SMU: "The Duke of Dallas?"

[Charleston Pony]

Make it happen, and Coach Doherty might just become "Coach D"

From his latest bolg:


The Duke of Dallas
Aug. 23, 2006

Did I raise a few eyebrows on SI.com with my comments about SMU being the "Duke of Dallas"? People posted comments ranging from:

- "Actually, SMU is an exceptional academic school that has an excellent reputation, albeit not quite Duke's in some folks' eyes. The new athletic director, Steve Orsini, put Central Florida on the map before he got to SMU, and he already has made major moves (fund-raising, facilities upgrades, etc.) His hiring of Doherty was a stroke of genius. SMU will take its lumps -- probably a lot of them -- in 2006-07, but he already is making his presence felt on the recruiting trail. I expect much of the roster will be overhauled by next year, and SMU will be a program that will really take off." (As a Maryland grad, it hurts to say that about a Carolina grad. But he's an absolute stud coach and recruiter.)

- "heh, wonder if Matt's Carolina blue blood makes him choke every time he says "the Duke of Dallas"... Despite his faults, he is a born competitor, and even as a Duke Alum, I wish him well...."

- "He absolutely should have compared Duke to SMU, because New Jersy University - Durham Campus (aka Duke) isn't nearly as good of a school as it is made out to be. In fact, SMU is a reputable school in the South, and while not a Tier 1 school - NJU-Durham isn't either."

- "Man, that must really burn the Tar Heel faithful hearing one of their own aspiring to be like Duke. What a major burn. I am really starting to like this Doherty guy...."

Two points I'd like to make:
1. A person named "Anonymous" wrote these comments. He/she is clever and courageous! Ha! I love when people hide behind a comment. They should be forced to include their name, telephone number and email address to be able to post a comment on the internet. Comments can be good and bad. I tried to give you an assortment. The negative ones can really cause problems....and alot of them are way off base.

BTW, I love the Terp fan. Smart Terp! Not many out there. Must have gotten a graduate degree from UNC......or SMU! (Couldn't resist a jab! All in good fun!)

2. A few UNC fans responded to my blog after reading the SI.com piece and were upset at me for using Duke as a model for my SMU program. Here are a few thoughts:
a. I NEVER want to offend a Carolina fan! The outpouring of support my family and I have received from Tar Heel Nation has been amazing! Thank you for the support and I NEVER want to lose that. It is very important to me!

b. SMU is very similar to Duke. Like it or not, here are the facts: small private school, Methodist, pretty campus, similar arenas, pastor is a Duke graduate, past president came from Duke, good academic reputations, good business schools..... Duke is one of SMU’s “bench mark” schools, one that our administrators collaborate with on a regular basis.

c. I hated Duke as much as any Carolina player, but all the guys I played with respected Duke. Michael Jordan and I would travel 8 miles in the Spring and play pick-up games with Johnny Dawkins, Jay Bilas and the rest of the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor. The next week they would come to Carmichael. Through the hate there was respect. Some of my best friends in the business are Tommy Amaker, Jay Bilas and Mike Brey.

d. I witnessed first hand the remodeling of the Duke program. I was recruited by Bill Foster at Duke in 1980. He took Duke to the Final Four in '78. I chose UNC. Duke fell on hard times and then Coach K came in my freshman year. They had Gene Banks as their star player. They were decent. The next year they were worse and in came Dawkins, Bilas, Alarie... They weren't very good that year because Coach K committed to the "youth movement". Then Amaker came in and the team started to mature, culminating with a win against our talented UNC team in the '84 ACC Tournament. They made the NCAA's that year and the rest is history. Coach K weathered three difficult years, but AD Tom Butters stuck with him and it turned out to be a "decent decision." The core recruits that Duke built its foundation with were Dawkins, Bilas, Alarie, David Henderson along with a few others. Coach K stuck with them. An unpopular move with some fans, but a gutsy move that proved to be a wise decision.

e. Could I have used another anology? Maybe. I could have used my own experience at UNC with the rebuilding process that included starting 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores my last year - Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants and Sean May, along with Jawad Williams and Jackie Manual. But when I took over UNC I had better players than Duke had when Coach K took over. I had Brendan Haywood (NBA), Joe Forte (All-American), Julius Peppers (NFL), Jason Capel (HS All-American), Kris Lang (HS All-American), Ronald Curry (NFL and the HS Player of the year in football and basketball). We beat Duke at Duke that year and were ranked #1 in the country. I feel like my situation at SMU is more like Duke's in 1981 than UNC in 2003.



There you have it. SMU is the Duke of Dallas. I like the ring of it! “We will build it and they will come.” The excitement on “The Hilltop” is tremendous. Money being raised, tickets selling, recruits signing! “Jump in the boat and grab an oar.” We are moving down river…..fast!

Thanks for reading. Hope you all have had a great summer.
Coach Doherty

[ponydawg]

give the website a hit so they know we are reading.........

http://smumustangs.cstv.com/hoopsblog/

[Pony_Fan]

I am glad he took tips from Cuban about the blog. Not sure if any other coach is doing it? He forgot to mention they are in the ACC

I am supporting him 100% but I really think you have to throw Juco's and transfers in the mix (but SMU doesn't do that) -- 2008-2009 - we'll see I guess. Another long road ahead. I just hope I haven't seen this chapter before.

[abezontar]

Me too, but there seems to be a change of attitude over at the athletic department. This is the first time since I started in 97 that they have seriously taken the "let's throw some money at a name and see what happens" as opposed to the "let's go cheap and get an underling with no skins" approach. Hopefully, it will have a different ending.

[SMUltimedia]

I am supporting him 100% but I really think you have to throw Juco's and transfers in the mix (but SMU doesn't do that) before.

Dez Willingham?

[ALEX LIFESON]

That's waaaaaaaaaaay toooooo positive for a few people on this board to swallow!

[jtstang]

He was a Tubbs transfer.

[Pony_Fan]

I am supporting him 100% but I really think you have to throw Juco's and transfers in the mix (but SMU doesn't do that) before.

Dez Willingham?

Ok - but it's very rare indeed. I can't think of another in the last 10 years aside from failed JC transfers that left.

[Buddha]

Epps?

[MFFL02]

We aren't exactly Duke status lol. well we do have a better football team.

[smu diamond m]

We aren't exactly Duke status lol. well we do have a better football team.

Shhh let this thread get back to off-topic