Official SMU/Tulane thread

[Balatro Diabolus Ex]

Ha when was the last time we had a player of any experience level hang 35.

Ike Ofeagbu and Jon Killen would be the first to come to mind. Actually, with Killen I'm not sure if it was 35, but he had over 30 3-4 times his senior year, the last was in the season finale against UTEP.

[Balatro Diabolus Ex]

Sasser had 39 against UTEP in 2001

[NastyStang]

Sasser had 39 against UTEP in 2001

God I miss the Sasser days, this crap is hard to watch...

[GiddyUp]

didn't see a lick of it, only saw final score thank goodness - RGV pointed out in a text that we gave up 63 its in a half and I thought he had to be completely joking. So freakin' absurd. I mean did they have Jimmers on their team..

[goldenstang]

If we don't start injecting some positivity on this thread, I shudder how this will affect this already struggling program. In fact, we (fans) are probably at fault for this loss because of the negativity on the FB board.

At least someone feels how I feel. This made me laugh.

[SMUer]

63 points...63...that half of work would have out-scored us in most of our games.

[CalallenStang]

Worst defensive half in SMU basketball history? It's got to be right up there.

[SMUer]

You evaluate mental toughness when you recruit and at the very least the coach should continue to develop it. Young players make mistakes like taking bad shoots, bad angles and reckless turnovers. Poorly coached teams run out the shot clock, rely on poor percentage 3-point shots and loss concentration and play discombobulated through large chunks. Doh sure appear to be coaching his @ss off on the sidelines, but there is no denying that this is a poorly coached group of players.

[hoopmanx]

This season just sucks, no two ways about it. So many bad losses it makes my head spin. I don't understand the rotation, the pace, the inability to attempt anything inside/out, the lack of rebounding w/better rebounders on our team. THE LACK OF EFFIN TOUGHNESS. We play a dirty, grimy brand of hoops, that could actually be gorgeous if executed. The saddest part is everyone hating on a great system b/c Doh runs it like a steaming turdburger

[Bergermeister]

Turn out the lights.

[RunPeruna]

We play a dirty, grimy brand of hoops, that could actually be gorgeous if executed. The saddest part is everyone hating on a great system b/c Doh runs it like a steaming turdburger

The system should flow and move and there should be cuts and people ending up wide open. It seems there is a juxtaposition of philosophies...we are going to be tough and grind it out (and by grind it out I don't mean play close games, I mean be physical, play tough defense, rebound, etc) but run a system that would never fit in with that type of game. So we do neither one well while trying to do them both at the same time

[EastStang]

First, if the Princeton is being run correctly there should not be enough time for a team to hang 63 in a half. That's over 3 points a minute and at a generous 50% scoring rate that's two-three attempts per minute by the other team. If run correctly it should bleed off at least 20-30 seconds per possession, so the other team should only have 1 or two attempts per minute. Of course if the scoring rate is 75-80% that means someone isn't playing defense. Secondly, Princeton works ideally against a man defense, okay against a zone, but that requires getting the ball inside with either gritty inside work or kick outs. Either way, it is not supposed to be a bunch of passes on the perimeter but steadily moving the ball inside. I like the Princeton, but it has to match your personnel or at the very least they have to buy into it if they understand that they don't have the talent to run and gun. That's what non-conference games are for. You let them run and gun against a physically superior team for a half and get their clock cleaned. Then you say to them, now are you willing to do it my way?

[hoopmanx]

Not to pile on Jfrog, cause he has nice numbers in CUSA play, and he really achieves at a high level given his limitations, but half the reason I'm starting to sway towards a new coach, is b/c anyone we bring in is going to laugh at our PG situation.

Every head in Texas just keeps telling me to keep Manuel happy, and tell him he starts opposite Russell next year. That's a very legit back court. Giles is your shooting combo off the bench etc.

[JasonB]

Couple of thoughts...

1) Is the problem right now with the Princeton that we simply don't have a low post presence to effectively space out the floor? Papa was that last year, but it took him years to develop the physique to play down low. Our young players aren't big enough or strong enough or tough enough to play on the blocks and they end up just hanging at the top of the key. That is fine if we have athletic kids to drive baseline and take advantage of the space, but Rob has no penetration ability, and Jones has the athleticism but isn't quite there yet with his handle. The result is a team that swings the ball around the outside but has no ability to break a team down or throw it to the low post to get space.

2) I think the reason Manual doesn't play a ton is because of defense. At the Houston game, there was a big, noticeable difference in his lateral quickness defensively when compared to JFrog. I think that is the reason he hasn't passed him up for time.

Williams has been a bit of a disappointment, but I think he will be better next year when he slides over into Rob's spot instead of playing in the middle.

This is going to be a better team next season, but they just aren't there yet. I was hoping going into the season that we would make a little run at the second half of conference play and get momentum for next year, but not sure if that will happen now.

[hoopmanx]

Couple of thoughts...

1) Is the problem right now with the Princeton that we simply don't have a low post presence to effectively space out the floor? Papa was that last year, but it took him years to develop the physique to play down low. Our young players aren't big enough or strong enough or tough enough to play on the blocks and they end up just hanging at the top of the key. That is fine if we have athletic kids to drive baseline and take advantage of the space, but Rob has no penetration ability, and Jones has the athleticism but isn't quite there yet with his handle. The result is a team that swings the ball around the outside but has no ability to break a team down or throw it to the low post to get space.

2) I think the reason Manual doesn't play a ton is because of defense. At the Houston game, there was a big, noticeable difference in his lateral quickness defensively when compared to JFrog. I think that is the reason he hasn't passed him up for time.

Williams has been a bit of a disappointment, but I think he will be better next year when he slides over into Rob's spot instead of playing in the middle.

This is going to be a better team next season, but they just aren't there yet. I was hoping going into the season that we would make a little run at the second half of conference play and get momentum for next year, but not sure if that will happen now.

1) Low post presence is part of the problem, as is lack of slashers. When coaches sell the princeton, it's all about getting the ball facing, using a hard ball screen, and deciding whether to drive/shoot/pass. Right now, we have one guy on the roster who can routinely go by a defender off the bounce, so dribble/drive is out of the equation. If we had post action, at least the high/low looks would give us kick out ability, but we don't even try. Some of that has to due w/our youth/inexperience, but much of it is refusing to try and establish anything. So, no attempt at post presence, and nobody to break you down and get to the hole. That just means perimeter passing and jacked jump shots. We don't even use the myriad of face-up 4s we do have, to actually work off the face. Leslee Smith shouldn't just screen for perimeter players. Plant his [deleted] on a block and let him work. After he's done that once or twice, get him the ball at the high post, and let him go by on the bounce. Just a massively underutilized skill set. We could try w/Cannen as well

2) Manuel is a better defender than Frog. Nobody 6'5 looks to have the lat quicks of a 5'9 kid. He covers more ground via long strides, but more importantly, his length allows close-outs in the zone and takes away passing angles. He's a kid you either get more minutes for over Cotton, specifically when Cotton is clanking, and/or Frog who is about as big a defensive liability as you can have in an 2/3 amoeba match-up.

The reality is that Doh & Mangino want Frog b/c their career longevity at SMU is tied to SMU winning w/the princeton. Manuel isn't a princeton PG, he's a slash & burn kid, that would rather use a high ball screen and go north/south. If we'd just take the turnovers and lumps from Manuel, we'd see so many more open looks for Nyuk/Giles as spot up shooters. Meanwhile, we'd have a 6'5 scorer going at the rim to finish or dish.