Houston game

[MustangIcon]

until doh gets his guys any time we play a pressing game we are toast.

settle in for a long season. The good news is the change will be very quick when his guys show up.

ya know, thats great, but why was it when we played bad under tubbs or dement, it was the coaches fault for not getting guys ready to play and getting the most out of players? Is Doherty getting the most out of these guys right now?

The talent level of the Dement/Tubbs teams cannot even be compared to the bare cubbard that Doherty inherrited. Our team this year, which is less talented than last year's in anyone's eyes, will finish better than our team did last year. So I am not sure if Doherty is getting the most out of his players or not, but he will be getting more out of them than our last coach did.

[MustangIcon]

I had no great hopes for this year. I am excited about what looks to be some pretty good recruits. I wish we had a kid that could hit 3's like Houston does. Last time I saw that at SMU was Gene Phillips and they only counted for 2 back then.

Dog gone it.....the picture came back.

Get ready for Ryan Harp then because his 3 pt fg percentage is out of this world. 54% as a soph and 44% as a junior. Not sure what his percentage is this year but above 40% is fantastic for a guy who is the focal point of an offense.

[MustangIcon]

Doherty wasn't hired to go to the Dance in 2007-he was hired to build a program. Too many of you focus on the present. You gauge a coach by what he is building looking 3-4 years down the line-or what is not building. See Phil Bennett.

You are absolutely correct. We knew we would be bad this year with what he has and expected that anything over a .500 season would be an improvement from last year and exceeding expectations. Absolutely love Doherty's first recruiting class and it might not even be done yet. If Doherty is still here we will be dancing in his third season (and have a chance at the NIT next season). You guys can hold me to that and give me a big fat I told you so if it doesn't happen.

At the same time I have adopted the Jim Copeland hope for mediocrity philosiphy in regrds to football. PB just needs more time to build towards that first winning season of his. I mean, we need to give him time to get his own players in here and everything. Oh wait....

[ponyboy]

Doherty wasn't hired to go to the Dance in 2007-he was hired to build a program. Too many of you focus on the present. You gauge a coach by what he is building looking 3-4 years down the line-or what is not building. See Phil Bennett.

This needs to be a permanent sticky.

ponyboy, you down on phil bennett these days?

There was no sarcasm. I agree with every word of Stallion's post, although I have no idea about his views about how much longer we keep Bennett. For me, Phil's got one more shot to push through. Yes, he's lining up a mediocre class, but that's very much to be expected as the second or third honeymoon is over. If he doesn't take us over the top and into a bowl game next year, he needs to be replaced.

[RunningStang]

I liked the effort in the second half. In years past, we would of rolled over and lost by 40. I think we will do fine the rest of conference. I know we are all used to SMU basketball teams peaking in January. Give Doherty a chance. He is going to have this team playing its best ball in March.

[EastStang]

This team lacks talent, we all knew that. They played with heart and came back at the end. With a less skilled team though, turnovers should be less of a problem because the coach should not be encouraging them to run and gun. Instead they ought to be running a low risk offense like the Princeton offense and shooting when open. If they miss or its blocked, no big deal. We seem to have severe problems with pressure defenses. That is a lack of skill and athleticism, but again, that should be solved with some coaching. I've seen stiff teams destroy a press run by a more talented team. Its a matter of coaching. Again, I can forgive a 20% shooting percentage and ten turnovers per game. When you get to 20 Turnovers, you're seeing mental mistakes most of the time.

[mrydel]

I think they need to run and gun. They played a slow down against Houston in the first half and never got a shot off. The more times they pass the more likely a turnover. Bring it down and throw it up, maybe it will go in.

[MustangIcon]

This team lacks talent, we all knew that. They played with heart and came back at the end. With a less skilled team though, turnovers should be less of a problem because the coach should not be encouraging them to run and gun. Instead they ought to be running a low risk offense like the Princeton offense and shooting when open. If they miss or its blocked, no big deal. We seem to have severe problems with pressure defenses. That is a lack of skill and athleticism, but again, that should be solved with some coaching. I've seen stiff teams destroy a press run by a more talented team. Its a matter of coaching. Again, I can forgive a 20% shooting percentage and ten turnovers per game. When you get to 20 Turnovers, you're seeing mental mistakes most of the time.

While I love the Princeton offense I do not think this team should run it or any variation of it. It should run an offense that Doherty plans to run next season and the season after etc. He knows this team isn't headed for a CUSA Championship or to the NCAA Tournament. I think its important to run his offense and get the players accustomed to it and set a foundation for the remainder of this season and seasons to come. At the same time, Doherty does know the talent he is working with is a little lower than he is used to. I would imagine for that reason he has limited the risk involved in his schemes and has slightly adjusted his offense accordingly.

Basically I like that so far Doherty is showing that he is here to build a program as opposed to just running something for this season to maximize our record. This should be a pretty big help to those players we have returning for next season- which will in turn help out our incoming freshman I would hope.

[Pony_Fan]

I think they need to run and gun. They played a slow down against Houston in the first half and never got a shot off. The more times they pass the more likely a turnover. Bring it down and throw it up, maybe it will go in.

We can't run and gun. We don't have the talent....I have seen a lot of missed fast breaks opportunities so far. I would assume they run fast breaks in practice but they cant execute in a game.

[mrydel]

I think they need to run and gun. They played a slow down against Houston in the first half and never got a shot off. The more times they pass the more likely a turnover. Bring it down and throw it up, maybe it will go in.

We can't run and gun. We don't have the talent....I have seen a lot of missed fast breaks opportunities so far. I would assume they run fast breaks in practice but they cant execute in a game.

I realize that. It is painfully obvious. But if you watched the Houston game you saw what happens with a slow down. They never got a shot off. It was a bounce it off the head, dribble it off the foot, throw it very high out of bounds, let opposition steal it right in front of you. Face it, if you never shoot, you will never score and that was Houston. At least with a run and gun (and I use the term loosely) they get off shots. We can not afford to pass the ball more than 2 or 3 times or we will lose it.

That said, I do agree with running the offense that Doherty wants when he has his own talent. That is the offense he needs to be teaching, what ever that may be.

[Pony_Fan]

At this point, I like the jack it up for 3 and fight for rebound offense..

[MustangIcon]

At this point, I like the jack it up for 3 and fight for rebound offense..

I like UH's offense too.

[EastStang]

I would agree with you ICON if I thought that any of this year's players would be on the floor next year for any appreciable playing time. Yes, his job is to build a program, but its also to do the best you can with the hand you're dealt this year. What separates great basketball coaches from good ones is the ability to use the assets that you have. John Wooden won the NCAA in years that he did not have Jabbar or Walton. If you watch those teams he switched the emphasis to guard play from center play. Al Maguire won with varying styles. Guy Lewis had post up offenses with Elvin Hayes to run and gun with Phi Slamma jamma. Coach Doh is still a relatively young coach and by the time he's Wooden's age, he will probably be able to pull out a piece of tape from a game his team played 20 years before and say, this might work with this bunch. If we want to win this year, he needs to change his offense. If we want to play out the schedule and hope these players will get better using the current offense, that's his call. That's why he gets the big $$$$.

[Pony_Fan]

What would you propose, serious question.

We have no dribble penetration (Roberts can do sometimes but cant finish), 2 tall guys that can't catch, inconsistent forwards, and a point guard who cant take care of the ball.

[MustangIcon]

I would agree with you ICON if I thought that any of this year's players would be on the floor next year for any appreciable playing time.

I am pretty certain that Roberts and Bamba will start. As of now we have only 2 more guards coming in- Walker and Harp. If thats true that still means Killen or Dez might still get significant minutes. I'd just rather him try to have the most success he can this season while still laying the foundation for next year. IE don't go to a Princeton offense that we don't plan on using past this season. Just my opinion.