New FSSW.com interview with Doh

[PonyDoh]

I'm curious as to which games those would be, because I'm not seeing how we've been killed by injuries, thus far. Nyakundai missed 4 games, but we won 3 of them, and the one loss was A&M. Faye missed 2 games, UTEP and NCCC, which we split. Otis missed 2 games, but we won them both. Our most embarrassing loss this year was Texas State, but everyone was healthy and available, Luttman and Kwiatkowski were the only scholarship players that didnt play that night, and McCoy had one of his better games (16 points and 6 rebounds). McCoy had his best game (20 points) against A&M, the one loss Nyakundai was missing for. Perhaps you could pin the UTEP loss on Faye's absence, but after the game weren't you making posts about how losing Faye was addition by subtraction? I'm fairly sure I read that phrase, 3 or 4 times.

Every year, every team has a few injuries, and players miss a game or two. That happens in contact sports. Our core group, the 4 players who are our most productive, and the 3-4 primary subs, have remained relatively healthy, so I dont understand why you say injuries have killed us. The timing of this is puzzling, did you already know that we are going to be shorthanded, tonight?

Nyakundi hasn't been healthy a game this year, not one. It's a struggle to get him practicing. Luttman has been injured most of the year, so no depth upfront, if only for fouls and physicality. Faye has missed several games including tonight's, although that's not due to injury. Otis missed several & McCoy is MIA for reasons that I don't want to talk about on a public message board. Not a ton of chemistry when you have to juggle the line-up every game and alter the rotation accordingly. I have no idea where you are coming from when you say our core has remained healthy, b/c it hasn't.

I have no problem w/Faye being out personally, b/c he's a selfish baller, and we move the ball better w/o him. Statistically, it hurts though. I think we add by subtracting next year by losing both Faye and Will. Thankful for Will, he's a gamer, but he's also a black hole at PG. Wins start w/more team assists.

[PonyDoh]

i guess what i meant was that in and of itself, being methodical is not a system. slowing it down only to run a half broken play, watch your ball handlers get shoved out to halfcourt, and then jack up a bad shot as the shot clock expires is all too often what we see. If we executed some crisp half court sets with good ball movement that put players in positions to make shots from their favorite spots, that would be different. I know you didn't see the UAB game, but I'll tell you how we got the lead to begin with, it was DWill being unconscious and jacking up several 23-25 footers that were hitting nothing but net. Once UAB took that away and he cooled off, we were toast. Thats not a half court offense.

Of course i dont have any issue with Doh talking x's and o's with Stallings or anybody, but its Dohs 4th year and he is now coming around to this revelation about what will work at SMU? Thats real frustrating to hear is all.

Yea, I don't have any problem w/that take. My frustration isn't the O, b/c I know how it's supposed to look and how it's being taught. The issue is execution, which to me comes down to having the proper pieces for the O, which we don't. Will is a good player, but a miserable PG. Our bigs don't set the high pick w/any ill will, and they don't have pick and pop, or roll skills. Smith and Vilde will help a ton in those areas. All that said, it's still on the coach to match personnel and system, so no excuses.

[CA Mustang]

The results are disappointing, but w/4 more wins, they are knocking on the door of respectability, and completely living up to expectations for this squad, and SMU hoops in general.

You're joking right? The goal for Year 4 is "knocking on the door of respectability"? Sorry, this is SMU, not New Jersey Institute of Technology. In Year 4 of a coach, this should be a team in the top 5 of CUSA with the ability to become top 4 in Year 5. Struggling to reach .500 is not some lofty accomplishment. Dement and Tubbs reached that level and so far, Doherty has failed to meet even that modest standard.

Logic would suggest they'd be better next year w/the '10 class added, and McCoy/Haynes/Nyakundi/Otis becoming upper classmen etc. '10 is easily one of the top 2 or 3 classes in CUSA before Spring additions. ... Don't get me wrong, we need to see results, but this isn't the program that should fire another coach early, especially w/the '10 class in tow, another on the way, and a very solid '11 lining up.

And why should we trust his ability to evaluate talent and/or develop it once arrives on campus?

Cameron Dollar gets brought up, but he's 9-11 at Seattle, about to go 9-12.

Cameron Dollar this year led his team to a 50+ point road win at a BCS school. Doherty can't even beat a D-III school by 50.

[PonyDoh]

You're joking right? The goal for Year 4 is "knocking on the door of respectability"? Sorry, this is SMU, not New Jersey Institute of Technology. In Year 4 of a coach, this should be a team in the top 5 of CUSA with the ability to become top 4 in Year 5. Struggling to reach .500 is not some lofty accomplishment. Dement and Tubbs reached that level and so far, Doherty has failed to meet even that modest standard.

And why should we trust his ability to evaluate talent and/or develop it once arrives on campus?

Cameron Dollar this year led his team to a 50+ point road win at a BCS school. Doherty can't even beat a D-III school by 50.

The goal of this year was to get to 16 wins or so, and bump that number up next year into the low 20s. I don't know what you were expecting, but this program left Doh nothing, then he gutted it, w/Orsini's administrative blessing, to build from scratch. That takes a minute. IF UAB & Marshall are Top 4 in CUSA, we have that ability, next year in particular. We aren't that far away.

Doh has some player success stories at SMU. See Killen, Ike, Dia, Williams, probably McCoy etc. He's had some flame-outs too. I'm a big Maryland booster and everyone always talks about Gary Williams develops players, but the reality is that he's a HOF guy that has as many busts as success stories. The team needs to play better, and the system needs to be defined, but don't point to individual improvement, cause that's Fools Gold. Do you blame Doh for McCoy not touching a ball all summer?

As for Cam Dollar, the verdict is out. He has 1 really nice win, but the record is still sorta ugly. I have no doubt he'll be a very good recruiter for a variety of reasons, but are you sure he can X & O?

[CA Mustang]

The goal of this year was to get to 16 wins or so, and bump that number up next year into the low 20s. I don't know what you were expecting,

I was expecting Doherty to deliver more than 16 wins in his fourth year. 16 wins in CUSA with a weak non-conference schedule is nothing to write home about.

...but this program left Doh nothing, then he gutted it, w/Orsini's administrative blessing, to build from scratch. That takes a minute.

Since when did a minute equal five years? Barring a late run, Doherty STILL won't be at the level Dement and Tubbs were at. If after four years you are still below "nothing", why do you still have a job?

As for Cam Dollar, the verdict is out. He has 1 really nice win, but the record is still sorta ugly.

Well, Doherty's record at SMU is very ugly and he's still looking for a really nice win. I guess when Doherty gets his really nice win, then we can make a true comparison.

[CA Mustang]

Do you blame Doh for McCoy not touching a ball all summer?

Since what's going on with McCoy is top-secret, how am I (or anyone else) supposed to respond? If you are asking me to trust Doherty on the matter, sorry but I don't.

[PonyDoh]

I was expecting Doherty to deliver more than 16 wins in his fourth year. 16 wins in CUSA with a weak non-conference schedule is nothing to write home about.

Since when did a minute equal five years? Barring a late run, Doherty STILL won't be at the level Dement and Tubbs were at. If after four years you are still below "nothing", why do you still have a job?

Well, Doherty's record at SMU is very ugly and he's still looking for a really nice win. I guess when Doherty gets his really nice win, then we can make a true comparison.

You have every right to be disgruntled w/results, as they haven't been good. No one is claiming that the current success of the program is where it needs to be. There are reasons for this, however, some very legit. I liked Tubbs as a man very much, but his dismissal did a tremendous amount of damage in the local community. As we've discussed at length, the barbershop talk is brutal. I had the mother of a high profile local recruit, just this past holiday season, tell me that SMU is a white school that killed Coach Tubbs. I had a hard time disagreeing w/her, though I wanted to.

I understand the need to look at things in wins & losses, but understanding the climate of the job is important as well. It took K 5 years to do anything at Dook. It took Gary Williams losing records in the Big East and Big 10 to become a legend at Maryland etc. Do I predict that for Doh? Nope. I do think we can win at a healthy clip, though. Just takes time. I've never seen a program so damaged in its hometown, ever, and I do this professionally. I'm not an advocate for Doherty as much as I'm aware how difficult this job is currently.

Beyond that, it's funny to see people talk about getting rid of Doh w/o looking at the bottom line, and it's not wins and losses. Simply, It'll take a mil plus to buy the guy out, and another mil plus to bring in someone new. Roughly 2.5 this year vs. waiting a calendar year and just paying half that. Why would anyone waste that cash, when attendance isn't going to bump drastically, no matter who we hire. Talk about penny wise, pound foolish. The handful of additional wins we might net, would cost like 200k each..lol. I realize we have boosters w/ F.U cash, but that's a hard sell to anyone

[PonyDoh]

Do you blame Doh for McCoy not touching a ball all summer?

Since what's going on with McCoy is top-secret, how am I (or anyone else) supposed to respond? If you are asking me to trust Doherty on the matter, sorry but I don't.

Here's the thing, you don't need to know the details, to respond in earnest to my statement. McCoy barely touched a basketball all summer. How is that Doh's fault? The kid was in Oregon and visiting family in the south pacific, not Dallas. I'm not asking you to trust anyone, McCoy has said it himself.

[Hey June]

Beyond that, it's funny to see people talk about getting rid of Doh w/o looking at the bottom line, and it's not wins and losses. Simply, It'll take a mil plus to buy the guy out, and another mil plus to bring in someone new.

How do you figure? I was told he has one year left on the contract he signed, which was for about $400K and incentives that would bump it up to $600K. How do you come up with a million-dollar buyout?

[PonyDoh]

Beyond that, it's funny to see people talk about getting rid of Doh w/o looking at the bottom line, and it's not wins and losses. Simply, It'll take a mil plus to buy the guy out, and another mil plus to bring in someone new.

How do you figure? I was told he has one year left on the contract he signed, which was for about $400K and incentives that would bump it up to $600K. How do you come up with a million-dollar buyout?

more people get paid in a buy out then just Doh.

[Hoop Fan]

P-Doh, you might be right about a buyout of the staff not making any sense. The problem was really hiring Doh to begin with. Wrong card to play at the wrong time. I don't know much, but i did know at the time that bringing in an image guy on top of the Tubbs debacle spelled throwing gasoline on an already smoldering fire of longtime distrust for SMU locally. SMU thumbed its nose once again at the local bball community and its not even clear the admin realized it or not or cared. I know there are players all over the country who SMU can recruit and the AAU circuit provides the ability for all mid majors to recruit nationally to some extent and SMU does have a national profile and appeal to certain middle to upperclass kids. The problem is when there is a stench coming from your backyard, you can't hide it. It means basketball people in the area, true basketball junkies (not the yuppies who love the Mavs and Stars), stay away from your program. You have no grassroots casual interest much less support. Thats what i see at Moody right now, a complete void of any casual, non-alum fans. During the Dement and Tubbs years, even if we weren't winning , you had a smattering of local bball people there watching, talking etc. You had players families who added to the atmosphere. What you have now is so sterile its amazing, even for SMU. Anyway I really think you have to work from inside out, not vice versa, if you ever want to turn around SMU and make it legit. I'm not saying go exclusively dallas, but you have to repair the damage in Dallas, even if that means a slower rebuilding process undertaken by the right coach.

[CA Mustang]

Do you blame Doh for McCoy not touching a ball all summer?

Since what's going on with McCoy is top-secret, how am I (or anyone else) supposed to respond? If you are asking me to trust Doherty on the matter, sorry but I don't.

Here's the thing, you don't need to know the details, to respond in earnest to my statement. McCoy barely touched a basketball all summer. How is that Doh's fault? The kid was in Oregon and visiting family in the south pacific, not Dallas. I'm not asking you to trust anyone, McCoy has said it himself.

So which was it, he didn't practice all summer or he only practiced a little?

If he did blow off practicing over the summer, then either he doesn't undertand what it takes to be an athlete in a major college sport or he simply doesn't care. When last season ended, I'd ASSUME Doherty and the staff gave him a list of specific skills to work on over the summer and the consequences for non-compliance. You can tell us if those consequences were met out or not.

As for your other comments, this isn't the early 80's (Duke) or 90's (MD) nor is SMU in the ACC. Five year plans don't exist anymore (nor should they). If a coach can't show positive results in three years, then serious questions need to be asked. This isn't rocket science and losing at home to schools like UAPB and USC-Upstate is simply UNACCEPTABLE. If the coach doesn't (or can't)understand that, then you have the wrong coach for the job.

PonyDoh, do know that I appreciate your insight.

[PonyDoh]

If he did blow off practicing over the summer, then either he doesn't undertand what it takes to be an athlete in a major college sport or he simply doesn't care. When last season ended, I'd ASSUME Doherty and the staff gave him a list of specific skills to work on over the summer and the consequences for non-compliance. You can tell us if those consequences were met out or not.

As for your other comments, this isn't the early 80's (Duke) or 90's (MD) nor is SMU in the ACC. Five year plans don't exist anymore (nor should they). If a coach can't show positive results in three years, then serious questions need to be asked. This isn't rocket science and losing at home to schools like UAPB and USC-Upstate is simply UNACCEPTABLE. If the coach doesn't (or can't)understand that, then you have the wrong coach for the job.

PonyDoh, do know that I appreciate your insight.

This is semantics. Suffice it to say he didn't put in the reps, and he didn't work hard, by his own admission. All staffs give players things to work on over the summer, not just Doh etc. I don't know if McCoy was disciplined or not for not living up to his end of the bargain, but he didn't live up to his end.

5 year plans do exist at graveyard programs like SMU. Traditionally, it's more like 4, but the point stands. Sid Lowe is gonna get 5 or so at NC State. Took Kruger 4 at UNLV to turn the corner. Took Drew 5 or 6 at Baylor. It's taking Hamilton forever at FSU. Took Stallings several years to start yielding consistently good squads at Vandy. These examples are off the top of my head, so they may vary slightly w/regards to accuracy.

Again, not saying we shouldn't be farther a long, just recognizing the difficulty of this job. Firing another coach early, doesn't do much for our reputation in coaching circles or on the trail. Also, it's financially silly, considering we can't make-up the buyout hit in increased revenue

FWIW, I like a spirited debate, so I appreciate it. We could use more of them around here, as opposed to random moaning.

[CalallenStang]

Took Drew 5 or 6 at Baylor.

Correct me if I am wrong but I think Baylor was on probation the first three years he was there. I think one of those years they could only play their conference schedule. He also took over in August his first year so I'm not sure if you can count it as part of the time that Drew took turning that program.

[PonyDoh]

Took Drew 5 or 6 at Baylor.

Correct me if I am wrong but I think Baylor was on probation the first three years he was there. I think one of those years they could only play their conference schedule. He also took over in August his first year so I'm not sure if you can count it as part of the time that Drew took turning that program.

You are right, but Baylor even w/incredibly harsh sanctions, still had a better rep on the trail then SMU. Also, Drew is trail gangster hiding behind God. Perfect solution for the Bliss debacle. SMU, like Vandy, is an incredibly damaged school and program in the home community. It takes time to get the locals reinvigorated, as well as a renegade kid that's willing to put his butt on the line to be a hero. Unfortunately, the last profile kid who did that for us, Sas, now plays in Kuwait. Hardly a success story, but yet it comes up far more often then Q's actual NBA career. Weird and not particularly fair, but it's what it is.