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I'm preparing myself now for some early season struggles next year. Losing Nic and Markus is really going to hurt. I'm confident that Shake will be the Man, but with a new point guard, a new backup point guard and (hopefully) 2 new bigs, November and December might be a little rough.

Of course we do have Sterling and Ben Moore coming back as seniors. . . So that's definitely something. Need Shake and Jarray especially to take a big step forward. But honestly it's tough to handicap what a Nic-less SMU team will be like.

Oh, and BTW. . . last night stunk.

what about the season after next season and the 2 after that? And what about future attendance? Can we require a photo when purchasing season tickets and then display the photos of no-shows on the video board? We've got 7 games remaining in this season... but it is never too early for future panic.

Huh? No one is panicking (at least I'm not). It's just that watching us when NIc is in vs. when Nic is out. . . particularly last night. . . really brings home to me what a transition next season will be.

Believe me, I've been around long enough that college sports is never a cause of panic in my life.

We'll miss Nic, but we've been missing Markus for a year now. I have a slightly different take. I know we'll struggle some, but I think Shake will benefit mentally from having the ball from day 1. Hes not quite the shooter Nic is, probably not as clutch, but he gets in the lane so much easier. We need more kids who can drill 3s from the wing on kick outs. Beyond that, we could use another piece or two, but it's a talented 8 or 9 right now. Ben E can really help, if he comes back strong

hoopmanx wrote:We'll miss Nic, but we've been missing Markus for a year now. I have a slightly different take. I know we'll struggle some, but I think Shake will benefit mentally from having the ball from day 1. Hes not quite the shooter Nic is, probably not as clutch, but he gets in the lane so much easier. We need more kids who can drill 3s from the wing on kick outs. Beyond that, we could use another piece or two, but it's a talented 8 or 9 right now. Ben E can really help, if he comes back strong

Hoop-

what's your take on Shake's defense? Last night it seemed Harrison blew by a few times for easy layups. Shake looked slow to move his feet and seemed lost.

As much as we will miss Nic's clutch shooting...I'm worried we may miss his perimeter defense even more.

Nic has been much better on D this year, but his height gets him in trouble at times.

Shake is a good perimeter defender. Because of his length, there are going to be times where someone quicker can get by. That is what bigs in the middle are for. Ben, MK, and especially Tolbert did a poor job last night of sliding over to help on the drives.

Next year you have Shake, Sterling, Foster, 2 frosh guards and Ben E on the perimeter. We need one of the frosh to be able to handle and dribble penetrate (what Sed was supposed to do). If we get that, we will be fine on the outside. Foster will take a massive leap forward next year and Ben E will fit a lot better as well.

At the other two spots, right now we have Moore, Semi, and Frolling. We probably need another big to come in and take foul pressure off of the inside so that they can play hard all the time. But all three of those guys can score and have a nice mid-range game. Tolbert and MK are nice around the bucket, but are limited in size and range.

I think we will be fine from a skill perspective, but experience will nail us in a couple of games.

ponyinNC wrote:

hoopmanx wrote:We'll miss Nic, but we've been missing Markus for a year now. I have a slightly different take. I know we'll struggle some, but I think Shake will benefit mentally from having the ball from day 1. Hes not quite the shooter Nic is, probably not as clutch, but he gets in the lane so much easier. We need more kids who can drill 3s from the wing on kick outs. Beyond that, we could use another piece or two, but it's a talented 8 or 9 right now. Ben E can really help, if he comes back strong

Hoop-

what's your take on Shake's defense? Last night it seemed Harrison blew by a few times for easy layups. Shake looked slow to move his feet and seemed lost.

As much as we will miss Nic's clutch shooting...I'm worried we may miss his perimeter defense even more.

I get the feeling Shake is dead on his feet, but still talented enough to get 10-15 every night. He's a good defender, but a glider of sorts. Long strider that closes well and can make up ground, but he's gonna get beat by water bugs. I won't miss Nics defense. He almost has to score the way he does, cause he gives up so many points

Wait for Semi. He's going to be phenomenal. And he'll be here for two full years.

1983 Cotton Bowl wrote:I'm preparing myself now for some early season struggles next year. Losing Nic and Markus is really going to hurt. I'm confident that Shake will be the Man, but with a new point guard, a new backup point guard and (hopefully) 2 new bigs, November and December might be a little rough.

Of course we do have Sterling and Ben Moore coming back as seniors. . . So that's definitely something. Need Shake and Jarray especially to take a big step forward. But honestly it's tough to handicap what a Nic-less SMU team will be like.

Oh, and BTW. . . last night stunk.

Don't leave Semi out of this conversation. Think about what Tolbert brought to the table after sitting a year. Semi will have 3? years of College Basketball under his belt - pretty much a senior next year, even though he has limited in-game competition.

I hope Ben Moore gets it going again at some point, He has 6 points this month.

Next year, we start 2 NBA kids. That's a nice way to reload

Some really good points being made here. For the record, my way too early prediction for next season is that we end up ranked and tourney-bound. I'm just expecting some struggles early as we adjust to life without our woobie Nic. . .at least on the offensive end. Then again, if the D improves without him, then maybe the woobie won't be as necessary next year.

Grab Kapita, and hopefully the NCAA gives back a couple of schollies before the end of spring period to allow Larry to grab another kid or a grad transfer.

I think the 7 man rotation is beginning to take its toll. These guys are just a step slower later in games. I think they're just gassed. Personally, I'd take the 5 guys on the end of the bench, put them in for two minutes after a TV timeout and full court press, man to man. They might force a turnover and easy bucket, if they foul, so what.

PonyTime wrote:

1983 Cotton Bowl wrote:I'm preparing myself now for some early season struggles next year. Losing Nic and Markus is really going to hurt. I'm confident that Shake will be the Man, but with a new point guard, a new backup point guard and (hopefully) 2 new bigs, November and December might be a little rough.

Of course we do have Sterling and Ben Moore coming back as seniors. . . So that's definitely something. Need Shake and Jarray especially to take a big step forward. But honestly it's tough to handicap what a Nic-less SMU team will be like.

Oh, and BTW. . . last night stunk.

Don't leave Semi out of this conversation. Think about what Tolbert brought to the table after sitting a year. Semi will have 3? years of College Basketball under his belt - pretty much a senior next year, even though he has limited in-game competition.

True story. Definitely looking forward to Semi!