ESPN: Expectations of SMU basketball

[Mustangs_Maroons]

I don't necessarily agree with the assessment and didn't like the comparison at the end made by Fran Fraschilla(?) but good to see our basketball program talked about on ESPN. Link to video below:

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/colleges ... basketball

[PonyKai]

Jay does a good job of explaining the difficulties in weighing whether or not to make a change- simply making a change for change's sakes won't guarantee us doing better. Having said that, 6 years is- ahem- a more than reasonable amount of time to demonstrate the staff's capabilities of producing W's. You are what your record says you are. We:

-Lost to Jackson St.
-Lost to Rice & Tulane; we just had a frosh hang 35 on us and gave up 63 points in one half.
-It took 3 full seasons to settle on an offensive system
-Roster management & rotation has been covered ad nauseum

Taken alone, these things could be explained away (yes, Rice & Tulane are good this year)- but this is year six. We should also never, ever lose to those schools in revenue sports. Aim higher, darn it. Even given the extensive rebuild required here, we're halfway through year 6, and we're really 8-10 (2-4) as 2 of our wins this year don't even count toward RPI.

In year six, it was really easy to can the Mustache. He had a woeful winning percentage, he was on his way to a 1-11 season; he had a winless season under his belt; he sure as heck wasn't recruiting at a high enough level to warrant retention (yes, less flexible athletic guidelines), and he wasn't a prim, flashy, hot CEO type that's a great face for the program & a capable fundraiser. He was a tough, gritty, hard-nosed, defensive specialist coach who was 18-52. If only Doherty won more of these darn games, we would all probably be quite thrilled.

[PonyKai]

Upon further reflection, last night really, really hurt any case that could be made for continuing on our current path. That was depressing, maddening, unacceptable, and children in many states would be prohibited from watching it

But still, if the man upstairs is going to make a change- have a plan, surround yourself with intelligent people that have the school's proper interests in mind, execute it properly, and land a quality head man who will put together a solid staff, hold the '12 class together, and recognize the inherent challenges here at SMU.

[RyanSMU98]

So the question of the hour: who do you go after to replace him? Doh is pulling in decent money right now, and only a modest raise for the right guy would put him easily on par with most BEAST coaches. So who is the right guy? Name your shopping list. I agree with others that something has got to give, and look to others who follow the program more closely than I have for suggestions. Who do you want?

[hoopmanx]

So the question of the hour: who do you go after to replace him? Doh is pulling in decent money right now, and only a modest raise for the right guy would put him easily on par with most BEAST coaches. So who is the right guy? Name your shopping list. I agree with others that something has got to give, and look to others who follow the program more closely than I have for suggestions. Who do you want?

I'm announcing one new candidate per loss on twitter They aren't in order or preference, but I have good reasons for each. Today, I started w/Archie Miller, Dayton's head man. Younger bro of Arizona head man, Sean Miller, and is a relentless recruiter, while looking solid as an Xs and Os guy. Big ties to Nike grassroots, which is a coup now that we're a Big East school wearing the Swoosh.

[Mustangs_Maroons]

A quick google search produced the following coaches from the best mid-majors, per a rivals article. Going to the BE and based in Dallas, with the reputation of our school, I think we have a lot to offer. Although they will have to face the challenge of building this program vs. staying pat and continuing the momentum where they are at. Thoughts?

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball ... hes_071111

Steve Alford, New Mexico – The former Indiana All-American and Iowa coach has missed the NCAA tournament three of his four years at New Mexico. But the Lobos won the Mountain West title in 2009 and 2010 and should continue to be a threat under Alford, who is 98-39 at the school.

Tommy Amaker, Harvard – Amaker has made just one NCAA tournament appearance in 14 years as a coach. Still, it’s hard not to be impressed with what he’s done at Harvard the last two seasons. Harvard has gone a combined 44-14 during that span. He drew interest from Miami during the offseason but opted to stay at Harvard.

Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s – The Gaels have been a model of consistency thanks to Bennett, who has led St. Mary’s to 25 wins or more for four straight seasons and a Sweet 16 berth in 2010. Last season the Gaels claimed a share of the West Coast Conference title along with Gonzaga. They finished second the previous three seasons.

Mike Davis, Alabama-Birmingham – Any coach who has ever played for the NCAA title deserves to be on this list. Ten years have passed since Davis’ Indiana squad fell to Maryland in the 2002 championship game, but the former Bob Knight assistant is still going strong. UAB won the Conference USA title in 2010-11 and has finished no lower than third in each of the past three seasons.

Fran Dunphy, Temple – The Owls have made four straight NCAA tournament appearances under Dunphy, who guided Temple to the Sweet 16 in 2010-11. Temple has gone 50-14 in the Atlantic 10 during that span. Before his hiring five years ago, Dunphy spent 17 years at Penn, where his teams made the NCAA tournament six of his final eight seasons.

Steve Fisher, San Diego State – The former Michigan coach led the Aztecs to a 34-3 record and an appearance in the Sweet 16 last season. Fisher’s teams have gone a combined 36-12 in the Mountain West Conference the past three seasons and should be competitive again in 2011-12, especially with BYU out of the picture.

Tim Floyd, Texas-El Paso – The former Chicago Bulls coach has also coached NCAA tournament teams at Iowa State and USC. Long regarded as one of the top X’s and O’s coaches in the business, Floyd guided UTEP to a 25-10 record and an NIT appearance in his first season. Even though NCAA violations occurred during his tenure at USC, it wouldn’t be shocking if Floyd ended up at another Big Six conference school relatively soon.

Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa – Jacobson helped orchestrate the Panthers’ shocking second-round upset of No. 1 seed Kansas in 2010, but his achievements at Northern Iowa extend far beyond one game. Jacobson has won at least 18 games in each of his five seasons since taking over for Greg McDermott in 2006-07 and already touts two Missouri Valley Conference titles.

Sydney Johnson, Fairfield – Johnson recently left Princeton to take over for Ed Cooley at Fairfield. You can bet the Tigers were sad to see him go. After winning the Ivy League title, Johnson almost guided Princeton to a first-round NCAA tournament win over Kentucky, but Wildcats guard Brandon Knight made a shot in the final seconds to give Kentucky a 59-57 win. Princeton finished 25-7 and went 22-9 the previous season.

Chris Mack, Xavier –– The Musketeers have gone 50-17 in the two seasons since Mack replaced Sean Miller. They won the Atlantic 10 title in each of those years. Mack was an assistant at Wake Forest under his mentor, the late Skip Prosser, from 2001-04 before returning to his alma mater as an assistant. He was hired as the coach in the spring of 2009 when Miller left for Arizona. Xavier advanced to the Sweet 16 in Mack’s first season.

Chris Mooney, Richmond – Mooney was one of college basketball’s hottest names after leading the Spiders to the Sweet 16 last season. To get there, Richmond defeated Vanderbilt and a Morehead State squad that was fresh off an upset of Louisville. Mooney rejected overtures from Georgia Tech during the offseason and signed a new contract with Richmond that runs through the 2020-21 season.

Stew Morrill, Utah State – Morrill’s teams have been so good the past three years that it’s truly a struggle to find quality non-league opponents. Utah State is 87-17 during that span and 43-5 in the Western Athletic Conference. Unfortunately, because of its low RPI, Utah State has difficulty securing a favorable NCCA tournament seed each year. Morrill’s squad has bowed out in the first round three straight years.

Josh Pastner, Memphis – It’s still too early to judge Pastner as a bench coach, but it was hard not to be impressed with how much his young team matured by the end of last season. His youth isn’t a factor, as his players appear to respect him and believe in his system. On the recruiting trail, the relentless Pastner is hard to beat. It says a lot that he was drawing interest from high major programs from Big Six leagues after just two seasons.

Dave Rose, BYU – The co-captain of the Houston “Phi Slama Jama” team that featured Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, Rose has also had a successful career as a coach. His program has made five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. In 2010-11 the Cougars advanced to the Sweet 16 behind the play of national player of the year Jimmer Fredette.

Shaka Smart, Virginia Commonwealth – The Rams’ march to the Final Four was no fluke. You don’t beat USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas by accident. The only strange thing was that VCU entered the NCAA tournament having lost five of their previous seven games. Either way, Smart handled his team masterfully during the postseason. It will be interesting to see how the Final Four run pays off on the recruiting trail, as Smart’s success last season came mostly with Anthony Grant’s players.

Blaine Taylor, Old Dominion – After 10 seasons, the former Montana coach has turned Old Dominion into a perennial contender for the CAA title. The Monarchs won the league in 2010 and finished second last season. They advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament each of those years and have won at least 24 games six of the last seven seasons.

Also deserving of consideration: Greg McDermott, Creighton; Gregg Marshall, Wichita State; Rex Walters, San Francisco; Kerry Keating, Santa Clara; Doug Wojick, Tulsa; Rick Byrd, Belmont; Bob Thomason, Pacific; Larry Eustachy, Southern Miss; Dan Monson, Long Beach State.

[hoopmanx]

A quick google search produced the following coaches from the best mid-majors, per a rivals article. Going to the BE and based in Dallas, with the reputation of our school, I think we have a lot to offer. Although they will have to face the challenge of building this program vs. staying pat and continuing the momentum where they are at. Thoughts?

Source: http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball ... hes_071111

Steve Alford, New Mexico – The former Indiana All-American and Iowa coach has missed the NCAA tournament three of his four years at New Mexico. But the Lobos won the Mountain West title in 2009 and 2010 and should continue to be a threat under Alford, who is 98-39 at the school.

Tommy Amaker, Harvard – Amaker has made just one NCAA tournament appearance in 14 years as a coach. Still, it’s hard not to be impressed with what he’s done at Harvard the last two seasons. Harvard has gone a combined 44-14 during that span. He drew interest from Miami during the offseason but opted to stay at Harvard.

Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s – The Gaels have been a model of consistency thanks to Bennett, who has led St. Mary’s to 25 wins or more for four straight seasons and a Sweet 16 berth in 2010. Last season the Gaels claimed a share of the West Coast Conference title along with Gonzaga. They finished second the previous three seasons.

Mike Davis, Alabama-Birmingham – Any coach who has ever played for the NCAA title deserves to be on this list. Ten years have passed since Davis’ Indiana squad fell to Maryland in the 2002 championship game, but the former Bob Knight assistant is still going strong. UAB won the Conference USA title in 2010-11 and has finished no lower than third in each of the past three seasons.

Fran Dunphy, Temple – The Owls have made four straight NCAA tournament appearances under Dunphy, who guided Temple to the Sweet 16 in 2010-11. Temple has gone 50-14 in the Atlantic 10 during that span. Before his hiring five years ago, Dunphy spent 17 years at Penn, where his teams made the NCAA tournament six of his final eight seasons.

Steve Fisher, San Diego State – The former Michigan coach led the Aztecs to a 34-3 record and an appearance in the Sweet 16 last season. Fisher’s teams have gone a combined 36-12 in the Mountain West Conference the past three seasons and should be competitive again in 2011-12, especially with BYU out of the picture.

Tim Floyd, Texas-El Paso – The former Chicago Bulls coach has also coached NCAA tournament teams at Iowa State and USC. Long regarded as one of the top X’s and O’s coaches in the business, Floyd guided UTEP to a 25-10 record and an NIT appearance in his first season. Even though NCAA violations occurred during his tenure at USC, it wouldn’t be shocking if Floyd ended up at another Big Six conference school relatively soon.

Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa – Jacobson helped orchestrate the Panthers’ shocking second-round upset of No. 1 seed Kansas in 2010, but his achievements at Northern Iowa extend far beyond one game. Jacobson has won at least 18 games in each of his five seasons since taking over for Greg McDermott in 2006-07 and already touts two Missouri Valley Conference titles.

Sydney Johnson, Fairfield – Johnson recently left Princeton to take over for Ed Cooley at Fairfield. You can bet the Tigers were sad to see him go. After winning the Ivy League title, Johnson almost guided Princeton to a first-round NCAA tournament win over Kentucky, but Wildcats guard Brandon Knight made a shot in the final seconds to give Kentucky a 59-57 win. Princeton finished 25-7 and went 22-9 the previous season.

Chris Mack, Xavier –– The Musketeers have gone 50-17 in the two seasons since Mack replaced Sean Miller. They won the Atlantic 10 title in each of those years. Mack was an assistant at Wake Forest under his mentor, the late Skip Prosser, from 2001-04 before returning to his alma mater as an assistant. He was hired as the coach in the spring of 2009 when Miller left for Arizona. Xavier advanced to the Sweet 16 in Mack’s first season.

Chris Mooney, Richmond – Mooney was one of college basketball’s hottest names after leading the Spiders to the Sweet 16 last season. To get there, Richmond defeated Vanderbilt and a Morehead State squad that was fresh off an upset of Louisville. Mooney rejected overtures from Georgia Tech during the offseason and signed a new contract with Richmond that runs through the 2020-21 season.

Stew Morrill, Utah State – Morrill’s teams have been so good the past three years that it’s truly a struggle to find quality non-league opponents. Utah State is 87-17 during that span and 43-5 in the Western Athletic Conference. Unfortunately, because of its low RPI, Utah State has difficulty securing a favorable NCCA tournament seed each year. Morrill’s squad has bowed out in the first round three straight years.

Josh Pastner, Memphis – It’s still too early to judge Pastner as a bench coach, but it was hard not to be impressed with how much his young team matured by the end of last season. His youth isn’t a factor, as his players appear to respect him and believe in his system. On the recruiting trail, the relentless Pastner is hard to beat. It says a lot that he was drawing interest from high major programs from Big Six leagues after just two seasons.

Dave Rose, BYU – The co-captain of the Houston “Phi Slama Jama” team that featured Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, Rose has also had a successful career as a coach. His program has made five consecutive NCAA tournament appearances. In 2010-11 the Cougars advanced to the Sweet 16 behind the play of national player of the year Jimmer Fredette.

Shaka Smart, Virginia Commonwealth – The Rams’ march to the Final Four was no fluke. You don’t beat USC, Georgetown, Purdue, Florida State and Kansas by accident. The only strange thing was that VCU entered the NCAA tournament having lost five of their previous seven games. Either way, Smart handled his team masterfully during the postseason. It will be interesting to see how the Final Four run pays off on the recruiting trail, as Smart’s success last season came mostly with Anthony Grant’s players.

Blaine Taylor, Old Dominion – After 10 seasons, the former Montana coach has turned Old Dominion into a perennial contender for the CAA title. The Monarchs won the league in 2010 and finished second last season. They advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament each of those years and have won at least 24 games six of the last seven seasons.

Also deserving of consideration: Greg McDermott, Creighton; Gregg Marshall, Wichita State; Rex Walters, San Francisco; Kerry Keating, Santa Clara; Doug Wojick, Tulsa; Rick Byrd, Belmont; Bob Thomason, Pacific; Larry Eustachy, Southern Miss; Dan Monson, Long Beach State.

Very few of those will be on the list for a variety of reasons. Rick Byrd is too old, Dan Monson is a retread, Keating is considered average, Walters is a Doh protege, Wojcik may be fired by years end himself, Gregg Marshall is almsot a lock for South Carolina. Dave Rose & Pastner have better jobs. Morrill is too old. Mooney runs the princeton and is having trouble recruiting. Sydney johnson runs the princeton too. Ben Jacobsen is a good candidate and on my list.

The rest, other than maybe Amaker are tough gets. We'll have a very good list to choose from, but it has to take alot more into consideration than a list like that

[GiddyUp]

Why don't you just list half the coaches in the United States? Hire Bob Knight if Doh goes cause you will see a TEAM play so unbelieveably hard and smart you won't be able to take it. He has won a few games and National Championships in his career. He did take a Texas Tech team to the Sweet 16.

Yes he will head-butt a few players, %$$$ off the media, cause an uproar with the faculty protesting his hiring, won't associate with any bosters, players will graduate, and SMU will be on ESPN sports center every Knight - get it. He is an Icon! We need the General! Last time Moody was full was when he brought his TT team to Town.

He won a national championship with Alford, Hillman, Smart, Garrett, and Thomas - NO TRUE CENTER and not very good talent. Alford was horrible in his four seasons in the NBA and none of the others made it.

Enough with Bobby Knight dude, he isn't coming to SMU or coaching anymore. He is a freakshow.

[EastStang]

Gary Williams is available.... Just kidding. But in all reality, good coaches want to coach in good conferences, with us going to the BE, they'll be some names that before this conference change would have just said "no" its a lateral move. Now, its not. I think Amaker would be an interesting get. He's clearly had to operate in an academic environment that may be even more hating of athletes than SMU's faculty. He graduated from Duke another school with tough academics. I'd love to see him on the sidelines. Of course replacing Doh with a Duke grad would be a bit of irony.

[Hoop Fan]

Amaker flailed at Michigan but getting Harvard to the top 25 is nothing short of remarkable. I would hire him in 2 seconds but I think he will get another shot at a big job very soon. Don't think we have a shot. Even with the Big East to sell, I don't think we could get Alford either but its an intriguing idea. New Mexico draws 16k a night but I guess it depends on how much his wife likes living in Albuquerque. Ben Jacobson would be a great fit for SMU but I think that ship has sailed too. In retrospect, we should have hired Frank Haith 8 years ago when we might have a chance. We probably need to hire someone like that now. What about Bryce Drew? Is Scotts lil bro coaching somewhere? I'm kidding, i think.

[Hoop Fan]

by the way, its funny that Rex Walters is on the list and no sight of Doh. Seems we should have hired Rex six years ago.

[Treadway21]

Are we at a tipping point with Doh? I am curious if others think there is a game or point in the season that puts the writing on the wall and no amount of winning the rest of the season saves doh. The other thread pointed this out the precariousness of Doh's position over this stretch of the season. Is the Tulane loss one loss too many?

We had an incredible run at the end of the season that made the failure in the tourney fade. Can Doh save himself with any kind of run or have we already gotten to the point where he is gone?

Don't know the odds of alford, but he in intriguing. He did play with the mavericks and might be a name that would attract attention in DFW.

Just can't put my finger on what happens going forward. I was in favor of firing Dement because he seamed to have topped out, and his tournament performances were bad. Doh is not even in the same neighborhood of Dement's performance. I guess I will find out in the next 4 weeks, but the anticipation is killing me.

[RunPeruna]

Hiring a "name" the common basketball fan might know is not what needs to happen. It needs to be a name that the basketball community views as a splash hire (by splash hire I simply mean a good hire) and can recruit. Steve Alford? Are you kidding me?

[RunPeruna]

I'm announcing one new candidate per loss on twitter They aren't in order or preference, but I have good reasons for each. Today, I started w/Archie Miller, Dayton's head man. Younger bro of Arizona head man, Sean Miller, and is a relentless recruiter, while looking solid as an Xs and Os guy. Big ties to Nike grassroots, which is a coup now that we're a Big East school wearing the Swoosh.

Dayton plays next Saturday on Fox Sports if you are interested.

You can see Northern Iowa play on ESPNU tomorrow at 5.

Heck, Fairfield is on ESPNU tonight!

Go down the list of candidates and you can "interview" them yourself if you want. If you have any real interest in any candidate you should watch their team play right now. You know what you like or don't like in a team, see if that candidate's team plays the way you want. See how they handle themselves. Listen to what the announcers say about them. I know it's just a partial picture but don't just pick a name because you've heard of them or they've been around a while. I assure you that there will be candidates (if there is a need for candidates)that can be competitive at SMU
.

[Treadway21]

Not sure if you are taking a shot or not, but alford is more than just a name. I could care less if it is a name or not, or even if it's doh staying, but we need to find a coach that can win:

Steve Alford - Div I
Southwest Missouri State (Missouri Valley Conference) (1995–1999)
1995–96 Southwest Missouri State 16–12 11–7 4th
1996–97 Southwest Missouri State 24–9 12–6 T–2nd NIT 1st Round
1997–98 Southwest Missouri State 16–16 11–7 T–3rd
1998–99 Southwest Missouri State 22–11 11–7 T–2nd NCAA Sweet 16
Southwest Missouri State: 78–48 45–27
Iowa (Big Ten Conference) (1999–2007)
1999–00 Iowa 14–16 6–10 T–7th
2000–01 Iowa 23–12 7–9 T–6th NCAA 2nd Round
2001–02 Iowa 19–16 5–11 T–8th NIT 1st Round
2002–03 Iowa 17–14 7–9 T–8th NIT 2nd Round
2003–04 Iowa 16–13 9–7 4th NIT 1st Round
2004–05 Iowa 21–12 7–9 7th NCAA 1st Round
2005–06 Iowa 25–9 11–5 T–2nd NCAA 1st Round
2006–07 Iowa 17–14 9–7 T–4th
Iowa: 152–106 61–67
New Mexico (Mountain West Conference) (2007–present)
2007–08 New Mexico 24–9 11–5 3rd NIT 1st Round
2008–09 New Mexico 22–12 12–4 T–1st NIT 2nd Round
2009–10 New Mexico 30–5 14–2 1st NCAA 2nd Round
2010–11 New Mexico 22–13 8–8 5th NIT 2nd Round
2011–12 New Mexico 15-4 1-2
New Mexico: 113–43 46–21
Total: 421–226