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This story was printed from smudailycampus.com.
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Demented performance
Coach is to blame for underachieving basketball team


By The Daily Campus Editorial Board
February 10, 2004


One. Two. Three. One. Three. One. No, that is not Mike Tyson trying to count to 10. Rather, it is the number of points that the SMU men’s basketball team has lost by in half of its 12 losses.

For all those Chicago Cubs fans that consider your team cursed, Mustang fans should be starting to have the same suspicions about their squad.

It truly seems criminal for one team to just about always end up on the losing end of critically close games.

Maybe we are all blind to the real reason behind the losing. Perhaps it is time for coach Mike Dement’s effectiveness to be evaluated.

Whenever teams start losing, it’s almost as natural as breathing for the fans to start pointing fingers for who is to blame. In this situation, the Mustangs’ inconsistent play can be blamed solely on coach Dement.

In Mike Dement’s coaching tenure at SMU, he has compiled an unremarkable 137-117 record.

For those of you scoring at home, that is a .539 winning percentage — in effect, nothing to write home about.

Despite being in one of the weakest conferences in the country, SMU finds itself at the bottom of the barrel in numerous statistics.

Of the 10 schools in the Western Athletic Conference, SMU ranks eighth in both team scoring and in team assists per game. When it comes to what really matters, the actually scoring of baskets, SMU sits in last place with a .422 field goal percentage.

Above all, coach Dement seems complacent, as marked by a continual decline in wins season after season.

Since their brilliant 21-9 record in the 1999-2000 season, SMU won 18 games in 2000-2001 and only 15 games in 2001-2002.

It should also be noted that those teams’ roster, which included Jeryl Sasser, Damon Hancock, Quinton Ross and Willie Davis, had enough talent to rival many of the nation’s top teams.

This season, SMU shocked its fans with wins over Texas Tech and a then nationally ranked Purdue team.

Obviously there is talent within the program, but the team still continuous to struggle.

The often-underachieving Mustang squad seems to be lacking proper leadership from the coaching staff.

The attitude to win is gone, and the fire and love for the game of basketball seems to have faded along with it.


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....I see scapegoat season is upon us and nary a word about the lack of administration support for the program. Just "talent strong enough to compete with some of the best programs in the Nation"....BULL****!!!!!!!You people that are too ignorant to see past this for the 30th time deserve another 30 years of losing. Now if we can just find a Coach who can discipline and motivate the boys.

<small>[ 02-10-2004, 12:30 PM: Message edited by: Stallion ]</small>

Half an argument.

The Daily Campus Editorial Board must have not seen what kind of talent the "Top Teams" have or they wouldn't make such an ignorant statement. We have not had one player who was recruited by UNC, Duke, KU, Arizona, Indiana,Kentucky,UCLA or Stanford. If this is an overstatement, it would be because BHop may have been by one or two of the above. NOBODY ELSE. That is right. NOBODY ELSE. Yes- There may be someone who will come to SMU and do better than Dement. It is just as likely that we will get someone who won't do as well. And this is from someone who agrees that we should make a change. I know however, that it is only going to be a very short term help. The best hope is that when SMU tries to recruit a coach that they have to change some of the bull SH*t just to get anyone decent to talk to us. Maybe then some of the jackasses like the Daily Campus writers might figure this out.

completely agree OP, even though I think a change has to be made, those assinine DC brats don't have a clue what they are running their mouths or pens about.

how about writing to the editorial your opinion?

I've done that before for whatever it was worth, don't have the time or inclination right now.

I did - As I do want Dement gone - they are obviously only looking at a small portion of the issue.

<small>[ 02-10-2004, 02:53 PM: Message edited by: Pony_Fan ]</small>

The writer really is clueless. So, the WAC is one of the WORST conferences in the country? Last time I checked, I could have sworn the WAC was about the 10th highest rated of the 31 Division I bball conferences. With 6 of our 10 teams rated in the top 3rd of the RPI and only one in the bottom 3rd, methinks the writer is ignorant of the level of competition we face night in, night out.

Has Dement gotten the most out of these guys? Probably not, although would another coach have beaten TTech and Purdue? Has he lost his fire? From a distance, I see a guy who has lost some of the intensity he had when he arrived.

Gee, how could that be? The players only have to stay 4 years and feel unappreciated. Dement has been here much longer and has to wonder what it will take to bring out more than the usual 1500 to support this program. Think it's tough to recruit against the power conferences and even against Tulsa, who enjoys tremendous fan support for their program?

Maybe it is time for Dement to move on and for SMU to get some new energetic young coach to come in here and see what he can do. If that happens, that new coach can thank Dement for putting together perhaps the best roster SMU bball has seen in years. It may not be full of guys who had Big XII, SEC or ACC offers, but we will have 4 upperclass starters returning and will have more depth than we've had in ages. If good things don't happen next year under Dement or whoever, this program is at risk of "backing up".

http://www.smudailycampus.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/02/12/402b077319637

Editorial Reply

Very interesting. Its nice to see that view somewhere else other than PF.com. I doubt it will get any answers but at least someone made the effort. :thumbupcool: