Lay off this team a bit

[SMUmessageboardScreename]

I finally saw my first game of this year when they played Dayton. I understand the frustration...we are beyond terrible. But layoff Doherty and give this team a chance.

A flawed thought:
" Freshman are helping teams win across the country. Our Freshman are losing, therefore they are no good."

1.There is a huge difference with our situation. Our recruits are clearly very raw and we literally have maybe 1 (Killen) reliable contributing upperclassman. Even Bamba, who has had a good start to the year, is finding success for the first time in his college career. Our recruits are not Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, or OJ Mayo. A guy like Papa Dia has the tools to be a good player, but it was clear from watching the Dayton game that he is going to have to develop his skills if he wants to reach his potential. Guys like Alex Malone and Mike Walker look like talented offensive players who will be inconsistent for a while until they get a little more acclimated. They are going to have to learn how to be physical players. Against Dayton I saw some decent intensity and some good defensive movement, but the minute these guys were challenged they got very tentative and subsequently dunked on.

2. Almost all teams have a goto guy. Dayton had Brian Roberts, we had Bryan Hopkins, Patrick Simpson, Eric Castro, and Ike Ofegbu the past few years. Our current team has two role player upperclassmen in Bamba and Killen, a severely underachieving Derrick Roberts, and Freshman. There is no one who should be expected to consistently perform on offense right now. It just isn't feasible. By the end of the year we need Alex Malone, Papa Dia, or Mike Walker to develop into the type of guy who can be counted on to knock down shots at key moments. If you miss on that many recruits and no one develops into anything, it is just bad luck.

3. The #1 reason we are losing to bad teams is interior defense. Our guys were pretty mentally intimidated by Dayton when they came at us and it showed. The intensity is there, they just need to learn the college game. This issue plagues most freshman, even the one's contributing on top teams, you just don't notice it as much because it isn't all 5 guys.

4. Look at what Doherty is doing to the program overall and stand behind him. He has put a plan in place. We have new Freshman this year, will have some next year....we are building. We have a new practice facility and a coach who says he is here for the long term.The #1 factor, in my opinion, beyond Doherty's recruiting skills is fan support. Show up to as many games as possible. The players have to earn wins and learn how to play better basketball, but all you can do is get them in here, and build it one step at a time. I saw some positive play against Dayton and I think if our guys can learn to put some hard fouls on some guys and learn the physicality of the college game, you could see the talent start to come through a little bit.

When I look at what Mike Dement and Jimmy Tubbs did the last few years before Doherty, it was a bunch of nothing. The team looked uninspired, no recruiting, no nothing. They were a much more talented and seasoned bunch, but the underachieving was almost more depressing.

[RGV Pony]

We've trailed by 30 to two teams we beat last year, one of whom we led by thirty last year.

C'mon, man.

UTA has a better record than we do.

It's division 1 basketball! If someone doesn't want us watching w's and l's, go play intramurals, brother. It's Conference USA!

[SMUmessageboardScreename]

I'm not saying you shouldn't be watching W's and L's, I am saying look at the thing realistically. If these guys look as bad as they do right now in March, then there will be a major problem.

Obviously SMU either has some sort of policy against getting JUCOs, or, mroe likely, Matt Doherty wants to build a four year team.

I am sure you could bring in some JUCOs and be 12-18 and never see Ryan Harp or Mike Walker get on the floor. What does that accomplish?

Think about this: We lost 4 out of 5 starters last year on basically a fairly untalented team that played 6 deep.

[George S. Patton]

I'm not saying you shouldn't be watching W's and L's, I am saying look at the thing realistically. If these guys look as bad as they do right now in March, then there will be a major problem.

Obviously SMU either has some sort of policy against getting JUCOs, or, mroe likely, Matt Doherty wants to build a four year team.

I am sure you could bring in some JUCOs and be 12-18 and never see Ryan Harp or Mike Walker get on the floor. What does that accomplish?

Think about this: We lost 4 out of 5 starters last year on basically a fairly untalented team that played 6 deep.

I'm patient with this group. I'm just happy my boy Mike Walker played well. The record will be ugly, but I hope they are a different/better team by February than they are now.

[angryfan04]

How do you figure we lost 4 out of 5 starters from last year? I thought Roberts, Killen, and Fall started.....

[Hoop Fan]

How do you figure we lost 4 out of 5 starters from last year? I thought Roberts, Killen, and Fall started.....

selective memory. Plus, we should have had Dez Willingham on the team this year. Why is he at UNT? just weird. When have you ever heard of a guy transferring for his senior year? Each of those 4 guys had played major minutes in the past, including last year under Doherty. Sorry but there is no excuse for this bad of a start this year.

And if you are going to schedule the teams we have at home, you have to beat them.

[SMUmessageboardScreename]

actually I just went with the starting lineup for the last game last year:

Donatus
Pearson
Ike
Killen
Dez

[PonyDoh]

You guys are hilarious...who gives a rats [deleted] about wins and losses this year? 8-20 or 4-24 mean nothing. Its about a plan to be better than we've been at our best. Its not an easy fix and will take a few years. I have no idea what you guys expected? Should we be more competitive? Of course! Does it matter, as long as we get better by years end and keep active on the trail? No.

Just support the kids, and keep the heat of Doh for a year or two.

[Hoop Fan]

I hear ya, but have you seen one of these games? Its not just brutal, its completely flat. Regardless, I am all for sacrificing the record and playing the young guys. That is if they are somewhat competitive and don't get discouraged and actually hurt their development. They are simply not competitive right now. Needed one juco (someone like Ike at least) and to keep Willingham. The freshmen could get all the minutes they needed to get without losing to the programs we have lost to at home. Tearing it down is one thing being down by 30 to Centenary is another.

[Hoop Fan]

for accuracy, here are starts/minutes played last year:

Roberts 20 starts, 30.9 minutes per game
Killen 31 starts, 33.8 mpg
Dez* 14 starts, 23.6 mpg
Bamba 11 starts, 21.6 mpg

[Stallion]

I stated early and often SMU should have signed at least 2 JUCOs. Seriously, fans are dropping like flies from this program and remaining competitive helps both recruiting and attendance. HOWEVER, once that decision was made I completely agree WINS and LOSSES are irrelevant this year. I've lived through the rebuilding jobs and the most important thing is development of young players. Just hope there is a fanbase left because the cumulative affect of 20 years of losing in FB and BB is devastating.

[RGV Pony]

I have to wonder about those that say "this is what Doherty does...tear down then build up." I'm as much of a fan of the guy as anyone else, but exactly where has he shown that he tears down & then builds up? He was at ND for one year where they went 22-15 & went to the NIT after having a losing record in (an admittedly tough) conference. At UNC they got up to a #1 ranking his first year; Sean May broke his foot and they had a train wreck of a second year; the third year another losing record in conference play and they ran him off.

Anyway, I don't plan on missing a game. Except for maybe the TCU game, at which time I must decide whether to watch the Mavs-Spurs from a colleague's suite in the barn that the Spurs play in, or suffer through TCU whipping our guys.

It's Division 1 BASKETball!

[Hoop Fan]

if we played hard, showed life, made mistakes, competed, and still lost to Centenary by a close margin, I would have a much different feeling right now. I'll say one thing, right now i am intrigued by our matchup with Paul Quinn. Are we allowed to expect to win that one?

[RGV Pony]

if we played hard, showed life, made mistakes, competed, and still lost to Centenary by a close margin, I would have a much different feeling right now. I'll say one thing, right now i am intrigued by our matchup with Paul Quinn. Are we allowed to expect to win that one?

My suspicion is that PQC will play fast and loose and we'll be lucky not to get run out of our own gym.

I hope my suspicion is wrong.

[mavsrage311]

I think the reason SMU isn't getting any JUCO's isn't because of recruiting limitations, but because Doherty doesn't want the "quick fix." I believe I read a quote last year that says something along those lines.