THE TUBBS EFFECT

[ponyboy]

I know it's a little early, but when do we start to see SMU listed on Rivals and other recruiting services for the Eatons, Flowers', etc?

[Dooby]

Eaton: http://scout.theinsiders.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&cfg=null&c=1&yr=2005&nid=449899

Flowers: http://scout.theinsiders.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&cfg=null&c=1&yr=2005&nid=1143027

Before you get too excited, Eaton listed SMU long before Tubbs was hired. I don't know about Flowers.

[WildHorse]

ponyboy, I'm glad you started this thread. I was thinking about the effects of hiring Coach Tubbs, and I can't help but wonder if his hiring also will help the football team with DISD kids. Say Coach Tubbs signs some kid from Dallas who, even if he isn't a national recruit like LaMarcus Aldridge, is seen as the BMOC at his school. Suddenly he's wearing an SMU hat, sweatshirt - whatever - and nobody's laughing because of his stature on campus. And at most schools, a lot of athletes play multiple sports, or at least are friends with players on the other teams.

So am I smoking something here, or is there a real possibility that Coach Tubbs and his position within the Dallas schools community might actually help Coach Bennett and Coach Roark get some Dallas football players here?

[Silk]

Interesting thought. I don't know, because I don't know how much weight the HS football players carry in the eyes of the basketball players, and vice versa. I think you'd need to find a kid who's a star in both sports (hello, Byron Eaton) for that to really catch on. And even then, it would be one school at a time.

[Hoop Fan]

It definitely won't hurt. Hiring Tubbs is good PR for the athletic department period. Bennett would be wise to leverage off of it.

[Corso]

I bet he already is. I wouldn't be surprised if they make a joint visit someplace if there's a kid who can play both sports (well). Those are two serious salesmen - I can't imagine an 18-year-old having the answers to turn them down if they recruited him in tandem.

[LA_Mustang]

I’m fairly certain that the two coaches have visited the Fair Park neighborhood together to pay Mr. Eaton a friendly hello. He would be a star at SMU in both sports and his family could see it all.

Corso, has UT ever allowed a player to play both football and basketball? Supposedly, UT has already offered Eaton for bball, and as I understand it, he will be rated higher in football than bball.

[ponyboy]

So is it a for sure that WE would allow a two sport player? Getting Eaton would be sweet indeed.

[Corso]

I’m fairly certain that the two coaches have visited the Fair Park neighborhood together to pay Mr. Eaton a friendly hello. He would be a star at SMU in both sports and his family could see it all.

Corso, has UT ever allowed a player to play both football and basketball? Supposedly, UT has already offered Eaton for bball, and as I understand it, he will be rated higher in football than bball.

I can't think of one, but I spend a great deal more time thinking about SMU than the Horns, of course. However, I have a few spies down there I can call on to do some research for us. Stay tuned.

[FloridaMustang]

Eaton and Hopkins would be a hell of a tandem.

[DallasDiehard]

There would be some concern on the defensive end, since other teams would have a significant size advantage, but that might well be the quickest backcourt in the country if both were on the floor at the same time.

And while other teams might have a size advantage, they'd have a hell of a time trying to keep up with the Ponies in transition. There aren't a lot of teams with guards who could run with those two. Despite their relative lack of height, they might be able to cause some real headaches for opponents. I bet we'd see a lot of zone defenses, simply because a lot of teams wouldn't have the horses to run with .... the Ponies.