Keys to next season

[LA_Mustang]

Chaggy - Our starting center and will get 25-30 minutes a game. Will the staff develop him? He has all the tools. He can be 14 & 8 guy. Has the potential to be all-AAC this season.

Ray and Douglas - who are they? Both have the talent but it is time to show it or move on. Ray will be needed more because we don’t have another 4/5 backup for Chaggy. He can be an elite rebounder and garbage scorer in the Draymond mold. No one on this roster puzzles me more than Douglas. He has all the measurables - body, length, shot but eventually he has to produce. It would not shock me if he is a completely different player this season.

Newcomers - I’ve told people Mike is as good as any transfer we’ve had. Will he have the impact of Nic or Semi in year one? I don’t know but I think he will be our best player and all-AAC worthy. He is an NBA talent. Hunt is a Jarrey level talent without the injury. The sky is the limit. The staff is raving about him. Kennedy will be a great building block and a nice contributor off the bench. He could be Shake like as a freshman. Hopefully Dixon is what we thought Justin Martin would be.

McMurray - be you. Be the guy who can go off for 10 points in 3 minutes. Along with Mike he will provide the swagger. He will be a better player with more talent surrounding him.

Jank - let the roster limitations go. Please run more.

[horsemanx]

Instill the values on which this program was built!

Don't play zone like [deleted].

[ponyboy]

I'd say Jarrey's knee is a key as well. And, yes, free McMurray.

[Stallion]

don't free McMurray TOO much-he actually was pretty disciplined down the stretch in moving his strike zone closer to the 3 point line unless the clock was running down. He should get a bunch more open looks with about 5 SMU players who have the ability to shoot 40% from 3 point line:

Chargois
Dixon
Foster
McMurray
and hopefully Mike

don't expect it from Douglas (actually have a hunch he's going to be a great shooter) , or a freshman like Hunt or Kennedy but think they could eventually get there in the future too.

[ponyboy]

Yeah, I really think Douglas is going to be good.

[Stallion]

Even before our final commitments, SMU has already assembled a proven core of 6 established players that averaged about 72.6 points per game-including their last season at former schools-that's pretty amazing considering where we were-how many AAC schools or even in the entire NCAA have that kind of proven production-we really aren't going to have to rely upon unproven underclassmen to put a veteran team on the Court:


McMurray 14.7

Foster 13.2

Chargois 9.1 (OK I cheated but he's definitely proved he should be a double figures guy averaging 13 ppg before getting sick/hurt)

Mike 11.3

Dixon 13.8 (18 ppg in 12 game stretch)

Jimmy Whitt 10.5

so Hunt, Kennedy, Douglas, Ray, Young and Unknown Recruit just need to complement what we already have

[DanFreibergerForHeisman]

Yeah, I really think Douglas is going to be good.

I think that is the majority opinion.

[Stallion]

Compare that to last year's much more inexperienced returning lineup which had about 27.6 ppg in proven returning players in Shake(13 ppg), Foster (9.9 ppg) and Emelogu (4.3ppg) -add Whitt (6.1 ppg) if you like to get to about 33.7. We are in a much better position coming into 2018-19

[sadderbudweiser]

Glad that some of you are so sure we get Kennedy.

[JasonB]

In order of importance:

1 and 2) Foster HAS to be healthy.
3) Mike is the player we think he is, starting at the 4.
4) Whitt develops a reliable outside jumper to limit help on the perimeter. The athelticism of Foster and Mike from the wings could be really dangerous, but Whitt needs to be able to stretch the floor and open up the 2 guard.
5) McMurray fits into the offence as the 2 guard and cuts down on turnovers.
6) Ethan comes back fit and we get last year's first half of the season from him.
7) We find a backup PG.
Dixon is a solid backup 2, Hunt the 4, Ray the 5, Douglas the 3. Don't need them to be stars, just defensive energy and make an open shot. Kennedy/Young/another recruit are a bonus to help out.

If 1-3 + 6 happen (most likely), I think we are an NIT team.
If 4 or 5 we are NCAA bubble.
4+5 = solid NCAA
7+8 I think we are competing for conference championship and have a chance at a run in the tourney.

[No Quarter]

MAYBE IT IS TIME TO WORRY, REALLY WORRY.

JASON B's POST MAY BE HIS LEAST OPTIMISTIC FOR BASKETBALL OR FOOTBALL IN TWO-THREE YEARS.

[JasonB]

Actually, I wasn't super optimistic going into last season either. Ethan was a huge surprise and saved us early.

[No Quarter]

Sir, I certainly all your IFS have the best response.

[The Falcon]

In order of importance:

1 and 2) Foster HAS to be healthy.
3) Mike is the player we think he is, starting at the 4.
4) Whitt develops a reliable outside jumper to limit help on the perimeter. The athelticism of Foster and Mike from the wings could be really dangerous, but Whitt needs to be able to stretch the floor and open up the 2 guard.
5) McMurray fits into the offence as the 2 guard and cuts down on turnovers.
6) Ethan comes back fit and we get last year's first half of the season from him.
7) We find a backup PG.
Dixon is a solid backup 2, Hunt the 4, Ray the 5, Douglas the 3. Don't need them to be stars, just defensive energy and make an open shot. Kennedy/Young/another recruit are a bonus to help out.

If 1-3 + 6 happen (most likely), I think we are an NIT team.
If 4 or 5 we are NCAA bubble.
4+5 = solid NCAA
7+8 I think we are competing for conference championship and have a chance at a run in the tourney.

Good post Jason. I agree with most everything you say. I also agree with other posters
thAt we should play an up tempo game and play man to man instead of zone. I think we
have enough backups to handle more minutes and get everybody playing time. This is going
to be a very good team if we can share, rebound, and play defense (who said that?)

[ojaipony]

Once that Tulane game happened, with the exception of at Wichita, this team (including staff apparently) completely forgot the Larry Brown principles: defense and rebounding and sharing the ball (give up the good shot for a great shot - ball has to constantly be moving). Jank needs to drill this in to them: play hard and play together. It's been such a joy watching our brand of bball the last 4-5 years. It got away from us the last half of last year. We actually have several shooters now (AND athleticism).

I think this team can be really good if the core guys (Jarrey/Shaggy/Whitt/McMurray/Mike) can spend a lot of gym time together. With a strong focus on the fundamentals, I think we can make a run. Ray/Hunt/Douglas/Dixon/backup PG need to be able to contribute. Other than Hunt, of course, I agree with Stallion: this squad is experienced (and potentially deep).

I'm quite optimistic with the firepower and athleticism on this team.