Honest Opinions About Coach Doh

[StallionsModelT]

OK. Let's all be honest. I don't think there was a single SMU fan who was disappointed with the hiring of Matt Doherty. Anytime we can get a guy who was the head coach at North Carolina for God's sakes is great. However, after two years, are the results better/worse/or as you expected? Personally, I think we'd all be screaming bloody murder if after two seasons June Jones hadn't produced more than Coach D.

Now I'm not saying get rid of the guy. I still think he can get it done here. All I'm asking is that after two seasons, can we sit back and objectively say we are as excited now as the day we hired him? I don't think so. And, as others have indicated, the outlook for next season isn't that much brighter. So how long is this rebuilding process going to take? Again I'm not advocating that we get rid of Coach Doh or anything like that. But I think we should re-examine the expectations we had when he was brought here.

[RGV Pony]

At this point, all I can say is Doh has done what he's done with Cameron Spencer...who is basically a non-contributor, a bunch of freshmen-most of whom underperformed as to what was expected, and someone else's recruits.

I guess we need to see how things develop. I think we're disappointed that
-We haven't signed a PG other than Walker in three years
-Harp is admittedly gritty but how do you go from scoring 22 ppg in HS to 4 in college and an apparent inability to hit wide open jumpers?
-Kwiat disappeared after a game
-Bennie didn't play because of injury

That having been said, there was somewhat of an upside to Harp's rebounding, and Alex and Papa were at times okay. All three disappeared from games regularly.

Where are our juco guys? Can we please go get some now?

[indianmustang]

may be next year recruiting class will help us ,with juco faye

[d_pony]

i am - i have seen our practices - i can see what Robert N. and M. Faye can do - i am excited about next year especially if we get a JC point guard - i was NOT excited about the talent Doh was left - we would be a lot better if D. Bennett had not been run off to S. Alabama - you're only as good as your talent - we were not blessed with alot - i am excited about Otis and Debois - we are fortunate to have a outstanding men's BB coach

Football will not be a 12 win season - our "cupboard" is not exactly full - give JJ some time and slack - he will deliver

[QuikSStang]

im not worried too much. i think we will be in the top 3-4 in c-usa in about 2 years and tournament contenders in 3

[Greenwich Pony]

I think it will be fine. Coach Doh inherited a hell of a mess- far worse than what JJ just walked into, and we all know that wasn't pretty. Doh started a bunch of freshmen, which in most cases is a recipe for some bad losses, but I think that the talent level is improved, even if the final win tally hasn't. He's digging out of a very deep hole. Doh needs another class in here and two more years of development to show real progress. Depending on what he can bring in (and hopefully Crum Center will help) and how he can develop what talent we have, I think there is still a lot of reason to be optimistic. I can't say I have been thrilled with the record, and some of the losses have been hard to swallow, but in essence Doh is rebuilding the team from the bottom up, and I am still as enthusiastic as when he arrived.

[StallionsModelT]

Some good, well thought out responses to my query. Thanks. I'll say that while I don't think the situation is as good as many of us had hoped, Doh has been a breath of fresh air for the entire athletic department. He is openly adoring of our university and its potential. Its great to see a guy that sees the potential we have at SMU to build something really special. Of course its always easier said than done, but you can't doubt Coach Doh's visionary idealism. Now its just a matter of getting there.

[Pony_Fan]

Off the court he has done very nice things from the TV show, the radio show, Koncack, Crum center, etc....his grade off the court is an A+

The cupboard was bare when he started. Because SMU is that way that it is, Doh couldn't get a Juco in here when he started. I can guarantee he would have done so if he could. Ike was the only bright spot last season and Killen turned out to be fairly solid. Those were both dramatic improvements. Roberts career was very disappointing (injuries, etc)

As everyone has said, we need a PG. As for the new guys, we'll have to wait and see (GT transfer and more frosh). Papa has potential but for the other guys... I am not seeing much from the current guys (in terms of NCAA tournament potential). This season was awful from the scheduling to losing to the worst teams in Div 1.

He's not going anywhere until his contract is up so forget about that.

[Duke Blue Blood]

Did not like the hire as I thought he was a flight risk and not good at developing talent.

I think he has proven me wrong on the flight risk and truly seems to like SMU and Dallas. I think the jury is still out on his ability to develop talent.

Here are the bright spots:

1. He is a PR machine and a great salesman. Even if he is an average teacher he is a very good recruiter. Remember we are NOTHING in the basketball world so getting anybody in here is good.

2. Jon Killen - I thought this guy was an afterthought and a liability. Instead, he turns into one of the better players in the conference. Gotta give somebody credit, might as well be coaching.

3. Bamba Fall- Has developed some offense and is reliable from the line.

Here is a little from the dark-

1. Team still does not play like a team. I don't think they have improved that much.

2. Ryan Harp is a joke. Just awful. He must practice very well.

3. Papa Dia - Not sure why, but you can see signs of a good player and then he just "flops".

Here is to Doh turning this program around!

DBB

[mrydel]

Betcha a nickle he gets at least a one year extension in the near future.

[Stallion]

some of us pointed out several years ago that the talent base was dropping significantly and that the route chosen w/o an immediate influx of JUCOs and Division 1A Transfers would be a long one. Others believed in Coaching miracles. The Football program is in just as bad shape right now as the basketball program was when Doherty took over especially if Willis is unavailiable-don't kid yourself. However, allowing Jones to get kids like a Division 1A Transfer Odiari and a guy who was non-qualifier JUCO may make the route chosen easier if Jones is allowed to go after this broader pool of athletes. If SMU starts a freshman in Football this year we may see some of the same things we've seen from Doherty in the Basketball program.

[Cardinal Puff]

What Doh got out of Ike last year and from Killen this year has to speak well for what he can do to develop talent. His media savvy and scope of basketball relations helps us reach players that would not otherwise come and visit the Crum center much less see what SMU has to offer.
While I still feel the pain of losing to a school I had never heard of at the beginning of the season, I saw improvement as the season went on. Papa seemed to run out of gas, not the first freshman to do so, but still worthy of all freshman team in the conference. Bamba found some offense and hopefully will continue to improve. Ritter was more than the guy on the team you wanted on your side when the bar brawl breaks out.
Let's see if Malone can drive, find out if Harp can handle the ball.
I think we are getting there and I am glad we have Doh.

[Charleston Pony]

those who bash Tubbs for leaving Doh with no talent should not forget that Ofoegbu, Killen and Bamba were Tubbs recruits. Admittedly they were not highly regarded recruits, but they ultimately proved they had Division I talent.

Way too early to judge Doherty since he's really had only one recruiting class. We don't have much choice but to wait at least 2 more years to see what his 1st two recruiting classes will be able to do...and whether they will play an exciting enough brand of bball to bring some long alienated fans back to Moody. We now have better facilities to show recruits, but it's pretty sad that we are all excited about drawing slightly more than 7,000 to see the #2 team in the country play in Moody.

Time will tell, but I'm in the camp that says it is way too early to judge. We aren't the "Duke of Dallas" yet and aren't going to recruit the kind of player who will come right in and resurrect the program immediately. We have to hope that Doherty can bring in guys who will be here 4 years and will improve year after year and will be better than the guys who have carried this team in recent years.

I can't help but hope that whoever our current coach is ...that he will be the guy who finally turns things around. We need to reach a stage where the "big boys" are sniffing around trying to hire our coaches away. I don't remember that happening to a bball coach at SMU since I've been following this program (Doc Hayes' early 60's teams)

[WildBillPony]

Doh has a very positive outlook on the program, more than the previous coaches I've seen or heard. He's genuinely pumped to make this thing great. You hear it in his voice, on the radio show & in person.

I see a better team next season. Jon Killen graduating will be a void, but I'm anxious to see how things go with the other Senegalian coming into the mix. I would expect Alex Malone & Ryan Harp should improve a lot for next season.

[jkflamebo]

this year's team didn't look like a well-meshed team that display little or no chemistry the entire year. the games in moody compared to the ones on espn are clearly different than the ones on tv for a number of reasons...clearly talent is one of them but besides that:

1) set plays for easy baskets are basically non-exisistant
2) absolutely no team chemistry on the floor, killen was a decent leader tho
3) only player teams really had to worry about was killen beyond the arc, if he was extinguished we lost by 15 or more
4) i know it's easy for me to say and i could be wrong, but in the past two years the only times i really saw our guys fired up was when we played memphis in moody. i thought the effort vs memphis last year was the best i've ever seen and i haven't seen it duplicated. to me it seems like our guys go through the motions versus any opponent
5) turnovers. just play smart basketball and dont give away the ball
6) derrick roberts is probably the most underachieving baseketball player i've seen at smu in recent years. i thought he had great potential. whenever he'd score 10 or more we'd usually win or at least keep it close. if he didn't, it was almost a guaranteed loss.

just my immediate thoughts