's come, but the kid's got nasty handles. Quick as hell on the cross-over, he used to make guys in the MVC look stupid and wondering where he went while they were picking themselves back up after tripping. I imagine he'll be the best player by quite a bit, just a true floor general that Brown is going to love. An extension of the coach, his type of player. Shot needed work when he was at Illinois State however, but he was able to get it off at will. So size was never the issue on that end, liability moreso on the defensive end. As I said though, he's quick so he makes up for it I think with steals and what not.

As for Turner, I've also heard KU from some but the rumblings I've been hearing below the surface have been strong to Duke for whatever reason. He's very quiet and his dad handles a lot of it from what I understand, I've been following him from the OSU side. Mudiay on the other hand, sounded like he was SMU from 2 days before he announced or so, can't blame the skepticism from SMU fans though. I do it all the time when Matta has a big time recruit, why Ohio State and not MSU or Kentucky? But somehow he does it from time to time

Oh, and thanks for the welcoming guys. Really appreciate it.

Welcome OFB! Glad to have you here.

While I can't stand the Big 10 (sorry born and raised in the heart of the SEC), I hope you (and everyone else for that matter) check out "Don't Put Me In Coach," the story of Mark Titus's 4 years as a walk-on at Ohio State. It's a great read.

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Put-Me-Coach ... 0307745384

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/763 ... -put-coach

Welcome!


Check out the Robodoh commercial on youtube if you haven't. That's your SMU hoops initiation. It's gloriously awful.

Haha you guys are cracking me up. Thanks, I can't seem to find the commercial though. Link?

Also, thanks for the Mark Titus story, great story

EDIT: NVM, found the commercial. LMAO, love it. Hopefully the next commercial will be talking tournament appearances instead of recruits

OhioBrownFan wrote: the kid's got nasty handles.

Sounds like Hoopmanx.

OBF, you and Hoopmanx will be talking the same language on these boards. Hoopmanx is one of our hoops posters that knows his stuff.

And not to put too much pressure, but you're exactly the kind of fan we want buying season tickets, heading to Moody, and following SMU hoops. That's when it really takes off.

Stlhockeyguy02 wrote:And not to put too much pressure, but you're exactly the kind of fan we want buying season tickets, heading to Moody, and following SMU hoops. That's when it really takes off.

Agreed.