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I knew Tulsa was in a transition year after losing Swanson and Johnson, but was anyone else shocked at the dropoff in size and talent from them? Tulsa had become a perennial power, regardless of coach. Once I saw them, I expected SMU to win, but I don't think I am as down on our performance as most of you seem to be. Yes, we could have blown them out, but Tulsa has pride and several of them like Kenneth Kelly and Seneca Collins were back home playing in front of friends and family. They just weren't going to lie down. I thought Hopkins played a good game last night. Not up to his potential, but he was still the MVP on the floor. When he goes out, we have trouble even getting the ball to the top of the key to set up the offense. Simpson, Isham, and Lowe all hit big shots down the stretch too and people have already talked about Castro playing strong. Nobody picked this team to go to the NCAA tournament this year, but it seems like we are judging them by a pretty high standard. Every team has ups and downs. Its a long season and this team was on the road alot and all but one of the home games came over the holiday break when weird things tend to happen. My point is, I think these players as a group have taken too much criticism. Dement is under the gun and rightfully so, because of 8 years of not getting over the hump, but this group shouldn't carry the burden of all that. Rant over.

<small>[ 01-07-2004, 07:14 AM: Message edited by: Hoop Fan ]</small>

I think people need to slow down with the "Hop only had 1 assist" complaint. On any given night one of Isham, Simpson, Castro, or Lowe will put up 15 to 20 points, but there is no doubt that Hop is the "scorer" on this team. Most of the time he is looking for his shot first, and that's not his fault. Should he have more assist per game than he does? Yes, but you have to remember that Hop has only been playing with these guys for a little over a year now. Last year, he had a lot of TOs that were a result of quick, but most of the time good passes that his teammates werent ready for. For that reason, he has become tentative to take chances and he now looks to shoot more. I'm not saying that he doesnt make some bad passes and decisions, because he does, but he is still having a difficult time adjusting to his limitations. In my opinion he is still only playing at about 50% of his old self. The quickness and freakish leaping ability that made him a 5 star recruit is just not there.

I agree, I thought Hop played pretty well.

The drive home is always shorter after a win - especially a conference win! Great job, Ponies.