Will SMU lose another final home game?

[Johnny Rock]

I think we all agree that Dement's 'you know what' is on the line this weekend. SMU better win big to gain some momentum going into the WAC tournament. I am tired of Dement's same old song and dance every year, which begs the question...why does he have such a long term contract anyways? Maybe someone else's position needs to be evaluated at SMU.

[ponyte]

Has anyone heard how the Ponies have been in practice this week? What is their attitude towards the Fresno situation? Do the players see this as a big opportunity or does it just add confusion to the picture?

No doubt the LaTech game is big for us. A great WAC tourney would be super and we do need momentum going into the tourney. We could easily be the most feared team if we beat Tech. We would be on a winning streak and we have beaten all the teams above us at least once.

[OldPony]

Dement's "you know what" is not on the line. This team has improved all year. If the Tulsa fans don't like him, that might be because he beat them at Tulsa. I have often been critical of Dement. This year though he has taken a very young team and they have improved dramatically over the course of the season. There has been no late season melt down despite having a freshman playing point. To the Tulsa fans mentoned in an earlier post who think we won despite Dement- Why didn't your coach sign up these athletes? This is not a top 30 team in athletes yet. Tulsa's recruits were probably rated higher at the time. The Ponies are getting closer though. Their play has been solid TEAM play for the past 1/2 of the year with only a couple of really bad games. I like this team, the character of the team and the way Dement has handled them. Regardless of how they do in the tourney, this has been a fun team to watch grow and, even though Q will be missed immeasurably for his play and leadership, next year is when the pressure comes on Dment to produce tourney teams or be gone.

[Johnny Rock]

Old Pony. I assume you contribute money to the basketball program and you do not want to admit that your contributions have been for nothing. Dement has had ample opportunity to make the NCAA tournament since he has been coach. He has only one NIT appearance and his teams always perform poorly at the end of the season. Dement's teams seem to lack disipline for whatever reason. Fan support has rapidly diminished. Sasser's group had the talent to make the NCAA tournament a few times but Dement failed to get it done. He has followed up with lousy recruiting classes, except for Hopkins. Dement cannot even recruit in Texas anymore. He is forced to go to states like Georgia and Florida to find players when there is great talent in the D/FW area. Facts are facts. It is time to expect more out of the basketball team.

[GallopingGuy]

<I>"...great talent in the D/FW area..."</I>

What, you mean like BHop?

Oh, wait. We DID recruit him.

My bad.

--GG

[LA_Mustang]

Like I have said numerous times, give him a summer and he will make people like you, GG, wish you hadn’t made posts like the one above. But I don’t blame you, that is typical of most SMU fans. Criticize the ones that don’t deserve it (Hopkins) and overlook the ones who do (Copeland)

[Johnny Rock]

Johnny wants to clarify his comments. Johnny may sound negative, but Johnny believes that SMU fans need to expect more out of the basketball program. SMU is a great place and Johnny knows because he spent seven years there. SMU should always strive for top 20 status and consitently recruit and get the top athletes in the area. Maybe the next coach we get will achieve these goals, but Dement has not.