I’m not asking for much...

[EastStang]

Welcome to mid-major world. You're not going to get P-5 talent. So, you have to build teams with cast offs, divas, and decent but not other worldly players. On a good G-5 program, you should hope for a dance ticket every four years. That's the world we're in. Its not going to change. If you point to Gonzaga, look at who is in their conference? No one. You're even seeing it in the Big East. Teams moving up and down. So, get used to it. We're in the same lifeboat with the A-10.

[smitty329]

Let's Go!!

ECM it amazes me how your internet connection/access to Ponyfans only seems to work after an SMU loss when you criticize the coach and administration - I am sorry we missed all of your inspirational messages you would have posted after a win had you had access.

Sanctions came and Larry left - everyone ever think where we would be if Jank split then too? Or after the NCAA Appearance year? We would probably have had an assistant for a season with an interim head coach tag followed by who knows what. Why did he stay? Money? Most likely. But he stayed and the student athletes seem to appreciate him. Remember he is coaching student athletes, not a celebrity judge on "The Next NBA Idol"

And whoever mentioned Jank is worthless because he keeps Douglas on the roster - how do you know what Douglas contributes to the team? Is he worthless because he isn't putting up a double double every game? Is it possible he contributes in other ways - in practice? In the the locker room? Or maybe he's not at 100%? And wouldn't Jank be a hypocrite if he got rid of him after complaining about not having enough players to practice?

You guys need to start playing video games to get out your aggression and ease up on these guys. Geez.

[mustangxc]

If Jank takes credit for the 30 wins his first season with a seasoned LB team and the AAC Player of the Year, then he has to accept that the team failed to win a game in the tournament. He drew up a play for Shake to take the final shot against USC when we had the biggest, baddest dude in the league itching for the shot.

This year, the team (whether from lack of talent or otherwise) hasn't grown or shown hardly any maturity. The last two games show that. Couple that with the cupcake out of conference schedule and its even worse.

I echo the comments that deal with his lack of engagement, commitment etc... outside of the basketball court. Maybe I'm missing a lot, but I don't see him promoting our program aside from the obvious TV interviews. LB was out canvassing like a young candidate.

I'm not excited about this team or the foreseeable future.

I don’t remember it that way. I remember we had 2 seniors, the league player of the year and no one wanted the moment so it fell to Shake by default because he was the point guard. I love that team but no one stepped up in that moment.

[mustangxc]

It's interesting to see the people on this board rationalizing the joke of a job Jank has done the past few seasons. We are in the middle of what would be an epic collapse to end the season, and some are just like, well SMU shouldn't be THAT good anyways. That is a loser mindset. We have seen this program work when someone who cares is coaching.

I agree that NIT should be the floor for this team, not the ceiling. We have too much talent to lose to ECU and Tulane.

[smitty329]

We have too much talent to lose to ECU and Tulane.

I would argue if we had the talent, we would not have lost to ECU and Tulane. Or perhaps, we have the talent - athletic ability, highlight reels, etc. - but we don't have players with the basketball IQ necessary to compete consistently and win games. Prime example - I have the athletic ability to block a shot - but I should not attempt to block a forced shot with time expiring on the shot clock because they are most likely trying to draw the foul. How many times have we seen that the past couple games? You can't stop play in a game every time there is a pending coachable moment.

[mustangxc]

We have too much talent to lose to ECU and Tulane.

I would argue if we had the talent, we would not have lost to ECU and Tulane. Or perhaps, we have the talent - athletic ability, highlight reels, etc. - but we don't have players with the basketball IQ necessary to compete consistently and win games. Prime example - I have the athletic ability to block a shot - but I should not attempt to block a forced shot with time expiring on the shot clock because they are most likely trying to draw the foul. How many times have we seen that the past couple games? You can't stop play in a game every time there is a pending coachable moment.

Recruiting falls on the coach.

[Charleston Pony]

Recruiting falls on the coach.

Yes, it does and that's been my primary concern with Jank. Is he a poor talent evaluator or does he just not set the bar high enough...or both? Clearly he's had more misses than hits, but he has had more success in the transfer market vs the frosh he's brought in. As for running off the misses, that's a tough issue because we aren't recruiting "one and done" players and I do think guys need time to develop. With a 13 'ship roster, there are usually going to be guys who realize they aren't going to get the minutes they want and they can now jump into the transfer portal and change their situation. Coach needs to have close enough relationships with his guys to know when that's going to happen and needs to have a plan to upgrade whenever he can. I just want to see year over year improvement and I do think this roster is a little more talented (and certainly deeper) than last year's.

[SoCal_Pony]

Take out the first year with Brown's players and what have you got???????

Sagarin Rankings by Year

2014 LB - 30th
2015 LB - 32rd
2016 LB - 19th

2017 transition year LB to tank -19th

2018 tank - 65th
2019 tank - 97th
2020 tank - 96th

This team, next year, will have 6 seniors.
Like the past 2 seasons, they will have a cupcake OOC schedule.
I predict now they will be a bubble NIT team, based more on their OOC than talent.

[East Coast Mustang]

Lapboy Hart isn't going to fire Jank. Prepare yourself accordingly for at least another year of wasted talent/lack of recruiting.

Fire Hart.
Fire Jank.

It’s not Rick’s decision to make...

[East Coast Mustang]

Welcome to mid-major world. You're not going to get P-5 talent. So, you have to build teams with cast offs, divas, and decent but not other worldly players. On a good G-5 program, you should hope for a dance ticket every four years. That's the world we're in. Its not going to change. If you point to Gonzaga, look at who is in their conference? No one. You're even seeing it in the Big East. Teams moving up and down. So, get used to it. We're in the same lifeboat with the A-10.

This is small time thinking. We are in a way better position in the American than the A-10, MWC and whatever the heck conference Gonzaga is in when it comes to TV exposure, name recognition and recruiting. Look at some of Houston’s recent classes. Memphis had the #1 class in the country last year. Cincy always recruits well. I’m not saying we should be in the mix for five stars but there’s no reason we cant compete for guys ranked in the top 200 nationally. Unfortunately Jank would rather compete with the Canisiuses and UALRs of the world for recruits, and the result of that is the crap sandwich of basketball we’ve seen.

There is no reason given the investment that we’ve made in basketball that we shouldn’t be at or near the top of the AAC every single season. Instead, Jank inherited a gold mine and turned it into a port-a-potty

[East Coast Mustang]

Let's Go!!

ECM it amazes me how your internet connection/access to Ponyfans only seems to work after an SMU loss when you criticize the coach and administration - I am sorry we missed all of your inspirational messages you would have posted after a win had you had access.

Sanctions came and Larry left - everyone ever think where we would be if Jank split then too? Or after the NCAA Appearance year? We would probably have had an assistant for a season with an interim head coach tag followed by who knows what. Why did he stay? Money? Most likely. But he stayed and the student athletes seem to appreciate him. Remember he is coaching student athletes, not a celebrity judge on "The Next NBA Idol"

And whoever mentioned Jank is worthless because he keeps Douglas on the roster - how do you know what Douglas contributes to the team? Is he worthless because he isn't putting up a double double every game? Is it possible he contributes in other ways - in practice? In the the locker room? Or maybe he's not at 100%? And wouldn't Jank be a hypocrite if he got rid of him after complaining about not having enough players to practice?

You guys need to start playing video games to get out your aggression and ease up on these guys. Geez.

This team has one legit win this year (Houston at home) and one decent win (@ Memphis, who isn't anywhere near as good as their #21 ranking when we played them). Vanderbilt is atrocious, UNLV is a middling MWC team in the midst of a rebuild and Evansville flat out sucks. We are the worst 18-win team in the country, our SOS is horrible because Jank scheduled like a total loser because he was afraid of decent teams.

As to your question about what would happen if Jank had left when we got sanctions...well we’d be in a helluva lot better place right now five years later, that’s for sure. We’d presumably have a coach who gives a damn about his job and recruiting, and we probably wouldnt be losing to ECU and Tulane and getting absolutely obliterated by a team coached by Frank Haith.

I dont know how anyone can watch the team this season and be excited in any way about the future of SMU basketball. Yes, there are some legit pieces (Davis, Jolly, Mike, Feron) but this team will never come anywhere close to its full potential with Jank at the helm. A team takes on the same demeanor as its head coach and as a result we have all the mental toughness and fortitude of the French military. Our team is soft, our program is soft, and it’s not going to get better while the Self-Imposed Janktion is running things.

[PonyTime]

Don't think that they are better coaches for a variety of reasons, but you cannot deny the fact that Coach Doh, Mike Dement and Jon Shumate have each logged as many 20 win seasons at SMU as Jank and as many NCAA tournament wins as Jank. And none of those coaches were handed a roster full of top level (some NBA level) talent.

I suspect that may remain the case at the conclusion of this season as well.

[SoCal_Pony]

Yes, there are some legit pieces (Davis, Jolly, Mike, Feron) but this team will never come anywhere close to its full potential with Jank at the helm.

Legitimate pieces????, sure, if you aspire to be an NIT team

[friarwolf]

2015/16
Nic or Kendrick
Sterling/Shake or Jolly
Marcus or Feron
Ben/Jordan or Mike

2016/17
Shake or Kendrick?
Sterling or Jolly
Semi or Feron?
Ben or Mike?

Throw in Jarrey and Ben E

One team sat out the post season and the other lost in the first round. Do you really think Davis,Jolly, Mike, and Feron are in the same neighborhood as our players in 2015 and 2016? They are not legit pieces that can take us to the NCAA first round. Rotational players - yes. Studs, no. If Brown or someone like him was the coach, I do believe they could perform much better but I think their ceiling would still be limited to NIT level...............

[friarwolf]

2015/16
Nic or Kendrick
Sterling/Shake or Jolly
Marcus or Feron
Ben/Jordan or Mike

2016/17
Shake or Kendrick?
Sterling or Jolly
Semi or Feron?
Ben or Mike?

Throw in Jarrey and Ben E

One team sat out the post season and the other lost in the first round. Do you really think Davis,Jolly, Mike, and Feron are in the same neighborhood as our players in 2015 and 2016? They are not legit pieces that can take us to the NCAA first round. Rotational players - yes. Studs, no. If Brown or someone like him was the coach, I do believe they could perform much better but I think their ceiling would still be limited to NIT level...............