Dement summed it up...

[Charleston Pony]

when he said he was surprised that our guys "quit competing". Clearly, we went into a lower gear about midway thru that 1st half. When OSU pulled out to that 28-20 lead, it looked to me like our guys simply conceded they had better athletes and we weren't going to expend a bunch of energy just to lose by 10-15 instead of getting blown out.

This team showed in non-conference play to be a very inconsistent group. Let's hope they decide they want to compete for the WAC title, but thru the 1st 10 games they've shown you never know what you are going to get on any given night.

Tulsa at Moody Tuesday night is huge. After that one, it's on the road to Nevada and Fresno (two likely losses). Wonder if anyone will show up Tuesday to support these guys?

<small>[ 01-04-2004, 05:22 AM: Message edited by: Charleston Pony ]</small>

[OldPony]

This was my first chance to see the Mustangs play this year. How in the world did this team beat TT or Purdue? They are lazy. Pat Simpson can't catch a ball, BHop can be completely taken out of a game and Isham was the laziest of all on defense. This team is not going anywhere. Mediocre athletes, mediocre coaching and poor work ethic. Absolutely pathetic. OSU isn't Duke.

[Pony_Fan]

Glad you got to see them in action finally. Now you can agree with alot of the points that have been made on this board. Did you say coaching?? I saw a lot of lack of hustle in the 1st half which led to the huge lead.

We got completely embarrassed. We beat TT and Purdue b/c both shot like absolute crap from the outside and we slowed them down and brought them to our level with our difficult zone..haahaa... OSU made some outside shots and took off w/ confidence, rebounding, points in paint, fast breaks, steals, ...you name it.

<small>[ 01-04-2004, 08:39 AM: Message edited by: Pony_Fan ]</small>

[Stallion]

well if SMU doesn't play a zone they will just get killed on the inside anyway-you people that think we have an NCAA caliber inside game are nuts.

[Charleston Pony]

it's easy to see that our low post guys aren't as athletic and quick as the guys they were playing against last night. Because of that, we live and die with the zone and when a team gets hot like OSU did, we lose. Simple as that, folks. We don't have the athletes or the depth to play man with top 25 caliber teams every night, but we've done pretty well (2-2) against the better teams on our schedule.

I do think we have a pretty good team and believe we can compete for the WAC title and post season play. The question is whether these guys believe they can and whether they are willing to go hard for 40 minutes to earn every win, because nothing will be easy in conference play. Last night they clearly quit early.

[KnuckleStang]

What a thoroughly disgusting display. 7-8 OSU 3-pointers in the first half I can almost live with (our defense is designed to make them shoot those, after all, and they made them), but GIVING UP, ten minutes into our only nationally televised game of the season, makes me sick. I am mortified. Mustang fans watch in horror, as SMU players stand around and wait for the game to be over for the entire second half. This loss leaves me more bitter than I ever felt during this last football season. Amazing, but true.

CP and Stal are right, we will see no man defense vs. quality opposition this year, nor should we. Possibly ever. We would get smoked even worse. We will live and die by 3-pointers. God, I wish they'd move that line back a couple feet.

Looks like we will have no idea what to expect out of this team on a game to game basis. While I expected us to be 5-5 at this point, not 6-4, I cannot believe that pathetic, heartless showing. Lesser talent is one thing; lesser effort down the stretch is inexcusable. Why do we pick an ESPN game to put Mustang Pride on holiday?

[EastStang]

I watched the game at least until I started getting physically ill. Having watched the Navy game and this game back to back there were some glaring differences. First, OSU had way more talent that we had. They were physically the better team. We had to play a pack down low zone and as the commentator said, OSU usually doesn't do well from the three point stripe, and when they started hitting the threes, we were forced to open that zone slightly and then the dunks started. I agree the team kind of quit at once we got behind by double digits. Second, Lucas flat out schooled Hopkins. I hope that BHop learned something from the experience. Third, Raskauskas does not know how to block out. He needs to work on that aspect of his game, or he won't help us much when Castro can't play. Castro saw first hand what happens when he gets to play against some real inside talent. Simpson appeared lethargic, but in the Navy game he was very energized and animated. Perhaps he doesn't handle losing well. Bottom line, OSU was more talented and beat us. Also, is Reay not ready for prime time. He looks bulkier than the Rack. I wish Dement had thrown him in earlier to see how he handled things inside.

[Ponymon]

They should redshirt Reay instead of wasting him this year. He could use the time to develop his strength and agility. Reay could help the program a lot more as a 5th year senior rather than as a less experienced 4 year player. Dement, however, doesn't appear to believe in redshirting unless there is a medical problem, which is one reason, in my opinion, why our big men have a harder time competing. He has had a tough time getting the good, big guys to attend SMU. The ones he does get need time to develop and would benefit from the extra year. Dement, for instance, had promised Forinash that he would be redshirted to give him time to develop, but he did not follow through on this. His father was really upset about the way the situation was handled.

[OldPony]

There was no excuse for quitting. That has nothing to do with athletic ability. I've never seen a more embarrassing display by any SMU team in my 50 years of watching SMU sports. Yes- That includes many outmanned teams post DP. Even the announcers who try to put a positive spin on things saw that we had a bunch of quitters and started to call us on it but backed off. Every one of the starters except Castro who is possibly the least talented of the group quit. (I may have to rethink the talent because at least Castro can catch a basketball). I have seen huge lossses by SMU in the Shumate days but never a team that totally quit. This was pathetic in all respects.

[Southland]

Originally posted by Stallion:
well if SMU doesn't play a zone they will just get killed on the inside anyway-you people that think we have an NCAA caliber inside game are nuts.

I think it is safe to say that the winner of the WAC Tournament will be the only school participating in the NCAA Tournament this season.

Considering many of the Pac 10 and Big 10 schools will be available for the NIT selection committee, we may have to finish in the top 2 of the regular season AND make the WAC Final just to get an NIT bid.