Mike Dement...

[CoxSMU]

This was a great couple of wins...but I am still not a Dement fan.

When a team loses to a couple of terrible teams(Sand Diego and ASU), but then beats a couple of really good teams( Texas Tech and Purdue), its usually an indication of a talented team with a bad coach.

I might be wrong, but I am really tired of getting so pumped up about these wins, only to be brought back to down with a bad lose

<small>[ 12-22-2003, 05:08 AM: Message edited by: CoxSMU ]</small>

[BUS]

It is with great thought I say - I have to agree. Over the past years we have had talent but not a KILLER instinct. What's up with that?

When we have teams down we don't ENJOY kicking the snot out of them - or that is the way it looks to me.

Personality - the will to punish people. Where does that come from? A coach? and player?

I think B. Hop is getting pissed and is taking this team over to the agressive side. GOOD.

[ClassOf81]

I understand your criticism, but in this case, I don't think it's fair, because we've never won a game like this (against a ranked opponent -- and on the road, no less), so we have no way of knowing how the team will respond. Sure, the team lost a couple that we'd like to have back, but beating a team like Purdue IN THEIR HOUSE is a huge win. Hopefully the guys will see what can be accomplished and crank it up a notch. Personally, I'm happy for Coach Dement, getting that "can't beat a ranked team" monkey off his back.

[OldPony]

Yeah and Bill Self is a bad coach. How can you beat Mich St and then lose to Nevada. How about Knight- how could a team ranked as high as TT lose to SMU? He probably can't coach. Afterall, his talent was supposed to be better than SMU's. Gene Keady should quit.
This is still a group which is learning to play together. Do you think BHop hasn't been told to be a playmaker when your shot isn't falling? He probably just came up with the idea all by himself. It is only whne bad things happen that it is Dement's fault. He has nothing to do with anything good.
This group is still inconsistent but I like what I am seeing. I believe they have a chance to dance this year and that next year will be even better. With Simpson, BHop, Isham and Castro returning next year plus Rack, Pearson, I am pumped.

[FloridaMustang]

I don't get all this ASU is a terrible team nonsense. They CRUSHED us last season.

[Charleston Pony]

ASU was picked by the SoCon coaches to win the northern division of that conference, which means hey were picked over ETSU and UTC, both pretty good teams. They aren't horrible.

Meanwhile, this is a very inconsistent SMU team but the season is young. Let's see if they can find the intensity they played with that last 5-6 minutes against Purdue when WAC play rolls around. If we could play that way for 40 minutes, we could compete with anyone.

[CoxSMU]

Old Pony...you make a valid but wrong point. Bill Self loses to Nevada, but Kansas will still make the tourny. Bob Knight lost to us, but he has still guided Texas Tech to the tourny. You can't attack my point by pointing out single loses by top coaches.If this was Dements first year, I would agree with you. But he has been here for far too long. An first round NBA pick in Sasser, a solid player in Willie Davis, a star in Quinton Ross, a talented PG in Damon Hancock. Now we have a player that was hailed as a top 10 high school player in B-Hop, a player that was the Colorado player of the year in simpson, and a couple of other good players in Isham and Castro...

Yet, where has Dement led us? To the NIT and that is it...We have had the talent, but not the coaching...

[OldPony]

You make it sound as if all that talent was there at the same time. This is the second time since Dement arrived that he has had decent talent on the starting five AND experience. He had one disappointing season (Sassers senior year) and I attribute most of that to Sasser who was somewhat uncontrollable but we had to have him on the court. I promise that if you gave Dement the talent KU has that he would get to the tourney. KU has better players at EVERY position. They didn't even go after a single guy on our roster unless they expressed some mild interest in BHop.
We have one bad loss and I think have beaten 2 teams with more talent as well as playing Wake quite well. Do you think Dement gets no credit for that? Dement has also recruited very well considering the circumstances but he has been able to get 2 National top 100's during his tenure. Teams like KU get every one of their players from that list of top 100. Hopkins was highly rated but he isn't showing to be as good as Paul or Miles let alone being TJ. It is time to give Dement some credit. This team could get to the dance and next year will be better and the following year should be good too. The program is in the best shape it has been in in years.

[CoxSMU]

You're right, the talent hasn't always been here at once...but the year Castro and and Simpson was freshmens, and Hancock and ross were here, we should have done a whole hell of a lot better than we did.

The talent has been here. I am not saying we shouold have been an NCAA tournament team year in and year out. But we should have AT LEAST been to the NIT twice more than we went(once). And it was more of Tubbs' work of getting B-Hop to committ.

I am not saying you are completely wrong OldPony, but lets get serious, we have had talent here. The talent has been here to at least take us to a better showing in THE WAC.

I am going to reverse your example on you. Put Rick Pitino or Mike Krzyzewski as our coach and I guarentee you that we would have more than one tournament appearance, with the same talent.

[OldPony]

You may be right but Rick Pitino nor Coach K nor any name coach will come to SMU when they don't let you play by the same recruiting rules. If you are a mid major, you better have tradition (Memphis) or no scruples (Cincinnati) to be a good program year in and year out. Louisville is in the heart of basketball country but Crum still thought it was necessary to recruit guys who would have never been allowed on the SMU campus.
We have had only marginal talent if you are talking about Top 50-60 type programs. When you expect freshmen to make a tourney team, they better be Top 100 type talent. Simpson was close but not. Castro wasn't close. Dement has rebuilt this program though everyone wants to credit Tubbs. Tubbs was totally ineffective under Shu. At least give Dement credit for turning Tubbs loose to recruit the Dallas area. The guys who are playing now will help rebuild SMU even more because other top recruits will start to give us a chance. Dement has done it the right way and has put us in a better position than we have been in since Bliss (and we don't want to discuss Bliss's recruiting methods). Shu had one good year but left the program in shambles. I am more excited about SMU's basketball future than footbball by a long shot. I hope we made as good of a hire with Bennett as we did with Dement but only time will tell. The "fire the coach" crowd (for all sports) is expecting some kind of miracle worker that we have never heard of to come along for SMU. It is time to get realistic and give some kudos to a guy who has done very well with the tools given him.

[KnuckleStang]

Go look up Krzyzewski's record his first season at Duke (1980?) when he didn't have 8-10 McDonald's All Americans on the roster. It wasn't pretty.

[EastStang]

Also Duke is in the ACC, probably the premier basketball league (until next year) in the Country. It is arguably one of the best universities in the Country, it just needed a boost which came when Coach K arrived. Dement was one of Coach K's assistants. That said, Dement needs a good run in the WAC which will be difficult this year. If we make the dance, look for Dement to be hired away from us.

[Stallion]

Castro and Simpson have proven themselves to be average and above average respectively. They aren't "great" or even "very good" NCAA Tournament caliber players. These guys have not proven they are the type of talents that carry a team to the NCAA Dance on their shoulders. When they play a team of that caliber they are often dominated on the boards. Castros too slow-Simpson's too frail. It is incredible to me how so many of you inflate the talent that Dement has to work with-generally it has been about average-no better and certainly not tournament quality in a decent conference especially at the big men positions.

[KnuckleStang]

All I know is, our football team is on its 4th coach since the DP, and we have one winning season to show for it. Dement has been working under the same academic restrictions. He has only one losing season in 8 years (his first season).

Yes, I know comparing it to football is apples and oranges. Yes, our basketball teams have been consistently mediocre. Yes, our perennial inability to defend the 3 makes me want to vomit at times. But, I think considering the hand Dement has been dealt as far as recruiting, he's done about as good a job as one can expect.

Also, perhaps, when we're getting torched from outside, Dement simply doesn't feel we have the athletes to play good man defense, and that's why he doesn't switch. Just a thought. I don't know.

[Pony_Fan]

I see all sides of this after reading the entire thread but IMO - I just don't like his coaching style (offensive and defensive) and I have seen way too many coaching mistakes over the years - I have seen all the teams since he has been here even with the "mediocre" players we have had. He is stubborn and his decisions at times are laughable.

I will give him kudos for being in a tough situation with terrible facilities, no tradition, no student support, etc.

This win was historic for him but we should have had at least a few more than 1-23 against ranked teams and not crapped out so many times in so many games.